After losing a similar case in state court, a vocal Utah conservative is suing his former employer in federal court for alleged sexual and racial discrimination, again with the support of an advocacy group started by a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.
Goud Maragani alleges he was fired from his job as general counsel at Lucid Software because of social media posts he made opposing transgender treatment for minors and transgender women playing women’s sports.
Maragani had previously attempted to sue the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Utah in state court, alleging its leadership team pressured Lucid to fire him over his posts. That suit was dismissed last month because, the judge ruled, Equality Utah’s communication with Lucid was a protected form of expression under state law.
Lawyers for Equality Utah are seeking more than $272,000 in legal fees from Maragani for their work on the case.
In the latest lawsuit, filed Thursday, lawyers for Maragani are once again accusing Equality Utah — this time in U.S. District Court — of persuading Lucid to oust Maragani in 2023 over his political views.
“Lucid stereotyped Mr. Maragani as a gay individual and made clear to him that, because of his sexual orientation, he was not permitted to have a perspective that conflicted with Equality Utah,” the complaint alleges.
A spokesperson for the company said in a statement Friday that “Goud Maragani was terminated for performance-related issues.”
The Utah-based software company has partnered with Equality Utah for diversity training. Some of the organization’s correspondence with Lucid regarding Maragani’s remarks included concerns about the safety of a transgender employee providing that training.
Maragani, who is openly gay, has lobbed frequent barbs at Equality Utah and criticized gender-affirming care for transgender people, both from his personal social media accounts and from the Utah chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, which he led until it was disbanded by the national organization.
Maragani is being represented in the case, as he was in the prior lawsuit, by America First Legal, which was founded by Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff. The group has sued states over lenient immigration policies, sued governments and companies over diversity in hiring and education policies, and has demanded discipline of judges and lawyers.
The group threatened “legal consequences” for Utah over America First Legal‘s assertion that Utah is a “sanctuary state,” and sent a “cease and desist” letter to state Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, because the lawmaker had blocked a critic of Utah’s new state flag — created under a bill McCay sponsored — on social media. It has also demanded the state close a clinic at the University of Utah that provides gender-affirming treatment.
Maragani is seeking back pay, damages and legal costs.
Update, May 23, 3:47 p.m. • The story has been updated to include a comment from Lucid Software.
