Email
Print
Court of Appeal of Saskatchewan Decision – RSA v. SSA
2016-01-18
To: SSA Members
Re: Court of Appeal of Saskatchewan Decision – Regina Soccer Association (RSA) v. Saskatchewan Soccer Association (SSA)
From: SSA Board of Directors
January 18, 2016
The Board of Directors is pleased to provide an update to all Members regarding the court action initiated by the Regina Soccer Association against the Saskatchewan Soccer Association.
As background for this update, in March 2015, a Formal Complaint was received from Queen City United Soccer (QC) concerning the conduct and management of the Regina Soccer Association. The SSA Board of Directors at that time initiated an independent review into the Regina Soccer Association.
In the spring of 2015, despite the internal process being initiated (the formal review of RSA) and contrary to the Bylaws of FIFA, Canada Soccer and the SSA, RSA proceeded to take the SSA to Provincial Court.
SSA Bylaws (March 2013) ARTICLE XXII - Section 1: Jurisdiction
1.1 Any recourse to the courts of any jurisdiction in a dispute by any Member before all rights of appeal and all the rights and remedies of the By-laws of the SSA have been exhausted, shall be deemed a violation and breach of these By-laws, and shall result in automatic indefinite suspension from the SSA.
1.2 Any Member, who, in a dispute, has sought court action before exhausting all proper procedures of appeal, will be liable for all legal costs and disbursements incurred by the SSA.
1.3 Any Member who, having exhausted all proper procedures of appeal, proceeds with court action, will be liable for all legal costs and disbursements incurred by the SSA should the courts rule in favour of the SSA prior to reinstatement of said party’s membership with the SSA.
On May 11, 2015, Justice McMurtry dismissed the Regina Soccer Association’s claim and decided the matter in favour of the SSA.
With the formal investigation into RSA’s conduct still in progress, the RSA again chose to pursue the matter outside of the avenues available to them within the CSA and SSA bylaws and policies by submitting this matter to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court of Appeal.
In July of 2015, the Formal Review was completed and the report raised significant concerns over the actions of the RSA. The SSA Board, with the RSA matter now before the Court of Appeal, was forced to table the Review pending the Appeal Court’s ruling.
On January 14, 2016 the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the SSA and the appeal was dismissed with costs awarded to the Saskatchewan Soccer Association.
The Saskatchewan Soccer Association Board of Directors is pleased with the court’s ruling. The Appeal Court concluded that:
“The SSA attempted to resolve differences between the RSA and Queen City Soccer to ensure the goals of the SSA were met, namely that young players continued to play soccer in Regina. The Chambers judge found that the SSA attempted to act in the best interest of all parties and tried to craft a solution that allowed all children to play soccer while the parties worked to find a satisfactory resolution. The actions of the SSA were not oppressive or unfairly prejudicial and did not unfairly disregard the interests of the RSA.” The Court of Appeals sided with the Chambers Judge who “saw no oppressive conduct and pointed to other avenues for the parties to pursue”. (Excerpts from the Court of Appeal Ruling - 01 14 16).
Throughout this process, it has always been the goal of the SSA Board to resolve this matter in a reasonable and professional manner according to the Bylaws and Policies of the Association. With this ruling now out of the way and the decision in favor of the SSA, the Association may now proceed with the Formal Review of the Regina Soccer Association.
In recent years, FIFA has provided very specific and clear direction to all soccer organizations that actions which escalate matters to the Court outside of internal remedies being exhausted are strictly prohibited.
The Board of Directors would like to advise all members that in the future the bylaws of the SSA, CSA and FIFA will be upheld and any recourse to the courts without exhausting all internal remedies will be dealt with as per Article XXII of the SSA Bylaws.
The court has respected the authority and upheld the actions of the SSA Board. As supported by the Courts, an invoice will be issued to RSA to recover all legal costs related to this matter.
With the RSA AGM scheduled for January 28th, 2016, the SSA Board sincerely hopes that the new leadership group of the RSA will be committed to working through differences in a non-confrontational manner through the processes that are available within the Bylaws and Policies of the SSA.
The Court ruling can be found on the SSA Website. Questions about this communication can be directed to SSA Executive Director, Doug Pederson.
Re: Court of Appeal of Saskatchewan Decision – Regina Soccer Association (RSA) v. Saskatchewan Soccer Association (SSA)
From: SSA Board of Directors
January 18, 2016
The Board of Directors is pleased to provide an update to all Members regarding the court action initiated by the Regina Soccer Association against the Saskatchewan Soccer Association.
As background for this update, in March 2015, a Formal Complaint was received from Queen City United Soccer (QC) concerning the conduct and management of the Regina Soccer Association. The SSA Board of Directors at that time initiated an independent review into the Regina Soccer Association.
In the spring of 2015, despite the internal process being initiated (the formal review of RSA) and contrary to the Bylaws of FIFA, Canada Soccer and the SSA, RSA proceeded to take the SSA to Provincial Court.
SSA Bylaws (March 2013) ARTICLE XXII - Section 1: Jurisdiction
1.1 Any recourse to the courts of any jurisdiction in a dispute by any Member before all rights of appeal and all the rights and remedies of the By-laws of the SSA have been exhausted, shall be deemed a violation and breach of these By-laws, and shall result in automatic indefinite suspension from the SSA.
1.2 Any Member, who, in a dispute, has sought court action before exhausting all proper procedures of appeal, will be liable for all legal costs and disbursements incurred by the SSA.
1.3 Any Member who, having exhausted all proper procedures of appeal, proceeds with court action, will be liable for all legal costs and disbursements incurred by the SSA should the courts rule in favour of the SSA prior to reinstatement of said party’s membership with the SSA.
On May 11, 2015, Justice McMurtry dismissed the Regina Soccer Association’s claim and decided the matter in favour of the SSA.
With the formal investigation into RSA’s conduct still in progress, the RSA again chose to pursue the matter outside of the avenues available to them within the CSA and SSA bylaws and policies by submitting this matter to the Saskatchewan Provincial Court of Appeal.
In July of 2015, the Formal Review was completed and the report raised significant concerns over the actions of the RSA. The SSA Board, with the RSA matter now before the Court of Appeal, was forced to table the Review pending the Appeal Court’s ruling.
On January 14, 2016 the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the SSA and the appeal was dismissed with costs awarded to the Saskatchewan Soccer Association.
The Saskatchewan Soccer Association Board of Directors is pleased with the court’s ruling. The Appeal Court concluded that:
“The SSA attempted to resolve differences between the RSA and Queen City Soccer to ensure the goals of the SSA were met, namely that young players continued to play soccer in Regina. The Chambers judge found that the SSA attempted to act in the best interest of all parties and tried to craft a solution that allowed all children to play soccer while the parties worked to find a satisfactory resolution. The actions of the SSA were not oppressive or unfairly prejudicial and did not unfairly disregard the interests of the RSA.” The Court of Appeals sided with the Chambers Judge who “saw no oppressive conduct and pointed to other avenues for the parties to pursue”. (Excerpts from the Court of Appeal Ruling - 01 14 16).
Throughout this process, it has always been the goal of the SSA Board to resolve this matter in a reasonable and professional manner according to the Bylaws and Policies of the Association. With this ruling now out of the way and the decision in favor of the SSA, the Association may now proceed with the Formal Review of the Regina Soccer Association.
In recent years, FIFA has provided very specific and clear direction to all soccer organizations that actions which escalate matters to the Court outside of internal remedies being exhausted are strictly prohibited.
The Board of Directors would like to advise all members that in the future the bylaws of the SSA, CSA and FIFA will be upheld and any recourse to the courts without exhausting all internal remedies will be dealt with as per Article XXII of the SSA Bylaws.
The court has respected the authority and upheld the actions of the SSA Board. As supported by the Courts, an invoice will be issued to RSA to recover all legal costs related to this matter.
With the RSA AGM scheduled for January 28th, 2016, the SSA Board sincerely hopes that the new leadership group of the RSA will be committed to working through differences in a non-confrontational manner through the processes that are available within the Bylaws and Policies of the SSA.
The Court ruling can be found on the SSA Website. Questions about this communication can be directed to SSA Executive Director, Doug Pederson.