Bramwell v. Airport Blue Print Co.

GRIFFIN, Acting P. J. In this action for an injunction and damages plaintiff and respondent claims that defendants and appellants, after the sale of a business known as Economy Blue Print and Supply Company in San Diego, violated an agreement not to engage in the same or similar business in San Diego County for 10 years. Previous to April 24, 1950, defendant John F. Mawson owned and operated the business under that name, making blue prints, Diazo prints, photostat work, and selling the necessary material for that purpose. On that date he entered into an agreement for the sale of this business, located at 1127 Fourth Avenue, to plaintiff for $45,000. In paragraph 12 thereof it provides that defendant Mawson agrees not to engage in a similar business in San Diego County for 10 years. He further agreed that if plaintiff should install a lithograph or offset printing plant that Maw-son would not engage in such business but might solicit such business to be done in his plant which he had in Los Angeles. Thereafter, plaintiff took over the business and for certain purposes, in addition to the Economy Blue Print and Supply Company formed corporations known as San Diego Blue Print Company, San Diego Engineers’ Supply Company and San Diego Reproduction Products Company. The business operation of the Economy Blue Print and Supply Company was segregated and certain branches of that work were assigned to these respective corporations, all doing business at the same location and under the same management. Plaintiff and his wife were the sole stockholders in said corporations.

Defendants now argue, in this respect on this appeal, that plaintiff, as an individual, was not the proper party plaintiff in this action since the corporations are now conducting the business operated by Bramwell, and claim that the agreement was not enforceable by Bramwell individually, citing such authority as 12 California Jurisprudence 2d 768, section 213; Business and Professions Code, section 16601; Bell v. Ellis, 33 Cal. 620; Graca v. Rodrigues, 33 Cal.App. 296 [165 P. 1012] ; and Ward-Chandler Building Co. v. Caldwell, 8 Cal.App.2d 375 [47 P.2d 758].

[59]The trial court considered this question at the trial and on a motion for new trial. In its written opinion and findings it stated that plaintiff had not assigned his agreement with Mawson in reference to the sale of the business of Economy-Blue Print and Supply Company in San Diego to anyone; that since plaintiff, individually, and as owner of the stock of the corporations, did manage the same business and continued to carry it on as before and in the same fashion, he did have sufficient interest to maintain this action. We are in accord with this conclusion.