ROTORUA THEATRE DISPUTE.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 4 March 1937, Page 6

ROTORUA THEATRE DISPUTE.

, JUDGMENT FOE PLAINTIFFS. (By Telegraph —Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Last Night. Judgment has been issued by Mr. Justice Callan in the Rotorua picture theatre case which occupied the Supreme Court for three days, in December. The picture interests centring in Rotorua had repudiated a deed entered into with picture interests having headquarters in Gisborne on the ground that the deed was on unreasonable restraint of trade and contrary to public policy. The Gisborne interests sought an enforcement of the deed or in alternative 515,000 damages. : Hi-., TTononrj in a judgment occupying 52 ['.ages, found th,£cti the deed was valid and enforceable and granted plaintiff’s injunction. The plaintiffs were R. J. ridge and H, B. Williams, of Gris i ■:r nc and the defendants were A. J i lVOermott anti W. D. Steele, of Rotors.. W. EL. Bailey, of Huntly, W. Kay and ; raider, of Auckland, and Roto rua Theatres, Limited, the defendantnamed being directors of the latte 1 company. Under a deed of November 14, 1933, defendants covenanted to appoint plaintiffs as their sole agents for buying their motion pictures and sound films and also to give plaintiffs their slide screen advertising rights and 30 per cent, of the profits from Rotorua Theatres Limited. The parties also covenanted not to engage in a picture business in competition with each other In repudiating the deed defendants said they had entered into it only because of plaintiff’s threat to enter into competition with them in Rotorua.