Taylor v. the Marshall

TAGGART, J.

This is a petition for a writ of mandate to compel defendants to reinstate plaintiff in the positions of principal of the high school and supervising principal of the grammar and primary schools of the city of Monrovia, from which he was dismissed by them, as trustees of that school district, without a regular hearing. The superior court gave judgment for defendants and denied the writ, and plaintiff appeals from the judgment and from an order denying his motion to vacate the judgment. The order mentioned not '. ?ing appealable, the case is before us on the appeal from the judgment.

The trial court finds that plaintiff was employed by defendants on July 7, 1906, to fill the positions mentioned, for the ensuing year ending June 30, 1907. That he entered upon the discharge of the duties of these positions and continued to perform them until March 2, 1907, on which date

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he was discharged by defendants for alleged incompetence, unfitness and misconduct. No charges were ever preferred against him in writing and no formal or any other hearing was given him by defendants on the said charges of delinquency. On February 2, 1907, however, said trustees in meeting assembled advised the plaintiff and discussed with him the unsatisfactory and demoralized condition of the schools under his supervision. He admitted that such condition existed and requested time in which to correct the disorder and rectify the matters wherein the performance of his duties was unsatisfactory, and was given until February 28, 1907, to do so. He failed to maké the corrections before that time, and on that date the defendants demanded that he resign on or before March 2, 1907. This he refused to do, and on the last-mentioned day defendants, sitting as a board ' of trustees, declared the positions occupied by plaintiff vacant. On March 5, 1907, plaintiff appealed to the county superintendent of Los Angeles county for reinstatement, under section 1698 of the Political Code, and after a trial regularly had, at which plaintiff was represented by counsel and presented evidence upon his own behalf, the county superintendent sustained the action of defendants in dismissing the plaintiff.

Plaintiff’s application for the writ is based upon the contention that neither of the positions occupied by him in the Monrovia schools was that of a mere employee, but that such positions conferred upon him a right or office which he was ■entitled to use or enjoy, and that he had been unlawfully precluded from such enjoyment by the defendants. (Code Civ. Proc., see. 1085.) He has exhaustively presented the matter upon the authority of a number of English cases which sustain his view that a school teacher discharged without a hearing will be restored by the courts, and that the proper method of securing this result is by