State Ex Rel. Black v. Board of School Commissioners

187 N.E. 392, 205 Ind. 582, 1933 Ind. LEXIS 112
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 3, 1933
DocketNo. 26,174.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 187 N.E. 392 (State Ex Rel. Black v. Board of School Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Black v. Board of School Commissioners, 187 N.E. 392, 205 Ind. 582, 1933 Ind. LEXIS 112 (Ind. 1933).

Opinion

Roll, J.

This was an action by appellant to mandate appellee to reinstate her as teacher in Indianapolis schools.

Appellant’s amended complaint was in one paragraph, to which appellee filed a demurrer. The trial court sustained the demurrer, and appellant refusing to plead further, elected to stand on her amended complaint, and the court thereupon rendered judgment for appellee. The only error assigned is the sustaining of appellee’s demurrer to appellant’s amended complaint.

The complaint alleges in substance, that the defendant is, and was at all times referred to herein, a school corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the state of Indiana, and operating the public school system in the city of Indianapolis, said county and state; that the plaintiff is now, and has been for more than eight years last past, without interruption or intermission, a teacher, in said school corporation, in the public schools of said city of Indianapolis, and that for more than three years last past has been a permanent teacher in said school corporation under and by virtue of the Teachers’ Tenure Law, Acts of 1927, Chapter 97 (§§6967.1-6967.6, Burns Supp. 1929, §§6003-6008, Baldwin’s 1934) ; and that this plaintiff, as a permanent teacher in said school corporation, is the possessor of an indefinite contract with the defendant to teach in the public schools of said city, which said indefinite contract is evidenced by a written contract fixing and regulating certain provisions for the determination of the date of the beginning and end of school terms and similar matters authorized by and in harmony with section one of the Teachers’ Tenure law.

Relatrix avers that at the end of the school year 1930-1931, her indefinite contract as a permanent *584 teacher, above referred to, by intendment of law and by virtue of the Teachers’ Tenure Law, was in full force and effect; that said indefinite contract was never succeeded by a new contract within the meaning -of the Teachers’ Tenure Law and had never been cancelled within the meaning of said law; that her said indefinite contract is now in full force and effect under said law; that on the 16th day of June, 1931, the defendant unlawfully, unreasonably, wrongfully, and arbitrarily attempted to cancel, terminate, and repudiate said indefinite contract of the relatrix by unlawfully, unreasonably, wrongfully, and arbitrarily adopting an order to the effect that its relation with the relatrix be terminated; that said order and said attempted repudiation of said indefinite contract of the relatrix were done and made without any knowledge of, or notice to the relatrix, and without any warning or intimation whatsoever, although it was the duty of said defendant not less than thirty nor more than forty days before the consideration of the attempted cancellation of said indefinite contract to notify the relatrix of the exact date, time, and place, when and where said cancellation should be considered, and to give said relatrix the opportunity, as by law required, for a hearing and to give opportunity to her to present testimony as to the proposed attempted cancellation of said indefinite contract; and the relatrix avers that there was not then and never was, any legal cause whatsoever for the attempted cancellation of said indefinite contract, as the defendant well knew, but that said action of the defendant was arbitrarily and unlawfully taken in violation of the provisions of the Teachers’ Tenure Law.

The relatrix avers that said action of the defendant, described as aforesaid, has deprived her of her right to continued employment as a permanent teacher with an indefinite contract under and by virtue of the provisions *585 of the Teachers’ Tenure Law; that as her said right to employment has been invaded by the defendant, said right being a continuing one, no adequate provision, and no sufficient relief exists or is available under the law to compensate her for the cancellation of her said indefinite contract as a permanent teacher, as above alleged; that it is the duty of the defendant to reinstate her in her right as a permanent teacher in said school corporation, but that the defendant refused so to reinstate and restore said teacher to her said right and to her teaching position in said school corporation, and defendant still fails and refuses and denies to this plaintiff the right to teach in said schools in accordance with her rights in her said indefinite contract under the Teachers’ Tenure Law.

A copy of relatrix’ contract with appellee is attached to and made a part of her amended complaint.

Appellee’s first proposition to sustain the judgment is, that relatrix does not bring herself within the provisions of §2 of the Teachers’ Tenure Act, Acts 1927, p. 259, for the reason, the complaint shows on its face that the relatrix and the appellee entered into a new contract before the beginning of the school year, September 1, 1930—June 30, 1931, and that by reason of having signed a new contract she forfeited her right as a permanent teacher with an indefinite contract, and became a permanent teacher with a definite contract. Section 2 purports to govern the procedure in cancelling the contract of a permanent teacher with an indefinite contract and not the contract of a permanent teacher with a definite contract. Appellee bases his contention on the latter part of §1 which reads as follows:

“Such an indefinite contract shall remain in force unless succeeded by a new contract signed by both parties unless it shall be cancelled as provided in §2 of this act.”

*586 Appellee argues that under this provision of the statute, relatrix’ indefinite contract was succeeded by a new contract and thereafter she was a permanent teacher with a definite contract. It is difficult to follow appellee’s argument on this point. If the new contract, herein, was as appellee contends, a definite contract of employment, fixing the beginning and ending of all contractual relation between the parties, then relatrix was not in fact, a permanent teacher. Relatrix would be in the anomalous situation of having a permanent tenure with appellee corporation but with no contract defining their respective rights. The contract, by its own terms expired at the end of the school year, June, 1931. If relatrix’ contract expired by its own limitation in June, 1931, there was no occasion for appellee to attempt to cancel the same. Relatrix would be in no better position than she was when she first began to teach for appellee corporation. Her tenure was no longer than it was the first year, as both terminated at the end of the school year. Section one of the Teachers’ Tenure Act defines a “permanent teacher” as one who has taught for the same school corporation for five (or more) successive years and who thereafter enters into a contract to teach for the same corporation for a sixth (or subsequent) year. Relatrix qualifies under this section of the act as a “permanent teacher.” The statute further provides that:

“Upon the expiration of any contract between such school corporation and a permanent teacher, such contract shall be deemed to continue in effect for an indefinite period and shall be known as an indefinite contract.

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Bluebook (online)
187 N.E. 392, 205 Ind. 582, 1933 Ind. LEXIS 112, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-black-v-board-of-school-commissioners-ind-1933.