Falkinburg v. Lucy

35 Cal. 52
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 1, 1868
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 35 Cal. 52 (Falkinburg v. Lucy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Falkinburg v. Lucy, 35 Cal. 52 (Cal. 1868).

Opinions

By the Court, Sanderson, J.:

This is an action to recover damages for an alleged invasion of the plaintiffs’ right of property in a-certain trademark, and to restrain the defendants by injunction from further use or imitation. Upon the filing of the complaint an injunction was issued and served, and thereupon the defendants filed their answer and moved to dissolve the injunction upon the complaint 'and the answer, with the exhibits thereto respectively attached.

At the hearing the plaintiffs offered to read an affidavit made by one of them in contradiction of certain matters contained in the answer. To this the defendants objected upon the ground that the plaintiffs could not use affidavits in opposition to the motion unless the defendants first used them in support of the motion, which, as was claimed, had not been done. This objection was overruled, the affidavit heard, and the motion to dissolve finally denied. The appeal is from the order refusing to dissolve the injunction.

. The grounds of alleged error are two:

First—Admitting and considering the plaintiffs’ affidavit as above stated.

Second—Befusing to dissolve the injunction.

1. In view of the conclusion which we have reached upon the second point we might pass the first without special notice; but it is asserted on the part of counsel that upon the first point no uniform rule prevails in the lower Courts, and a construction of the statute by this Court is asked, to the end that a uniform practice may be established.

By the one hundred and thirteenth section of the Practice Act it is provided that an injunction may be granted, at the time of issuing the summons, upon the complaint; and at any time, afterwards, before judgment, upon affidavits.

By the one hundred and eighteenth section it is provided that where an injunction has been granted without notice, the defendant may move to dissolve upon the complaint and affidavits upon which the injunction was issued, or upon the [59]*59affidavit of the defendant, with or without the answer; and, if upon affidavits, the plaintiff may oppose the same by affidavits or other .evidence, but not otherwise.

In the code of Hew York this subject is regulated by the one hundred and twentieth section, which fills the place occupied by the one hundred and thirteenth section of our Practice Act, and the one hundred and twenty-fifth and one hundred and twenty-sixth sections, which together cover the ground embraced by the one hundred and eighteenth section of our statute. The one hundred and twenty-fifth and one hundred and twenty-sixth sections of the Hew York code are in all respects the same as the one hundred and eighteenth section of our Practice Act; but the one hundred and twentieth section of the former differs from the one hundred and thirteenth section of the latter; the latter allows an injunction to be granted upon the complaint, as such, while the former does not, but requires an ..affidavit where the injunction is issued at the time of commencing the action, as well as where issued afterward. With this exception there is no difference between the two statutes.

Upon the question whether the plaintiff may use affidavits or other evidence in addition to those upon which the injunction has been granted in opposition to a motion to dissolve or modify, where the defendant rests his motion upon a verified answer, unaccompanied by any affidavits or other evidence on his part, there has been much conflict of opinion in the lower Courts of Hew York. So far as we are advised, the question has never been settled by the Court of Appeals. The negative is supported by the following cases: Merrimac Manufacturing Company v. Garner, 2 Abb. 318; 4 E. D. Smith, 387; Blatchford v. New York and New Haven Rail Road Company, 7 Abb. 322; Servoss v. Stannard, 2 Code R. 56; Hartwell v. Kingsley, 2 Code R. 101; 2 Sandf. 674; Benson v. Fash, 1 Code R. 50; Roome v. Webb, 1 Code R. 114; 3 How. 327; Milliken v. Carey, 3 Code R. 250; 5 How. 272. And the affirmative by the following: Krom v. Hogan, 2 Code R. 144; 4 How. 225; Schoonmaker v. Reformed Dutch [60]*60Church, 5 How. 267; Hascall v. Madison University, 1 Code R., N. S., 170; Jaques v. Areson, 4 Abb. 282; Hollins v. Mallard, 10 How. 540; Fowler v. Burns, 7 Bosw. 637.

In the case last cited the question was maturely considered, and the conclusion reached that if the defendant moves upon a verified answer the plaintiff may oppose the motion with new and additional affidavits. This diversity of opinion was due, doubtless, as suggested in Fowler v. Burns, to the mistaken notion on the part of some members of the bench and bar, that it was not intended by the code to change the practice, in this respect, which had previously existed in that State. It was settled prior to the code, under the chancery practice of that State, that where the defendant moved upon bill and answer only, the plaintiff could not read affidavits. (1 Johns. Ch. 211; 2 Johns. Ch. 202; 4 Johns. Ch. 26; 1 Paige, 164; 4 Paige, 111.) Familiarity with that practice, doubtless, led to its continuance in many cases under the code.

We consider the rule stated in Fowler v. Burns, supra, to be a correct exposition of the statute. The law of the question we hold to be as follows: The plaintiff is entitled to an injunction at the time of issuing the summons upon the complaint alone if it makes a proper case and is verified in the manner stated in the one hundred and thirteenth section; but if he asks for an injunction at any time thereafter he must do so upon affidavits. If the injunction has been granted without notice to the defendant, he may move to dissolve, first, upon the complaint and affidavits, or, in other words, the papers, whatever they may have been, upon which the injunction was granted; or, second, upon the papers upon which it was granted, and affidavits on the part of defendant, with or without the answer. If the defendant rests his motion upon the papers upon which the injunction was granted, the plaintiff can make no further showing, but must stand upon his complaint, or his complaint and affidavits, as the case may be. If, however, the defendant makes a counter showing by affidavit, with or without the answers, [61]*61the plaintiff may meet it with a further showing on his part. It will be observed that the defendant is not allowed to move upon the answer with or without affidavits, but upon affidavits with or without the answer; hence, if he moves upon what he has prepared as his verified answer, he makes it an affidavit in the sense of the statute for all the purposes of his motion, and he cannot deprive the plaintiff of his right to reply, by calling it an answer instead of an affidavit.

Under the old chancery practice, as already suggested, the defendant could move upon bill and answer, and if he did so, the plaintiff could make no further showing. This rule made it necessary for the plaintiff to anticipate the defendant’s case and annex to his bill affidavits, more or less numerous, according to circumstances, designed to meet it. This was imposing upon the plaintiff* labor which might prove useless. It was also contrary to the more orderly and logical mode of getting at the case.

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Bluebook (online)
35 Cal. 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/falkinburg-v-lucy-cal-1868.