Quimby v. School Dist. No. 21 of Pinal County

• Decision Date: 20 June 1969
• Docket Number: CA-CIV,No. 2,2
• Citation: 10 Ariz.App. 69,455 P.2d 1019
• Parties: Mike QUIMBY, a minor, by Jeff and Ann Cavey, his Guardians in Fact, Appellant, v. SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 21 OF PINAL COUNTY, a Municipal Corporation, and Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc., a Nonprofit Corporation, Appellees. 682.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

Page 1019

455 P.2d 1019

10 Ariz.App. 69

Mike QUIMBY, a minor, by Jeff and Ann Cavey, his Guardians in Fact, Appellant, v. SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 21 OF PINAL COUNTY, a Municipal Corporation, and Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc., a Nonprofit Corporation, Appellees.

No. 2 CA-CIV 682.

Court of Appeals of Arizona.

June 20, 1969.

Rehearing Denied July 30, 1969.

Pinal County Legal Aid Society, by Dennis Jenson, Florence, for appellant.

James L. Heckman, Phoenix, for Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc.

MOLLOY, Chief Judge.

Mike Quimby, a minor, though his guardians in fact, Jeff and Ann Cavey, brought an action against School District No. 21 of Pinal County and the Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, to enjoin the defendants from enforcing regulations regarding plaintiff's eligibility for participation in interscholastic activities at the Coolidge High School. From an order dismissing the complaint and denying his motion for a new trial, plaintiff appeals.

The questions for determination by this court are: (1) does membership by a public school in a voluntary, nonprofit organization such as the Arizona Interscholastic Association constitute an illegal delegation of the authority of the governing body of the school; and (2) is the regulation making plaintiff ineligible to participate in interscholastic sports violative of his judicially protected interests.

The facts briefly stated are as follows. Mike Quimby, age 17, resided with his parents in Randolph, Arizona, and attended Coolidge schools until he completed the eighth grade. His parents then moved to Apache County and he attended the first two years of high school in Snowflake, Arizona. Plaintiff testified that, in the summer of 1968, Judge Shelley of Navajo County, Arizona, directed that Mike Quimby should be committed to the Industrial School for Boys at Fort Grant, Arizona, or in the alternative, that he should return to Collidge. Consequently, Mike went to Coolidge to live with Mr. and Mrs. Cavey, who are friends of his parents and who became his guardians. He enrolled in Coolidge High School, and went out for football. After two weeks of football practice, the coach informed Mike that he could not participate in athletics until he had been enrolled in Coolidge High School for two semesters.

Both parties concede that, under the Arizona Interscholastic Association by-laws, the plaintiff is ineligible to participate in interscholastic activities for one school year because he is not living with his natural parents and the guardianship established for him does not meet certain requirements of the Association. ¹

We believe some comment is initially in order in regard to the mootness of this appeal. By the time this opinion is released, the plaintiff will have completed his full year of ineligibility. However, we believe that this case is of sufficient interest to warrant a decision on the merits. It involves such questions as are '* * * capable of repetition, yet evading review * * *' by the nature of time required to adjudicate a final decision. Southern P.T. Co. v. Interstate Commerce Comm., 219 U.S. 498, 31 S.Ct. 279, 283, 55 L.Ed. 310 (1911); Wise v. First National Bank, 49 Ariz. 146, 65 P.2d 1154 (1937); and Secrist v. Diedrich, 6 Ariz.App. 102, 430 P.2d 448 (1967).

Appellant's first argument is that, by its joining of the Association and observing its rule, the defendant school district delegated its power and duty to make rules and regulations concerning the government of the school district. There is no question but that the legislature has delegated to the board of education of a high school district the control of the affairs of the district, subject to certain statutory controls. 6 A.R.S. §§ 15--541 and 15--545, as amended, and See Garrett v. Tubac-Amado School District No. 5, 9 Ariz.App. 331, 451 P.2d 909 (1969).

Nor is there any question but what inter-school competitive athletics is a part of the school program. In Alexander v. Phillips, 31 Ariz. 503, 254 P. 1056, 52 A.L.R. 244 (1927), the Arizona Supreme Court held that both intra and inter mural athletics are a valid part of the education curriculum and that a stadium built for such activities is a 'schoolhouse.' Hence, if the district here has turned over control as to any appreciable portion of its athletic program to the Association, there might very well be a violation of the rule that Delegata potestas non potest delegari. See In re Santa Cruz, 8 Ariz.App. 349, 446 P.2d 253 (1968).

We do not believe, however, that the board of education has delegated any governmental power to the Association. There was no allegation that the district could not withdraw any or all of the schools within its responsibility from the Association at any time. ² The very nature of competitive sports requires that some rules for the competition be set. If the particular district disapproves of the rules of eligibility set, it need not participate in the program, and, by participating, it in effect makes the eligibility rules its own.

Plaintiff's other contention is that the eligibility rule in question is violative of his individual rights. Defendants in this action have made much of the fact that the Association is a voluntary nonprofit association. Traditionally, the courts have been reluctant to interfere with the internal affairs of membership associations. Falcone v. Middlesex County Medical Soc., 34 N.J. 582, 170 A.2d 791, 89 A.L.R.2d 952 (1961); Chafee, The Internal Affairs of Associations Not for Profit, 43 Harv.L.Rev. 993 (1930). However, when compelling reasons of public interest were involved, courts have judicially scrutinized association action. 6 Am.Jur.2d Associations and Clubs § 37; 7 C.J.S. Associations § 34.

Recognition of the role of private medical societies and their obligations to public welfare has resulted in courts requiring due process procedures in the societies' processes for admitting and expelling members. Blende v. Maricopa County Medical Society, 96 Ariz. 240, 393 P.2d 926 (1964); Falcone, supra. Labor unions and their authority to deny or expel members have been reviewed. Krause v. Sander, 66 Misc. 601, 122 N.Y.S. 54 (1910); Spayd v. Ringing Rock Lodge No. 665, 270 Pa. 67, 113 A. 70, 14 A.L.R. 1443 (1921). In Terry v. Adams, 345 U.S. 461, 73 S.Ct. 809, 97 L.Ed. 1152 (1953), the United States Supreme Court held that a private association, whose policy was to forbid Negro voters from voting in Texas elections, could not so act when the state by allowing this association to set the candidates in primary elections was effectually establishing it as an integral part of the elective process. And in numerous cases, similar to the case at bar, courts have made limited inquiry into the 'reasonableness' of rules of athletic eligibility. Sult v. Gilbert, 148 Fla. 31, 3 So.2d 729 (1941); Robinson v. Illinois High School Association, 45 Ill.App.2d 277, 195 N.E.2d 38 (1963); Morrison v. Roberts, 183 Okl. 359, 82 P.2d 1023 (1938); Starkey v. Board of Ed. of Davis County Sch. Dist., 14 Utah...