Plaintiff corporations and defendant corporations sought review of a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California) that granted defendant subsidiaries' general demurrer, which asserted that plaintiffs' complaint showed on its face that the interference of defendant subsidiaries was justified by reason of their all being members of the same business family as the licensor.

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Overview

Plaintiff corporations brought an action against defendant corporations and defendant subsidiaries for interference with business relations and contractual rights. Defendant subsidiaries filed a general demurrer asserting that plaintiffs' complaint showed on its face that the interference of defendant subsidiaries was justified by reason of their all being members of the same business family as the licensor. The trial court granted the demurrer and dismissed defendant subsidiaries. The appeals court reversed, holding that none of defendant subsidiaries had the requisite proprietary or creditor's financial interest in licensor to render their alleged interference with licensor's agreements with plaintiffs privileged as a matter of law. Thus, the privilege of defendant subsidiaries to engage in the conduct charged against them was an affirmative defense and required determination. The general demurrers to plaintiffs' complaint should have been overruled and the order of dismissal was reversed.

Outcome

The court reversed a judgment of the superior court that granted defendant subsidiaries' general demurrer, holding none of defendant subsidiaries had the requisite proprietary or creditor's financial interest in licensor to render their alleged interference with the license agreements between plaintiffs and licensor privileged as a matter of law. The dismissal of defendant subsidiaries was reversed.