Laguna Publishing Co. v. Golden Rain Foundation

In Laguna Publishing Co. v. Golden Rain Foundation (1982) 131 Cal. App. 3d 816, 182 Cal. Rptr. 813, the plaintiff Laguna Publishing Company (LPC), a publisher of a throwaway newspaper, filed an action against Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Hills (GRF). GRF owned the streets and sidewalks in Rossmoor Leisure World, a residential retirement community. GRF controlled access to Leisure World and excluded LPC from delivering unsolicited, free delivery of its newspaper to Leisure World residents. Another defendant was the publisher of a throwaway unsolicited newspaper. It had a long-standing relationship with GRF and had been permitted the exclusive right to deliver its unsolicited, free delivery throwaway publication to Leisure World residents. LPC pursued its claims on various theories including unfair trade practices and violation of "its free speech and free press rights secured to it under either the federal or state Constitutions." (Laguna Publishing, supra, 131 Cal. App. 3d at p. 821.) Prior to the commencement of a jury trial, the court ruled that LPC would not be allowed to "put on evidence of the damages which it incurred as a result of the abridgement of its right of free speech, and the court assumed . . . that the plaintiff had suffered actual, demonstrable, compensatory damages arising solely from its exclusion from Leisure World and could have proved such damages had it been permitted to put on such evidence." ( Id. at pp. 850-851.) The Court of Appeal reversed that ruling. It held that LPC should have been able to present evidence of damages accruing from a violation of its constitutionally protected free speech rights. It reasoned that Melvin v. Reid (1931) 112 Cal. App. 285, 297 P. 91 applied the constitutional inalienable rights arising from "old section 1, article I of the California Constitution" to support an action for invasion of privacy to recover damages. (Laguna Publishing Co. v. Golden Rain Foundation, supra, 131 Cal. App. 3d at p. 853.)