Wright v. Howard University, 60 A.3d 749

Wright sued Howard University for breach of contract and implied covenant after denial of tenure in 2007.
The Faculty Handbook constitutes a contract requiring biannual evaluations and written tenure criteria; Wright alleges breaches of these duties.
Wright did not receive formal written tenure criteria or regular written evaluations during his tenure-track period.
Howard’s decision to deny tenure followed a multi-stage review: AP&T Committee, Department Chair, Dean, Provost, and President; final denial communicated November 5, 2007.
The trial court granted summary judgment: contract claim time-barred and implied-covenant claim not proven; Wright appeals; court affirms.
The court applies District of Columbia law on accrual of contract claims and deference to academic judgments in tenure decisions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the contract claim was time-barred	Wright argues accrual should be measured by discovery, delaying start of limitations	Howard contends accrual occurred when the breach happened, within 3-year period	Contract claim untimely; accrual occurred before 2007, within 3 years prior to suit filing not satisfied.
Whether Wright stated a viable implied covenant claim	Alleges bad faith and arbitrary, inconsistent treatment in tenure process	Academic judgment deference; no substantial evidence of bad faith or arbitrary decision	No adequate factual support for breach of implied covenant; decision not shown to be arbitrary or in bad faith.
Whether the discovery rule should toll the limitations period			Court need not resolve discovery rule; Wright disavows it and claim is untimely regardless.

Williams v. District of Columbia, 902 A.2d 91 (D.C.2006) (accrual and statute-of-limitations analysis in contract actions)
Brin v. S.E.W. Investors, 902 A.2d 784 (D.C.2006) ( accrual of a contract claim is a question of law)
Murray v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., 953 A.2d 308 (D.C.2008) (breach accrual generally at time of breach)
Reynolds Metals Co. v. McCrea, 99 A.2d 84 (D.C.1953) (nominal damages allow accrual and limitations begin at breach)
Tsintolas Realty Co. v. Mendez, 984 A.2d 181 (D.C.2009) (discusses breach accrual and limitations in contract context)
Allworth v. Howard Univ., 890 A.2d 194 (D.C.2006) (implied covenant in university academic decisions; deference to academic judgment)
Alden v. Georgetown Univ., 734 A.2d 1103 (D.C.1999) (implied covenant standard; requires bad faith or arbitrary conduct)
Colburn v. Trustees of Indiana Univ., 973 F.2d 581 (7th Cir.1992) (context of subjective tenure judgments in academia)
Faro v. New York Univ., 502 F.2d 1229 (2d Cir.1974) (tenure-related judgments are often non-justiciable; importance of academic discretion)
Stern v. University of Oklahoma Bd. of Regents, 841 P.2d 1168 (Okla.App.1992) (caution in judicial review of tenure decisions)
Ricks, Delaware State Coll. v. Ricks, 449 U.S. 250 (1980) (focus on discriminatory acts timing, not ultimate consequences)