Attorneys for former Texas Tech U. football coach Mike Leach filed a fourth amended petition Friday claiming the former coach’s firing was predetermined and done so to help the university save money.

In the filing, six Tech officials are being sued individually for damages: Tech Chancellor Kent Hance, Board of Regents members Jerry Turner and Larry Anders, Tech President Guy Bailey, Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers and Tech Investigator Charlotte Bingham. Craig James, the father of Adam James was also named as a defendant.

One of Leach’s attorneys, Ted Liggett, said Friday that the individuals are being sued — especially Hance, Turner and Anders — because they went “beyond the scope of their job.” Liggett pointed out that it was Bailey and Myers’ responsibility to deal with the Leach situation and no one else should have been involved.

Liggett believes the filings show that Leach’s firing is derived from the contract negotiations last spring.

“We are able to do that under the law whenever and individual acts in a capacity that’s beyond their scope of employment with the university,” he said. “It allows us to seek damage against them individually. And that’s what we’ve done.”

After allegations Leach harmed Tech receiver Adam James surfaced, Liggett said Myers and Bailey were ready to reprimand Leach instead of fire him. But the filings claim that Hance, Turner and Anders wanted to use the James situation to get rid of Leach and save money.

Leach was fired on Dec. 30, 2009, three days before Tech was scheduled to play in the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl. The firing also occurred a day before Leach was supposed to be paid an $800,000 bonus.

But Tech’s attorney Dicky Grigg, said both the lawsuits and Friday’s court filing are acts Leach’s attorneys are using to deter the undisputable facts against them.

“Today’s action by Mike Leach and his attorneys is another absurd act of desperation,” he said in a statement Friday. “This is the legal strategy one deploys when the facts and the law are irrefutably against him.”

Leach’s attorneys have not deterred from the lawsuit against the university. Liggett said that lawsuit is still in effect along with Friday’s filings.

Leach’s attorneys believe the conspiracy to fire Leach has been discovered through text messages and e-mails, which Liggett said are used as exhibits in Friday’s filing.

Liggett said Adam thought his situation with Leach was funny and the Tech receiver thought “Mike shouldn’t have been fired because of that.”

One of Tech’s defenses in this case has been the sovereign immunity claim, which points out that an individual cannot sue the state,  of which Tech is a branch. But Leach’s attorneys believe the Tech administration has waived that through numerous causes, such as the Board of Regents making its own policies and procedures, therefore acting as its own legislative body.

As far as damages are concerned, Liggett said his attorneys are working on that figure daily, but it has not been determined yet.

But Liggett said on Friday that Leach’s attorneys intend to go to trial at this point.

“It seems incredulous to me and I think it has to go with what happens a lot of times in business and in life, ego and pride,” Liggett said. “… He wasn’t the good ol’ boy, button down football coach that they wanted to have for Texas Tech and they were looking for a reason to fire him.”