Amalgamated Acme Affiliates, Inc., v. Minton

In Amalgamated Acme Affiliates, Inc., v. Minton, 33 S.W.3d 387 (Tex. App.--Austin 2000, no pet.) employees of University Sports called between forty and fifty of the plaintiff's customers, provided false information to the customers, and urged them to withhold payments owed to the plaintiff. As a result, several customers stopped paying the plaintiff. Amalgamated Acme, 33 S.W.3d at 391. Employees of University Sports also called the plaintiff's customers, falsely identified themselves as the plaintiff, and provided false information to the customers. Id. Because University Sports's "speech" was "intended to end contractual relationships between the plaintiff and his customers, or to prevent contractual relationships with potential customers," the appellate court agreed that it was commercial speech. Id. at 394. Justice Bea Ann Smith explained that "to enjoy any protection, commercial speech must not be false or misleading." Id. Because University Sports's speech was both false and misleading, the appellate court held that the trial court properly enjoined University Sports from making in the future the same communications the plaintiff proved it had made in the past. That is, the trial court enjoined University Sports from repeating to more known customers of the plaintiff and known potential customers of the plaintiff the very fraudulent and false information plaintiff proved University Sports had been disseminating to plaintiff's customers. Id.