Foxboro Harness, Inc. v. Massachusetts State Racing Commission

3 Mass. L. Rptr. 523
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedApril 7, 1995
StatusPublished

This text of 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 523 (Foxboro Harness, Inc. v. Massachusetts State Racing Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foxboro Harness, Inc. v. Massachusetts State Racing Commission, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 523 (Mass. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

Lauriat, J.

The plaintiff, Foxboro Harness, Inc. (“Foxboro”), has appealed, pursuant to G.L.c. 30A, §14, from a decision of the defendant, Massachusetts State Racing Commission (“the Commission”), determining that Foxboro arbitrarily excluded the horses of a licensed trainer Robert Beauregard (“Beauregard”) from races at its racetrack, and directing Foxboro to accept Beauregard’s entries.1 For the reasons which follow, the Commission’s decision is affirmed.

BACKGROUND

Foxboro conducts harness horse racing at Foxboro Park pursuant to a license issued by the Commission. (R. II, 2-3.) Beauregard has been licensed by the Commission as a trainer of harness horses from 1983 to the present.2 Id. at 3. Throughout the 1992 racing season, Beauregard raced horses at Foxboro. (R. II, 5.) At the invitation of Larry Miller (“Miller”), the Foxboro Racing Secretary, Beauregard returned to Foxboro and raced horses from May through September 1993. (R. I, 65.)

On April 26, 1994, Miller advised Beauregard that Foxboro was accepting Beauregard’s entries for upcoming races in Foxboro. (R. I, 82.) On April 27, 1994, an affidavit executed by Beauregard was introduced at a deposition in a civil lawsuit involving Foxboro. Id. at 82-83. Foxboro representatives were present at the deposition. Id. at 839 (R. II- 4.)

On April 28, 1994, Miller informed Beauregard that Foxboro was not accepting his entries as a result of a “management” decision. (R. II, 4.) On May 9, 1994, Beauregard sent a letter to the Commission in which he claimed that the Foxboro management’s decision not to accept his entries was based solely on the fact that he had provided a statement in a civil lawsuit involving Foxboro. (R. Ill, 15-17.) By letter dated May 20, 1994, the Commission notified Beauregard and Foxboro management that it had scheduled a hearing on Beauregard’s complaint for June 8, 1994. (R. Ill, 14.)

At the hearing, Richard P. Dalton (“Dalton”), President ofFoxboro, testified that he, rather than Miller, had made the decision not to do business with Beauregard.3 Dalton denied any knowledge of Beauregard’s affidavit at the time he made his decision to reject Beauregard’s entries. (R. 1,20-21, 39-40.) Dalton testified that he rendered his decision, at least in part, on Beauregard’s United States Trotting Association (“USTA”) record. (1,18-19.) However, Dalton testified that he could not recall the nature of the violations on the USTA record, although he allegedly reviewed the USTA record three weeks prior to the hearing. (R. I, 25.)

In fact, Beauregard’s USTA record contained five violations. (R. Ill, 19-20). After being refreshed as to the nature of the violations, Dalton conceded that three of the infractions4 did not threaten the integrity of racing or the reputation ofFoxboro. (R. I, 44-45.) Beauregard’s other infractions were for racing a horse without Phenylbutazone and a violation involving a medication procedure. (R. II, 19.) Beauregard testified that the former violation resulted from a failure to file the proper paperwork. (R. I, 59.) Dalton admitted that he did not know the nature of the latter violation. (R. I, 47.)

Dalton testified that he placed more emphasis on Beauregard’s reputation than upon his USTA record. (R. I, 38.) Dalton testified that several persons had informed him that one of Beauregare’s horses had broken loose from a stall “with an extension cord taped to its neck.” (R. I, 25-26.) Dalton inferred that Beauregard was “prodding” the horse. (R. Ill, 26, 28.) Dalton, however, could not recall the names of any persons who related this story to him, when he learned of it, or when or where it allegedly occurred. (R. I, 26, 35, 52.) Beauregard denied knowledge of or involvement in the alleged incident. (R. I, 60-61.)

Counsel for Foxboro further suggested that Foxboro acted out of concern that Beauregard was involved with illegal hypodermic needles. (R. I, 90.) Foxboro, however, presented no evidence on this point and Beauregard denied any involvement with such needles. (R. I, 61, 86.)

After the hearing, the Commission found that: (1) Foxboro did not substantiate its allegation that Beauregard was involved in the alleged extension cord incident (R. II, 6); (2) Foxboro had produced no evidence that anyone actually had a negative perception of Beauregard, id.; (3) Beauregard’s record was “unremarkable” and contained only “minor violations”; and (4) Foxboro had produced no evidence to support the allegation that Beauregard was involved with hypodermic needles (R. II, 6). Accordingly, the Commission [524]*524concluded that Foxboro’s decision to refuse Beauregard’s entries was “arbitrary and capricious” and not an exercise of “reasonable business judgment.” (R. II, 9.) Foxboro now contends that the Commission applied an erroneous standard in its review of Foxboro’s decision and that the Commission’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence.5

DISCUSSION

The party appealing an administrative decision bears the burden of demonstrating the decision’s invalidity. Merisme v. Board of Appeals on Motor Vehicle Liab. Policies & Bds., 27 Mass.App.Ct. 470, 474 (1989); Faith Assembly of God v. State Bldg. Code Comm’n, 11 Mass.App.Ct. 333, 334 (1981), citing Almeida Bus Lines, Inc. v. Department of Pub. Utils., 348 Mass. 331, 342 (1965). In reviewing the agency decision, the court is required to give due weight to the agency’s experience, technical competence, specialized knowledge, and the discretionary authority conferred upon it by statute. Flint v. Commissioner of Pub. Welfare, 412 Mass. 416,420 (1992); Seagram Distillers Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm’n, 401 Mass. 713, 721 (1988); Quincy Hosp. v. Labor Relations Comm’n, 400 Mass. 745, 748-49 (1987). A court may not dispute an administrative agency’s choice between two conflicting views, even though the court would justifiably have made a different choice had the matter come before it de novo. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Wellesley v. Housing Appeals Comm'n, 385 Mass. 651, 657 (1982).

Foxboro contends that the Commission erroneously applied an arbitrariness standard in reviewing Foxboro’s decision to exclude Beauregard’s entries. Both parties agree that Catrone v. State Racing Commission, 17 Mass.App.Ct. 484 (1984), is the controlling Massachusetts case in this area.

In Catrone, the Appeals Court acknowledged that “Massachusetts decisions as yet have not determined the extent to which a racetrack has power to exclude licensed owners and trainers.” Id. at 489. Foxboro, in its memorandum, relies on this quotation and urges the court to conclude that a racetrack has “unfettered discretion” to exclude a trainer. However, in Catrone, the Appeals Court affirmed the Commission’s exercise of jurisdiction over a racetrack’s decision to exclude a licensed trainer and the Commission’s application of an arbitrary and capricious standard. Id..at 485. The Court held that as a licensee, a racetrack “must use reasonable business judgment in its . . . operation.” Catrone, supra at 492, citing Phillips v. Youth Dev. Program, Inc., 390 Mass. 652, 656-57 (1983). Thus, contrary to Foxboro’s assertions, the Court did not purport to adopt an “unfettered discretion” standard for the Commission when reviewing the conduct of racetracks.

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Related

Catrone v. State Racing Commission
459 N.E.2d 474 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1984)
Phillips v. Youth Development Program, Inc.
459 N.E.2d 453 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1983)
Quincy City Hospital v. Labor Relations Commission
511 N.E.2d 582 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1987)
Maddocks v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board
340 N.E.2d 503 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Almeida Bus Lines, Inc. v. Department of Public Utilities
203 N.E.2d 556 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1965)
Number Three Lounge, Inc. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission
387 N.E.2d 181 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1979)
Zoning Board of Appeals v. Housing Appeals Committee
433 N.E.2d 873 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1982)
Flint v. Commissioner of Public Welfare
589 N.E.2d 1224 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1992)
Jacobson v. New York Racing Ass'n
305 N.E.2d 765 (New York Court of Appeals, 1973)
Seagram Distillers Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission
401 Mass. 713 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1988)
Merisme v. Board of Appeals on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies & Bonds
539 N.E.2d 1052 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
3 Mass. L. Rptr. 523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foxboro-harness-inc-v-massachusetts-state-racing-commission-masssuperct-1995.