The U.S. Figure Skating Association had the legal right to refuse to sanction the 1983 and 1984 "Pops on Ice" shows in Salt Lake City, a federal judge has ruled.
Show promoter Ludean Jensen filed a lawsuit in 1985 alleging that the association violated Utah's Antitrust Act and interfered with her contracts with the Utah Symphony and Triad by refusing to sanction the event.But in a ruling that adopts an earlier magistrate's recommendations, U.S. District Judge David Sam said the figure skating association is exempt from the antitrust provision. And noting that the "Pops on Ice" shows were performed, he rejected Jensen's claim of contractual interference.
"Even if USFSA's refusal to sanction the shows had caused breach of an existing or prospective contract - which the court determines it did not - USFSA would not be liable because the breach would have been caused by `doing of an act which (USFSA) had the legal right to do,' " Sam wrote.
The dispute began when local amateur skaters expressed a reluctance to participate in the "Pops on Ice" show for fear of losing their amateur status.
Martha Frankovich, president of the Cottonwood Heights Figure Skating Club, wrote to the figure skating association for advice. Correspondence followed, culminating with a letter from Ida Tateoka, Pacific Coast vice chairman for figure judges, to then-Utah Symphony President Wendell Ashton.
Tateoka explained that one of the organization's rules prohibits the sanctioning of registered skaters to appear in professional skating events or events held under professional auspices.
"The USFSA has determined that participation in the `Pops on Ice' is in violation of this sanction rule and consequently could affect the amateur status of our competitive skaters," Tateoka wrote.
Jensen argued that the association's refusal to sanction the show was a pretext to take control of it.
Sam called her assertion "conjectural" and said the association would have allowed member amateurs to perform in Jensen's show if they could have done so without violating rules that "USFSA did not create but was obligated to follow."
According to the judge, "The USFSA and its Utah affiliates form a single, legal entity organized for the purpose of providing mutual help in the figure skating profession.
"Therefore, the acts underlying Jensen's antitrust claims . . . are exempt from and do not constitute illegal combination or conspiracy under (Utah's Antitrust Act)."
As for the contractual claim, Sam said, "Clearly, Jensen was free to, and in fact did, contract with non-USFSA skaters to produce the 1983 and 1984 shows." Moreover, neither the Utah Symphony nor Triad refused to honor their contracts with Jensen, he said.
Also, Sam rejected Jensen's claim that she had to resign before the 1985 show because no one would cooperate with her and that the association had a role in that lack of cooperation. He said she had offered no evidence to support her claim or to refute the association's counter-allegation that she actually resigned for health reasons.