A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge in Santa Maria denied for now a request to halt various discipline measures against the Orcutt Youth Football League participants in a dispute over whether some coaches and players participated in an illegal practice. 

Judge Patricia Kelly issued her decision Tuesday and vacated the planned Wednesday morning hearing in the case that coach John De Marco filed against the Central Coast Youth Football League.

De Marco asked the judge to restore his right to participate in league activities and maintain status quo until a trial in the lawsuit he filed.

He was suspended for five years after assistant coaches and players — five adults and seven youths — appeared to be practicing using safety gear.

However, Orcutt Youth Football League members contend they were fathers and sons spending time together. De Marco’s son was present, but the head coach was not. 

The judge denied the request for a preliminary injunction, contending an applicant must show irreparable harm, immediate danger or any other statutory basis before a judge could issue a preliminary injunction.

“Plaintiff’s ex parte application is an inappropriate vehicle for the relief requested and is therefore denied,” Kelly wrote in the order. 

The order also noted that the applicant did not follow proper procedures for the issue, something the defendant’s attorney raised. 

De Marco sought restoration of his right to coach plus the restoration of other coaches’ rights along with allowing the team’s scores to be counted, all OYFL players to be eligible for All-Star event participation and reversal of the $250 fine. 

“CCYFL’s position, taken to its logical conclusion, would mean that fathers and their children cannot throw footballs if teammates are present, families cannot play touch football at barbecues, and it would require that children verify team rosters before any recreational activity playing football,” De Marco’s attorney, Amber Simmons, argued. 

“This Orwellian overreach into private family activities exceeds any reasonable interpretation of organizational authority.”

CCYFL, which oversees the Orcutt league and others, between the Santa Ynez Valley and Paso Robles, initially handed down harsh discipline and later eased the punishment. For instance, it shortened De Marco’s lifetime ban to five years. 

CCYFL attorney Fred Hagen of Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP in Walnut Creek argued the De Marco asked the court to second guess the CCYL disciplinary decisions and contended the coach’s filing did not provide sufficient time to prepare “a fulsome opposition.”

“John De Marco and his followers believe the board should allow chronic rule breaking; other parents, teams and subsidiary leagues disagree. The CCYFL board is constituted to address these disputes,” Hagen wrote.

“Plaintiff is not likely to prevail in the face of the business judgment rule because CCYFL must be able to address chronic rule breaking or there will be a race to the bottom and an inability to assert control over rogue teams,” the CCYFL response said.

The CCYFL attorney challenged the plaintiff’s filings for the preliminary injunction request.

De Marco’s attorney is expected to re-file a request for a preliminary injunction, saying she was disappointed but respected the decision.

“The court’s ruling is in no way a reflection on the merits of the case, and we will be re-filing a regularly noticed motion for preliminary injunction. The fight continues, as our children and community deserve,” Simmons said.

A case management conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 4, after the youth football season ends.