Catrone v. THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATIONS

• Decision Date: 19 December 1989
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 86-1529-C.
• Parties: Patrick CATRONE, Plaintiff, v. THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. and Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

727 F. Supp. 717

Patrick CATRONE, Plaintiff, v. THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. and Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, Inc., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 86-1529-C.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

December 19, 1989.

David Kelston, Friedman & Atherton, Boston, Mass., for plaintiff.

Michael J. Liston, Palmer & Dodge, Boston, Mass., Jack Kaplan, Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, and Elizabeth Bryson, New York City, for defendants, Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, Thoroughbred Racing Ass'n, Wickman, Berube and Graf.

Alan R. Hoffman, Lynch, Brewer, Hoffman & Sands, and Anne Hoffman, Boston, Mass., for defendants, Ogden Suffolk Downs, Inc. and New Suffolk Downs Corp.

MEMORANDUM

CAFFREY, Senior District Judge.

This case is now before the Court on a motion for summary judgment by defendants Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America, Inc. ("TRA") and Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, Inc. ("TRPB"). The plaintiff, Patrick Catrone, filed this action on May 16, 1986 and amended his complaint on January 7, 1987. Originally, Catrone named eight defendants and asserted six claims for relief.¹ Six of the defendants and four of the claims have been dismissed by this Court on motion or by agreement of the parties.² The only remaining defendants are TRA and TRPB, and the only remaining claims are state common law claims for defamation and for intentional interference with advantageous business relationships. For the reasons stated below, this Court should grant summary judgment.

I.

The relevant background for this case is extensive and detailed. In summarizing this information, we shall first discuss the TRA, the TRPB, and their practices in drafting and distributing reports in the horse racing community. Second, we shall review the facts underlying Catrone's claims for defamation and intentional interference with advantageous business relationships. Third, we shall detail the six specific statements by the TRPB which Catrone alleges are defamatory and led to interference with his business relationships.

A. The TRA, TRPB, and their Practices

The defendant TRA is a trade association of racetracks in the United States and Canada. First incorporated in 1942, the TRA is a non-profit, tax-exempt association. At present, about one-half of the racetracks in the United States and Canada belong to the TRA.

The defendant TRPB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TRA. The TRPB provides investigative and security services for TRA member tracks. The TRPB assigns field agents to each of its member tracks who supervise the security for most TRA race tracks. These TRPB agents also investigate incidents of alleged wrongdoing and rule violations at their race tracks.

In the course of their work, the TRPB agents regularly communicate information from their investigations to the TRPB central offices. The information from these field agents is filed and may be incorporated into different TRPB reports. These TRPB reports may be recirculated to the field agents at the various member tracks. Certain TRPB reports may also be sent to management at TRA tracks or state racing commissions across the country. In this action, three types of TRPB reports are at issue — special reports, summary reports, and incident reports.

Beginning in 1949, the TRPB started publishing special reports on individuals the TRPB deemed particularly inimical to the integrity of racing. These extremely detailed reports included facts observed by TRPB agents, summaries of statements by named witnesses, and documents relevant to the subject of the file. These special reports were prepared specifically for submission to state racing commissions in the event the subject of a report should make a license application. There were roughly 120 special reports prepared by the TRPB. In 1980-81, the TRPB discontinued these special reports as burdensome and repetitive of other reports.

The TRPB also compiles summary reports on individuals who were the subject of TRPB attention over a period of time. The summary reports resemble special reports in that they distill and condense facts in a complete file. But, the summary reports do not include specific notation of witnesses supporting the reports conclusions. Instead, the summary reports are a more chronological discussion of an individual's file. As such, summary reports are updated from time to time.

As noted above, the TRPB also prepares incident reports based on information from field agents. These incident reports have a specific subject and may include affidavits and documents relating to a particular event at a TRA track. These incident reports may also include background information on the subject of the report.

The TRPB policy regarding distribution of these reports includes the following limitations. First, the summary and incident reports are not to be distributed with outdated information on the subject. The reports are reviewed and redacted before distribution to non-TRPB officials to remove information more than seven years old in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("the Act"), 15 U.S.C. § 1681.³ Second, the summary reports and incident reports are distributed to non-TRPB officials only confidentially and on request. Both the summary reports and incident reports include distribution lists titled with the following: "This report is furnished in strict confidence at the request of and for the exclusive use of...." Third, as noted above, the special reports were no longer published or distributed after 1980.

B. Catrone and the TRPB

The plaintiff, Patrick Catrone, is a race horse trainer. Catrone first received a trainer's license in 1953 from the Massachusetts Racing Commission ("MRC") and, over the last 30 years, he has trained and entered horses at race tracks in Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. Beginning in early 1970 and continuing until today, the TRPB and its agents have investigated Catrone numerous times for a variety of incidents at TRA race tracks.

In 1971, the TRPB first investigated Catrone's alleged participation in running "ringers" at several TRA tracks. A "ringer" is a superior, faster horse substituted in the place of an inferior, slower horse by falsifying the horse's identity to racing officials. After the TRPB investigation, Catrone was barred from racing in several states including Maryland and New Jersey. Catrone was also indicted by a federal grand jury in Massachusetts for illegally transporting false foal certificates in connection with the running of ringers in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314. Catrone was subsequently acquitted of the charge and reinstated as a trainer in Massachusetts.

In 1976, the TRPB submitted its investigative information on Catrone to the New Hampshire Racing Commission which led to the denial of Catrone's application for a license in that state. This denial, in turn, led the MRC to deny Catrone's Massachusetts trainer's license for 1977.⁴ New Hampshire and Massachusetts continued to deny a trainer's license to Catrone each year until 1980 when New Hampshire ceased issuing licenses due to the destruction of the state's sole race track.

In 1981, Catrone applied for and received a trainer's license from the MRC. After receiving his license, however, Suffolk Downs race track in Massachusetts excluded Catrone, in part, based on the information from TRPB which led to Catrone's license denial in New Hampshire. In 1982, Catrone was again licensed by the MRC and again was excluded from Suffolk Downs. Catrone then appealed Suffolk Down's decision to the MRC. The MRC upheld Suffolk Downs decision, and, subsequently, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the MRC decision. Catrone v. State Racing Commission, 17 Mass. App.Ct. 484, 459 N.E.2d 474 (1984). Catrone has since remained a licensed trainer in Massachusetts,⁵ but has been barred from Suffolk Downs racetrack.

From 1985 to the present, the TRPB has continued to investigate a variety of incidents concerning Catrone at TRA race tracks. Specifically, in 1985, the TRPB investigated the running of "Fearless Beau" at the Meadowlands Race Track in New Jersey. In 1985, the TRPB investigated Catrone's association with a trainer at the rebuilt Rockingham Park Race Track in New Hampshire. In 1988, the TRPB investigated several incidents of alleged trespass at the Calder Race Track in Florida.

C. Alleged Defamatory Statements by the TRPB

In 1986, Catrone brought suit against TRA and TRPB, among others, for defamation and intentional interference with advantageous business relationships. In the original and amended complaints, Catrone generally alleged that the TRPB had submitted "evidence" to state racing commissions in Massachusetts and New Hampshire which led to the denial of his license applications. Further, Catrone alleged that the TRPB provided information to Suffolk Downs management which led to his exclusion at that race track.

Subsequently, the parties have engaged in extensive discovery. The TRA and TRPB have produced more than 1,000 pages of old reports on Catrone, correspondence relating to Catrone, and deposition testimony by TRPB officers about Catrone. From this catalogue of evidence, the parties have identified six specific publications which are the particular substance underlying Catrone's defamation claim. They are as follows:

1. Special Report # 113: This eleven-page document was prepared in 1974. As part of the special report program, this document focused on specific incidents from 1970 to 1972. The special report includes detailed accounts of alleged ringer incidents at race tracks in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland. The special report includes a basic biographical and physical description of Catrone.

The distribution of the special report is uncertain. The report does not include a distribution list, nor does either party offer evidence of its distribution to specific...