Former faculty member and coastal researcher Ivor van Heerden settled a lawsuit against the University out-of-court Monday, according to court records reported by The Advocate.

Jill Craft, van Heerden’s attorney, told The Advocate details of the settlement could not be discussed until the settlement is finalized. The lawsuit was slated to begin Feb. 19 and charged the wrongful termination of van Heerden’s non-tenured position by the University in 2009 after his investigation into the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The former deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center claims the University terminated him after he blamed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ work on the New Orleans levees for flooding in 80 percent of the city following the storm.

The American Association of University Professors rebuked the University in 2011 for restricting van Heerden’s academic freedom.