Kirke La Shelle Co. v. Armstrong

Headnote

Kirke La Shelle Co. v. Armstrong, 173 App. Div. 232 , affirmed.

Appeal from a judgment, entered June 16, 1916, upon an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department overruling defendant’s exceptions, ordered to be heard in the first instance by the Appellate Division, denying a motion for a new trial and directing judgment in favor of plaintiff upon the verdict directed by the trial court. The complaint alleged that defendant’s intestate, a playwright, entered into a written agreement with one Kirke La Shelle, a producer of plays, wherein he (Armstrong) held himself out to be the author and owner of a copyrighted play entitled “ The Heir to Hoorah,” and further .represented that his title thereto was good and perfect, and that he was in a position to convey title to said play to said Kirke La Shelle, together with the exclusive rights to perform and produce the play before the public; that by reason of the foregoing representations said Kirke La Shelle and his assignors were induced to purchase and produce the play; that thereafter action was brought against them by a third party for infringement of copyright and judgment recovered therein, wherefore plaintiff demanded judgment against defendant for the amount of that judgment, together with the amount expended in defending the litigation and the purchase money paid, alleging false and fraudulent representations. The defendant denied the material allegations in the complaint and invoked the Statute of Limitations as a bar to. recovery.