Board of Educ. of Sussex County Vocational-Technical Sch. Dist. v. Sussex Tech. Educ. Ass'n

In Board of Educ. of Sussex County Vocational-Technical Sch. Dist. v. Sussex Tech. Educ. Ass'n, 1998 WL 157373 (Del. Ch. 1998), a case involving the arbitrability of a dispute, a Delaware court addressed the irreparable harm requirement. There, a school district received information that a teacher had engaged in sexual misconduct. After conducting an investigation, the district notified the teacher of its intent to terminate his employment. The teacher requested and received a hearing, and was later terminated. Subsequently, he sought to grieve his termination under the collective bargaining agreement covering teachers employed by the district. The district denied his request, and the teacher commenced an arbitration proceeding. The district sued to enjoin the proceeding. The Delaware court first determined that the dispute was not arbitrable. The court then determined that the requirements for injunctive relief were satisfied, explaining: "Because the Court has determined that the defendant's termination is not arbitrable, the District has established that it will succeed on the merits of its claim. The District has also shown that it would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is denied, because it would be required to devote unnecessary time and resources to contest the arbitrability of the District's decision to terminate the defendant, and because no remedy other than injunctive relief would be adequate to restore to the District its right to defend the propriety of its actions in the appellate forum mandated by the Legislature."