A lawsuit related to the sexual harassment allegations against former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker is being dismissed.
An Ingham County Circuit Court judge rejected the complaint Thursday, which focused on text messages released by Tucker’s lawyers amid a Title IX investigation into claims of sexual misconduct made against him by Brenda Tracy, an assault prevention activist previously hired by MSU.
A non-profit related to Tracy, along with two unnamed women, brought on the lawsuit last year, arguing Tucker’s legal team should be barred from releasing their private messages because they might reveal sensitive details about survivors of sexual assault.
“The Court was obviously prepared to address the merits of the motion and was looking for specific answers, and correctly granted the motion on the merits. Dismissing the case with prejudice,” said Andrew Abood, an attorney for Tucker, in a statement to WKAR.
The text messages and emails in question were between Tracy and Ahlan Alvarado, a former case manager at an assault prevention nonprofit. Alvarado died July 2023 and her phone records were given to Tucker’s attorneys by her husband.
According to the lawsuit, Tracy and Alvarado’s messages included “extensive information” on the nonprofit’s business records as well as confidential information of clients and victims of sexual assault. Tracy’s legal team argued that some of the messages could be considered protected medical information.
In October, an Ingham County judge granted an emergency temporary restraining order to prevent Tucker’s lawyers from releasing the remaining messages to the public. The two parties later agreed on terms to limit further release.
The same month, Tucker was found to have violated MSU’s sexual misconduct policy in his interactions with Tracy.