Vail v. Board of Education of Paris Union School District Number 95

A school board (defendant) recruited Jesse Vail (plaintiff), who left a 13-year home and a 10-year job for reduced pay, after raising job-security concerns and receiving the board's assurance that his two-year contract would be renewed at the end of the first year. The board fired Vail without a hearing or explanation before his contract term ended; the district court found Vail had a protected property interest in continued employment and awarded him damages, and the board appealed, arguing Vail had only a subjective expectation of continued employment and that Illinois law, not federal due process, governed.