City Carpet Beating Etc. Works v. Jones

Citations

• 102 Cal. 506
• 36 P. 841
• 1894 Cal. LEXIS 676

Syllabus

<p>Pleading—Causes op Action Not Separately Stated—Demurrer— Motion.—Where two causes of action are not separately stated, the objection cannot be raised by a demurrer upon the ground that several causes of action are improperly united; but the remedy is by a motion to make the pleading more definite and certain by separating and distinctly stating the different causes of action.</p> <p>Contract in Restraint op Trade—Sale op Goodwill—Territorial Restriction Partly Valid and Partly Void—Divisible Covenant. Where the goodwill of a business has accrued from customers residing in several contiguous counties, though the business was conducted in one alone, a sale of the business and goodwill with a covenant restricting the vendor from engaging in business in any of such contiguous counties for a period of years is not at common law an illegal contract, and is only void under the code as to the counties other than the one in which the business was conducted, hut is valid as to that county, the covenant being divisible as regards space, and void only to the extent to which it departs from the provisions of the code.</p> <p>Id.—Construction op Contract—Sale op Carpet Renovating Business —Renovation op Other Fabrics—Goodwill.—Upon the sale of the business of cleaning and renovating carpets, and of the goodwill thereof, where the contract of sale contained a covenant that the vendor would not for a period of years enter into the business of cleaning and renovating carpets, “and of cleaning and renovating any other fabrics,” the contract cannot be held void for including the latter covenant, in the absence of evidence that the vendor was not engaged in renovating and cleaning other fabrics besides carpets, and, if he was so engaged, it would be giving to the contract a very narrow construction to hold that the goodwill sold did not include such other fabrics.</p> <p>Id.—Limit of Time fob Restraint of Trade—Injunction—Modification of Judgment.—Under section 1674 of the Civil Co