Supreme Court

Butler v. Collins

• Case number: 24-0616
• Legal category: Employment Law
• Subtype: Employment Discrimination
• Set for oral argument: December 3, 2024

Case Summary

This certified question case concerns whether the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act preempts common law tort claims brought against the plaintiff’s former coworkers. After Southern Methodist University denied Professor Cheryl Butler’s application for tenure and promotion, Butler filed suit against SMU and various SMU employees. In her operative pleading, Butler asserted various statutory and common law claims, including common law claims of fraud, defamation, and conspiracy to defame against the defendant-employees. The district court granted a motion to dismiss against Butler on some of her claims, finding that the common law claims brought against the defendant-employees were preempted by the TCHRA.

The Fifth Circuit noted that the Texas Supreme Court has held that the TCHRA preempts common law tort claims asserted against the plaintiff-employee’s employer but has not addressed whether the TCHRA preempts such claims brought against other employees. The Fifth Circuit therefore certified the following question regarding Butler’s claims against the defendant–employees:

Does the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (“TCHRA”), Texas Labor Code § 21.001, et seq., preempt a plaintiff-employee’s common-law defamation and/or fraud claims against another employee to the extent that the claims are based on the same course of conduct as discrimination and/or retaliation claims asserted against the plaintiff’s employer?

The Court accepted the certified question.

Case summaries are created by the Court's staff attorneys and law clerks and do not constitute the Court’s official descriptions or statements. Readers are encouraged to review the Court’s official opinions for specifics regarding each case.