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Nowak v. St. Rita High School

Case Date: 12/31/1969
Court: Supreme Court
Docket No: 90418 Rel

Docket No. 90418-Agenda 26-May 2001.

RONALD NOWAK, Appellee, v. ST. RITA HIGH SCHOOL, 
Appellant.

Opinion filed September 20, 2001.

 

CHIEF JUSTICE HARRISON delivered the opinion of thecourt:

Plaintiff, Ronald Nowak,(1) filed this action against thedefendant, St. Rita High School, seeking recovery on the bases ofpromissory estoppel and breach of contract for defendant's allegedviolation of established salary policies and for impropertermination of plaintiff's employment contract as a tenuredteacher. Plaintiff's complaint, as amended, consisted of fourcounts. Counts I and IV alleged that defendant had breached thesalary and tenure provisions of plaintiff's written employmentcontract. Counts II and III, sounding in contract and promissoryestoppel, respectively, asserted claims for breach of an allegedpolicy whereby defendant paid a portion of the salary of a teacheron medical leave, i.e., the difference between the teacher's fullsalary and that paid to a substitute. The circuit court of CookCounty dismissed counts I and IV with prejudice and enteredsummary judgment for defendant on counts II and III. Plaintiffappealed.

The appellate court affirmed the entry of summary judgmenton counts II and III, as well as the dismissal of count I withprejudice. However, the court reversed the dismissal of count IVand remanded the cause for further proceedings thereon. No.1-99-2591 (order under Supreme Court Rule 23). We allowed thedefendant's petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill. 2d R. 315(a)), andwe now affirm the judgment of the appellate court. We set forthhereafter the facts pertinent to our disposition.

Plaintiff began teaching full time at St. Rita in 1965.Beginning in December 1990, plaintiff experienced severe healthproblems. Plaintiff was absent from St. Rita between December29, 1990, and approximately April 1, 1991, because he washospitalized for quadruple coronary by-pass surgery and asubsequent infection. Plaintiff missed the final eight days of theacademic year in May 1991 because of an infection in his right leg.As a result of these hospitalizations, plaintiff missed 65