## Facts

- Beverly Glen Music, Inc. entered a multiyear recording contract with singer Anita Baker, then largely unknown.
- Baker recorded an album for Beverly Glen that achieved moderate commercial success.
- The contract guaranteed Baker less than $6,000 per year.
- After disputes with Beverly Glen, Baker accepted a more favorable recording deal with Warner Communications and notified Beverly Glen she would not continue performing under the Beverly Glen contract.
- Beverly Glen first sought to enjoin Baker from performing for other recording companies; the court denied relief under Civil Code § 3423 because the contract did not meet the statutory exception for enjoining breach of a personal-services contract.
- Beverly Glen then sued Warner for inducing breach and sought a preliminary injunction barring Warner from employing Baker.
- The trial court denied the preliminary injunction, reasoning Beverly Glen could not accomplish indirectly what the statute barred directly.

## Issues

1. Whether a plaintiff barred by Civil Code § 3423 from enjoining a performer’s breach of a personal-services contract may instead obtain an injunction against the performer’s new employer to prevent the employer from accepting the performer’s services.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the order denying a preliminary injunction against Warner.
- Because Baker’s contract did not satisfy Civil Code § 3423’s requirements, Beverly Glen could not obtain injunctive relief to restrain performance elsewhere.
- An injunction against the new employer that effectively prevents the performer from working would circumvent the statutory bar and was therefore improper.

## Legal Principles

- California Civil Code § 3423 generally prohibits injunctions to prevent breach of a contract not specifically enforceable, with a narrow exception for certain written personal-services contracts involving unique services and minimum compensation of at least $6,000 per year.
- Personal-services contracts are not specifically enforceable; injunctive relief cannot be used to coerce performance except within the statute’s limited exception.
- A party may not evade statutory limits on injunctive relief by seeking the same practical restraint through an order against a third party (such as the new employer).

## Conclusion

When a personal-services contract falls outside Civil Code § 3423’s narrow exception, courts will deny injunctive relief not only against the performer but also against a new employer where the requested order would operate as an indirect restraint on the performer’s ability to work.


Beverly Glen Music, Inc. v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 178 Cal. App. 3d 1142, 224 Cal. Rptr. 260 (Ct. App. 1986)