Foxcroft Productions, Inc. v. Universal City Studios LLC

Filed 3/30/

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

FOXCROFT PRODUCTIONS, B303161

INC., et al., Los Angeles County Plaintiffs and Appellants, Super. Ct. No. BC683206

v.

UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS

LLC,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Richard J. Burdge, Jr. and David S. Cunningham III, Judges. Reversed in part and affirmed in part. Burkhalter Kessler Clement & George, Alton G. Burkhalter, Daniel J. Kessler, Keith E. Butler; Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland, Robert A. Olson and Alana H. Rotter for Plaintiffs and Appellants. O’Melveny & Myers, Daniel M. Petrocelli, Timothy B. Heafner; Hueston Hennigan, Robert N. Klieger and Rajan S. Trehan for Defendant and Appellant. ____________________ We must define a key contract word: “photoplays.” This word includes television episodes of Columbo, says the studio that made this long-running television show. The creators of the Columbo character disagree. They say the word photoplays has many meanings and is ambiguous—but it cannot mean what the studio says. The studio, however,…