Court Opinion

ID: 9738677
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:00:33.166715+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:07.882262
License: Public Domain

ERICKSTAD, Chief Justice.
This is an appeal by the plaintiff, Dennis Samuels, from the summary judgment of the McLean County District Court, entered December 28, 1979, dismissing with prejudice Samuels’ action against the defendant, White Shield Public School District No. 85 (hereinafter School District). We reverse and remand for a trial on the merits.
Samuels held a teaching position with the School District during the 1977-78 school year. Prior to April 15, 1978, Samuels received written notice of nonrenewal of his contract, and a hearing was held on April 6, 1978, which culminated with the School District confirming its decision to nonrenew Samuels’ contract. On April 27, 1978, Sam-uels sent the School District a letter stating that he accepted the offer of reemployment arising under the provisions of Section 15-47-27 N.D.C.C., and on May 10, 1978, he received a letter from the School District informing him that his contract would not be renewed for the 1978 1979 school year. On September 11, 1978, Samuels commenced an action for damages against the School District alleging that his contract had been wrongfully nonrenewed by the School District’s failure to comply with the statutory requirements for nonrenewal of a teacher’s contract. Upon motion of the School District, the district court entered a summary judgment on December 28, 1979, dismissing Samuels’ action with prejudice on the ground that Samuels had failed to request the equitable relief of reinstatement and was therefore precluded from bringing an action for damages. The district court reasoned that because Samuels failed to bring his action prior to the commencement of the school year the court could not order his reinstatement, and, as a consequence, Samuels should be precluded from bringing an action for damages.
In his appeal from the summary judgment, Samuels has raised the following issues:
(1) Whether or not the district court erred in granting a summary judgment dismissing Samuels’ action on the ground that a teacher, alleging wrongful nonrenewal of his contract, is precluded from bringing an action for damages unless he first seeks the equitable relief of reinstatement?
(2) Whether or not the district court improperly taxed certain costs against Samuels?
On more than one occasion this Court has held that there are circumstances under which a wrongfully nonrenewed teacher may be entitled to the equitable relief of mandamus compelling reinstatement of his teaching position. Baker v. Minot Public School District No. 1, 253 N.W.2d 444 (N.D.1977); Henley v. Fingal Public School District No. 54, 219 N.W.2d 106 (N.D.1974).
In Baker the school board asserted that a teacher, alleging wrongful nonrenewal, *423should only be allowed the remedy of damages and should not be allowed to seek reinstatement. This Court disagreed, concluding that under certain circumstances the teacher should not be limited to a recovery of compensatory damages but should be entitled to seek and obtain equitable relief compelling the school board to reinstate the teacher’s contract. In so concluding, this Court cited circumstances under which a teacher may be entitled to reinstatement:
“We recognize that there will be instances in which the traditional rationale supporting the refusal of courts of equity to enforce personal service contracts will exist, and the forcing of a school board to rehire a teacher or to renew the contract of a teacher would not be for the best interests of a school district; but in the instant case, where the school year has not yet commenced, where a position is open within the school board’s school system for which position a wrongfully dismissed teacher is qualified, where the school district is one that is large enough to absorb the dismissed teacher into its system without creating a disruptive situation, where there is no showing that friction exists between the wrongfully dismissed teacher and his administrators, and where the wrongfully dismissed teacher has a good record as a teacher it is proper for the district court to require a school board to offer a teaching position to the wrongfully dismissed teacher in cases in which the district court determines that it would be in the best interests of the wrongfully dismissed teacher and the school district.” 253 N.W.2d at 451-52.
This Court has also held that a wrongfully nonrenewed teacher may be entitled to compensatory damages. Selland v. Fargo Public School District No. 1, 285 N.W.2d 567 (N.D.1979); Pollock v. McKenzie County Public School District No. 1, 221 N.W.2d 521 (N.D.1974).
However this Court has never held that a teacher, alleging wrongful nonrenewal, must seek equitable relief of reinstatement and that his failure to do so will preclude him from receiving relief by way of damages.
In the instant case the trial court, upon construing this Court’s decision in the recent ease of Dobervich v. Central Cass Public School District No. 17, 283 N.W.2d 187 (N.D.1979), concluded that a teacher alleging wrongful nonrenewal is precluded from bringing an action for damages if the teacher has sufficient time to bring a suit in equity to compel reinstatement of his teaching contract but fails to do so. It was not our intent in Dobervich to require such a result.
In Dobervich, a teacher, alleging wrongful nonrenewal of his contract for the ensuing school year, brought an action seeking to restrain the school board from hiring another teacher to fill his position and to compel the school board to issue him a renewed contract, and, in the alternative, for damages. The teacher was awarded a jury trial, and upon the jury verdict, he was awarded a judgment for damages in the amount of $10,000.00. The school board appealed, and on appeal the issue determined by this Court was whether or not Dobervich was entitled to a jury trial. This Court, holding that Dobervich was not entitled to a jury trial, reversed the judgment and remanded for preparation of findings of fact and conclusions of law by the trial court. We determined that Dobervich was not entitled to a jury trial because the school board’s determination to nonrenew his contract was not subject to being set aside by a jury substituting its judgment for that of the board. The issue of whether or not the school board had failed to comply with Sections 15 47-38, N.D.C.C., and 15-47 -27, N.D.C.C., in nonrenewing Dober-vich’s contract presented only questions of law and of statutory interpretation for the trial court to decide. The question of whether or not a teacher, alleging wrongful nonrenewal, must seek reinstatement or else be precluded from seeking damages was not presented to this Court in Dober-vich ; thus, our opinion in that case should not be construed to foreclose a teacher’s right to bring an action for damages for *424wrongful nonrenewal in the absence of a request for reinstatement. It is our view that our law does not foreclose a teacher from so doing.
A request for summary judgment should be granted only if, after reviewing the evidence most favorably to the party against whom summary judgment is sought, it appears that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the party seeking summary judgment is entitled to it as a matter of law. Rule 56, North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure; Albers v. NoDak Racing Club, Inc., 256 N.W.2d 355 (N.D.1977). We conclude that the district court erred in its determination that Samuels was precluded from bringing an action for damages by his failure to seek the equitable relief of reinstatement. Consequently, we hold that the School District was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law and that the district court erred in granting the School District’s request for a summary judgment.
Upon remanding this case for a determination on the merits, we believe it is necessary to address the assertion made by Sam-uels on appeal that the decisions of this Court subsequent to Baker involving teacher nonrenewal actions, have left unclear which party has the burden of proof in such actions.
In Baker this Court recognized that the legislature has imposed certain procedural and substantive requirements upon a school board in nonrenewing a teacher’s contract for the ensuing school year. Pursuant to Section 15-47-38(5), N.D.C.C., a teacher is entitled to written notice of the contemplated nonrenewal, of the reasons for such nonrenewal, and of the time and place at which a special school board meeting will be held for discussion of and action upon the contemplated nonre-newal. Although both the teacher and the school board “may” produce witnesses to confirm or refute the reasons given for nonrenewal, this Court held in Rolland v. Grand Forks Public School District No. 1, 279 N.W.2d 889 (N.D.1979), that the legislature intentionally avoided placing an evi-dentiary burden of proof upon the school board to prove justification for its contemplated nonrenewal. At the close of the special school board meeting, if the school board decides to follow through with its contemplated nonrenewal it must “confirm” its decision by a vote to nonrenew. Rolland v. Grand Forks Public School District No. 1, 279 N.W.2d at 893. However, the school board need not introduce testimony or other evidence in support of its decision to nonre-new because the law does not place an evidentiary burden upon the school board to justify its nonrenewal determination. Rather, the teacher, who brings an action against the school board alleging wrongful nonrenewal, has the burden in such action to prove that the nonrenewal was not accomplished in compliance with the requirements of Sections 15 - 47 -38, N.D.C.C., and 15 47- 27, N.D.C.C.
As this Court has stated in Selland v. Fargo Public School District No. 1, 285 N.W.2d 567 (N.D.1979),
“A school board’s decision not to renew a teacher’s contract is no longer a discretionary act. Rather, it is an act subject to the requirements of Section 15-47-38, N.D.C.C. Baker v. Minot Public School District No. 1, supra.” 285 N.W.2d at 574.
Among such requirements is the provision that the school board’s reasons for nonre-newal must not be “frivolous or arbitrary.” Also, the school board must be able to articulate a reason for nonrenewal which relates to the ability, competence, or qualifications of the teacher as a teacher or to the needs of the district. Rolland v. Grand Forks Public School District No. 1, 279 N.W.2d 889, 894, note 7 (N.D.1979); Dathe v. Wildrose School District No. 91, 217 N.W.2d 781 (N.D.1974).
Samuels’ assertion that the decisions following Baker, supra, do not clearly interpret the standards to be applied in teacher nonrenewal actions is simply unsupported by a fair interpretation of those decisions. If a need exists to change the requirements for nonrenewal of teachers’ contracts, such change must be made by the legislature and not this Court.
*425Samuels has also asserted that certain costs should not have been taxed against him. Although Samuels filed an objection to the clerk of court’s retaxation of costs, he failed to file a notice of appeal from the clerk’s action to the district court under Rule 54(e), N.D.R.Civ.P., or to otherwise secure, by motion under Section 28-26-16, N.D.C.C., a review in the district court of the clerk’s action in taxing costs. Under such circumstances, Samuels would not ordinarily be entitled to a review of the taxation of costs by this Court on appeal. Curns v. Martin, 193 N.W.2d 214 (N.D. 1971); Schue v. Jacoby, 162 N.W.2d 377 (N.D.1968). However, as we have set aside the judgment, the costs taxed in conjunction with that judgment must also be set aside.
For the reasons stated in this opinion, the summary judgment is reversed, the award of costs is set aside, and the case is remanded for trial on the merits.
SAND, PAULSON and VANDE WALLE, JJ., concur.