Simmons Hardware Co. v. Waibel

Citations

• 1 S.D. 488
• 11 L.R.A. 267
• 47 N.W. 814
• 1891 S.D. LEXIS 53

Syllabus

<p>1. The plaintiff, inventing- and preparing a secret code or system of letters, figures, and characters, showing the cost and selling- price of its wares and merchandise, for use between itself and its traveling salesmen, has a property therein which the law will protect; and, when the remedy at law is inadequate, courts of equity will lend their aid by granting a temporary injunction, and the appointment of a • receiver, in order to prevent irreparable injury pendente lite.</p> <p>2. When parties have become possessed, in a wrongful and fraudulent manner, of a knowledge of such secret code or system, and the key thereto, and have copied the same into a catalogue of their own, a court of equity should take such marked catalogue into its possession, through a receiver, and retain it pending the action, when, in. furtherance of justice and to prevent a fraud ulent use of such secret code or system, such intervention becomes necessary.</p> <p>3. The appointing or refusing a receiver is within the sound judicial discretion of the court to which application is made, and this court will not interfere with the exercise of this discretion when the evidence is conflicting, unless this court is satisfied such court has abused its discretion.</p> <p>4. Held, in this case, that there was such an abuse of discretion by the lower court, in making the modified order directing the receiver appointed by it to return to the defendants the Simmons Hardware Catalogue, containing the secret code or system invented by plaintiff for the transaction of its business between itself and its traveling salesmen, which had been wrongfully and fraudulently copied therein by the defendants.</p> <p>5. Held, further, that a temporary injunction, while properly granted, was not an adequate remedy in this ease, as such injunction could only be effective while defendants were within the jurisdiction of the court, and that, to prevent the improper use of said marked catalogue beyond the jurisdiction o