Holley Milling Co. v. Salt Lake & Jordan Mill & Elevator Co.

197 P. 731, 58 Utah 149, 1921 Utah LEXIS 21
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 14, 1921
DocketNo. 3574
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 197 P. 731 (Holley Milling Co. v. Salt Lake & Jordan Mill & Elevator Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holley Milling Co. v. Salt Lake & Jordan Mill & Elevator Co., 197 P. 731, 58 Utah 149, 1921 Utah LEXIS 21 (Utah 1921).

Opinion

FRICK, J.

The plaintiff, a corporation, brought this action against the defendant, also a corporation, alleging that the defendant was wrongfully using a certain trademark, the property of plaintiff, and asked that the defendant be enjoined from continuing the use thereof, for an accounting, and prayed judgment for damages.

The allegations of the complaint material to this contro[152]*152versy will be more specifically referred to in the course of the opinion.

The defendant answered the complaint, and, after admitting certain allegations, denied all of plaintiff’s alleged claims relating to said trade-mark and set up a counterclaim in which it fully set forth its rights to the trade-mark; that the plaintiff had been, and was, wrongfully and unlawfully using said trade-mark, prayed for an injunction, for an accounting, and for judgment for damages.

The facts, as they, are reflected in the evidence and the court’s findings, are substantially as follows:

On the 27th day of August, 1918, the defendant was the owner of two milling plants, one located at North Salt Lake and the other at South Jordan, near Sandy, a town some distance south of Salt Lake City in Salt Lake county; that the defendant on said day, and for more than 20 years prior thereto, had continuously carried on the business of manufacturing flour at the places aforesaid, which it sold in the markets of Utah, etc.;' that during all of said time the defendant manufactured and sold as aforesaid a certain brand of flour “which was known, identified, and referred to as the ‘White Fawn Brand’ of flour, and for which there was great demand”; that said brand of flour during the period aforesaid was manufactured of uniform quality and was placed into sacks and barrels “upon which was printed a label, or design, indicating a pictorial representation of a fawn or deer, and the words ‘White Fawn,’ together with the words ‘White Fawn leads them all,’ and other words and marks including the name Salt Lake & Jordan Mill & Elevator Company;” that said brand of flour became widely known to the trade as a valuable and desirable brand of flour, and had acquired a high reputation and had an extensive sale in Salt Lake county and elsewhere, and the sale of said flour was a great source of profit to the defendant during the period aforesaid; that “said brand became and was, and is, a trade-mark,” the essential feature of which “was the pictorial representation of a fawn, or deer, used in connection with the words ‘White Fawn’ and ‘White Fawn leads them all’”; that-on June 4, 1918, the plaintiff and defendant entered into a written agreement whereby the defendant agreed to sell and the plaintiff agreed to purchase the milling plant located at North Salt Lake, including the real estate; that said agreement, among other things, provided that the defendant agreed to sell and plaintiff agreed to purchase “that certain mill site and milling plant * * * located at North Salt Lake * * * consisting of approximately three acres of land, together with the buildings and improvements thereon”; that after stating the terms [153]*153and conditions concerning payments and conveyance the agreement also provided “that first party [the defendant] does not sell hereby, but reserves to itself ownership in all goods, wares, and merchandise in trade,-, and all trucks, wagons, horses, harnesses, and delivery equipment"; that upon the execution of said agreement, to wit, June 4, 1918, plaintiff took possession of said milling plant and property purchased by it; that thereafter-, on the 27th day of August, 1918, the defendant, by warranty deed, duly conveyed said milling plant to the plaintiff, which deed, after describing the property, contained the following: “Together with the milling plant upon said premises and all buildings, equipment, tools, appurtenances, rights, and privileges thereto belonging, except all trucks, wagons, horses, harnesses, and delivery equipment of the grantor used in connection with its said milling plant.”
The court also found “that the defendant did not transfer or convey to plaintiff the defendant’s business or defendant’s good will, or the trade-mark ‘White Fawn,’ or ‘White Fawn leads them all,’ ” nor the other words or the designs constituting said trade-mark. It is further found that said trade-mark was first used by defendant in connection with the sale of flour which was manufactured near the town of Sandy, aforesaid, and was so used prior to the use thereof at the plant at North Salt Lake, and that said trade-mark was not a part of defendant’s business at said North Salt Lake; that defendant, ever since the year 1900, and prior thereto, had carried on a general milling business, and had sold the flour manufactured in said business, and during all of said time had used said trade-mark in connection with said business; that on the 4th day of October, 1905, the defendant “registered with the state of Utah” said “trade-mark,” stating the particulars; that said trademark for more than 20 years had continuously been used by the defendant as hereinbefore stated, and that the same is of great value to the defendant, who is the exclusive owner thereof; that if the plaintiff is permited to continue the use of said trade-mark defendant will be “seriously and irreparably damaged.” The court also found that the plaintiff is not the owner of said trade-mark, and is not entitled to the relief prayed for “nor to any relief whatever.” The court also made a finding which, however, is more in the nature of a conclusion, namely, “that the defendant has not suffered any damages by reason of the use by the plaintiff of said trade-mark and brand.”

There is also evidence upon which no findings were made showing the amount of flour the plaintiff sold with the brand or trade-mark in question during a particular period of time, and the net profits it realized from such sales, to wit, 15 cents per barrel. There is also evidence respecting the net profits [154]*154the defendant obtained from the sale of each barrel of flour with said brand or trade-mark. There are also other features upon which some evidence was produced which are not covered by the findings, and, which, so far as material, will be referred to in the course of the opinion.

The plaintiff, in its complaint, defined the trade-marks as the same is set forth in the findings, and based its right and title thereto and the right to its use upon the clause in the deed of conveyance which we have quoted in the foregoing statement. It was also made to appear at the trial that after the agreement of sale was entered into, and perhaps after the deed of conveyance was made, the defendant sold plaintiff some sacks with the brand or trade-mark printed thereon, that is, the sacks which the defendant had been using at the North Salt Lake plant with “Salt Lake City, Utah,” printed on the sacks. It also appears from the evidence that before bringing this action the plaintiff claimed the right to the use of the trade-mark from a source other than from the defendant, and that pursuant to such claim, plaintiff, under date of March 17, 1919, notified the defendant as follows:

“As we have acquired from the rightful owners, Collins & Co., whose authority is recorded under trade-marlt No. 107,572 in the Patent Office at Washington, D. C., the exclusive right for the state of Utah for the use of the brand ‘White Pawn’ for wheat flour, we therefore request that you discontinue the use of this brand at once.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
197 P. 731, 58 Utah 149, 1921 Utah LEXIS 21, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holley-milling-co-v-salt-lake-jordan-mill-elevator-co-utah-1921.