Baldwin v. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co.

⁵⁵³ Adkins, J., delivered the opinion, of the Court. The bill of complaint in this case, filed June 1st, 1928, by Charles G. Baldwin against the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Baltimore City, alleges that plaintiff has been practicing law in Baltimore City since June, 1895, and since that time his name has been listed in the telephone directory of defendant, and he has had the telephone number St. Paul, afterwards Plaza, 2454, since February, 1904; that in 1913 he entered into a copartnership with G. Bidgely Sappington for the purpose of engaging in the practice of law in the City of Baltimore, and agreed with the said firm to' allow them to use said telephone number, which they did up to and including the first day of February, 1928, when by mutual agreement said copartnership was dissolved and said telephone number was sold and assigned to G. Bidgely Sappington; and a new contract was executed with defendant whereby plaintiff was allotted the number Plaza 2453, which was one of the trunk lines formerly held under the contract for Plaza 2454, but not listed in the telephone directory; that said telephone directory is largely distributed throughout the City of Baltimore and other cities;, that defendant is now (at the time of filing-bill) engaged in the distribution of a new directory, and has already distributed copies thereof to certain of its subscribers, in which the name of Baldwin & Sappington is listed under the number Plaza 2454; that when defendant published said directory it knew and had been informed that said firm had been dissolved as of February 1st, 1928, and they had accepted instructions and entered into contracts not to republish the name of Baldwin & Sappington in any public directory, and to publish the name of plaintiff with telephone number Plaza 2453, and to publish the name of G. Bidgely Sappington with the number 2454; that without authority defendant is holding them out to the world as partners and transferring their good will to the former partner of plaintiff; that the partial distribution of said directory and publication has caused plaintiff irreparable loss and damage, and the further distribution thereof will greatly ⁵⁵⁴ increase said loss and damage and that plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law; that plaintiff has acquired a valuable clientele, and having been engaged in practice with the firm name of Baldwin & Sappington, the continuation of the publishing of the firm name will cause confusion and injury to said clientele as well as to plaintiff; that the publication of said firm name and the listing thereof under any telephone number whatsoever is in violation of plaintiff’s rights, and will cause plaintiff irreparable damage “unless defendant is restrained from the publication of said directory and the distribution thereof, and is required by mandatory injunction to recall such copies of said directory as may have been distributed and destroy the same or correct the same by obliterating the name Baldwin & Sappington wherever it occurs.” The prayer of the bill is for a mandatory injunction against the publishing or distributing of a telephone directory with a list of names containing the firm name of Baldwin & Sappington, and requiring defendant to recall any copy or issue of said directory printed subsequent to February 1st, 1928, and to destroy or correct the same; and for further relief. With the bill were filed two exhibits, as follows: “Baltimore and Vicinity Telephone Directory, at page 26, Baldwin & Sappington lwys, Munsey Bldg. Plaza 2454, and at page 180, Classified Business Directory, Lawyers, Baldwin & Sappington, Munsey Bldg., Plaza 2454.” “January 24, 1928. “Chesapeake & Potomac Co., “5 Light Street, “Baltimore, Md. “Gentlemen: “Please discontinue Plaza 2454, which is to be transferred to G. Bidgely Sappington, also disconnect listing of Charles G. Baldwin and Baldwin & Sappington on Plaza 2454, and listing of Baldwin & Sappington and G. Bidgely Sappington on Plaza 2453. “Yours very truly, “Charles G. Baldwin.” ⁵⁵⁵ There also appear in the record the following two letters: “The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. of Baltimore City. “W. A. Condit, Vice-President, “108 E. Lexington St.,