Peggy Lawton Kitchens, Inc. v. Hogan

403 Mass. 732, 532 N.E.2d 54 (1989)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
P
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Peggy Lawton Kitchens, Inc. v. Hogan

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
403 Mass. 732, 532 N.E.2d 54 (1989)

AR

Facts

Peggy Lawton Kitchens, Inc. (plaintiff) accused Terrence Hogan (defendant) of stealing its chocolate chip cookie recipe. Kitchens received an injunction prohibiting Hogan from “making, baking and selling chocolate chip cookies which use or utilize Kitchens’s formula.” Hogan continued to make chocolate chip cookies but changed his recipe to add vanilla. This made Hogan’s cookies distinctive in flavor and texture from Kitchens’s cookies, although both cookies shared ingredients common to chocolate chip cookies. Kitchens asked the court to find Hogan in civil contempt for violating the injunction. Kitchens argued that Hogan had not produced an independent product but had instead derived his cookie formula from Kitchens’s formula. The Massachusetts Superior Court dismissed the contempt petition. Kitchens appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (O’Connor, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 821,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 821,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 821,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 989 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Remedies

Key Terms