Anderson v. Regents of the University of California

554 N.W.2d 509, 203 Wis. 2d 469, 113 Educ. L. Rep. 904, 1996 Wisc. App. LEXIS 905
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedJuly 18, 1996
Docket95-0436
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 554 N.W.2d 509 (Anderson v. Regents of the University of California) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Regents of the University of California, 554 N.W.2d 509, 203 Wis. 2d 469, 113 Educ. L. Rep. 904, 1996 Wisc. App. LEXIS 905 (Wis. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinions

GARTZKE, P.J.

Stanley W. Anderson, et al.1 appeal from an order dismissing their complaint against the Board of Regents of the University of California (UCLA) for failure to state a claim. Plaintiffs were customers of tour operators and ticket agencies with whom they contracted for tour packages to the [476]*4761994 Rose Bowl game held on January 1, 1994, in Pasadena, California. The tours included tickets to the Rose Bowl game. When plaintiffs arrived at Pasadena they learned that tickets were unavailable, and they did not attend the game or they paid more than the $46 face value for tickets.

Plaintiffs allege that UCLA contracted for the plaintiffs' benefit but violated the contract, interfered with contracts the plaintiffs had with tour operators, engaged in a conspiracy, and negligently distributed its Rose Bowl allotment of tickets, to the plaintiffs' damage. We conclude that the complaint fails to state a claim against UCLA and affirm the order dismissing the complaint.

I. SUMMARY OF FACTS

The trial court summarized the factual allegations in plaintiffs' second amended complaint as follows:

The Rose Bowl is sponsored yearly by the Tournament of Roses Association ("Tournament") and features football teams from the Pacific Ten Conference ("PAC-10") collegiate athletic conference and the Big Ten Conference ("The Big Ten") collegiate conference. In 1994, the PAC-10 was represented by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) while the University of Wisconsin represented the Big Ten. UCLA is a public university of the State of California, governed by Cal. Regents.
Participation in the 1994 Rose Bowl [was] controlled by an agreement between the PAC-10, the Big Ten and the Tournament, entitled ["] PAC-10 TOURNAMENT BIG TEN ROSE BOWL AGREEMENTS'] ("the Agreement")],] which was signed by the parties on March 16, 1992. The Agreement contained several provisions governing ticket sales and [477]*477distribution between the two conferences. Paragraph 23, entitled ["] Ticket Distribution, ["] states in part:
e. Except for mutual complimentary tickets, all game tickets shall be sold at full face value to the persons to whom they are consigned. The price of such tickets shall be included in the determination of Net Income. Notwithstanding the foregoing, member institutions of the PAC-10 and/or the BIG TEN may establish lower ticket prices for bona fide members of their student bodies; provided, however, that said institution shall account for all such tickets at full face value.
Paragraph 24, entitled ["]Ticket Allocation^"] states in part:
b. In the event a Conference representative anticipates that it may have unused tickets, it may offer to sell such tickets first to the other Conference, and then to the Tournament. . . . No other party is obligated to accept such ticket. . . . The tickets may be offered for sale and sold only at the established prices thereof.
c. The parties agree not to place any excess tickets on general public sale (i.e., other than to its season ticket holders, alumni, faculty, students, and the like) without the prior consent of the [Rose Bowl Management Committee], The RBMC may, rather than allowing such public sale, [478]*478either take the tickets on consignment from the offering institution or acquire the tickets itself.
Paragraph 36 of the Agreement provides that the PAC-10, the Big Ten and the Tournament agree to indemnify each other in the event of breach. Paragraph 37 of the Agreement provides that disputes which cannot be resolved by the RBMC shall be resolved by arbitration.
It is the policy of the Tournament to prohibit resale of its tickets by its members to the general public. This policy protects the public from scalpers who sell tickets at inflated prices. The Tournament does not condone the sale of tickets at more than face value; sale to ticket brokers; nor purchase of packages that purport to include tickets to the Rose Bowl game.
UCLA was allotted 40,000 tickets while the University of Wisconsin was allotted 19,000. The full face value of these tickets was $46.00. UCLA "sold" 4,000 of its tickets to an anonymous donor on December 15,1993, after having refused to transfer part of its ticket allotment to the University of Wisconsin on December 10,1993. UCLA also sold 1,223 tickets to non-season ticket holders for face value on the condition that they would buy UCLA 1994 football season's tickets. As a consequence of these transactions, UCLA sold tickets at higher than face value.
As a result of UCLA's actions, it is alleged that a substantial number of tickets were placed in the hands of scalpers. Accordingly, the plaintiffs allege that they: (1) suffered annoyance, inconvenience, and emotional suffering; (2) were deprived of the value of their tour package by virtue of not seeing the game; and (3) paid excessive prices for their [479]*479tickets. The plaintiffs seek damages, including punitive damages, based on claims of breach of contract, conspiracy and negligence.

II. TRIAL COURT'S DECISION

UCLA moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. The trial court concluded that California law applies to plaintiffs' claim for breach of contract. Although UCLA is not a named party to the contract, the trial court concluded that it is a party to the Agreement. The court rejected the plaintiffs' claim that they were third-party beneficiaries of the Agreement, and the court therefore held they lack standing to sue for its breach. So far as is material to this appeal, the court held that the plaintiffs' conspiracy claim fails because plaintiffs did not allege or identify the person or persons with whom UCLA conspired. Because the court had already held the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on the contract, the court concluded they lacked standing to sue for intentional interference with their contract. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim for negligence because plaintiffs failed to allege that UCLA has a duty to the plaintiffs to make tickets available to their travel agents.

Having found that the complaint fails to state a claim against UCLA, the trial court granted the motion to dismiss.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint. Bartley v. Thompson, 198 Wis. 2d 323, 331, 542 N.W.2d 227, 230 (Ct. App. 1995), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 1829 (1996). [480]*480The motion raises a question of law which we review de novo. Id. We liberally construe the pleading in favor of its stating a claim, if reasonably possible. Jenkins v. Sabourin, 104 Wis. 2d 309, 313, 311 N.W.2d 600, 602 (1981). We accept as true all facts the plaintiff properly pleaded and reasonable inferences from those facts, and we will dismiss the complaint only if the plaintiff cannot recover under any circumstances. Bartley, 198 Wis. 2d at 332, 542 N.W.2d at 230. We may affirm for reasons the trial court did not consider.

IV. BREACH OF CONTRACT

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Anderson v. Regents of the University of California
554 N.W.2d 509 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
554 N.W.2d 509, 203 Wis. 2d 469, 113 Educ. L. Rep. 904, 1996 Wisc. App. LEXIS 905, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-regents-of-the-university-of-california-wisctapp-1996.