Jobson v. Pennsylvania Inter Scholastic Athletic Ass'n

18 Pa. D. & C.3d 347, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 523
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Luzerne County
DecidedJanuary 8, 1981
Docketno. 129E of 1980
StatusPublished

This text of 18 Pa. D. & C.3d 347 (Jobson v. Pennsylvania Inter Scholastic Athletic Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Luzerne County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jobson v. Pennsylvania Inter Scholastic Athletic Ass'n, 18 Pa. D. & C.3d 347, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 523 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981).

Opinion

BROMINSKI, P.J.,

This matter comes before the court upon application of Paul D. Jobson, Jr., for a mandatory prehminary injunction, requesting this court to direct the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and Lake-Lehman School District to allow him to participate in the basketball program at the Lake-Lehman School District.

The reason the district committee of the P.I.A.A. advanced for disallowing plaintiff’s participation, as above requested, is:

“The District Committee, based on the evidence presented, finds that Paul Jobson, Jr. is emancipated and has established a bona fide residence in Lake-Lehman School District. Also based on the evidence presented, the District Committee finds that his transfer was primarily motivated by athletic purposes. Upon consideration of the intent of the rule and the facts of the case, the Committee declares Paul Jobson ineligible for a period of one year.”

This matter was previously before this court wherein plaintiff sought the same relief. At that time plaintiff was disallowed participation because the district committee determined that plaintiff was not emancipated and that the transfer was primarily motivated by athletic purposes.

Defendants properly set forth in their brief the detailed criteria necessary for one to obtain a preliminary injunction:

“A Prerequisites for Issuance of a Preliminary Injunction

The essential prerequisites to the issuance of a preliminary injunction by a Pennsylvania court were set forth in detail by the Supreme Court in [349]*349Albee Homes, Inc. v. Caddie Homes, Inc., 417 Pa. 177, 181, 207 A. 2d 768 (1965):

1. That it is necessary to prevent immediate and irreparable harm which could not be compensated by damages.

2. That greater injury would result by refusing it than by granting it.

3. That it properly restores the parties to their status as it existed immediately prior to the alleged wrongful conduct.

4. That the activity sought to be restrained is actionable, and that the injunction issued is reasonably suited to abate such activity.

5. That the plaintiff’s right is clear and the wrong is manifest.”

As a prologue to the discussion of the several issues, it might be well to set forth Article VI, Section 9 of the By-Laws of the P.I.A.A., which provides:

“Purpose and Intent of Migration Rules to Control
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 1 through 8 hereof, a District Committee may, after giving notice and an opportunity to be heard to all interested parties, declare any transferring pupil ineligible for a period of time up to one year, if the Committee finds that the transfer was motivated primarily by athletic considerations or if the Committee finds that eligibility would circumvent the intent of the migration regulations, which is to prevent recruiting and transfers for athletic purposes. ”

Recognizing that there is no suggestion of recruiting violation hinted or otherwise alluded to, the issue before the court is narrowed to whether or not the transfer was effected primarily by athletic considerations and to circumvent the intent of the [350]*350migration regulations. Let us then consider the criteria set forth above that plaintiff must establish to warrant the approbation of the court. To do so we must first review the testimony of record which binds us in this matter.

At the very inception of the hearing, it was stipulated by and between counsel that plaintiff was emancipated and a bona fide resident in the Lake-Lehman School District.

The first witness to testify for plaintiff was Roger Bearde, the Assistant Athletic Director and Basketball Coach at Lake-Lehman School District, who testified that he has known of plaintiff for some six years and if he were allowed to participate in the basketball program, he would make the team. Plaintiff is college basketball scholarship material and several college basketball coaches have contacted him to indicate their interest in plaintiff for this reason and, in his opinion, that if he were allowed to play basketball, he would receive a scholarship.

Next to testify was William Lydon, Member and Vice Chairman of the District 2, P.I.A.A. Committee of which Dallas and Lake-Lehman are members, and testified that there are no specific guidelines in the constitution and bylaws of the P.I.A.A. as to what is an athletically motivated transfer, but each case is determined on its own facts.

On cross-examination he testified that the P.I.A.A. consists of 1200-1300 schools and these are broken up into 12 geographic districts. The reason for the migration rule is to place academics first and athletics of secondary importance. The reason why District 2 decided plaintiff’s transfer was athletically motivated was that plaintiff’s counsel admit[351]*351ted athletics did have an important part in it; that in February, 1980, at a meeting with a counselor at Dallas High School, there was no mention of a transfer; that when he did make the transfer, he did not consult any of the counselors or professionals at Dallas or Lake-Lehman Schools; that his early reason was that he had no respect for the coach at Dallas; that he heard of the courses at Lake-Lehman through a friend. That the hearing on the appeal from the present District 2 P.I.A.A. decision will not take place until February 14, 1981.

On re-direct examination, he testified that while Dallas had a college placement course, it did not have advanced placement courses and that plaintiff was enrolled in two of these courses and doing very well. That P.I.A.A. rules are applied uniformly except as to public and parochial schools but that a parochial migration case was never presented to the P.I.A.A Board.

Paul D. Jobson, Jr., plaintiff, testified that he is a 12th year student at Lake-Lehman High School, having transferred from Dallas High School on June 6, 1980. That he signed up for basketball in October, 1980 and has been allowed to practice with the team but can’t play because the P.I.A.A. has declared him ineligible. That he has had letters of interest from Dickinson, Brandéis, Susquehanna and King’s Colleges as to a basketball scholarship; that his transfer to Lake-Lehman was not principally motivated by athletics. That Lake-Lehman offered advance placement courses that would exempt one from taking them in one’s freshman year in college. These courses are not offered at Dallas High School; that he found out about them from a friend in May of 1980 and obtained a booklet called: “A Quest for Quality at Lake-Lehman” and [352]*352that he is presently taking two of the advanced placement courses, English and Calculus.

On cross-examination, he admitted that he did not talk with any counselors at Dallas before making the transfer and that he would have gone to Lake-Lehman even if he had not been eligible for the advanced placement courses. However, he assumed he would be accepted into these courses because he had the prerequisites.

Finally, it was stipulated that if Dr.

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Related

Dallam v. Cumberland Valley School District
391 F. Supp. 358 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 1975)
Sanders v. Louisiana High School Athletic Ass'n
242 So. 2d 19 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1970)
Albee Homes, Inc. v. Caddie Homes, Inc.
207 A.2d 768 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1965)

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Bluebook (online)
18 Pa. D. & C.3d 347, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jobson-v-pennsylvania-inter-scholastic-athletic-assn-pactcomplluzern-1981.