MCA Records, Inc. v. Newton-John
California Court of Appeal
90 Cal. App. 3d 18 (1979)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
In 1975 singer Olivia Newton-John (defendant) entered an agreement with MCA Records, Inc. (MCA) (plaintiff) for Newton-John to deliver a certain number of recordings over a period of two to five years. Newton-John later stopped delivering recordings. MCA filed a breach-of-contract claim and sought injunctive relief. The court granted MCA a preliminary injunction restraining Newton-John from recording for another record company through 1982. Newton-John appealed, contending that MCA failed to guarantee minimum annual compensation of $6,000, which was statutorily required of employers seeking to enjoin an employee from rendering services to others. Newton-John argued that the $200,000 annual advance provided by MCA left less than $6,000 if she subtracted the costs of producing her records, which were contractually under her control. The California Court of Appeal granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fleming, J.)
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