Taylor v. Calvary Baptist Temple

David Taylor brought suit against Calvary Baptist Temple d/b/a Calvary Baptist Day School and its principal Joe Hulsey alleging breach of his employment contract, tortious interference with business relations, and slander. His claims arise out of termination of his employment with the school. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the school. Because Taylor has failed to present evidence to support each element of his claims, we affirm. In April 2003, Taylor entered into an employment contract with Calvary for the upcoming school year as an 11th-grade English teacher. Pursuant to the contract terms requiring three weeks notice, Calvary terminated Taylor on November 25, 2003 with an effective date of December 19, 2003.

Three weeks prior to his termination, Taylor had begun the second of a multi-part series of instruction, in which the second part was an SAT review unit for 11th-grade students. After Taylor’s dismissal, several students asked him to continue teaching the course. Taylor said he would, and he began by offering a free session so that, in his own words, “they would see what it’s like to take a course outside of school.” He later emailed the students who came to the first class and told them the cost, but no one came to any subsequent classes. Taylor claims students declined to come to his class because of statements school officials made about him.