De Haviland v. Warner Brothers Pictures

67 Cal. App. 2d 225, 153 P.2d 983 (1944)

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De Haviland v. Warner Brothers Pictures

California Court of Appeal
67 Cal. App. 2d 225, 153 P.2d 983 (1944)

KS

Facts

In 1936 Warner Brothers Pictures (Warner Brothers) (defendant) signed a contract with actress Olivia de Havilland (plaintiff). [Ed’s note: The court misspelled de Havilland’s name in its opinion.] The contract had a term of one year, and it provided Warner Brothers with the option to extend the contract each year for a total of six years of extensions, which Warner Brothers exercised. After the success of Warner Brothers’ movie Gone With the Wind, de Havilland became more selective in the roles she accepted, and she refused certain roles. As a result, de Havilland did not work during certain production periods. Warner Brothers suspended de Havilland without pay. Including one period of sickness, de Havilland missed 25 weeks of work in total. In 1945, over eight years after the initial contract was signed, de Havilland sued for the termination of her contract pursuant to § 2855 of the California Labor Code. Warner Brothers claimed de Havilland was not limited to seven calendar years of service, and she had waived any right to complain about the extensions due to her breaches. However, a lower court declared the contract was ended because the seven years permitted for service contracts under § 2855 had passed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Shinn, J.)

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