Daily Telegram Co. v. Long Beach Press Publishing Co.

I dissent. As nearly as I am able to determine the law, as attested by a host of precedent authorities emanating from the appellate tribunals of this state, the pleaded facts in the instant action make it “a borderline case”. In such circumstances, I am unwilling to subscribe to a judgment by which, assuming the truthfulness of the facts alleged in the complaint, the defendants will be shielded in their asserted wrongdoing. If the pleading fairly shows that the plaintiffs actually have been defrauded by the defendants, and thus have been caused to suffer a financial loss, any doubtful question which arises on the construction of the statute, as to whether the action to recover such damages as appear to have been sustained was commenced within the time limited by the provisions of such statute, should be resolved in favor of the plaintiffs. As I read the authorities, they are to the effect that in circumstances such as are herein presented, the plaintiffs had no legal duty imposed upon them to make a discovery of the alleged facts at a date earlier than is shown by the allegations of the amended complaint discovery by plaintiffs actually occurred. Particularly am I moved to such…

This is an appeal from a judgment of dismissal entered after defendants’ demurrer to the second amended complaint was sustained without leave to amend upon the ground that it does not state a cause of action, and that said cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations. The complaint, which is for damages based upon the alleged fraud of the defendants in procuring the execution of a contract, was filed more than three years after the accrual of the purported cause of action.

In brief, the salient facts recited by the amended complaint are in effect as follows: The appellant corporation, The Daily Telegram of Long Beach, and the respondent corporation, Long Beach Press Publishing Company, were publishing rival newspapers in the city of Long Beach. The appellant Belle McCord Roberts, the president and majority stockholder of the appellant corporation, owned all of its shares of stock except those owned by its secretary, the respondent S. S. Conklin, and the respondents otherwise individually named, owned all of the shares of the respondent corporation. During the month of August, 1924, the respondents, including said S. S. Conklin, presented a plan to the appellants for…