Opinion ID: 2641038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: trece is an unincorporated association

Text: THAT IS AMENABLE TO SUIT ¶30 Petitioners first challenge the district court’s jurisdiction over Trece, arguing that a criminal street gang is simply not amenable to suit. Weber County brought suit against Trece as an unincorporated association. Petitioners argue that in order for an unincorporated association to be sued, it must exist for a lawful purpose and must transact business under a common name. They reason that Trece meets neither requirement because it exists for illegal purposes and does not transact business under a common name. The County responds that a street gang is specifically listed as a public nuisance under Utah Code section 78B-6-1101(2)(e) and that section 76-10-806 allows a county attorney “to institute an action in the name of the county . . . to abate a public nuisance.” It therefore reasons that “Utah law . . . recognizes that a criminal street gang is a jural entity and contemplates its being amenable to a public nuisance abatement action.” We agree with the County that Trece is amenable to suit, but we reach that conclusion based on alternative grounds. ¶31 We first turn to Petitioners’ argument that Trece is not 9 WEBER CO. v. OGDEN TRECE Opinion of the Court subject to suit as an unincorporated association because “a fundamental requirement of an unincorporated association is that it be formed for a lawful purpose.” Petitioners rely on two cases from other jurisdictions for this proposition. The first is People ex rel. Reisig v. Broderick Boys, in which a California court relied on a California statute that defined an unincorporated association as “an unincorporated group of two or more persons joined by mutual consent for a common lawful purpose.” 59 Cal. Rptr. 3d 64, 74 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007) (quoting CAL. CORP. CODE § 18035, subd. (a) (internal quotation marks omitted)). But that case is unpersuasive inasmuch as no such statutory requirement of lawful purpose exists in Utah. ¶32 The second case on which Petitioners rely is similarly inapposite. In Peoples Gas System, Inc. v. Acme Gas Corporation, a Florida court stated in a footnote that an unincorporated association is “[g]enerally ‘created and formed . . . for the accomplishment of some lawful purpose.’” 689 So. 2d 292, 298 n.8 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1997) (emphasis added) (quoting 4 FLA. JUR. 2D Associations & Clubs §§ 1, 2 (1994)). We do not disagree with this proposition. However, the fact that unincorporated associations are generally formed for lawful purposes does not suggest that they may only be so. ¶33 Rule 17(d) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[w]hen two or more persons associated in any business . . . not a corporation, transact such business under a common name, . . . they may sue or be sued by such common name.” See also Hebertson v. Willowcreek Plaza, 923 P.2d 1389, 1391–92 (Utah 1996). Neither the rule nor any other provision of Utah law contains any requirement that unincorporated associations be engaged in lawful activity before they are amenable to suit. Thus, Trece is amenable to suit as an unincorporated association so long as it transacts business under a common name. Id. at 1392.
¶34 Petitioners argue that “there is no evidence in the record of Trece transacting business” and that the County conceded that “Ogden Trece exists only as a criminal organization.” They contend that criminal organizations do not “transact business” but rather commit crimes. We disagree. There is no logical reason why business transactions and criminal activity are mutually exclusive. ¶35 In interpreting the language of a clear and unambiguous statute or rule, “our duty is to give effect to [its] plain meaning.” State ex rel. Z.C., 2007 UT 54, ¶ 11, 165 P.3d 1206. The caveat is that “a court should not follow the literal language of a statute if its plain 10 Cite as: 2013 UT 62 Opinion of the Court meaning works an absurd result.” Savage v. Utah Youth Village, 2004 UT 102, ¶ 18, 104 P.3d 1242. ¶36 “Business” is defined as “a particular occupation or employment habitually engaged in for livelihood or gain.” BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY 226 (9th ed. 2009); see also id. (“By extension, transactions or matters of a noncommercial nature .”); WEBSTER’S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 302 (a “particular field of endeavor,” or “an immediate task or objective”). There is nothing in the definition requiring that the occupation or employment be legal,1 and there are ample findings by the district court to support the conclusion that Trece satisfies the definition. It “obtain[s] money through many different type[s] of illegal activities, from selling drugs to trafficking in stolen property.” The gang’s revenue is generated through “criminal activity such as burglaries, thefts, robberies, drug dealing, etc.” Additionally, once the money is “earned,” it is then distributed to other gang members. ¶37 These findings by the district court were supported by ample evidence. Testimony during the evidentiary hearing demonstrated that Trece has a remarkably organized structure and governance. Gang members know who the “shot callers” are in any given area. There is a hierarchy within the gang that administers discipline and puts out orders for “work.” It is the “shot caller’s” responsibility to make “sure that everybody’s paid, everybody’s got money, [and] everybody is doing good.” Most of the stolen goods and money earned from drugs is given to the senior members, but the individuals who steal the goods or sell the drugs keep a certain portion. The “shot caller” keeps a portion of the profits for himself and the remaining profit is retained for the use of the gang in order 1 See also J.M. & M.S. Browning Co. v. State Tax Comm’n, 154 P.2d 993, 996 (Utah 1945) (stating that what constitutes transacting business must be determined within the context in which the phrase is used); Graham v. Davis Cnty. Solid Waste Mgmt. & Energy Recovery Special Serv. Dist., 1999 UT App 136, ¶ 11, 979 P.2d 363 (noting that “as unincorporated associations such as social clubs, religious organizations, environmental societies, athletic organizations, condominium owners, lodges, stock exchanges and veterans began to proliferate, courts recognize[d] that . . . [s]uch groups must . . . [face] liability to suit.” (first alteration in original)(emphasis omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted)). 11 WEBER CO. v. OGDEN TRECE Opinion of the Court to pay for lawyers, to support families, and to pay for other general expenses. ¶38 This evidence satisfies the requirement of rule 17(d) and there is no need for us to depart from the plain meaning of the rule. See Savage, 2004 UT 102, ¶ 18. There is no reason why an unincorporated association should be immune from suit simply because the business in which it engages is unlawful. Under Petitioners’ proposed interpretation of the rule, a criminal organization would be immune from suit simply because the business it transacts is illegal. But it would be illogical to interpret rule 17(d) in a manner that allows organizations that operate illegally to escape suit when such organizations are exactly the kind of enterprise on which the justice system should be brought to bear.
¶39 We also conclude that Trece meets the second requirement of rule 17(d) in that it operates under a common name. The district court found that “Ogden Trece has, as a group, an identifying name or identifying symbol or both.” Additionally, “Trece has identifiable hand signs, gestures, and clothing . . . that distinguishes [it] from other criminal street gangs.” Trece members are required to “put in work,” meaning committing the type of criminal transactions listed above “to bring recognition and money into the gang.” And these findings were amply supported by evidence that was admitted during the evidentiary hearing. ¶40 Duane Dreamer, a self-identified “shot caller” in Trece, testified that the two main rules of the gang are to not “rank out” and to “represent to the fullest,” which means to “always let everybody known where you are from.” The gang very jealously protects its own name. It goes to great lengths in order to protect its brand. It has internal processes for induction of new members and advancement into leadership positions. It also punishes individuals who falsely attempt to identify themselves as gang members. Members who are “jumped out” of the gang must cover up their tattoos and no longer claim membership in the gang. ¶41 Trece derives its power and influence in the community from exactly this type of “representing.” It is one of the two cardinal rules of the gang that members represent the gang wherever they go. This representation by the members’ clothing, the gang signs, the tattoos, and the graffiti has the effect of making the gang almost omnipresent in the community. Trece’s presence is felt even when its members are not engaged in gang-related activity because they 12 Cite as: 2013 UT 62 Opinion of the Court constantly use the name of the gang and “represent.” Indeed, the very identity of gang members is tightly interwoven with the name of the gang. ¶42 Based on the foregoing, we have no difficulty concluding that Trece transacted its business under a “common name” under rule 17(d). Because Trece (1) transacts business (2) under a common name, it is an unincorporated association amenable to suit.