Davis v. A. Booth & Co.

Citations

• 131 F. 31
• 65 C.C.A. 269
• 1904 U.S. App. LEXIS 4260

Syllabus

<p>1. Sales — Good Will — Equity—Jurisdiction—Multiplicity of Suits.</p> <p>Equity has jurisdiction to restrain the violation of an agreement entered into as a part of the sale of a business, by which the persons interested therein agreed not to again engage in business in certain localities for a definite time, because of the difficulty in estimating the damages accruing, and to prevent a multiplicity of suits.</p> <p>2. Same — Validity of Contract — Public Policy.</p> <p>An agreement by which the stockholders of a corporation, on selling its assets to complainant’s assignor, agreed not to again engage in a similar business in specified localities for a period of 10 years, or do any act tending to impair the good will of the business sold, was not contrary to public policy.</p> <p>3. Same — Anti-Trust Act.</p> <p>Where a corporation engaged in the business of buying and selling fish sold out its assets and good will to plaintiff’s assignor, and the seller no longer retained any interest in the property, so that the sale was not a mere combination of owners and properties under one management, the sale was not in violation of the federal anti-trust act of July 2, 1890, c. 647, 26 Stat. 209 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3200J, prohibiting contracts in restraint of trade, though the contract might incidentally or in some remote degree injuriously affect interstate commerce.</p> <p>4 Same — State Statutes — Construction.</p> <p>3 How. Ann. St. § 9351 j, denominated an act prohibiting certain trust combinations, and providing that all contracts, the purpose or intent of which shall be in any manner to prevent or restrict free competition in the sale of any article or commodity, or in any other branch of business or labor, shall be utterly illegal and void, provided that it shall not invalidate or affect contracts for the sale of the good will of a trade or business, does not prohibit a contract for the sale of a business where it was not intended that the seller should ther