McCall

Introduction

Plaintiffs, James B. McCall et al., appeal from the trial court’s order granting the motion of Joe E. Johnson to enter satisfaction of a judgment previously entered in favor of William A. McCall and against joint tortfeasors, Johnson, Challenge Records, and Four Star Music Co., Inc. We conclude the motion should not have been granted. McCall neither received full satisfaction of his judgment against the defendants, nor did he intend to release Johnson, who had not paid his portion of the judgment. Accordingly, we reverse.

Factual and Procedural Background

On May 16, 1975, McCall, a songwriter, filed his first amended complaint against Four Star, Johnson and Challenge Records, among others, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and seeking an injunction and an accounting for money due under his royalty agreements with the music publishers.

On February 17, 1977, the court entered a default judgment (the judgment or the California judgment) against the defendants for failure to comply with a previous court order they make royalty payments to McCall. Pursuant to the default judgment, the trial court ordered Four Star, Challenge and Johnson, as joint tortfeasors,…