Probationary schoolteachers sued the New Madrid, Missouri, school district, claiming that the school district refused to give them permanent jobs because of their union organizing activity. The defendant school district claimed that each plaintiff was refused a permanent job because of inferior teaching.

During discovery, the plaintiffs asked for the personnel files of probationary teachers who had been offered permanent jobs. The school district refused to provide them, arguing that the personnel files did not indicate the union status of the teachers and therefore would not help the plaintiffs. The trial court ruled that the school district need not release the files.

On appeal, the plaintiffs argue that this hindered their ability to prove the real reasons they had been fired. How should the appeals court rule?