Fruit MacHinery Co. v. F. M. Ball & Co.

258 P.2d 852, 118 Cal. App. 2d 748, 98 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 289, 1953 Cal. App. LEXIS 1623
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 29, 1953
DocketCiv. 15461
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 258 P.2d 852 (Fruit MacHinery Co. v. F. M. Ball & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fruit MacHinery Co. v. F. M. Ball & Co., 258 P.2d 852, 118 Cal. App. 2d 748, 98 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 289, 1953 Cal. App. LEXIS 1623 (Cal. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

WOOD (Fred B.), J.

This is an action in contract for royalties payable by defendant to plaintiff in 1949 and 1950 according to the terms of an agreement by which plaintiff (licensee of the patentee) granted defendant a “non-exclusive sub-license to construct, manufacture, own, use and maintain 125 F. & P. Fitters” (patented peach pitting machines) under the terms and conditions expressed in the agreement.

Judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff in the sum of $10,335.08 with interest at 7 per cent from September 15, 1949, and in the sum of $23,906.25 with interest at 7 per cent. Defendant has appealed.

The Issues

Defendant claims it is absolved from the duty of paying any of the agreed royalties because (1) defendant acquired and had title to the machines, (2) there was no consideration for payment of the royalties, and (3) plaintiff is a monopoly and in restraint of trade under state and federal statutes.

Findings of fact and conclusions of law were waived. Accordingly, a reviewing court “will assume that the trial court found every fact essential to support the judgment, and when a transcript of the evidence is before the reviewing court it will not weigh the evidence to determine what is true and what is not, but it will search the record for the purpose only of determining whether there is substantial evidence supporting the judgment and will resolve all doubts *751 in favor of the judgment. [Citations.] ” (Baker v. Baker, 98 Cal.App.2d 424, 426 [220 P.2d 576].)

Our examination of the record in this case convinces us that defendant’s points are not well taken; instead, that the evidence supports implied findings which in turn support the judgment.

The Facts

The record shows the significant facts narrated below. Some were admitted by the answer to the complaint, expressly or by failure to deny. Some were established by stipulation. The rest were supported by substantial evidence.

Filice and Perrelli Canning Company, Inc., a corporation, acquired an invention known as F. & P. Fitters (machines for removing pits from peaches) and all rights and patents to be granted thereon.

Filice and Perrelli contacted five other canning companies, including the defendant herein, to form a corporation to develop and market the pitter. That corporation, the plaintiff ■ herein, was organized in January, 1942. Among its purposes were these: (a) dealing in patent rights and licenses relating to F. & P. Fitters, (b) improving and developing F. & P. Fitters, and (e) licensing F. & P. Fitters to the six canning company organizers and others. The intention of the organizers also was that the plaintiff should make a profit from the manufacture of the machines and the licensing of the machines to themselves and others, and that they would profit through dividends payable to them as stockholders; not that plaintiff should operate on a nonprofit basis, as defendant now contends.

In February, 1942, Filice and Perrelli granted to plaintiff an exclusive license (during the pendency of the patent application and during the life of any patent which might issue) to manufacture F. & P. Fitters and to lease the same to others for use, and to grant sublicenses, for such consideration or royalties as would be determined by plaintiff’s board of directors. This agreement stipulated that plaintiff would pay Filice and Perrelli royalties on fruit pitted by users of these machines, beginning at 10 cents per ton during the first year of the license and increasing year by year until the fifth year, during which, and thereafter, the royalty would be 30 cents per ton. Plaintiff further agreed not to assign this license or any interest therein without the written consent of Filice and Perrelli. (This agreement did not an *752 thorize plaintiff to sell any of the machines which it might manufacture.)

At all times the six organizers, including defendant, were represented upon plaintiff’s board of directors.

During the development period each of the organizers contributed moneys in equal amounts to plaintiff for the cost of perfecting the machine. Commencing at least as early as November, 1943, one T. M. Harrer did the development work for plaintiff, including the making of arrangements for manufacture on a commercial scale. Early in the history of the plaintiff corporation Harrer was given representation upon its board of directors. He continued thereafter to be represented thereon.

By the fall of 1945 the pitter was sufficiently improved for plaintiff to manufacture machines for use in 1946. Accordingly, the six canner organizers indicated to plaintiff the number of machines each would want for use during the 1946 season, a total of 225 machines.

At meetings held in September, October, November, 1945, and January and March, 1946, plaintiff’s board of directors considered ways and means of financing the cost of building these machines, financing plaintiff’s operations, and paying the 30 per cent royalty to Filiee and Perrelli. In December, 1945, a written contract between plaintiff and Harrer was executed, whereby he would make the machines and plaintiff would pay him the actual cost plus a percentage. To meet that cost, various proposals were considered: To sell the machines to the six canner members on a conditional sales contract basis, and hypothecate the contracts to plaintiff’s bank; to impose a royalty of $1.00 per ton on the use of such machines ; and to sell capital stock to the six canner members, in equal amounts, and to issue an equal share to Harrer as compensation for his work of development. This culminated in the following arrangement: Harrer would bill plaintiff from time to time during the course of manufacture and plaintiff would then bill each of the six canner members for its due share of the cost, based upon the number of machines it had requested; in addition, each canner member would annually pay plaintiff a royalty (to be determined by plaintiff’s board of directors) on the machines taken by him, based upon the tonnage of fruit processed by him, and to do so during the life of the patent (until 1960). Plaintiff desired to have this arrangement or plan expressed in the form of written contracts between it and the canner members. Its *753 board instructed plaintiff’s secretary to prepare contracts to cover the sale of the machines and the royalties thereon and to submit them with stock subscription forms to the six interested canners with a letter advising them their orders would be taken for the number of machines indicated. But it was understood by all concerned that plaintiff would have to obtain from Filice and Perrelli a modification of the licensing agreement because that agreement did not authorize plaintiff to convey title to any machine. Such a modification was effected in May, 1947.

Meanwhile, the machines were manufactured and delivered, under this arrangement, to the several canner members during 1946, defendant receiving and paying the cost of 110 to 125 machines, making progressive payments as the machines were manufactured.

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Bluebook (online)
258 P.2d 852, 118 Cal. App. 2d 748, 98 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 289, 1953 Cal. App. LEXIS 1623, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fruit-machinery-co-v-f-m-ball-co-calctapp-1953.