Orson Welles v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.

This case was originally brought by appellant Welles as plaintiff in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Los Angeles, and was thereafter removed by appropriate proceedings to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Los Angeles, by reason of diversity of citizenship of the parties. For brevity, the appellee Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., a corporation, is hereinafter referred to as “CBS”, and ap-pellee Westinghouse Electric Corporation, is referred to as “Westinghouse”.

The case was tried without a jury upon the appellant’s first amended complaint setting forth three alleged causes of action.

The first cause of action in substance claims that pursuant to a written agreement dated August 30, 1938, between appellant and Columbia Artists, Inc., a corporation no longer in existence, for the benefit of CBS, appellant as an independent contractor produced and directed a radio broadcast on October 30, 1938 (hereinafter referred to as the “radio show”); that appellant conceived, originated, devised and created the style of said radio show and is the co-author and proprietor of said radio show; that appellant never…