Soileau v. Churchill Downs La. Horseracing Co.

• Decision Date: 22 December 2021
• Docket Number: 2021-CA-0022, NO. 2021-CA-0049, NO. 2021-CA-0199
• Citation: 334 So.3d 901
• Parties: John L. SOILEAU, et al. v. CHURCHILL DOWNS LOUISIANA HORSERACING COMPANY, L.L.C., Churchill Downs Louisiana Video Poker Company, L.L.C., et al.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

334 So.3d 901

John L. SOILEAU, et al.
v.
CHURCHILL DOWNS LOUISIANA HORSERACING COMPANY, L.L.C., Churchill Downs Louisiana Video Poker Company, L.L.C., et al.

NO. 2021-CA-0022
NO. 2021-CA-0049
NO. 2021-CA-0199

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

December 22, 2021

Michael David Singletary, SINGLETARY & ASSOCIATES, APLC, 604 West 13th Street, Austin, TX 78701, Alan N. Magenheim, Pro Hac Vice, ATTORNEY AT LAW, 3701 Kirby Drive, Suite 913, Houston, TX 77098, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS, BERNADINE SOILEAU AS INDEPENDENT EXECUTRIX OF THE SUCCESSION OF JOHN SOILEAU, SR., ALVIN BROSSETTE, JUSTIN DEHART, DONALD WATSON, JOSEPH D. MANUCY AND LUCAS CONSTANTIN

Kyle Sherman, BRANDT & SHERMAN, LLP, 111 Mercury Street, Lafayette, LA 70503, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS, JOHN HAMILTON AND DANNY LAVERGNE

David F. Waguespack, Matthew J. Fantaci, CARVER, DARDEN, KORETZKY, TESSIER, FINN, BLOSSMAN & AREAUX, LLC, 1100 Poydras Street, Suite 3100, New Orleans, LA 70163, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES, CHURCHILL DOWNS LOUISIANA HORSERACING COMPANY, L.L.C. AND CHURCHILL DOWNS LOUISIANA VIDEO POKER COMPANY, L.L.C.

John L. Duvieilh Jennifer A. David JONES WALKER LLP 201 St. Charles Avenue, Suite 4700 New Orleans, LA 70170 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE, LOUISIANA HORSEMEN'S BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION 1993, INC.

William L. Townsend, III, Keenan K. Kelly, KELLY & TOWNSEND, LLC, 137 St. Denis Street, Post Office Box 756, Natchitoches, LA 71457, J. Chris Guillet, Ronald E. Corkern, Jr., CORKERN, CREWS & GUILLET, L.L.C., P.O. Box 1036, Natchitoches, LA 71458-1036, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES, CLASS REPRESENTATIVES, JO BAIA FOREMAN AND KENNETH L. ROBERTS

(Court composed of Judge Rosemary Ledet, Judge Tiffany Gautier Chase, Judge Dale N. Atkins )

Judge Dale N. Atkins

334 So.3d 909

These three consolidated appeals arise from a class action dispute between quarter-horse owners, trainers, and jockeys; Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, L.L.C, the owner of the Fair Grounds Race Courts & Slots Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana; Churchill Downs Louisiana Video Poker Company, L.L.C.; and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association 1993, Inc. These appeals involve the distribution of supplemental purse monies collected in quarter-horse racing at off-track facilities. Quarter-horse owners, trainers, and jockeys bring this appeal. They can be divided into two groups but will hereinafter be referred to collectively as "Appellants ." The first group of Appellants, which is hereinafter referred to as "Soileau Plaintiffs ," is comprised of Bernadine Soileau, as independent executrix of the Succession of John Soileau, Sr.; Alvin Brossette; Justin Dehart; Donald Watson; Joseph Manucy; and Lucas Constantin. The second group of Appellants, which is hereinafter referred to as "Hamilton Plaintiffs ," is comprised of some of the class representatives, namely Danny Lavergne and John Hamilton.

Appellees are Jo Baia Foreman¹ and Kenneth L. Roberts; Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, L.L.C. (hereinafter referred to as "CDLHR ") and Churchill Downs Louisiana Video Poker Company, L.L.C. (hereinafter referred to as "CDLVPC ") (CDLHR and CDLVPC are hereinafter collectively referred to as "Fair Grounds Defendants "); and the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association 1993, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "HBPA ").

Appellants appeal the trial court's November 12, 2020 judgment, which denied Soileau Plaintiffs’ and Hamilton Plaintiffs’ motions to vacate the trial court's February 18, 2020 order that preliminarily approved a proposed class action settlement agreement (hereinafter referred to as "proposed settlement agreement "), a class,² class representatives,³ class counsel,⁴ and deadlines to opt-out, object, and submit a claim form. They also appeal the trial court's decision not to reset those aforementioned class action deadlines in response to orders issued by the Louisiana Governor and the Louisiana Supreme Court regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. (2021-CA-0022 ). Further, Appellants appeal the trial court's February 18, 2020 order granting preliminary approval of the proposed settlement agreement. (2021-CA-0049 ). Finally, Appellants appeal the trial court's January 28, 2021 judgment granting final approval of the proposed settlement agreement. (2021-CA-0199 ). For the following reasons, we affirm.

334 So.3d 910

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Because these three consolidated appeals involve multiple Appellants and Appellees, we begin our summary of the factual background and procedural history with a description of the parties.⁵

APPELLANTS

Appellants are Bernadine Soileau, as independent executrix of the Succession of John Soileau, Sr.; Alvin Brossette; Justin Dehart; Donald Watson; Joseph Manucy; Lucas Constantin; Danny Lavergne; and John Hamilton. Appellants are divided into two groups. The first group known as Soileau Plaintiffs is comprised of Bernadine Soileau, as independent executrix of the Succession of John Soileau, Sr.; Mr. Brossette; Mr. Dehart; Mr. Watson; Mr. Manucy; and Mr. Constantin. The second group known as Hamilton Plaintiffs is comprised of Mr. Lavergne and Mr. Hamilton. In a February 18, 2020 order, the trial court, in pertinent part, appointed Hamilton Plaintiffs as two of the four class representatives. They signed the proposed settlement agreement but now oppose it.

PLAINTIFFS

In the "Petition for Declaratory Judgment, Permanent Injunction, and Damages – Class Action" (hereinafter "Petition") filed on April 21, 2014, John Soileau, Sr.; Alvin Brossette; Justin Dehart; Donald Watson; Joseph Manucy; Lucas Constantin; Danny Lavergne; John Hamilton; Jo Baia Foreman; and Kenneth L. Roberts are named as plaintiffs (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Plaintiffs "). Therein, Plaintiffs described themselves as members of a class of "Louisiana quarter-horse owners, trainers, and jockeys" who "are ‘horsemen’ entitled to the payment of supplemental purses pursuant to La. R.S. 27:438" and its predecessor statutes due to underpayment of quarter-horse purses won at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots since 2008.⁶

APPELLEES

Jo Baia Foreman and Kenneth L. Roberts are named plaintiffs in the Petition, as previously discussed. In the February 18, 2020 order, the trial court named them as the other two class representatives. (Though, as previously mentioned, Mr. Lavergne and Mr. Hamilton are also class representatives, the phrase "Class Representatives " will hereinafter collectively refer to Mrs. Foreman and Mr. Roberts only). They signed the proposed settlement agreement and continue to support it based on their testimony before the trial court.

Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, L.L.C. (CDLHR), owns the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a "licensed establishment" under the Video Draw Poker Devices Control Law. La. R.S. 27:401, et seq. Specifically, it qualifies as a licensed establishment because it is a "Louisiana state racing commission licensed race track [and] pari-mutuel wagering facility." La. R.S. 27:402(10).

Churchill Downs Louisiana Video Poker Company, L.L.C. (CDLVPC), is a subsidiary or related business interest of CDLHR according to Plaintiffs’ Petition. It is a "device owner" under the Video Draw Poker Devices Control Law. La. R.S. 27:401, et seq. Specifically, it qualifies as a device owner because it "owns and

334 So.3d 911

operates ... video draw poker devices in licensed establishments[,]" including at the CDLHR-owned Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots facility and at off-track waging facilities. La. R.S. 27:402(5).

The Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association 1993, Inc. (HBPA), is "designated and recognized as an authorized representative that shall represent member and other horsemen racing at licensed race meetings held in the state of Louisiana for the purpose of but not limited to negotiating contracts for such horsemen with all racing associations licensed by the state of Louisiana, relative to purses ... and all other matters of interest and concern to such horsemen." La. R.S. 4:179.1.

As noted previously, this matter consists of three consolidated appeals that are the result of protracted class action litigation that has come before this Court on multiple occasions. In Soileau v. Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Co., L.L.C. , 2017-1003, 2017-1004, pp.1-2 (La. App. 4 Cir. 6/13/18), 317 So.3d 491, 493-94, writ denied , 2018-1349 (La. 11/14/18), 256 So.3d 283, this Court observed:

This lawsuit constitutes complicated and protracted litigation involving a dispute in the horse racing industry between ... [quarter-horsemen] and Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC, owner of the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots facility in New Orleans, and Churchill Downs Louisiana Video Poker Company, LLC.

....

Soileau, et al. v. Churchill Downs Louisiana Horse Racing Co., LLC, et al. , 17-0264, slip op. at pp. 1-2 (La. App. 4 Cir. 8/23/2017) (unpub.).

The quarter-horsemen, Mr....