United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit ____________

No. 23-10962

Summary Opinion

__________

Dedrick Henry, 

Plaintiff—Appellant, 

versus

T-Force Freight, 

Defendant—Appellee. 

______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court 

for the Northern District of Texas

USDC No. 4:23-CV-453

______________________________

Before Dennis, Wilson, and Ramirez, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

Plaintiff–Appellant Dedrick Henry brought this lawsuit against Defendant–Appellee T-Force Freight (“TForce”), asserting causes of action 

for “Slander, Harassment, Libel” after Henry was terminated from his employment with TForce. After TForce removed this case to federal court, the

district court ordered Henry to file an amended complaint complying with 

_____________________

* This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

March 19, 2024

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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No. 23-10962

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the federal and local rules. TForce later filed a motion to dismiss for failure 

to state a claim, to which Henry failed to respond. The district court granted 

TForce’s motion and dismissed Henry’s complaint with prejudice. Henry 

timely appealed. 

We review the grant of a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 12(b)(6) de novo, “accepting all well-pleaded facts as true and 

viewing those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff[].” Dorsey v. 

Portfolio Equities, Inc., 540 F.3d 333, 338 (5th Cir. 2008) (citation omitted).

“To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual 

matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its 

face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. 

Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). While we construe pro se complaints 

liberally, pro se plaintiffs must “still plead factual allegations that raise the 

right to relief above the speculative level.” Chhim v. Univ. of Tex. at Austin, 

836 F.3d 467, 469 (5th Cir. 2016). 

Here, the district court properly dismissed Henry’s complaint for 

failure to state a claim. In support of his claims, Henry alleges that TForce 

“knowing and willingly used false documents, statements and alter[ed]

documents to harass and intimidate, slander libel [and] cause emotional 

damage.” Specifically, Henry alleges that, in 2022, TForce made him take a 

random drug test and accused him of causing a “serious incident” that led to 

his termination. Without more, Henry failed to state a claim for slander or 

libel under Texas law since he did not plead that the allegedly defamatory 

statements were “published to a third person” given that, according to 

Henry’s amended complaint, the statements were contained to TForce’s 

own internal systems. Randall’s Food Markts., Inc. v. Johnson, 891 S.W.2d 

640, 646 (Tex. 1995); see also Fiber Sys. Int’l, Inc. v. Roehrs, 470 F.3d 1150, 

1161 (5th Cir. 2006). Henry’s harassment claim—whether arising under 

Title VII or the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act—similarly fails 

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because he did not allege that TForce’s behavior was motivated by Henry’s 

protected status or activity. Gardner v. CLC of Pascagoula, L.L.C., 915 F.3d 

320, 325 (5th Cir. 2019) (noting that “Title VII does not prohibit all 

harassment [rather] [i]t makes harassing conduct unlawful when it results in 

the employer ‘discriminat[ing] against any individual with respect to his 

compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of 

such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.’”) (internal 

citation removed); Gorman v. Verizon Wireless Tex., L.L.C., 753 F.3d 165, 170 

(5th Cir. 2014) (“The substantive law governing Title VII and TCHRA 

retaliation claims is identical.”).

The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

Case: 23-10962 Document: 31-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/19/2024