BATON ROUGE - The legal battle over former LSU head football coach Brian Kelly’s $54 million buyout could soon head to court as the university is allegedly attempting to avoid the payout by retroactively citing a cause for his termination.

Attorney Stephen Sterling, who is not involved in the case but provided legal analysis, said in these types of disputes, parties can seek a declaratory judgment.

“It's a quick remedy versus actually having to go to trial, prepare to go to trial (and) wait months," Sterling said. "This is more than an expeditious remedy to help everyone out.”

The lawsuit says LSU initially fired Kelly because of team performance, but the school is now looking to claim cause for his termination. It also says he was only recently told about being terminated for cause an

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