United States Telephone Co. v. Middlepoint Home Telephone Co.

Citations

• 22 Ohio C.C. Dec. 18

Syllabus

<p>TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.</p> <p>1. Contract for Ninety-Nine Years Between Local Telephone Company and Toll Company, Partly Performed, Held Binding.</p> <p>A contract between a telephone company engaged in operating a local exchange and a telephone company engaged in long distance service for the physical connection of lines and interchange of business, for a period of ninety-nine years, where partly performed, of material benefit to the party seeking its avoidance, and where the other party upon faith of, and in. performance of, said contract has made large expenditures, is binding.</p> <p>2. Contract for Exclusive Toll Business Originating in Local Exchanges not Obnoxious to Public Policy.</p> <p>Such contract for exclusive interchange of business originating on the lines of the one and destined to points reached by the other is within the purview of Gen. Code 9171 (R. S. 3455), and is not obnoxious to public policy.</p> <p>3. Statute .Requiring Through Transmission of Messages does not Extend to Verbal Communication over Independent Lines.</p> <p>Gen. Code 9182 (R. S. 3462) requiring despatches'to be received, and transmitted from and for other telegraph lines, made applicable to telephone companies by Gen. Code 9191 (R. S. 3471), does nqt, when read in connection with Gen. Code 9171 (R. S. 3455), extend to through verbal communication requiring physical connection of independent lines.</p> <p>4. Injunction Lies to Restrain Certain Specific Acts Violating Contract for Uxclusive Toll Service.</p> <p>Injunction is an appropriate remedy to restrain certain specific acts threatened to he committed in violation of such contract.</p> <p>5. Stranger to Contract Sought to be Annulled not Necessary Party, though Claiming under an Impairing Contract.</p> <p>A stranger to the contract sought to he annulled, although claiming under an impairing contract, is not a necessary party.</p> <p>[Syllabus by the court.]</p>