General Electric Co. v. Federal Employees' Distributing Co.

DRAPEAU, J. Plaintiff has made a motion in this court for an order to consolidate “appeals and cross-appeal of appellant and respondent companies” from judgment and orders entered by the Superior Court in Case No. 609605.

From the certificate of the clerk of the superior court, and the affidavit of plaintiff in support of the original notice of motion, the following facts have been marshaled:

[510]Plaintiff sought in the lower court to permanently enjoin defendant and others from “advertising or selling any commodity manufactured by plaintiff under the trademark ‘ General (GE) Electric’, at less than fair trade prices.”

On July 15, 1953, the trial court granted the motion of defendant for nonsuit at the conclusion of plaintiff’s ease.

On July 20th, the court signed a document entitled Formal Judgment of Nonsuit, setting forth the grounds upon which the nonsuit was granted, and ordering that the preliminary injunction be dissolved.

On August 13th, the trial court signed an “Order Correcting Minute Order Nunc Pro Tune and Vacating Judgment Inadvertently Entered on Erroneous Minute'Order,” which was entered on August 17,1953. This order stated that through inadvertence and misprision there had been omitted from the minute order entered by the clerk on July 17, 1953, a provision that the preliminary injunction then in force be vacated and dissolved, that such minute order be considered a memorandum only for the guidance of counsel and that a formal order embodying the decision of the court be prepared by counsel for defendant. It also provided, that the said original minute order of July 15, 1953 (entered July 17, 1953) was thereby vacated and cancelled, and ordered that the judgment of nonsuit signed by the court on July 20, 1953, “is the final judgment and decision of this Court upon defendant’s motion for nonsuit herein. ’ ’

On August 17, 1953, a minute order was made vacating the order of July 15, 1953.

On September 8,1953, plaintiff filed its notice of appeal from all of the above mentioned orders and the purported judgment.

On October 2, 1953, plaintiff’s motion for a new trial was granted.

On October 20th, defendant appealed from the order granting the new trial.