BATON ROUGE — A state appeals court has ruled that it was too early for an LSU law professor to sue the school over his removal from the classroom because an investigation into anonymous complaints wasn't yet complete.

Then-LSU Chancellor William F. Tate IV suspended Ken M. Levy with pay after receiving complaints that Levy, using language "peppered with harsh profanity," had criticized Gov. Jeff Landry and President Donald Trump in the classroom last January.

Levy sued, claiming protected academic freedom, and was returned to the classroom until the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal upheld his suspension in February. The state Supreme Court later denied Levy's appeal.

Still pending from the initial set of events was LSU's claim that Levy's complaint was too early because LSU hasn't reached a final decision on Levy's status. Because LSU might ultimately return Levy to the classroom, the court said, it couldn't rule on Levy's claim that his tenure rights had been violated.

"It is well established that placement on paid administrative leave does not constitute deprivation of a property interest," the court wrote Friday. "... (I)n the current posture of this case, there is no deprivation to be enjoined. Prof. Levy's petition is premature."

But Levy said in a Facebook post Friday that LSU had "ripped" away his tenure, "all for saying some things that no rules prohibited — and that nobody had ever told me I couldn't say."

He said the 1st Circuit had "signed off on this cruelty," and that he didn't know what would come next.

"My options are quite limited, given my current financial situation, which LSU has seriously exacerbated by refusing to pay me this year," he wrote.

Levy is still listed among LSU Law Center faculty with a notation that he is on leave for 2025-26.

Friday's decision allows LSU to resume its investigation into Levy's comments in the classroom. The lower court had put that on hold, too.