Claggett v. Wake Forest University

• Decision Date: 01 July 1997
• Docket Number: No. COA96-901,COA96-901
• Citation: 126 N.C.App. 602,486 S.E.2d 443
• Parties: , 119 Ed. Law Rep. 280 E. Tylor CLAGGETT, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CFA, Plaintiff, v. WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY, Defendant.
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals

Page 443

486 S.E.2d 443

126 N.C.App. 602, 119 Ed. Law Rep. 280

E. Tylor CLAGGETT, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CFA, Plaintiff, v. WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY, Defendant.

No. COA96-901.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

July 1, 1997.

Randolph M. James and Steven S. Long, Winston-Salem, for plaintiff-appellant.

Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A. by William K. Davis and Stephen M. Russell, Winston-Salem, for defendant-appellee.

JOHN C. MARTIN, Judge.

Plaintiff brought this action after defendant University declined to grant him tenure and promotion to the position of Associate Professor of Management at defendant's Babcock Graduate School of Management (Babcock School) and declined to renew his teaching appointment. According to the allegations of the complaint, plaintiff was first employed in 1988 as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Management at the Babcock School. Beginning in 1990, he was appointed to successive two-year appointments as an Assistant Professor of Management, a tenure track position. In 1994, defendant denied plaintiff tenure and offered him a one-year terminal contract of employment, which plaintiff accepted. Dean McKinnon of the Babcock School informed plaintiff that defendant did not grant him tenure because his finance and economics colleagues did not support granting him tenure, granting him tenure would "set a dangerous precedent" for the school, and the school would "have the freedom to hire a scholar with a national reputation" if plaintiff was not granted tenure.

Plaintiff alleged:

27.... Dr. Claggett was made to understand that there were objective policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards for achieving tenure at the Babcock School; that those policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards were adhered to; that his work would be evaluated according to those policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards; that he would receive a favorable evaluation if he complied with those standards and guidelines; and that he would be granted tenure if that evaluation were favorable. He did in fact comply with those standards and guidelines, and met and exceeded all goals required for a grant of tenure.

28. Doctor Claggett was never informed, in writing or otherwise, that [defendant] considered that it could deny him tenure solely within its discretion.

Plaintiff asserted seven theories of liability against defendant: breach of employment contract, aggravated breach of employment contract, fraud in the inducement/fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contractual duty of good faith, tortious bad faith, and wrongful discharge. Plaintiff sought compensatory and punitive damages, and a declaratory judgment that he is entitled to tenure.

Attached to the complaint were nineteen exhibits including, inter alia, a 1995 draft of the "Procedural Guidelines for Faculty Evaluation, Reappointment, and Promotion/Tenure Decisions" (Guidelines) and the university-wide tenure and promotion policies (policies) entitled "Employment of Members of the Faculty of Wake Forest University," which plaintiff alleged were incorporated into his employment contract. Plaintiff's exhibit "J" entitled "Employment of Members of the Faculty of Wake Forest University," provides in pertinent part:

1. Term of Appointment.... There is no right to reappointment at the expiration of a specified [employment] term, but successive appointments may be made in accordance with University policy.

2. Tenure. The University maintains a faculty tenure policy of general application. Tenure is granted only by action of the Board of Trustees.

. . . . .

5. Policies and Procedures of General Application.... [P]olicies may be changed from time to time in accordance with the needs of the University, and the right to make such changes is reserved to the university.

Plaintiff's exhibit "M", the 1995 revision of the Guidelines, which plaintiff alleged contained no material changes from the version in place in 1988, provides in pertinent part:

4.2 It must be clearly understood by all faculty members that tenure is granted, not merely earned. Accomplishment by itself does not justify tenure. A tenure recommendation should only be made when the trade-off between flexibility of future hiring and the expectation of ongoing significant contributions to the School is in the best long-term interests of the School.

. . . . .

11.1 The probability of a favorable decision increases with higher evaluations by the tenured faculty. As noted above, however, decisions involving a tenure commitment cannot be based on an evaluation of the performance of the faculty member in isolation, but also must ultimately be directed by the likely future contributions of the faculty member relative to the longer-term needs and mission of the School.

. . . . .

25.0 For decisions involving either tenure or promotion, the opinions of outside evaluators will normally be sought. The candidate faculty member will be asked to furnish a list of individuals who could serve in this capacity,.... A similar list will be compiled by the tenured faculty.... The Chairperson of the tenured faculty and the Dean will select individuals from these lists who will be asked to provide evaluations. Normally two names will be chosen from each list.

26.0 After the dossiers have been available a sufficient time to allow review by the tenured faculty, the Chairperson of the tenured faculty will call a meeting for discussion and consideration of each candidate. After this meeting, each tenured faculty member senior in rank to the candidate will be expected to provide his/her individual recommendation to the Dean.

Before filing an answer, defendant moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) (1990). The trial court granted defendant's motion. Plaintiff appeals.

__________

All of plaintiff's assignments of error are directed to the dismissal of his complaint pursuant to G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6). The purpose of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is to test the legal sufficiency of the complaint. Harris v. NCNB, 85 N.C.App. 669, 355 S.E.2d 838 (1987). In deciding such a motion the trial court is to treat the allegations of the complaint as true. Hickman v. McKoin, 337 N.C. 460, 446 S.E.2d 80 (1994). A claim should be dismissed under this rule "if no law exists to support the claim made, if sufficient facts to make out a good claim are absent, or if facts are disclosed which will necessarily defeat the claim." Burgess v. Your House of Raleigh, Inc., 326 N.C. 205, 209, 388 S.E.2d 134, 136 (1990). A motion to dismiss in a declaratory judgment action is allowed only when the record clearly shows that there is no basis for declaratory relief, as when the complaint does not allege an actual, genuine existing controversy. Consumers Power v. Duke Power Co., 285 N.C. 434, 206 S.E.2d 178 (1974). Application of these rules to the allegations of plaintiff's complaint in this case requires that we affirm the order of the trial court.

I.

In his first ("Breach of Contract") and second ("Aggravated Breach of Contract") causes of action, plaintiff alleged that defendant denied him tenure in violation of the Guidelines and policies which were incorporated into his employment contract, and therefore, defendant's decision to deny him tenure was "arbitrary and capricious."

To state a claim for breach of contract, the complaint must allege that a valid contract existed between the parties, that defendant breached the terms thereof, the facts constituting the breach, and that damages resulted from such breach. RGK, Inc. v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 292 N.C. 668, 235 S.E.2d 234 (1977); Cantrell v. Woodhill Enterprises, Inc., 273 N.C. 490, 160 S.E.2d 476 (1968).

In the present case, the allegations of plaintiff's complaint affirmatively disclose facts establishing that defendant followed its Guidelines and policies when it considered plaintiff's application for tenure, defeating his claim for breach of contract. From the allegations of the complaint, it affirmatively appears that defendant proceeded as required by its own policies in acting upon the issue of plaintiff's tenure. Plaintiff's application for tenure was considered at an appropriate time under the Guidelines; the required documentation was accomplished and plaintiff received an "outside review" as provided by Section 25 of the Guidelines; the tenured faculty voted on the question of whether plaintiff should be granted tenure as required by Section 26 of the Guidelines, and the Board of Trustees acted upon the issue of his tenure, a decision reserved to the Board pursuant to paragraph 2 of defendant's tenure and promotion policies.

Moreover, exhibits attached to the complaint establish that defendant's Board of Trustees was permitted to consider various factors other than plaintiff's performance and the recommendation of faculty in deciding whether or not to grant tenure. Paragraph 11.1 of the Guidelines states that a decision involving tenure "cannot be based on an evaluation of the performance of the faculty member in isolation." Paragraph 4.2 of the Guidelines reserves to defendant considerable flexibility to factor into its tenure decisions the long term interests of the School, including flexibility in hiring, so that the defendant's interest in hiring a scholar with a national reputation was a legitimate consideration in its decision to grant or deny tenure to plaintiff. Thus, taking plaintiff's allegations as true and assuming that defendant's policies, procedures and Guidelines were made a part of his contract of employment, the complaint discloses on its face that defendant's decision with respect to plaintiff's application for tenure was not reached in violation of those policies, procedures and Guidelines and had a rational basis, so as not to have been arbitrary and capricious. The mere allegation that defendant failed to grant plaintiff tenure is insufficient to allege any breach by defendant of the terms of plaintiff's employment...