Opinion ID: 1592271
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Hoefer's suit against the school board and its individual members.

Text: A. Hoefer's suit against the school board and its members on theories of fraud, promissory estoppel, and intentional interference with prospective business relations rests on the same shaky foundation as his claims against WEAIT and the union. He shifts the blame for his loss, however, from WEAIT's alleged fraud in the representation of its legal status to the school board and its members' failure to discern this legal infirmity in advance of awarding the contract to WEAIT. The same undisputed facts that defeat Hoefer's action for damages against WEAIT and the union are likewise fatal to these claims. Washington National did not rank second behind WEAIT in the bidding process; it ranked seventh. Even if WEAIT had been eliminated at the outset, a fact finder could only guess about where Washington National would have landed on the list. Having combed through all the evidence submitted in response to the defendants' motions for summary judgment, we are convinced that cost and identity of benefits were the only criteria driving the board members' decision. By this standard, Washington National could only claim sixth place. The district court correctly determined that Hoefer could not recover on these theories as a matter of law. B. Finally, Hoefer asserted his status as a taxpayer to claim $3 million in reimbursement from the individual board members for premiums illegally paid to WEAIT. Under Iowa law, a school board member or other public official may suffer personal liability for payments made under an illegal contract, but only if actuated by fraud, bad faith, or personal profit. Elview Constr. Co. v. North Scott Community School Dist., 373 N.W.2d 138, 145 (Iowa 1985). The district court ruled against Hoefer on this claim. It commended him for his vigorous and successful advocacy against WEAIT, but concluded that the record revealed no evidence which, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, would permit a rational fact finder to find that any of the individual defendants acted as a result of fraud, bad faith or a desire for personal profit. On appeal, Hoefer reasserts his claims against these individuals without a single citation to the transcript or appendix for factual support. This violation of Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 14(a)(5), (g) would alone permit us to ignore plaintiff's contentions altogether. Trachtel v. Essex Group, Inc., 452 N.W.2d 171, 174 (Iowa 1990). We have, however, read the record submitted on appeal and conclude that these school board members relied in good faith on the advice of counsel in reaching their decision to award the contract to WEAIT. No evidence to the contrary appears. As the district court wisely noted, the public must be protected from dishonest officials, but the public business could not be conducted if officials had to be infallible. The school board and its members may have erred in choosing WEAIT, but the time has come to put that decision to rest. Because of plaintiff's failure to tender proof on each of the essential elements of his theories of recovery, we affirm the district court's judgment for the defendants as a matter of law. AFFIRMED.