Opinion ID: 419201
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Property Interest in the Appointment

Text: 12 To have a property interest in a governmental benefit, including employment, an individual must have an entitlement to the benefit. Id. at 577, 92 S.Ct. at 2709. Entitlements are created by rules or understandings from independent sources, such as statutes, regulations, and ordinances, or express or implied contracts. Id.; Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972). 13 An entitlement may spring from an understanding if the understanding is mutually explicit. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. at 577, 92 S.Ct. at 2709. Orloff argues that the nature of his employment relationship with the VA and his twenty years of service created such an understanding. See Stretten v. Wadsworth Veterans Hospital, 537 F.2d at 361, 367 (9th Cir.1976). The VA argues that because Orloff worked past the initial expiration date of his appointment, October 15, 1978, any property interest in that appointment expired and Orloff had no legitimate expectation of a continued appointment sufficient to amount to a property interest. We reject this contention. Despite the apparent expiration date of Orloff's contract there may have arisen an understanding of continued employment based on prior treatment of Orloff or other VA employees sufficient to constitute a de facto property interest under Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. at 593, 92 S.Ct. at 2694. Furthermore, after the VA initially terminated Orloff on July 3, 1978, it twice postponed his termination, and the final termination occurred after the VA had extended his appointment. A property interest may have been created by: (1) the appointment initially terminated in July, despite the fact that the VA did not implement the termination decision until November; or (2) the indefinite extension of Orloff's appointment after the initial termination decision. There remain material factual disputes concerning whether a mutually explicit understanding arose. That question must be resolved by the district court on remand.