Erwin P. Werner v. Hearst Publishing Company, Inc.

This is an appeal from final judgment of the district court dismissing the complaint of appellant, Werner (hereinafter sometimes also called plaintiff) against Hearst Publishing Company, Inc. (hereinafter called Hearst), based upon an alleged invasion of appellant’s right of privacy by the publication of a news story in the Los Angeles Examiner, a daily newspaper of large and general circulation owned and published by Hearst. Jurisdiction below was founded upon diversity of citizenship ( 28 U.S.C. sec. 1332 ). This court has jurisdiction by virtue of 28 U.S.C. sec. 1291 .

The principal facts alleged by the complaint are as follows:

Plaintiff is an attorney-at-law, duly licensed, and a member of the State Bar of California in good standing. He had been the elected City Attorney of Los Angeles from 1929-1933. On December 17, 1958, plaintiff and his fiancee applied to the county clerk of Orange county for a marriage license. The next day, an agent of Hearst’s said newspaper asked plaintiff for information concerning his intended marriage. Plaintiff refused, explaining that his fiancee desired their plans to remain secret until she decided upon a marriage date. Contrary to…