Niles v. University Interscholastic League, III-17AAAAA

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Before CLARK, Chief Judge, and RUBIN and JOLLY; E. GRADY JOLLY; The district court
• Citation: Niles v. University Interscholastic League, 715 F.2d 1027 (5th Cir. 1983)
• Decision Date: 30 September 1983
• Docket Number: III-17AAAAA,No. 83-2102,83-2102
• Parties: 13 Ed. Law Rep. 257 Mark David NILES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The UNIVERSITY INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE and The DistrictExecutive Committee, Defendants-Appellees. Summary Calendar.

Page 1027

715 F.2d 1027

13 Ed. Law Rep. 257

Mark David NILES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The UNIVERSITY INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE and The District III-17AAAAA Executive Committee, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 83-2102

Summary Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

Sept. 30, 1983.

Hofheniz, Harpold, McDonald & Fitzgerald, Lew W. Harpold, Anthony D. Sheppard, Houston, Tex., for plaintiff-appellant.

Robert W. Gauss, Asst. Atty. Gen., Margaret A. Cooper, Lucius D. Bunton, Austin, Tex., for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before CLARK, Chief Judge, and RUBIN and JOLLY, Circuit Judges.

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

I.

The plaintiff Mark David Niles was, in 1981, a student at Stratford Senior High School in the Springbranch, Texas, Independent School District. As a student, Niles participated in various activities, including intervarsity high school football and track. In the fall of 1981 Niles's mother, who had divorced in 1971 and who had been awarded custody of Niles, remarried and moved to California. Niles remained in Texas for the remainder of the fall academic term, however, and played varsity football. In late December 1981, Niles moved to California where he lived with his mother during the spring academic term. In early August 1982, Niles returned to Stratford Senior High School and participated in the football program. During fall 1982, Niles resided with Mr. Les Mattinson, who had been given legal guardianship by Niles's mother.

In November 1982, the Executive Committee of the University Interscholastic League declared Niles ineligible to participate in UIL interscholastic programs pursuant to Article 8 of the UIL constitution which, in essence, requires that a student be a resident of the school district for at least one year prior to participating in interscholastic events. In addition, UIL required Stratford Senior High School to forfeit all of the games in which Niles had participated up until that point. Niles initially obtained a temporary restraining order from the 270th District Court of Harris County, Texas, allowing him to participate in the final regular season football game and overruling the forfeiture of the previous games in which he had played. The following week, on November 11, 1982, Niles took a non-suit in the state court proceeding and that same day sought and received a temporary restraining order from Judge Cire of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. One week later, after a hearing, the court granted Niles's motion for a preliminary injunction, which subsequently was dissolved upon a mutual motion by the parties.

The district court, Judge O'Conor, subsequently granted UIL's Motion to Dismiss the plaintiff's complaint, finding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The court in a written opinion found that the constitution of the UIL does not violate the Due Process Clause in that the UIL constitution promotes legitimate state objectives of equalizing competition among participating schools. Further, the district court found that participation in high school football is not of sufficient interest under the Due Process Clause such that enforcement of Article 8 would impermissibly impinge upon a constitutionally protected right. The court found that Niles's fundamental right to travel was only incidentally infringed upon by the UIL rules and that the imposition of the rules did not impermissibly burden the right to travel.

In filing his timely notice of appeal, Niles reiterates that the rules and constitution of the UIL, which are designed to prevent "school shopping," create a conclusive presumption regarding his intention of returning to Texas after having lived with his mother and have thereby denied him his rights under the Due Process Clause of the fourteenth amendment and the Texas state constitution by not affording him reasonable notice, hearing and an opportunity for a trial and appeal when his freedom to travel and right to earn a living were involved. Niles has further alleged that UIL's rules denied him his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment by creating an invidious classification between students residing with their parents and those residing apart from their parents. Additionally, Niles alleges that the UIL rules impinge upon his right of family privacy, his right to have a guardian appointed, his right to visit his mother, and his right to travel.

II.

We start with the proposition that an allegation of improper denial by a state body of a student's right to participate in interscholastic athletics fails to raise a substantial federal question. Mitchell v. Louisiana High School Athletic Assn., 430 F.2d 1155, 1157-58 (5th Cir.1970). On the other hand, as stated, the plaintiff has alleged deprivation of various constitutionally protected rights, including the right to travel and freedom of family association. Unless it is determined that these asserted rights have been forwarded solely for the purpose of obtaining jurisdiction or are wholly insubstantial and frivolous, or unless we determine that such asserted rights are clearly immaterial to the case before us, then the district court cannot properly dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See Laurenzo v. Mississippi High School Activities Assn., 662 F.2d 1117, 1119-20 (5th Cir.1981); Walsh v. Louisiana High School Athletic Assn., 616 F.2d 152, 156-57 (5th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1124, 101 S.Ct. 939, 67 L.Ed.2d 109 (1981). Viewing the pleadings in this light, we find that the lower court erred in determining that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's claims. We cannot say that the asserted denials of freedom of travel and freedom of familial choice are immaterial, since they are central to the plaintiff's case, nor are such assertions patently insubstantial or frivolous. In weighing the asserted rights against the state's legitimate aims in regulating interscholastic athletic activities, however, we find that the plaintiff did fail to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and therefore the action of the lower court in dismissing this case was, in the final analysis, correct.

Walsh is the primary authority on point in this circuit. In Walsh, the plaintiff Lutheran parents had brought an action on their own behalf and on behalf of their minor children growing out of the policy of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association which required a one-year residency within a high school zone in order for a child to participate in interscholastic athletic competition. None of the Lutheran elementary schools in New Orleans was located in the same district as the Lutheran high school, and therefore when a child was promoted from one of the Lutheran elementary schools to the Lutheran high...