Guidry v. East Coast Hockey League, Inc.

844 So. 2d 100, 2002 La.App. 3 Cir. 1254, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 567, 2003 WL 751410
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 5, 2003
Docket02-1254
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 844 So. 2d 100 (Guidry v. East Coast Hockey League, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Guidry v. East Coast Hockey League, Inc., 844 So. 2d 100, 2002 La.App. 3 Cir. 1254, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 567, 2003 WL 751410 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

844 So.2d 100 (2003)

Billi'Jo C. GUIDRY
v.
EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE, INC., et al.

No. 02-1254.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

March 5, 2003.
Rehearing Denied April 23, 2003.

*102 Warren D. Rush, Charles M. Rush, Rush Rush & Calogero, Lafayette, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellant Billi'Jo C. Guidry.

Leslie J. Schiff, Schiff Law Corporation, Opelousas, LA, for Defendants/Appellees Louise White C. De Castro, L. Felippe C. De Castro, & PCI, International Consultants Inc.

Henry C. Perret, Jr., Frank S. Slavich III, Perret Doise, Lafayette, LA, for Defendants/Appellees East Coast Hockey League & Richard Adams.

Charles M. Pisano, Walter C. Thompson, Jr., Barkely & Thompson, New Orleans, LA, for Defendants/Appellees Bob F. Wright & Entertainment Venture Associates L.L.C.

Court composed of SYLVIA R. COOKS, BILLIE COLOMBARO WOODARD, and BILLY HOWARD EZELL, Judges.

WOODARD, Judge.

Ms. Guidry appeals the trial court's grant of exceptions of no right of action and/or no cause of action in the Defendants' favor, as well as the trial court's protective order limiting her discovery. We find that the Defendants did not offer sufficient evidence that conclusively demonstrates that Ms. Guidry has no right of action against them. Furthermore, her petition's allegations, if true, state a cause of action. Based on the evidence in the record, we find that the trial court's grant of these exceptions was premature and that she should be permitted discovery. Therefore, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

* * * * *

Ms. Billi'Jo Guidry filed suit against East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and its President, Mr. Rick Adams; Entertainment Venture Associates (EVA) and its coowner, Mr. Bob Wright; and PCI International *103 Consultants, Inc. (PCI) and its owners, Felippe and Louise De Castro.

ECHL is a non-profit corporation that operates a hockey league, consisting of members who play ice hockey against one another. EVA is a co-owner of The Louisiana Ice Gators Hockey Team (IceGators), a member of ECHL. Its membership requires IceGators to observe ECHL's rules and regulations. Ms. Guidry alleges that all Defendants were involved in an elaborate scheme to pay certain IceGators players additional monies, exceeding the salary cap which ECHL established.

Specifically, she contends that Mr. Wright was writing checks to PCI/De Castros to be deposited in a dummy account in Miami, Florida. Subsequently, PCI/DeCastros wired the money to an account it held in Lafayette, Louisiana from which it wrote checks to the players, one of whom picked up the checks at the DeCastros' offices every 2 weeks. Ms. Guidry knows of this alleged scheme because she worked for PCI/DeCastros, and asserts that she, even, typed the envelopes for these checks. PCI/DeCastros fired her in May 2001.

She reported the violations to Mr. Adams, ECHL's President, but no fines were levied. She alleges that, under ECHL's By-Laws and rules and regulations, she is entitled to any fine levied because of her unveiling the scheme and reporting the violations. However, she maintains that no fines resulted because Mr. Adams did nothing to pursue an investigation of the claim since he is Mr. Wright's close, personal friend. Accordingly, she argues that he became a party to the conspiratory scheme by not investigating her allegations.

She also urges that ECHL rules provide escalating fines for each violation and that, based upon the number of fines previously imposed, the next fine assessed would amount to $400,000, of which she is entitled to one-half. She contends that no fine has been levied in this case, only, because of the conspiracy among the Defendants. Therefore, they have, either, violated a contract with her or tortiously interfered with a contract to which she was a party or a third-party beneficiary.

All Defendants filed exceptions of no cause of action. Additionally, all Defendants except for PCI and the DeCastros filed exceptions of no right of action. Before the trial court heard these exceptions, it gave an order regarding discovery in the case. Specifically, it ordered that responses to certain outstanding subpoenas, which Ms. Guidry had issued, be produced in camera and under seal, effectively preventing her from seeing or using them to support her allegations. It also placed limitations on the discovery she sought from PCI, and it issued a protective order that stayed all pending and future discovery, until the exceptions could be heard. Ms. Guidry alleges that the trial court abused its discretion in issuing these discovery orders and that she was prejudiced by being denied access to information that she could have used to defend the exceptions.

After a hearing, the court granted the exceptions of no cause of action and no right of action, emphasizing its finding that Ms. Guidry had no right of action. Ms. Guidry appeals, both, the issuance of the discovery orders and the grant of the Defendants' exceptions. All Appellees answer and request sanctions for a frivolous appeal.

Initially, we must decide whether the trial court was correct in granting the exceptions and, if so, whether it abused its discretion in issuing the discovery orders, in effect, preventing Ms. Guidry from fully defending the exceptions.

*104 While a right of action and a cause of action are similar concepts, each has a very different focus. The inquiry into whether a right of action exists concentrates on whether the plaintiff is the proper party to bring the suit and obtain the remedy, while the inquiry into whether a cause of action exists concerns whether the law provides any remedy for the specific injury that is alleged. Thus, while cause of action answers whether there is a remedy, right of action answers whether the particular plaintiff is the proper party to obtain the remedy. Evidence may be presented on whether a right of action exists. No evidence may be presented to aid in the inquiry of whether a cause of action exists. In the latter, we must presume that the mover's allegations are true.[1]

* * * * *

EXCEPTION OF NO RIGHT OF ACTION

Whether Ms. Guidry has a right of action is a question of law, requiring a de novo review.[2] To affirm the trial court's grant of this exception, we must find that Defendants have established that she has no interest in the subject matter of the suit or no legal capacity to proceed with it.[3]

Since the function of this exception is to terminate the suit, we should deny the exception if we can reasonably "construe the pleadings in a way that enables them to `afford litigants their day in court, to arrive at the truth, and to do substantial justice' .... so as to afford the litigant an opportunity to present his evidence."[4] Notwithstanding, defendants may present evidence to demonstrate that a plaintiff does not have a right of action.[5]

In her original petition, Ms. Guidry asserts that ECHL's By-Laws and rules and other regulations provide for one-half of any fine levied "to be paid to the `whistle-blower' who informs ECHL of a particular league salary cap violation." Her supplemental petition contains a copy of ECHL's By-Laws. We have reviewed them in their entirety and find no such provision as she alleges. In fact, the By-Laws directly contradict this assertion. The By-laws' relevant provision, Rule 9.6 E, states:

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Bluebook (online)
844 So. 2d 100, 2002 La.App. 3 Cir. 1254, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 567, 2003 WL 751410, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guidry-v-east-coast-hockey-league-inc-lactapp-2003.