Indiana Ex Rel. Anderson v. Brand

303 U.S. 95 (1938)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P entered into a contract in September 1924, to teach in the township schools and, pursuant to successive contracts, taught continuously to and including the school year 1932-1933. P's contracts for the school years 1931-1932 and 1932-1933 contained this clause: 'It is further agreed by the contracting parties that all of the provisions of the Teachers' Tenure Law, approved March 8, 1927, shall be in full force and effect in this contract'; and that by force of that Act, she had a contract, indefinite in duration, which could be canceled by D only in the manner and for the causes specified in the Act. In July 1933, D notified her he proposed to cancel her contract for cause. P was permitted to teach during the school year 1933-1934 and D was presently threatening to terminate her employment at the end of that year. P sued D alleging the termination of her employment would be a breach of her contract with D. D demurred on the grounds that the Teachers' Tenure Law had been repealed in respect of teachers in township schools. The demurrer was sustained. P appealed to the State Supreme Court which affirmed the judgment. The court held that, by an Act of 1933, the Teachers' Tenure Law had been repealed with respect to teachers in township schools; and held that the repeal did not deprive the P of a vested property right and did not impair her contract within the meaning of the Constitution. P had claimed a vested property right in her indefinite contract, which may not be impaired under the Constitution. P appealed.