Barnes v. Cahill

SHAW, J. pro tem.

The plaintiffs have appealed from a part of the judgment in an action brought by them to obtain an injunction.

The respondent has filed no brief and made no argument. That being so, we are not required to engage in legal research or critical examination of the record to find an answer to appellants’ arguments. We have, however, considered the record, in connection with the points made, and conclude that a reversal must be ordered.

In the amended complaint on which the case was tried plaintiffs set up two causes of action. The first alleged that plaintiffs were engaged in the business of making weekly newspaper matrices containing “current news and information concerning Hollywood, the motion pictures, events and personalities,” under the title “Hollywood Today” and of selling these matrices to various newspapers and theaters. The business was conceived and developed by plaintiff Barnes, who had, before the action was brought, sold it to plaintiff Tobin, retaining a thirty per cent interest in its profits. Plaintiffs were doing business under the names “Hollywood Features Syndicate” and “Hollywood Today.” Defendant Ca-hill, having become familiar with this business and plaintiffs’ mode of conducting it, undertook to engage in the same business, and was preparing to do so under the names “Hollywood Features Syndicate” and “Hollywood Now” and to issue matrices under the names “Hollywood Now” or “This Week in Hollywood,” or other name tending to mislead the public. He was preparing to make and issue weekly matrices of the- same general appearance, style and arrangements as those of plaintiffs and containing substantially the same subject matter, which would deceive and mislead the public and plaintiffs’ customers, thus appropriating much of plaintiffs’ business. The second cause of action, in addition to the foregoing allegations, stated that defendant Cahill had been employed and acted as manager of plaintiffs’ business and while so employed had become familiar with plaintiffs’ list

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of customers, which was a confidential trade secret, and was engaged in soliciting their patronage for his enterprise. We do not state the allegations of the complaint in detail, but each count appears to be sufficient to state a cause of action. The defendant in his answer admitted that he intended to engage in a business similar to that of plaintiffs, under the name “This Week in Hollywood,” but denied the other allegations of the complaint.