Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Legal & Professional Publications, Inc. v. Multistate Legal Studies, Inc.

Opinion by Judge NOONAN.

In these consolidated appeals Multistate Legal Studies, Inc. (Multistate) appeals a finding that it is in contempt of a consent decree arrived at in litigation with Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Legal and Professional Publications, Inc. (Harcourt). It also appeals its failure to obtain a contempt judgment against Harcourt and the award of sanctions against itself for the attempt. We affirm the judgment of the district court, except as to the sanctions.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Harcourt has for 25 years conducted bar examination review courses throughout the United States. It uses the name Bar/Bri for its program covering the entire examination. It also offers the Gilbert Multistate Seminar to prepare applicants for the Multistate Bar Examination or MBE, which is part of the bar examination in most states. Multistate is Harcourt’s principal competitor in preparing students for bar examinations. It offers an MBE review course under the name PMBR Course, and in California it sells a bar review course for the entire California Bar Examination.

In October 1990 Harcourt filed suit in the federal district court against Multistate charging it with false and…