Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission v. Moran

6 Pa. D. & C.2d 611, 1956 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 470
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedFebruary 29, 1956
Docketno. 163
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 6 Pa. D. & C.2d 611 (Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission v. Moran) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission v. Moran, 6 Pa. D. & C.2d 611, 1956 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 470 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1956).

Opinion

SOHN, J.,

We have for consideration in this case an appeal by Pete Moran from an adjudication and order of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission revoking appellant’s licenses as matchmaker and promoter.

The original citation against appellant was issued by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission on May 13, 1955, charging appellant with failing and neglecting to make known to the commission or its authorized representatives the fact that boxer Harold Johnson was unfit to proceed with a boxing match against Julio Mederos, held at Philadelphia, on May 6, 1955, and in violation of section 15 of the Act of June 14, 1923, P. L. 710, as amended, with conduct “detrimental to the interests of boxing”. Appellant was cited to appear at a hearing fixed for May 16, 1955, at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission’s office in Philadelphia, to show cause why appellant’s licenses as matchmaker and promoter should not be suspended or revoked under section 15 of the Act of June 14, 1923, P. L. 710, as amended, and in accord-, anee with the Administrative Agency Law of June 4, 1945, P. L. 1388, as amended.

On May 16, 1955, by stipulation of counsel for appellant, the original citation against appellant was orally amended to add the charge that appellant violated section 13 of the Act of June 14, 1923, P. L. 710, as amended, relating to the prohibition against having any financial interest in any boxer under certain eon[613]*613ditions, and that appellant violated section 14 of the same act relating to sham or collusive exhibitions, and further that appellant violated section 17 of the rules and regulations of the commission requiring persons who represent boxers to have managers’ licenses. On May 23, 1955, the amended citation against appellant was reduced to writing and delivered to appellant’s counsel.

The citation by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission against appellant was occasioned by the physical collapse of boxer Harold Johnson at the conclusion of the second round of his scheduled boxing match with Julio Mederos on May 6, 1955, at the Philadelphia Arena, which was promoted by Herman Taylor, trading as Herman Taylor Sports Enterprises, of Philadelphia. Appellant Moran was an employe of the Herman Taylor Sports Enterprises in the capacity of matchmaker. A series of hearings were held, commencing May 16th and ending June 7, 1955. There was a total of nine full days of hearings. Appellant, who was represented by counsel, appeared at the hearings and testified in his own behalf.

On July 6, 1955, the commission entered its adjudication and order in these proceedings. As to appellant Moran, the commission found that he was not sufficiently aware of Johnson’s condition to charge him with any culpability with respect to the charges brought against him on this count, and held that Moran owed no duty to the public, or the commission, to advise the commission of Johnson’s condition. The commission further held that appellant had not violated section 14 of the act having to do with sham or collusive exhibitions, and dismissed this charge. The commission, however, did conclude that Moran was guilty, as charged, with having violated sections 13 and 15 of the act, as well as section 17 of the rules and [614]*614regulations of the commission pertaining to boxing. The commission accordingly ordered that the matchmaker’s license and the promoter’s license issued to appellant should be revoked. This appeal then followed.

In an opinion filed in this court on February 14, 1956, in the matter of the appeal of Thomas Loughran from the adjudication and order of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission suspending his manager’s license, we held that section 15 of the Act of June 14, 1923, P. L. 710, as amended, was constitutional. Inasmuch as we have set forth in that opinion our reasons for so declaring, we will not repeat them here. We also have before us in this appeal a question concerning the constitutionality of section 13 of the aforesaid Boxing Act. This section provides:

“Section 13. Financial Interest in Boxer Prohibited. —No corporation or person shall have, either directly or indirectly, any financial interest in any boxer or wrestler competing on premises owned or leased by the corporation or person or in which such corporation or person is otherwise interested.”

The commission has found that appellant violated this section. There can be no doubt as to the meaning of “financial interest” as used here — clearly it pertains to a money interest, a financial investment or derived gain, an expectation of a money reward. Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, defines “financial” as: “Pertaining to finance . . . Financial is used of money matters in general.” We believe the words mean just what they say. The phrase “otherwise interested” clearly refers to an interest in the premises on which the boxing match takes place. The obvious intent of the legislature was to prevent any person having any financial interest in a boxer from having simultaneously any direct or indirect interest in the premises where such boxer fights. So that if appellant had a financial interest in Johnson, [615]*615as the athletic commission found, section 13 prohibits him from being the owner or lessee of the premises where Johnson boxed, or from being “otherwise interested” in such premises. This clearly would include any of appellant’s compensation from Herman Taylor Sports Enterprises, where that compensation depended upon the size of the arena and the amount of the gate receipts.

Section 15, which we have in another opinion held to be constitutional, provides that the commission may revoke or suspend any license provided for in the act, after hearing, if the commission finds that the licensee has “been guilty of an act detrimental to the interests of boxing”. Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition, defines “detrimental”- as: “Causing detriment; hurtful. Syn. — Pernicious, deleterious, harmful” ; “detriment” is defined as “Injury or damage, or that which causes it; mischief; hurt.”

The violation of section 13 of the act, as above set forth, is certainly not in the interests of boxing, and to the contrary, is detrimental to it.

Appellant has further urged upon us that the act is unconstitutional as an unauthorized delegation of legislative power. The fact is that there has been no delegation of power whatsoever. The commission did not of its own motion revoke appellant’s license without any reference to any legislative standard. What the commission did was to find, after hearing, that certain facts existed, which established that appellant was guilty of an act detrimental to the interests of boxing. There was sufficient evidence to support this particular finding. It was the act of the legislature itself which provided for the revocation of appellant’s license.

Appellant further contends that the commission had no power to revoke his license for a violation of section 13 of the act or for a violation of the rules and regu[616]*616lations of the commission. This contention is obviously immaterial as the commission did no such thing. The commission clearly had power to revoke appellant’s license for the violation of section 15 of the act, which it found had occurred. The violation of any section of the act, or of any of the rules and regulations of the commission, would manifestly be an act detrimental to the interests of boxing, for which appellant’s license could be revoked under section 15.

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Bluebook (online)
6 Pa. D. & C.2d 611, 1956 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 470, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pennsylvania-state-athletic-commission-v-moran-pactcompldauphi-1956.