The opinion
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
____________ United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 26-60007 September 9, 2026
____________
Lyle W. Cayce
Ehiremen Bennard Eriakha, Clerk
Plaintiff—Appellant,
versus
University of Mississippi; Yi Yang, Doctor, Chair, Department of
Pharmacy Administration; Marie Barnard, Doctor, Graduate Program
Coordinator, Pharmacy Administration; Annette Kluck, Doctor, Dean
of the Graduate School; Yinan Huang, Doctor, Faculty Member,
Defendants—Appellees.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Mississippi
USDC Nos. 3:25-CV-226, 3:25-CV-250
______________________________
Before Jones, Southwick, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
Don R. Willett, Circuit Judge:
Twin brothers Ehiremen Bennard Eriakha and Omokhodion Alfred
Eriakha were doctoral students at the University of Mississippi. Their
disagreements with faculty—over mentoring arrangements, program
requirements, and academic sanctions—eventually produced two lawsuits
raising a host of statutory, constitutional, and contractual claims. The district
court consolidated the cases and dismissed Bennard’s claims. Both brothers
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
appealed, but Alfred’s appeal was later dismissed for failure to prosecute.
Only Bennard’s remains.
Here, Bennard contends that the University and several faculty
members violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Mississippi
contract law. But even liberally construed, his allegations do not plausibly
transform these academic disputes into constitutional violations. Some
claims are also barred by state sovereign immunity, and the district court
properly declined supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining contract
claims. We largely agree with the district court’s disposition, with one mild
correction: sovereign-immunity dismissals must be without prejudice. With
that modification, we AFFIRM.
I. Background
Two complaints underlie this case. The district court consolidated
them because the brothers’ allegations substantially overlap. Only Bennard’s
claims are before us.
A. The Academic Disputes
Ehiremen Bennard Eriakha and his twin brother, Omokhodion Alfred
Eriakha (the Brothers), are Black international students who pursued
doctoral degrees at the University of Mississippi’s Department of Pharmacy
Administration. Bennard initially studied under Doctor Yinan Huang. Their
written mentorship agreement described the arrangement but did not
prohibit the Department from assigning Bennard another mentor later.
Bennard also acknowledges that his program required him to complete an
“Abilities Transcript” documenting his progress.
About a year after Bennard agreed to Huang’s mentorship, Dr. Yi
Yang—the Department Chair—informed Bennard that she would begin
serving as his co-mentor to facilitate Huang’s other professional obligations.
2
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
Each of the Department’s tenured faculty members approved the revised
mentorship arrangement. Drs. Huang and Yang invited Bennard to meet in
person regarding his Abilities Transcript, but he requested that they meet
virtually. Dissatisfied with the new mentorship structure, Bennard also
sought an explanation for the change that allegedly “over[o]de [his] right to
a safe, supportive, and non-coercive mentoring environment.” On
Bennard’s telling, meeting in person “without clear justification or mutual
agreement . . . compromis[ed] [his] psychological safety” and risked
diminishing “the openness and quality of the mentoring exchange.”
After Huang and Yang confirmed that the meeting would be in person,
Bennard refused to attend. Six days later, Bennard reiterated his concerns
about the co-mentorship structure and in-person meeting—this time,
copying Drs. Marie Barnard (the Graduate Program Coordinator) and
Annette Kluck (the Graduate School’s Dean) on his email correspondence.
In the same message, Bennard stated that he was “eager” to complete the
Abilities Transcript, but would do so only if the University provided a
“mentoring environment that is respectful, student-centered, and aligned
with institutional expectations.” Kluck replied that Bennard’s new
mentorship structure was entirely appropriate, and Barnard emphasized that
the Abilities Transcript was mandatory.
Despite those warnings, Bennard declined to complete the
Transcript. So Barnard extended Bennard’s deadline and warned that his
failure to complete the Abilities Transcript would result in a
recommendation that he be downgraded to provisional-student status.
Bennard responded with an eleven-page memorandum detailing his qualms.
Huang explained to Bennard that she was soon departing the University and
that Yang’s co-mentorship would facilitate his development during the
transitional period. Huang also reminded Bennard that he was required to
complete the Abilities Transcript. Again, Bennard replied by challenging the
3
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 4 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
“unilateral restructuring” of his mentorship agreement and declining an in-
person meeting.
A few days later, Kluck gave Bennard yet another opportunity to
complete the Abilities Transcript. She explained that “no
policies . . . prohibit program faculty from making changes to mentoring
assignments” or from requiring in-person meetings. Bennard again declined.
Barnard then recommended provisional status, and Kluck accepted that
recommendation. Provisional status made Bennard ineligible to work as a
graduate assistant the next semester. To regain full standing, he needed to
complete the Abilities Transcript, meet weekly with his thesis advisor, and
successfully complete his coursework.
Alfred encountered separate academic difficulties. After failing his
comprehensive exam, he unsuccessfully appealed his grade. Yang offered
him a retake, but Alfred said he was “not in a suitable psychological state” to
try again. Yang referred him to the University counseling center, postponed
the retake by five months, and recommended that he seek faculty feedback.
Alfred responded that he was “not in the best psychological state for
individual interactions” and asked to receive any feedback in writing. He
added that he was “unable to break the cycle of introspection and distress”
without understanding his academic shortcomings.
The dispute continued. Yang explained that meeting with faculty was
a necessary component of Alfred’s studies. Alfred then submitted a thirteen-
page memorandum criticizing the format of the exam he had failed. He
proposed that he help control the wording of each retake question, that the
exam be “pilot tested,” and that an “external, neutral observer” attend. The
Department later placed Alfred on academic probation after he disrupted
4
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
another student’s thesis presentation and, like Bennard, downgraded him to
provisional-enrollment status for failing to complete his Abilities Transcript. 1
According to the Brothers, the Defendants imposed these sanctions
because Alfred had complained about the Department’s refusal to provide
disability accommodations. They allege that the academic downgrades were
retaliation for those complaints.
The brothers soon carried those disputes from the Department to
federal court.
B. The Litigation
The Brothers, proceeding pro se, separately sued the University,
Huang, Yang, Barnard, and Kluck. 2 Their two complaints asserted claims
under the Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VI, and
the First and Fourteenth Amendments, along with breach-of-contract
claims. 3
A few weeks after filing their complaints, each Brother moved for a
preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, requesting
restoration of full academic standing during the litigation. 4 The court denied
their motions without prejudice, the Brothers renewed the motions, and the
_____________________
1
While this litigation was pending, Bennard and Alfred were further downgraded
to non-degree-seeking status after failing to satisfy the conditions for reinstatement. See
Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss., No. 3:25-cv-226, 2026 WL 50146, at *2 (N.D. Miss. Jan. 7, 2026).
2
See Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss., No. 3:25-cv-226 (Alfred); Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss.,
3:25-cv-250 (Bennard). Alfred also sued Drs. Erin Holmes, Meagen Rosenthal, and
Jennifer Simmons. See Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss., No. 3:25-cv-250, 2025 WL 2690972, at *1
(N.D. Miss. Nov. 17, 2025). None of those defendants is involved in this appeal.
3
See 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (providing a cause of action for constitutional claims).
4
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 65 (authorizing district courts to enter preliminary
injunctions and temporary restraining orders).
5
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 6 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
district court consolidated their cases. 5 The Brothers appealed to our court
for expedited relief. 6 Because the Brothers had not shown that the district
court “effectively denied” their requests for an injunction, we dismissed the
appeal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. 7
While the Brothers litigated their injunction requests, the Defendants
moved to dismiss. The district court dismissed Bennard’s claims against the
University on sovereign-immunity grounds and his remaining federal claims
under Rule 12(b)(6); it declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over
his surviving state-law contract claims. 8
Although both Brothers appealed, we dismissed Alfred’s appeal for
failure to prosecute. Bennard presses his constitutional and contractual
claims and also argues that the district court improperly resolved factual
disputes at the motion-to-dismiss stage, granted qualified immunity,
dismissed his federal claims with prejudice without leave to amend,
consolidated his case with Alfred’s, and denied his Rule 65 motions as moot.
He further alleges that the loss of his graduate assistantship jeopardizes his
F-1 status and ability to remain in the United States. He asks us to reverse,
_____________________
5
Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss., No. 3:25-cv-250, 2025 WL 3207812, at *1–3 (N.D. Miss.
Nov. 17, 2025) (consolidating cases).
6
See 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) (“[T]he courts of appeals shall have jurisdiction of
appeals from . . . [i]nterlocutory orders of the district courts . . . granting, continuing,
modifying, refusing or dissolving injunctions[.]”); Amazon.com Servs. LLC v. NLRB, 151
F.4th 221, 227 (5th Cir. 2025) (holding that “a district court’s failure to timely rule” on a
motion for injunctive relief “can amount to an ‘effective denial’” (quotation omitted)).
7
See Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss., No. 25-60708, 2025 WL 3772150, at *1 (5th Cir. Dec.
31, 2025) (per curiam).
8
See Eriakha v. Univ. of Miss., No. 3:25-cv-226, 2026 WL 50146, at *3–10 (N.D.
Miss. Jan. 7, 2026); Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), (6) (authorizing dismissal for lack of
subject-matter jurisdiction or failure to state a claim).
6
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 7 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
reinstate his injunction requests, and remand to permit an amended
complaint.
II. Standards of Review
We review dismissals under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1)
and 12(b)(6) de novo, applying the same standards that the district court
employed. 9
“When a Rule 12(b)(1) motion is filed in conjunction with other
Rule 12 motions, the court should consider the Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional
attack before addressing any attack on the merits.” 10 This rule “prevents a
court without jurisdiction from prematurely dismissing a case with
prejudice.” 11 The plaintiff bears the burden of proving that jurisdiction
exists. 12
To survive Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain “sufficient factual
matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its
face.’” 13 A plaintiff’s claims “must contain either direct allegations on every
material point necessary to sustain a recovery . . . or contain allegations from
which an inference fairly may be drawn that evidence on these material points
will be introduced at trial.” 14 Dismissal is appropriate “if the complaint lacks
_____________________
9
Ramming v. United States, 281 F.3d 158, 161 (5th Cir. 2001).
10
Id.
11
Id.
12
Id.
13
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly,
550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).
14
Campbell v. City of San Antonio, 43 F.3d 973, 975 (5th Cir. 1995) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
7
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 8 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
an allegation regarding a required element necessary to obtain relief.” 15 We
may consider “the complaint, any documents attached to the complaint, and
any documents attached to the motion to dismiss that are central to the
claim[s] and referenced [in] the complaint.” 16
We “liberally constru[e]” pro se complaints and hold them “to less
stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” 17 Even so,
“pro se plaintiffs must . . . plead factual allegations that raise the right to
relief above the speculative level.” 18
When dismissal of a pro se complaint is appropriate, “it should
generally be done without prejudice to allow the plaintiff an opportunity to
file an amended complaint.” 19 But with-prejudice dismissal of a pro se
complaint is acceptable “if the plaintiff has alleged his best case.” 20
“Because the district court is best situated to determine when plaintiffs have
had sufficient opportunity to state their best case, we review the district
court’s decision to grant a motion to dismiss with or without prejudice only
for abuse of discretion.” 21
_____________________
15
Allen v. Walmart Stores, L.L.C., 907 F.3d 170, 178 (5th Cir. 2018) (brackets
omitted) (quoting Rios v. City of Del Rio, 444 F.3d 417, 421 (5th Cir. 2006)).
16
See Lone Star Fund V (U.S.) v. Barclays Bank PLC, 594 F.3d 383, 387 (5th Cir.
2010).
17
Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quoting Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97,
106 (1976)).
18
Coleman v. United States, 912 F.3d 824, 828 (5th Cir. 2019) (quoting Chhim v.
Univ. of Tex. at Austin, 836 F.3d 467, 469 (5th Cir. 2016)).
19
Alderson v. Concordia Par. Corr. Facility, 848 F.3d 415, 423 (5th Cir. 2017) (per
curiam) (quoting Rodriguez v. United States, 66 F.3d 95, 97 (5th Cir. 1995)).
20
Bazrowx v. Scott, 136 F.3d 1053, 1054 (5th Cir. 1998) (per curiam).
21
Club Retro, L.L.C. v. Hilton, 568 F.3d 181, 215 n.34 (5th Cir. 2009).
8
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 9 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
III. Bennard Has Not Shown Reversible Error
With those standards in mind, we take Bennard’s arguments in order,
beginning with the threshold question of sovereign immunity.
A. Sovereign Immunity Bars Some Claims
Bennard’s claims against the University, his official-capacity claims
against Huang, and his state-law contract claims against the named
Defendants in their official capacities are barred.
Under the Eleventh Amendment, states are immune from being sued
in federal court by their own citizens or citizens of other states. 22 That
immunity extends to public universities, such as the University of
Mississippi, since they are “arms of the state.” 23 Because an official-capacity
claim is “a suit against the official’s office,” it is “no different from a suit
against the State itself.” 24 And federal courts lack jurisdiction over suits
against a state, state agency, or state official in his or her official capacity,
“unless that state has waived sovereign immunity from suit or Congress has
clearly abrogated it.” 25 Here, no Defendant waived sovereign immunity.
But Bennard argues that an exception to sovereign immunity allows
him to sue the Defendants in their official capacities. Under Ex parte Young,26
“a litigant may sue a state official acting in his official capacity as long as the
lawsuit seeks prospective relief to redress an ongoing violation of federal
_____________________
22
See U.S. Const. amend. XI; Lapides v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. Sys. of Ga., 535
U.S. 613, 616 (2002).
23
Daniel v. Univ. of Tex. Sw. Med. Ctr., 960 F.3d 253, 257 (5th Cir. 2020).
24
Will v. Mich. Dep’t of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989).
25
NiGen Biotech, L.L.C. v. Paxton, 804 F.3d 389, 394 (5th Cir. 2015) (quotation
omitted).
26
209 U.S. 123 (1908).
9
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 10 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
law.” 27 To invoke that exception, “a plaintiff must demonstrate that the state
officer has ‘some connection’ with the enforcement of the disputed act.” 28
The district court correctly held that the Young exception to sovereign
immunity permits Bennard’s federal official-capacity claims against Yang,
Barnard, and Kluck because those Defendants are closely connected to the
conduct Bennard challenges. Yang, Barnard, and Kluck had a hand in
Bennard’s downgrade to provisional-student status, and he alleges that the
sanction reflects an ongoing violation of his rights. But Huang neither
initiated nor ratified Bennard’s change in status. Nor could she provide
Bennard’s requested relief. Thus, sovereign immunity forecloses Bennard’s
claims against the University and Huang in her official capacity.
Importantly, however, the Young exception to sovereign immunity
does not apply to state-law claims against the state or state officials sued in
their official capacities. 29 Recognizing that rule, Bennard concedes that
“[t]he sovereign-immunity dismissal of the contract claim[s] against the
University and the official-capacity defendants is correct” because those
claims arise under Mississippi law. That concession is correct. 30
In sum, sovereign immunity precludes Bennard’s claims against the
University, his official-capacity claims against Huang, and his state-law
claims against the Defendants in their official capacities. Because those
_____________________
27
Freedom From Religion Found. v. Abbott, 955 F.3d 417, 424 (5th Cir. 2020).
28
K.P. v. LeBlanc, 627 F.3d 115, 124 (5th Cir. 2010) (quoting Young, 209 U.S. at
157).
29
Corn v. Miss. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 954 F.3d 268, 275 (5th Cir. 2020).
30
See, e.g., Doe v. Univ. of Miss., 361 F. Supp. 3d 597, 604–05 (S.D. Miss. 2019)
(applying sovereign immunity to § 1983 and contract claims against the University and its
officials).
10
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 11 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
dismissals are jurisdictional, however, they must be without prejudice. 31 That
leaves Bennard’s federal official-capacity claims against Yang, Barnard, and
Kluck; his personal-capacity constitutional claims against the faculty
defendants; and his individual-capacity contract claims.
Sovereign immunity narrows the field. The surviving federal claims
fare no better on the merits.
B. The Constitutional Claims Are Not Plausibly Alleged
Bennard fails to state a First or Fourteenth Amendment claim against
Yang, Barnard, or Kluck in their official capacities.
1. The Retaliation Claim Lacks Causation
Bennard asserts that the Defendants retaliated against him because he
challenged his change in mentorship structure and his brother complained
about the Department’s failure to accommodate his disability. Bennard
argues that the court improperly discounted both his own objections to the
revised mentorship arrangement and his theory that the Defendants
retaliated against him because of his association with Alfred.
To prove First Amendment retaliation, a plaintiff must show that his
“speech was constitutionally protected and that it was a ‘substantial’ or
‘motivating’ factor in the defendant’s decision.” 32 If the plaintiff makes this
showing, the burden shifts to the defendant to show that it would have made
the same decision even in the absence of protected speech. 33
_____________________
31
See Warnock v. Pecos Cnty., 88 F.3d 341, 343 (5th Cir. 1996).
32
Kelleher v. Flawn, 761 F.2d 1079, 1083 (5th Cir. 1985) (quoting Mt. Healthy City
Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287 (1977)).
33
Id.
11
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 12 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
We need not decide whether Bennard’s objections to the revised
mentorship arrangement were constitutionally protected. Even assuming
they were, his retaliation theory fails on causation. His own objections cannot
explain the co-mentorship decision: Yang was assigned as co-mentor before
Bennard objected to that arrangement. And to the extent Bennard challenges
the later provisional-status decision, he must plausibly allege that protected
activity was a “substantial” or “motivating” factor. 34
The same requirement governs Bennard’s alternative theory
involving Alfred. Bennard alleges that the Defendants punished him because
Alfred complained about the Department’s handling of disability
accommodations. We may assume, without deciding, that Bennard’s
relationship with his twin brother is constitutionally protected and that
retaliation for that association could support a First Amendment claim. 35 But
Bennard still must plausibly allege that the protected association was a
substantial or motivating factor in the challenged action.
He has not. Bennard points to no statement or fact connecting
Alfred’s complaints to the co-mentorship decision or the later downgrade.
And the provisional-status record points the other way: Bennard was (1)
repeatedly told the Abilities Transcript was mandatory, (2) given extra time
to complete it, (3) warned that continued refusal would lead to provisional
status, and (4) placed on provisional status only after he refused to comply.
Chronology matters, but this chronology hurts Bennard rather than helps
him.
_____________________
34
Kelleher , 761 F.2d at 1083 (quoting Mt. Healthy City Bd. of Educ., 429 U.S. at
287).
35
See Kipps v. Caillier, 205 F.3d 203, 206 (5th Cir. 2000).
12
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 13 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
* * *
Because Bennard does not plausibly allege that protected activity
caused either challenged academic decision, his retaliation claim fails. We
therefore need not decide the constitutional status of his objections to the
mentorship arrangement or his association with Alfred.
2. The Equal-Protection Claim Lacks Plausible Allegations of
Discrimination
Next, Bennard claims that the Defendants violated the Fourteenth
Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause by treating him—a Black student of
African national origin—worse than similarly situated students outside his
protected classes. 36 The district court dismissed the claim because Bennard
failed to “allege that any non-Black or non-African student who refused to
complete the Abilities Transcript was treated differently than himself.” 37
Bennard responds that “the court looked for the wrong comparison,” and
should have focused on whether other doctoral students’ mentoring
assignments were altered.
The Equal Protection Clause requires states to treat similarly situated
persons alike. 38 A plaintiff “must show that two or more classifications of
similarly situated persons were treated differently.” 39 But the ultimate
question here is discriminatory purpose. Bennard must plead facts
supporting a plausible inference that the challenged decisions evince
_____________________
36
See Abdallah v. Mesa Air Grp., 83 F.4th 1006, 1014 (5th Cir. 2023) (recognizing
national origin and race as protected classifications).
37
See Eriakha, 2026 WL 50146, at *8.
38
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 216 (1982).
39
Gallegos-Hernandez v. United States, 688 F.3d 190, 195 (5th Cir. 2012).
13
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 14 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
“purposeful discrimination.” 40 Discriminatory purpose means that the
decisionmaker selected a course of action at least partly to cause an adverse
effect on an identifiable group. 41
Bennard pleads no such facts. As the district court noted, he “points
to no specific person in similar circumstances . . . who was treated
differently.” 42 Nor does he identify any discriminatory statement, policy,
pattern, or other circumstance tying the challenged decisions to race or
national origin. His cohort chart, moreover, was not referenced in, attached
to, or central to the complaint and therefore is not properly considered at this
stage. 43 Even if it were, the chart shows only that Bennard was the sole
member of his cohort with two mentors; it identifies no student in materially
similar circumstances who received more favorable treatment.
* * *
What’s missing is any fact linking Bennard’s race or national origin to
the academic decisions he challenges. He points to no similarly situated
student who was treated better, and to no statement, policy, pattern, or other
circumstance suggesting discriminatory purpose. At most, he alleges
different treatment. He does not allege plausible discrimination. 44
_____________________
40
Edwards v. Johnson, 209 F.3d 772, 780 (5th Cir. 2000).
41
See id. (citing Lavernia v. Lynaugh, 845 F.2d 493, 496 (5th Cir. 1988)).
42
Eriakha, 2026 WL 50146, at *8.
43
See Lone Star Fund, 594 F.3d at 387 (“The court’s review is limited to the
complaint, any documents attached to the complaint, and any documents attached to the
motion to dismiss that are central to the claim and referenced by the complaint.”).
44
See, e.g., Rountree v. Dyson, 892 F.3d 681, 685 (5th Cir. 2018) (affirming Rule
12(b)(6) dismissal of equal-protection claims where plaintiff’s “complaint generally alleges
that other similarly situated individuals were treated differently, but . . . points to no
specific person or persons and provides no specifics as to their violations”).
14
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 15 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
That leaves due process. We can assume a protected interest and
resolve the claim on a narrower ground: Bennard received all the process the
Constitution requires.
3. The Due-Process Claim Falls Short Even Assuming a Protected
Interest
Bennard claims that the Defendants violated his procedural and
substantive due-process rights by placing him on provisional status and
refusing to renew his research assistantship without adequate notice or
review. Bennard asserts that the district court erred by analyzing his
downgrade to provisional status and loss of employment jointly, instead of
separately. We find no error.
We need not decide whether Bennard possessed a protected property
or liberty interest in continued graduate study. The Supreme Court and this
court have repeatedly assumed such an interest without deciding the
question. 45 We do the same here. Even assuming Bennard had a protected
interest, his due-process claim fails.
What process is due depends on the kind of university decision at
issue. Disciplinary sanctions punish misconduct. Academic decisions judge
whether a student has met the institution’s academic standards. The latter
receive “far less stringent procedural requirements” because courts are
particularly ill-equipped to second-guess academic judgments. For an
academic decision, due process requires that the student be informed of the
_____________________
45
See Gilani v. UTSW Med. Ctr., No. 25-10451, slip op. at 5 (5th Cir. Jan. 30, 2026)
(per curiam) (unpublished) (assuming without deciding a liberty or property interest in
continuing medical education); Bd. of Curators of Univ. of Mo. v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78, 84–
85 (1978) (same).
15
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 16 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
faculty’s dissatisfaction and the danger it poses to continued enrollment, and
that the ultimate decision be careful and deliberate. 46
Bennard’s allegations describe just that. His provisional status
followed his failure to complete the Abilities Transcript, a program
requirement. Faculty told Bennard several times that the Transcript was
required. They extended his deadline, warned him that continued refusal
would lead to provisional status, considered his lengthy responses, and gave
him a clear path back to full standing. That was enough.
His research-assistantship theory fares no better. Property interests in
public employment arise from state law. 47 Bennard points to no statute,
contract, rule, or other source giving him a right to renewal after his
assistantship expired. And Mississippi law is clear that “non-tenured
employees do not have a legitimate expectation of continued
employment.” 48 With no entitlement to renewal, there was no property
interest for due process to protect.
Nor do the alleged immigration consequences change the analysis.
Whatever effect the loss of the assistantship may have had on Bennard’s F-
1 status, it did not create a property interest in an academic status or
University appointment that state law did not otherwise provide. Put simply,
_____________________
46
Gilani, No. 25-10451, slip op. at 5–6 (explaining that academic decisions receive
“far less stringent procedural requirements” and require notice of faculty dissatisfaction
and a “careful and deliberate” ultimate decision) (quoting Horowitz, 435 U.S. at 86, 90).
47
Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 344 (1976).
48
Klingler v. Univ. of S. Miss., USM, 612 F. App’x 222, 227 (5th Cir. 2015); see also
Miss. Code § 37-101-15(f) (providing that Mississippi’s educational board “shall have
the power and authority . . . to contract” with university employees and “terminate any
such contract at any time for malfeasance, inefficiency, or contumacious conduct”).
16
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 17 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
aliens residing in the United States on a visa do not have a constitutionally
protected property right to remain in the country. 49
Bennard’s substantive-due-process theory fares no better. Even
assuming a protected interest, judicial review of a genuinely academic
decision is narrow: the decision must represent “such a substantial departure
from accepted academic norms as to demonstrate that the person or
committee responsible did not actually exercise professional judgment.” 50
Nothing pleaded approaches that demanding standard. The Department tied
Bennard’s provisional status to a program requirement, repeatedly explained
what compliance required, and provided a defined path back to full standing.
* * *
For these reasons, Bennard has not plausibly alleged a constitutional
violation, and his personal-capacity claims against the faculty defendants
therefore fail on the merits.
_____________________
49
See United States ex rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 542 (1950) (“[A]n
alien who seeks admission to this country may not do so under any claim of right. . . . Such
privilege is granted to an alien only upon such terms as the United States shall prescribe. It
must be exercised in accordance with the procedure which the United States provides.”);
Azizi v. Thornburgh, 908 F.2d 1130, 1134 (2d Cir. 1990) (“the [plaintiffs] cannot succeed
on their due process challenge, because they do not have an inherent property right in an
immigrant visa”); Smirnov v. Clinton, 806 F. Supp. 2d 1, 12 (D.D.C. 2011) (“Courts have
determined that there is no property right in an immigrant visa.”).
50
Regents of Univ. of Mich. v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214, 225 (1985).
17
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 18 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
C. Qualified Immunity Independently Bars the Personal-Capacity
Claims
Qualified immunity supplies an independent ground for dismissal. 51
Public-university officials sued in their individual capacities are protected
from suit “unless their conduct violates a clearly established right.” 52 When
a defendant “pleads qualified immunity and shows he is a governmental
official whose position involves the exercise of discretion,” the burden shifts
to the plaintiff “to rebut this defense by establishing that the official’s
allegedly wrongful conduct violated clearly established law.” 53
A right is clearly established only when the constitutional question is
“beyond debate.” 54 A plaintiff may make that showing in one of three ways:
controlling authority involving sufficiently similar circumstances, a robust
consensus of persuasive authority, or the rare obvious case in which
unlawfulness is apparent despite the absence of factually similar precedent. 55
Bennard identifies no such authority. The cases he cites state general
constitutional principles in materially different settings. None of them
involves anything close to what happened here: (1) changing a graduate
student’s mentoring arrangement, (2) insisting that he complete a mandatory
_____________________
51
See Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166–67 (1985) (holding that qualified
immunity is an available defense for personal-capacity defendants but not official-capacity
defendants); Stallworth v. Slaughter, 436 F. App’x 337, 340 (5th Cir. 2011) (similar).
52
DePree v. Saunders, 588 F.3d 282, 287 (5th Cir. 2009) (quoting Mace v. City of
Palestine, 333 F.3d 621, 623 (5th Cir. 2003)).
53
Pierce v. Smith, 117 F.3d 866, 871–72 (5th Cir. 1997) (quoting Salas v.
Carpenter, 980 F.2d 299, 306 (5th Cir. 1992)).
54
Kisela v. Hughes, 584 U.S. 100, 104 (2018) (quotation omitted).
55
Dilworth v. Tucker, No. 25-60414, slip op. at 4–5 (5th Cir. July 1, 2026)
(published) (identifying the three routes to clearly established law).
18
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 19 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
progress assessment, and (3) imposing academic consequences when he
refused. Nor is this a case in which unlawfulness would have been obvious
even without closely analogous precedent. The faculty defendants are
therefore independently entitled to qualified immunity.
Bennard’s personal-capacity constitutional claims fail on the merits
and, independently, on qualified-immunity grounds. And with every federal
claim now out of the case, only Bennard’s individual-capacity contract claims
remain.
D. The District Court Properly Declined Supplemental Jurisdiction
Over the Remaining Contract Claims
The district court acted within its discretion in declining
supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining individual-capacity contract
claims. Our “general rule is to dismiss state claims when the federal claims
to which they are pendent are dismissed.” 56 The district court followed that
rule and dismissed the individual-capacity contract claims without prejudice.
We see no abuse of discretion.
That disposes of the substantive claims. Two case-management
objections remain.
E. Consolidation Was Proper, and the Rule 65 Motions Became Moot
Bennard claims that the court erred in consolidating his action with
Alfred’s and denying his injunction motions as moot upon dismissing the
action. Neither claim supports reversal.
Bennard maintains that consolidation prejudiced him because it
minimized “the emergency posture of his case,” and “diminish[ed] the
urgency and independence of the relief he had sought.” He concedes that
_____________________
56
Parker & Parsley Petroleum Co. v. Dresser Indus., 972 F.2d 580, 585 (5th Cir. 1992).
19
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 20 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
“[c]onsolidation is not the principal basis on which reversal is sought,” but
says it helps explain the district court’s asserted errors. He cites no law
indicating that the court erred, and we find no error.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a), district courts may
consolidate actions that involve common questions of law or fact. Our court
urges district judges “to make good use of Rule 42(a) in order to expedite
trial and eliminate unnecessary repetition and confusion,” even when a party
opposes consolidation. 57 As we have clarified, “[f]ederal district courts have
very broad discretion in deciding whether or not to consolidate.” 58 We
accordingly review decisions relating to case management for abuse of
discretion. 59
The district court did not abuse its broad discretion in consolidating
Bennard’s and Alfred’s cases. The actions were filed in the same court, arose
from overlapping facts, asserted similar claims against many of the same
defendants, and generated similar motions. Consolidation reduced
duplication without changing the legal standards governing either brother’s
claims.
Consolidation is one matter; preliminary relief is another. But the
latter necessarily fell with the underlying claims. The court denied Bennard’s
Rule 65 requests as moot only after dismissing the underlying action. Once
_____________________
57
See In re Air Crash Disaster at Fla. Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972, 549 F.2d 1006,
1013 (5th Cir. 1977) (citation modified) (quoting Gentry v. Smith, 487 F.2d 571, 581 (5th
Cir. 1973)).
58
Frazier v. Garrison I.S.D., 980 F.2d 1514, 1532 (5th Cir. 1993).
59
Ctr. for Biological Diversity, Inc. v. BP Am. Prod. Co., 704 F.3d 413, 432 (5th Cir.
2013).
20
Case: 26-60007 Document: 81-1 Page: 21 Date Filed: 09/09/2026
No. 26-60007
no merits claim remained pending, those requests no longer presented a live
controversy. 60
IV. The Judgment Requires One Jurisdictional
Correction
That leaves one loose end—not whether Bennard’s claims fail, but
how some of them must be dismissed. The district court dismissed Bennard’s
federal claims against the University and Huang in her official capacity, as
well as his state-law official-capacity claims, with prejudice. But sovereign-
immunity dismissals are jurisdictional and therefore must be without
prejudice. 61 We MODIFY the judgment accordingly.
The rest of the judgment stands. Bennard has not plausibly alleged a
First or Fourteenth Amendment violation; the faculty defendants are
independently entitled to qualified immunity; and the district court acted
within its discretion in declining supplemental jurisdiction, consolidating the
related cases, and dismissing the preliminary-relief motions as moot. Nor did
it abuse its discretion by dismissing the remaining federal claims with
prejudice: Bennard never sought leave to amend below and repeatedly
defended his complaint as adequate. 62
* * *
Academic disputes may carry serious consequences. But serious
consequences do not transform academic disputes into constitutional ones.
The judgment is AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.
_____________________
60
See Koppula v. Jaddou, 72 F.4th 83, 84–85 (5th Cir. 2023).
61
See John Gannon, Inc. v. Tex. Dep’t of Transp., 178 F.4th 906, 912 (5th Cir. 2026)
(citation omitted).
62
Jacquez v. Procunier, 801 F.2d 789, 793 (5th Cir. 1986).
21