Vanderbilt University v. DiNardo

Vanderbilt (plaintiff) hired DiNardo (defendant) as head football coach for five years under a contract stating the term was essential to program stability and requiring DiNardo to pay declining liquidated damages (equal to his remaining net salary) if he resigned to coach elsewhere during the term; the parties later signed an addendum extending the contract two years. When DiNardo left early to coach at LSU, Vanderbilt sued for the liquidated damages covering the remaining contract and addendum years; both parties moved for summary judgment, and the district court enforced both the original provision and the addendum, prompting DiNardo's appeal.