Opinion
NO. 2018 CW 1664
03-07-2019
LOUISIANA INDEPENDENT PHARMACIES ASSOCIATION v. CATAMARAN CORPORATION, ET AL
In Re: Catamaran Corporation, applying for supervisory writs, 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, No. 632961. BEFORE: WELCH, CHUTZ, AND LANIER, JJ.
WRIT GRANTED. The November 20, 2018 judgment of the district court which denied the Peremptory Exception of No Right of Action filed by defendant, Catamaran Corporation, is reversed. Generally, an action can be brought only by a person having a real and actual interest which he asserts. La. Code Civ. P. art. 681. The criteria which must be present in any suit that an association brings on behalf of its members are: (1) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (2) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose; and (3) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit. Louisiana Hotel-Motel Association, Inc. v. Parish of East Baton Rouge, 385 So.2d 1193 (La. 1980), citing Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission, 432 U.S. 333, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977). The amended petition filed herein specifically alleges that members of the plaintiff-association are contracted with defendant, Catamaran Corporation. As a result, such contracts governing the members' relationships with that defendant would necessarily require participation of individual members in this action.
In addition, courts should not decide abstract, hypothetical or moot controversies, or render advisory opinions with respect to such controversies. Abbott v. Parker, 259 La. 279, 308, 249 So.2d 908, 918 (1971). The plaintiff should have a legally protectable and tangible interest at stake, and the dispute presented should be of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment. Id. The amended petition herein specifically alleges that the question at issue is whether plaintiff's interpretation of the law is correct. The allegations which seek to characterize this action as involving a substantial and actual dispute are conclusory in nature. Therefore, this court finds that plaintiff, Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association, Inc., has failed to sufficiently show its standing and/or its right to bring this declaratory judgment action. Accordingly, the Peremptory Exception of No Right of Action filed by defendant, Catamaran Corporation, is granted, and plaintiff's claims against defendant, Catamaran Corporation, are dismissed.
WIL
JEW
WRC
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT /s/_________
DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT