Jardine v. Love

In the 1990s, personal differences between two members of the Beach Boys, Al Jardine (plaintiff) and Mike Love (defendant), made Love unwilling to appear onstage with Jardine. Brother Records, Inc. (BRI) (defendant), a company formed to represent the intellectual-property interests of four of the founding members of the Beach Boys, voted to give each of the three surviving members a nonexclusive license to conduct individual concert tours. BRI sent Jardine a license agreement, which Jardine signed. BRI then requested additional assurances from Jardine, which Jardine did not provide. Jardine then toured under the name Beach Boys Family and Friends. BRI brought a trademark-infringement suit in federal court. The court found in favor of BRI and issued an injunction against Jardine’s use of “Beach Boys” as a trademark. Jardine then brought suit in state court, asserting that the three other BRI shareholders breached a fiduciary duty to him as a minority shareholder in BRI when they gave Love increased control over the business while attempting to prevent Jardine from touring. BRI, Love, Brian Wilson, Melinda Wilson, Bernard Gudvi, and the Carl Wilson Trust (defendants) filed a demurrer, arguing that the issues raised by Jardine had already been decided in federal court. They also argued that Jardine was not technically a minority shareholder because each member held 25 percent. Jardine argued that the state lawsuit was permissible because the state and federal lawsuits involved different primary rights. The court agreed but granted the demurrer. Jardine appealed. The California Court of Appeal granted certiorari.