Johnson v. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc.

This is an appeal from a judgment sustaining defendant’s demurrer without leave to amend plaintiffs’ complaint. Plaintiffs (Douglas William Johnson and other members of his family, Helen, Richard, Clement, and Dorance) filed suit on December 29, 1972, against defendants (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc. (publishers) and William F. Smith and Raymond Liedlich (authors of the textbook), alleging that defendants had invaded their right of privacy by republication of an article from The Nation magazine in a college English textbook published in 1965. The authors have not appeared in this action.

We are faced with two issues: (1) whether plaintiffs’ complaint states a cause of action; and if so (2) whether the cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations.

There is no dispute as to the underlying facts involved in this case. On March 10, 1961, plaintiff Douglas William Johnson, a Negro janitor, found a sack containing $240,000 in cash lying on a street in Los Angeles. He reported his discovery to the authorities and was given a $10,000 reward for his action by Brink’s, Incorporated, which had lost the money in transit. Several magazine articles recounted the…