No “Super‑Tenure Review Committees”: Pleading Standards, Academic Freedom, and Comparator Requirements in Madhusudan Katti v. Arden

I. Introduction

In Madhusudan Katti v. Arden, No. 24‑2054 (4th Cir. Dec. 2, 2025), the Fourth Circuit addressed the pleading standards for constitutional and statutory discrimination claims arising out of a university tenure decision. The case sits at the intersection of civil-rights enforcement, academic freedom, and modern “plausibility pleading” under Twombly and Iqbal.

Dr. Madhusudan Katti, an Indian professor at North Carolina State University (NCSU), was denied tenure in 2020 but granted tenure upon reapplying in 2023. He sued several university officials in their individual and (for some, also) official capacities under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging:

Race discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment;
Race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; and
Retaliation in violation of the First Amendment for using “non‑traditional teaching methods.”

The district court dismissed the suit under Rule 12(b)(6), finding the complaint speculative and deficient as to both discrimination and retaliation. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit (Judge Wilkinson, joined by Judge Richardson) affirmed in a published opinion. Judge Heytens concurred in part and dissented in part, concluding that at least some of the individual-capacity race-discrimination claims should have survived the motion to dismiss.

The majority’s opinion is notable for:

Sharply emphasizing academic freedom and “university autonomy” as reasons for judicial restraint when scrutinizing tenure decisions;
Demanding detailed comparator allegations and individualized wrongdoing by each defendant for Equal Protection and § 1981 claims; and
Narrowly construing the plaintiff’s First Amendment retaliation theory, in part because he failed to concretely identify protected speech.

The partial dissent is equally important. It rejects any “subjective factors” carve‑out from civil rights law and reads the plausibility standard more plaintiff‑friendly, particularly regarding comparator allegations at the pleading stage.

II. Summary of the Opinion

A. Factual Background

Dr. Katti joined NCSU’s “Leadership in Public Science” program in 2016 as a tenure‑track professor. After the typical probationary period, he applied for tenure in June 2019.

The tenure process involved multiple layers, beginning with an Interdisciplinary Retention, Promotion, and Tenure Committee (“IRPTC”), followed by the college dean, Myron Floyd, and then the university provost, Warwick Arden:

The IRPTC, a 12‑member faculty committee including defendants Jean Goodwin and Ken Zagacki, voted 6–5 against recommending tenure; Zagacki did not vote.
Department head Tom Gower supplied annual performance reviews and a tenure letter criticizing Katti’s teaching load, student evaluations, “loose and reactive” teaching style, and alleged problems with mentoring and program administration (including an incident involving the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars program).
Dean Floyd and Provost Arden, reviewing these materials, denied tenure in April 2020.

Katti reapplied and was granted tenure in April 2023.

B. The Lawsuit

Katti sued Arden, Floyd, Gower, Goodwin, and Zagacki in federal court. He alleged:

Race discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment and § 1981, contending that as an Indian man he was treated less favorably than white colleagues in tenure decisions;
First Amendment retaliation, asserting that he was punished for employing “non‑traditional teaching methods”; and
That his denial of tenure was the product of personal malice by Goodwin and Gower, allegedly rooted in racial animus, and of acquiescence or enabling by the other defendants.

Two comparator allegations formed the core of his discrimination theory:

A chart listing five white colleagues who received tenure between 2013 and 2017 while he was denied in 2020.
A more detailed comparison showing that one particular white colleague (Jason Delborne) received tenure despite having fewer publications, conference presentations, and grants than Katti.

C. District Court Ruling

The district court dismissed the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6). It characterized the complaint as containing “conspicuously little regarding race” and found the discrimination claims speculative. It also held that the First Amendment claim failed because Katti had not plausibly alleged protected speech or causation.

D. The Fourth Circuit’s Holding

The Fourth Circuit majority affirmed. It held:

Equal Protection and § 1981 claims: The complaint did not plausibly allege that any defendant treated Katti differently from a similarly situated comparator because of race. Nor did it plausibly allege intentional race discrimination under § 1981 (which requires but‑for causation).
First Amendment retaliation claim: The complaint did not identify sufficiently specific protected speech or plausibly connect any protected activity to the denial of tenure.
Qualified immunity: Because no constitutional or statutory violation was plausibly alleged, the court did not reach the qualified immunity question.

Judge Heytens concurred in dismissing the First Amendment claim and the race-discrimination claim against Goodwin, but dissented as to the equal-protection and § 1981 claims against the four other defendants. He would have held that Katti plausibly alleged race discrimination based on comparator evidence regarding white colleague Jason Delborne.

III. The Court’s Use of Precedents

A. Pleading Standards: Twombly and Iqbal

The majority grounds its analysis in the now-familiar “plausibility” standard:

A complaint must state a claim that is “plausible on its face” (Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).
It must contain factual allegations allowing a reasonable inference of liability, not merely “an unadorned, the‑defendant‑unlawfully‑harmed‑me accusation” (Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)).
In § 1983 cases, this standard applies to “each claim against each defendant” (citing Iqbal at 676).

The majority also uses McCleary‑Evans v. Maryland Dep't of Transportation, 780 F.3d 582 (4th Cir. 2015), which endorsed looking to an “obvious alternative explanation” for allegedly discriminatory decisions—an approach originally articulated in Iqbal. Here, the “obvious alternative explanation” is that decisionmakers believed Katti was not qualified for tenure based on non‑racial criticisms of his teaching and service.

B. § 1983’s Personal Liability Requirement

Citing Iqbal and Wright v. Collins, 766 F.2d 841 (4th Cir. 1985), the court underscores that § 1983 does not allow vicarious liability:

Each defendant is liable only for his or her own actions;
Institutional conduct by NCSU cannot be automatically imputed to individual defendants;
Conduct by one individual defendant cannot be attributed to another absent specific allegations.

This principle is critical to the court’s rejection of comparator evidence that does not explicitly link the same defendants to the tenure decisions of white professors.

C. Academic Freedom and Judicial Restraint: Sweezy, Ewing, Mayberry, Smith

The opinion leans heavily on a line of Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit decisions stressing deference to academic judgments:

Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (1957) (Frankfurter, J., concurring), famously endorses universities’ autonomy to “determine for [themselves] on academic grounds who may teach.”
Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214 (1985), and Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78 (1978), emphasize that courts should show “great respect” for faculty judgments in academic decisions.
The court cites Mayberry v. Dees, 663 F.2d 502 (4th Cir. 1981), and Smith v. University of North Carolina, 632 F.2d 316 (4th Cir. 1980), for the proposition that tenure determinations involve subjective judgments about scholarship, teaching (pedagogy), and service, and that courts must avoid becoming “Super‑Tenure Review Committees” (Clark v. Whiting, 607 F.2d 634 (4th Cir. 1979)).
Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589 (1967), and Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593 (1972), are cited to highlight how tenure creates “security in continued employment” and how academic freedom, including “university autonomy,” is a “special concern of the First Amendment.”

The majority updates these precedents to modern civil-rights litigation involving tenure, stressing that although there is “no categorical ‘university exception’ to the civil rights laws,” courts must be “restrained” and require “more than suspicion” before probing academic judgments for discrimination.

D. Equal Protection: Nordlinger and Comparator Standards

For the Equal Protection claim, the court relies on:

Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1, 10 (1992), for the requirement that Equal Protection forbids treating differently “persons who are in all relevant respects alike.”
Doe v. Settle, 24 F.4th 932 (4th Cir. 2022), and Martin v. Duffy, 858 F.3d 239 (4th Cir. 2017), for the two‑step Equal Protection analysis: comparator similarity plus unjustified differential treatment under the appropriate level of scrutiny.

Mayberry is used to specify what “similarly situated” means in a tenure context: comparable scholarship, pedagogy, and service to the university, as judged by the tenure committee.

E. § 1981 and Causation: Comcast, Nadendla, Lemon

On § 1981, the court follows:

Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American-Owned Media, 589 U.S. 327 (2020), requiring “but‑for” racial causation for § 1981 claims.
Nadendla v. WakeMed, 24 F.4th 299 (4th Cir. 2022), and Lemon v. Myers Bigel, P.A., 985 F.3d 392 (4th Cir. 2021), for the elements of a § 1981 claim: intentional race-based discrimination that interferes with a contractual interest.

These cases support the majority’s insistence that Katti plead facts making it plausible that he would not have been denied tenure but for his race.

F. Procedure Deviations and Conflicts of Interest: Merritt, Mickens

On the recusal/conflict-of-interest theory, the court acknowledges that departure from standard procedures can support an inference of discrimination (citing Merritt v. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., 601 F.3d 289 (4th Cir. 2010)). But it narrows that principle by invoking Mickens v. Taylor, 535 U.S. 162 (2002), which defines a “conflict of interest” as a “division of loyalties.”

Because Goodwin’s negative view of Katti’s competence was consistent with her role in evaluating his tenure application, the majority finds no conflict of interest under NCSU’s policy and thus no procedural irregularity that would plausibly suggest discrimination.

G. First Amendment Retaliation: Pickering, Connick, Garcetti, Adams

For the First Amendment claim, the court uses the public-employee speech framework:

Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968), and Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983), for the rule that employee speech is protected if it is on a matter of public concern and the employee’s interest outweighs the employer’s.
Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), modified in the academic context by Adams v. Trustees of the University of North Carolina–Wilmington, 640 F.3d 550 (4th Cir. 2011), which recognizes protection for some “scholarship and teaching” even when the speech is part of official duties.
McVey v. Stacy, 157 F.3d 271 (4th Cir. 1998), for causation: the protected speech must be a “substantial factor” in the alleged retaliation.

The court holds that Katti never sufficiently identified the speech at issue: his vague references to “non‑traditional teaching methods” and “loose and reactive” classroom presence do not, without more, constitute clearly protected speech, particularly given his express disavowal of “scholarship” and “course content” as the basis for his First Amendment claim.

H. The Partial Dissent’s Precedents: Comparators and Motions to Dismiss

Judge Heytens draws on a different set of authorities to argue for a more lenient pleading threshold:

Haynes v. Waste Connections, Inc., 922 F.3d 219 (4th Cir. 2019), for the proposition that comparators need not be identical and that courts may not simply accept an employer’s assertion that comparators are different at either the motion‑to‑dismiss or summary-judgment stages.
Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals, 626 F.3d 187 (4th Cir. 2010), aff’d, 566 U.S. 30 (2012), for the idea that detailed allegations can “establish a plausible basis” for believing plaintiff and comparator are similarly situated—even if they are not perfectly alike.
Walters v. McMahen, 684 F.3d 435 (4th Cir. 2012), and Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992), for the principle that a plaintiff need not “forecast” evidence at the pleading stage and that the evidentiary burden grows as litigation proceeds.
Mawakana v. Board of Trustees of University of the District of Columbia, 926 F.3d 859 (D.C. Cir. 2019), for the observation that many employment decisions (including academic ones) involve “complex judgments and numerous decisionmakers,” yet remain subject to antidiscrimination law.

These precedents support the dissent’s view that the complaint’s comparator allegations, especially regarding Jason Delborne, are sufficient—at least at the 12(b)(6) stage.

IV. Legal Reasoning and Doctrinal Analysis

A. The Majority’s Framework: Individualized Plausibility in a Deferential Setting

The majority structures its reasoning in two layers:

General Rule 12(b)(6) Principles: The court insists on factual allegations that go beyond labels and conclusions, and on individualized analysis of each claim against each defendant, especially under § 1983’s non‑vicarious liability regime.
Academic Freedom Overlay: It overlays these standards with a robust conception of academic freedom and university autonomy. Because tenure decisions are “genuinely academic” and steeped in subjective scholarly judgments, the court warns against transforming federal judges into de facto tenure committees.

This dual framework makes it relatively easy for the court to treat non‑racial performance criticisms and multi‑factor tenure judgments as “obvious alternative explanations” that render Katti’s discrimination theory speculative rather than plausible.

B. Equal Protection: Comparator Specificity and the Subjective Nature of Tenure

1. The Comparator Requirement

Under Equal Protection doctrine, Katti must plausibly allege that:

He was treated differently from similarly situated individuals; and
The differential treatment lacked a constitutionally adequate justification and, here, was motivated by race.

In the tenure context, the majority narrows “similarly situated” to colleagues who, in the tenure committee’s judgment, display similar quality of:

Scholarship;
Pedagogy (teaching effectiveness); and
Service to the university.

The charts in Katti’s complaint do not satisfy this standard, in the court’s view:

The first chart (¶ 209) lists five white colleagues who received tenure when Katti did not, but it contains no information about their teaching, scholarship, or service.
The second chart (¶ 213) shows that Katti published more, presented more, and obtained more grants than white colleague Jason Delborne, but quantifies only research output. It does not speak to teaching or service—the very areas where the complaint shows that Gower and Goodwin criticized Katti.

2. Subjective Tenure Factors as a Barrier

The court underscores that tenure is inherently subjective and multi-dimensional:

Research quantity is not a proxy for research quality: a single “seminal” article may outweigh many lesser pieces.
Tenure decisions are based on “cumulative information” across research, teaching, and service, viewed holistically by those with disciplinary expertise.

Because the complaint’s comparator evidence focuses narrowly on research productivity, while the decisionmakers’ criticisms focused on teaching and service, the majority finds the comparator theory misaligned with how tenure was actually adjudged. That mismatch breaks the inference that Katti and his white colleague were “alike in all relevant respects.”

3. Individual Defendant Involvement

The majority adds an additional requirement: the complaint must plausibly allege that the same individual defendants who denied Katti tenure also participated in the comparator’s favorable tenure decision.

Neither comparator chart alleges that Arden, Floyd, Gower, Goodwin, or Zagacki played any role in the tenure decisions for the named white professors. Because § 1983 requires personal involvement, institutional facts about “NCSU” do not suffice by themselves.

This is a significant tightening of comparator pleading in individual-capacity suits: a professor challenging tenure decisions must now:

Identify specific comparators with comparable records in the relevant evaluative dimensions actually used by committees (scholarship, teaching, service); and
Allege that the same individual decisionmakers were involved in both the plaintiff’s denial and the comparators’ grants of tenure.

C. § 1981: From Speculation to “But‑For” Racial Causation

1. Katti’s Theories of Racial Animus

The court identifies three main grounds on which Katti asks it to infer race discrimination:

Criticisms with “no real reason”: Katti asserts that Goodwin and Gower’s negative assessments of his teaching and service lacked any “real reason” and thus must be race‑based.
Failure to recuse: He claims that Goodwin should have recused herself from the IRPTC under NCSU’s conflict-of-interest policy, and that others (Gower, Zagacki, Floyd) should have insisted on her removal.
Comparator disparities: He claims white professors with ostensibly weaker records, including Delborne, received tenure when he did not.

2. The Court’s Response

The majority concludes that none of these grounds plausibly allege “but‑for” race discrimination as required by Comcast:

On the criticisms: The complaint itself details Goodwin and Gower’s negative evaluations (low evaluations, “loose and reactive” teaching, mentorship concerns, Doris Duke issues). Even if Katti disputes their accuracy, these criticisms are facially non‑racial reasons for opposing tenure. Unlike in Bryant v. Aiken Regional Medical Centers, 333 F.3d 536 (4th Cir. 2003), where the employer conceded the employee’s performance was good yet still denied opportunity, here there is openly documented dissatisfaction with performance. Thus the court sees an “obvious alternative explanation” for the adverse action unrelated to race.
On recusal: Negative professional opinions are not “conflicts of interest” under the university’s policy as read through Mickens. A conflict of interest involves divided loyalties, not simple dislike or adverse judgments about competence: Goodwin’s belief that Katti was “incapable/incompetent” is precisely the type of view a tenure evaluator is supposed to express, not a reason for mandatory recusal.
On comparators: For reasons mirroring the Equal Protection analysis, the comparator evidence is under‑developed and not tied to the same decisionmakers, and thus cannot support an inference of discriminatory intent under § 1981.

The majority repeatedly contrasts Katti’s assertions—e.g., that the defendants’ motives can “only be explained” by race—with the lack of specific race‑related facts in the complaint. It characterizes his allegations as “labels, conclusions, recitation of a claim’s elements, and naked assertions” (quoting Nadendla).

D. First Amendment Retaliation: Failure to Identify Protected Speech

1. The Analytical Steps

In public-employee First Amendment cases, the court must ask:

Did the plaintiff engage in speech protected by the First Amendment?
If so, was that speech a substantial factor in the employer’s adverse action (causation and retaliation)?
Does the employee’s interest in speaking outweigh the employer’s interest in efficient operation (Pickering‑Connick balancing)?

For academics, Adams adds that “scholarship and teaching” are often specially protected, even when they occur as part of official duties, subject to the usual public-concern and balancing criteria.

2. Why Katti’s Claim Fails

The court does not even reach causation or balancing. It holds that Katti failed at step one: he did not clearly identify protected speech.

Katti’s theory is that he was retaliated against for his “non‑traditional teaching methods.” But the complaint never specifies what those methods are, what ideas or viewpoints they express, or how they relate to matters of public concern or academic discourse.
Worse for his claim, Katti’s appellate brief disclaims that his complaints involved “the content of his courses” or his “scholarship.” He emphasizes that they “were not” about those categories—precisely the types of speech that Adams protects.
The only concrete facts are that Gower called Katti’s classroom presence “loose and reactive,” causing “friction” with students, and noted low student evaluations. Those statements reflect judgments about teaching quality, not reactions to particular protected expression.
The complaint also fails to describe how any of the other defendants were motivated by or even aware of these alleged “non‑traditional methods.”

Thus, while the court concedes that teaching methods “in another case” might fall within the ambit of protected “scholarship and teaching,” it finds nothing specific enough in this complaint to support a First Amendment retaliation claim.

E. Qualified Immunity: An Unreached Issue

Qualified immunity shields government officials from liability unless they violate clearly established law. Applying Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), and Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009), the court notes this defense but declines to analyze it. Under Pearson, courts may skip the immunity prong if no constitutional violation has been plausibly alleged—a route the majority expressly takes.

V. The Partial Concurrence and Dissent: A Different View of Comparators and Plausibility

A. No “Subjective Factors” Exception to Civil Rights Law

Judge Heytens begins by criticizing the district court’s statement that because tenure decisions involve “a host of subjective factors,” it is “exceedingly difficult” for plaintiffs like Katti to show disparate treatment. He rejects any notion of a “subjective factors” or “tenure” exception to antidiscrimination statutes:

Many employment decisions, inside and outside academia, are subjective and involve multiple decisionmakers, but remain fully subject to Equal Protection and § 1981.
Courts in the Fourth Circuit have repeatedly adjudicated and, where appropriate, sustained professors’ discrimination claims (e.g., Hollis v. Morgan State University), so complexity of judgment alone cannot justify closing the courthouse door.

B. A More Lenient Standard for Comparator Allegations

The dissent’s central doctrinal disagreement concerns what a plaintiff must plead to identify a comparator at the 12(b)(6) stage:

Citing Haynes, Judge Heytens emphasizes that comparators “need not be identical” and that courts may not prematurely discard proposed comparators simply because employers claim they differ in undisclosed or unproven ways.
He invokes Nordlinger and Coleman to argue that all a plaintiff must do at this stage is “plausibly” allege similarity “in all relevant respects”—a standard met by detailed factual allegations about shared roles, supervisors, and productivity.

Applying these principles, Judge Heytens finds the Delborne comparison sufficient:

The complaint alleges that Katti and Delborne were hired for the same type of position in the same department under the same leadership (the four non‑Goodwin defendants).
It alleges Katti was a strong performer and, on the metrics provided, at least as productive a scholar as Delborne—indeed, more productive in publications, presentations, and grants.
It alleges that Delborne is white and was granted tenure, whereas Katti, who is not white, was initially denied.

From these allegations, the dissent concludes it is plausible—not proven—that Katti and Delborne were similarly situated for purposes of Equal Protection and § 1981. Discovery may reveal differences, but the complaint crosses the threshold of plausibility.

C. The Sales Associate Analogy and the Role of Alternative Explanations

Judge Heytens illustrates his point with a simple hypothetical:

A female sales associate alleges that she was denied a raise while a male colleague in the same role, with the same supervisor, received one.
She alleges she closed 100 deals while he closed only 10.

That complaint, he argues, should survive a motion to dismiss. It plausibly alleges similar roles and supervisors, plus stronger performance by the plaintiff. Alternative explanations—perhaps the male colleague landed an unusually lucrative client—are possible, but not something the court can resolve at the pleading stage.

Similarly, in Katti’s case, the court should not dismiss simply because:

Some articles may be qualitatively better than others; or
The department may have different strategic needs (e.g., chestnut tree research versus bird ecology).

Those are matters for discovery and, potentially, summary judgment or trial, not grounds to deem a comparator implausible as a matter of law.

D. Involvement of the Individual Defendants

On the personal involvement issue, Judge Heytens notes that:

The four non‑Goodwin defendants (Arden, Floyd, Gower, and Zagacki) all had leadership roles over the department and tenure process.
Given their institutional positions and the complaint’s allegations, it is at least plausible that they played roles in both Katti’s and Delborne’s tenure reviews.

He would therefore allow the individual-capacity race-discrimination claims against these four defendants to proceed, while agreeing that the case against Goodwin should be dismissed.

VI. Impact and Implications

A. Raising the Pleading Bar for Tenure Discrimination Claims

The majority opinion materially raises the practical threshold for plaintiffs challenging tenure denials on Equal Protection or § 1981 grounds in the Fourth Circuit:

Professors must provide detailed, multi-dimensional comparators, including allegations about scholarship quality, teaching effectiveness, and service—not merely numbers of publications or grants.
They must connect those comparators to the same individual defendants whose actions are being challenged, not merely to the institution at large.
Complaints relying heavily on an inference of pretext (e.g., that negative assessments are “false” or “overblown”) may be deemed speculative absent concrete indicia of racial bias.

Combined with the “obvious alternative explanation” framework, this creates a real risk that many tenure-related discrimination claims will be resolved at the Rule 12(b)(6) stage rather than after discovery.

B. Academic Freedom and “University Autonomy” as a Shield

The opinion’s robust discussion of academic freedom and university autonomy fortifies an institutional shield against intensive judicial review of tenure decisions. It frames scrutiny of tenure decisions as potentially:

Undermining faculty’s “professional judgment”;
Damaging academic freedom by creating “an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust” if committees fear litigation;
Encouraging “tenure inflation” analogous to grade inflation, as committees avoid denials that could generate lawsuits.

While the court reiterates that there is no formal “university exception” to civil rights law, the practical effect is a narrowed window for plaintiffs to overcome motions to dismiss in tenure cases.

C. Internal Policies: Recusal and Conflicts of Interest

The court’s treatment of NCSU’s conflict-of-interest policy narrows how plaintiffs can invoke internal procedural deviations:

A faculty member’s negative professional opinion of a candidate’s competence is not, by itself, a “conflict of interest” requiring recusal.
Failure to recuse under such circumstances therefore does not, without more, plausibly suggest discriminatory animus.

Plaintiffs in future cases attempting to argue that procedural irregularities are evidence of pretext will likely need:

Clearer evidence of policy violations, and
A stronger nexus between those violations and racial or other protected-class bias.

D. First Amendment Protection for Academic Methods

The decision leaves open, but does not resolve, an important question: When are teaching “methods” protected academic speech?

The court acknowledges that, in another case, teaching methods could fall within the protection for “scholarship and teaching” identified in Adams.
But it underscores that generic references to “non‑traditional methods,” without details, are insufficient to support a First Amendment claim.

Practically, faculty plaintiffs who believe they have been retaliated against for pedagogical choices will need to:

Explain the content and rationale of those methods;
Show how those methods involve expression on matters of public concern or participate in scholarly discourse; and
Tie specific adverse actions by identified officials to those methods.

E. Internal Tension in the Circuit on Comparator Pleading

The split between the majority and Judge Heytens signals a live tension in the Fourth Circuit over how stringently to enforce plausibility pleading in discrimination cases:

The majority’s approach aligns with a more demanding reading of Twombly and Iqbal, emphasizing alternative explanations and individualized defendant involvement.
The dissent’s approach is closer to a “notice‑pleading plus plausible story” model, emphasizing that factual disputes about comparators should usually be resolved after discovery rather than on the pleadings.

This tension may influence:

How district courts treat comparator allegations in early motions;
Whether future panels or an en banc court revisit the balance between deference to subjective employment decisions and access to discovery; and
How plaintiffs draft complaints to survive dismissal, particularly in academically oriented employment cases.

VII. Clarifying Complex Legal Concepts

A. “Plausibility” vs. “Possibility”

Under Twombly and Iqbal:

Possible means the allegations are consistent with a legal violation but do not meaningfully distinguish between lawful and unlawful explanations.
Plausible means the allegations make it reasonable to infer the defendant is liable, even if other lawful explanations remain possible.

The majority uses “obvious alternative explanations” to argue Katti’s allegations are merely possible, not plausible: his denial of tenure may be explained by subjective but non‑racial judgments about teaching and service.

B. “Similarly Situated” Comparators

A comparator is “similarly situated” if, for legally relevant purposes, the comparator and plaintiff stand in a comparable position:

Same or similar job duties, performance expectations, and evaluative criteria;
Same decisionmakers or decisionmaking bodies;
No obvious legally relevant differences that explain differential treatment.

In university tenure cases, “all relevant respects” may include:

Field of expertise and role type;
Record of scholarship (including quality, not just quantity);
Teaching evaluations and pedagogical contributions;
Service and collegiality; and
Timing and applicable tenure standards.

C. Academic Freedom vs. University Autonomy

The opinion invokes “academic freedom” in two related but distinct senses:

Individual academic freedom: The protection of a professor’s right to research, publish, and teach controversial ideas without state punishment (as in Keyishian and Adams).
Institutional autonomy: The right of the university as an institution to make academic judgments—such as who may teach and what scholarship merits tenure—without undue interference by courts (as in Sweezy and Ewing).

Katti primarily emphasizes the second, institutional dimension, using it to justify a restrained judicial role in reviewing tenure decisions.

D. “But‑For” Causation in § 1981

To succeed under § 1981 after Comcast, a plaintiff must show that:

Race was the determining factor—the adverse action would not have happened if the plaintiff had been of a different race; and
Other non‑racial reasons were not the true cause of the adverse action.

Merely showing mixed motives or that race could have been one contributing factor is not sufficient under the Comcast standard.

E. Conflicts of Interest vs. Bias

A conflict of interest (in the sense used by the court) generally refers to:

A situation where a decisionmaker’s loyalties are divided—e.g., financial stake in the outcome, concurrent representation of adverse parties, or close personal relationships with a party.

Mere bias or negative views about someone’s abilities, even if strongly held, do not automatically create a “conflict of interest” under typical policies. The court uses this distinction to reject Katti’s argument that Goodwin’s negative views required recusal.

F. Qualified Immunity

Qualified immunity protects government actors from civil damages unless:

They violated a constitutional or statutory right; and
The right was “clearly established” at the time, such that every reasonable official would have understood the conduct was unlawful.

Because the majority found no plausible violation at all, it did not need to address whether any right was clearly established.

VIII. Conclusion

Madhusudan Katti v. Arden is a consequential decision in the Fourth Circuit’s growing body of case law on academic employment disputes. It:

Reaffirms courts’ commitment to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, particularly in the context of tenure decisions;
Applies Twombly and Iqbal aggressively to require detailed, defendant‑specific, comparator‑driven pleadings in Equal Protection and § 1981 claims;
Clarifies that vague references to “non‑traditional teaching methods” do not, without more, suffice to allege protected First Amendment speech; and
Leaves internal tension within the circuit about the appropriate threshold for comparator allegations and the role of “subjective factors” in discrimination pleading.

For universities, the opinion strengthens defenses against early-stage litigation challenging tenure decisions and encourages careful documentation of non‑discriminatory evaluation criteria. For faculty and their counsel, it underscores the importance of crafting highly detailed complaints that:

Identify robust comparators across all relevant evaluative dimensions;
Link those comparators and the challenged decisions to the same individual officials; and
Describe concrete facts, not merely conclusions, connecting alleged misconduct to protected characteristics or speech.

The case thus marks a significant tightening of the practical pathway for tenure discrimination and retaliation suits in the Fourth Circuit, even as it leaves room, through Judge Heytens’s partial dissent, for future debate over how far plausibility pleading should go in limiting access to discovery in complex, subjective employment decisions.