Barnes v. International Amateur Athletic Federation

862 F. Supp. 1537, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20329, 1994 WL 557062
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedSeptember 30, 1993
DocketCiv. A. 2:92-0603
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 862 F. Supp. 1537 (Barnes v. International Amateur Athletic Federation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barnes v. International Amateur Athletic Federation, 862 F. Supp. 1537, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20329, 1994 WL 557062 (S.D.W. Va. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

COPENHAVER, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the motion of the defendant, the International *1539 Amateur Athletic Federation, to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(5) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and on the joint motion of the defendants, The Athletics Congress of the United States of America, and the West Virginia Association of the Athletics Congress, to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

I. Procedural History

Plaintiff, Eric Randolph Barnes, the world record holder in the shot put, originally filed this action in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, on June 22, 1992, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as monetary damages, against the International Amateur Athletic Federation (hereinafter, the “IAAF”), The Athletics Congress of the United States of America (hereinafter, “TAC”), and the West Virginia Association of the Athletics Congress (hereinafter, ‘WVA/TAC”), relating to his two-year suspension from athletic competition for alleged: ly testing positive, on August 7, 1990, for methyltestosterone, a prohibited substance. Through his verified complaint in state court, Barnes sought, inter alia, the issuance of injunctive relief to prohibit his exclusion from the United States Olympic trials that were to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 26 and June 27, 1992.

Following an ex parte hearing held on June 22, 1992, the Circuit Court of Kanawha County ordered that the defendants be “temporarily, preliminarily and permanently enjoined ... from impeding or otherwise interfering with Plaintiffs participation in all international and national amateur track and field events, including, but not limited to the 1992 United States Olympic Trials and the 1992 International Olympic Games.” The circuit court further enjoined the defendants and any persons acting in concert with them from declaring the plaintiff ineligible to participate in the 1992 United States Olympic Games on the basis of failure to successfully compete in a qualifying meet, and from further threatening to suspend or contaminate any athlete who competes with the plaintiff.

Following the issuance of the ex parte injunction, TAC filed a petition for removal of the action to federal court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441 and 1446, and an emergency motion to dissolve the injunction issued by the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. Plaintiff, in turn, filed a motion to remand on the basis that WVA/TAC destroyed diversity. By order entered June 25, 1992, this court denied plaintiffs motion to remand, concluding “that there is both no real intention on the part of the plaintiff to obtain a joint judgment against WVA/TAC, and no color-able ground for so claiming.” Mem. Order of June 25,1992, at 8. By that order,- the court granted TAC’s motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order entered by the Circuit Court of Kanawha County on the basis that the plaintiff had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies as required under the Amateur Sports Act (hereinafter, the “Act”), 36 U.S.C. § 371, et seq., thereby rendering the court without subject matter jurisdiction over that aspect of the complaint relating to injunctive relief. Id. at 16.

Plaintiff alleges seven additional claims in his verified complaint for injunctive relief. In count I, he alleges a denial of contractual due process on the part of the IAAF and TAC for acting in an allegedly arbitrary and capricious manner in their application of IAAF regulations and review procedures concerning drug testing. In count II, it is alleged that the defendants have breached their contracts with him by failing to provide him with fair and equitable procedures for resolving disputes between himself and the IAAF and TAC concerning drug testing procedures, and for failing to follow their own guidelines. ' In count III, plaintiff seeks a declaration that the decisions of the IAAF and TAC regarding his ineligibility to compete be declared void. Count IV is a claim for libel and slander against the IAAF and TAC for publishing to the news media that he used an anabolic steroid, allegedly in disregard of contractual obligations owed to the plaintiff. In count V, plaintiff alleges a claim against the IAAF and TAC for intentional interference with existing and prospective business relationships. Count VI is a negligence claim against all of the defendants for breaching an unidentified duty of care. In *1540 count VII, plaintiff seeks punitive damages from the IAAF and TAC.

II. IAAF’s Motion to Dismiss

The IAAF contends that it should be dismissed from this action inasmuch as the court does not have personal jurisdiction over it. First, it contends that service of process was insufficient upon it, and second, that as an unincorporated association, it lacks the capacity to be sued under West Virginia law. The court will first turn to the insufficiency of process argument.

The IAAF argues that as an unincorporated association, 1 personal service of process upon Mr. Olían Cassell, its vice-president, in a New Orleans hotel, was insufficient to obtain personal jurisdiction upon it under any law in West Virginia. The IAAF further argues that while the plaintiff alleges that the IAAF was properly served under Rule 4(d)(8) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, 2 that rule only provides for personal service “[ujpon a foreign corporation, including a business trust, which has not qualified to do business in the State.” W.Va. R.Civ.P. 4(d)(8). The IAAF is correct on this point and plaintiff does not further contest IAAF’s position that nothing in Rule 4(d)(8) authorizes service of any type upon an unincorporated association.

The IAAF argues as well that it was not properly served under West Virginia’s long-arm statute, which expressly excludes “voluntary unincorporated associations” from the category of non-residents who are subject to long-arm jurisdiction. See W.Va.Code § 56-3-33(e)(2) (1993 Supp.). The plaintiff acknowledges the exclusion of nonresident unincorporated associations from the reach of the long-arm statute but contends that fact is irrelevant where there is an alternative basis for serving the IAAF. Plt.’s Mem. in Opp’n to IAAF’s Mot. to Dismiss at 24-25. Plaintiff now asserts that the IAAF was properly served under Rule 4(d)(9) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, which specifically provides for personal service upon unincorporated associations. Rule 4(d)(9) provides, in relevant part:

(d) Process; personal or substituted service.

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Bluebook (online)
862 F. Supp. 1537, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20329, 1994 WL 557062, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barnes-v-international-amateur-athletic-federation-wvsd-1993.