Opinion
NO. 2017 CW 0160
06-15-2017
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: WHIPPLE, C.J., GUIDRY AND McCLENDON, JJ.
WRIT GRANTED. The February 2, 2 017 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. East Baton Rouge Parish, 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 petition filed herein makes no allegations as to the relationship between plaintiff and/or its members and defendant, Catamaran Corporation, whether contractual or otherwise, and therefore, fails to address the standing of plaintiff and/or its members. Moreover, the petition provides no allegations as to whether the claims and/or the requested relief will require participation of individual members of plaintiff, particularly with regard to individualized contracts with defendant.
In addition, for a declaratory judgment to be granted, there must be a justiciable controversy, as courts are not permitted to issue advisory opinions based on a contingency which may or may not occur. 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 petition herein makes no specific allegation that defendant, Catamaran Corporation, has failed to pay the prescription fee, failed to list the prescription fee on a remittance advice or conducted audits outside of the mandated time period. Plaintiff's reference to a claim asserted by one member, who has dismissed its claims against defendant, Catamaran Corporation, with prejudice, is insufficient to support its standing and right to assert this declaratory judgment action. 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. Pursuant to La. Code Civ. P. art. 933(B), this matter is remanded with instructions that the district court allow plaintiff, Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association, Inc., LLC, the opportunity to amend the petition to remove the grounds of this objection.
JMG
PMc
VGW
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT /s/_________
DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT