Cases—Good faith—No duty under contract that hasn’t come into existence

A university contract that must be approved by the Board of Trustees before becoming final is not a contract until that time, and there is no duty of good faith under a contract that does not exist, according the the Idaho Supreme Court.

Shirley Huyett was hired as basketball coach at Idaho State University on a one-year contract. She entered into negotiations for a three-year deal, but during that first year the university “rescinded” the three year deal and put her on administrative leave. She sued.

Idaho law requires Board of Trustees approval for any multi-year employment contract. No university officials have authority to vary that requirement, so any representations to the contrary are unenforceable. Since the board never approved the proposed agreement, it never came into effect. While the law imposes a duty of good faith in contacts in Idaho, there is no such duty for non-existent contracts, and thus the coach’s claim fails. Huyett v. Idaho State Univ., 2004 Ida. LEXIS 209 (Dec. 7, 2004).