Unified School District No. 446, Independence, Kansas v. Sandoval

After being told her contract would not be renewed, teacher Sandoval's (defendant) union representative verbally negotiated a settlement with the school board, which Sandoval initially told him to accept, but the board's own policy required written resignation submissions and its meeting minutes never mentioned her resignation; the parties continued exchanging draft settlement emails afterward, and Sandoval eventually changed her mind and sought a due-process hearing instead, leading the board to adopt a non-renewal resolution while reserving rights under the alleged oral agreement, and the district sued for a declaration that a binding oral contract existed, which the trial and appeals courts upheld.