Safeway Stores, Incorporated v. Morris Rudner

On December 1, 1954, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division, appellant, Safeway Stores, Incorporated, a Maryland corporation, brought an action against nine defendants—a California corporation and eight individual citizens of California, one of whom was appellee, Morris Rudner. Thereby appellant sought to enjoin appellee and his codefendants from using the trade name “Safeway.” Appellee and three of his codefendants answered on December 23, 1954. The others did not answer. A trial was had on May 24 and 25, 1956. On June 6, 1956, on motion of appellant, the action was dismissed as to appellee’s codefendants, without prejudice. Thereafter appellee was the only defendant in the action. The District Court, on June 18, 1956, filed an opinion and, on July 24, 1956, stated its findings and conclusions and entered a judgment ordering, adjudging and decreeing that appellant “take nothing by its complaint, or at all.” Appellant has appealed from the judgment.

The record discloses the following facts:

Sam Seelig Company, a California corporation, was organized on August 14, 1914. It adopted the trade name “Safeway” in 1925. Its own…