Janus Films, Inc. v. City of Fort Worth

Decision Date13 June 1962
Docket NumberNo. A-8946,A-8946
Citation358 S.W.2d 589,163 Tex. 616
PartiesJANUS FILMS, INC., Petitioner, v. CITY OF FORT WORTH et al., Respondents.
CourtTexas Supreme Court

Tobolowsky, Hartt, Schlinger & Blalock, Dallas, for petitioner.

S. G. Johndroe, City Attorney, Fort Worth, for respondents.

PER CURIAM.

This case is before us as an appeal from the denial of a temporary injunction. Petitioner Janus sought an injunction to enjoin the City of Fort Worth from interfering with the exhibition of the film 'The Virgin Spring' in Fort Worth. The Censorship Board of that city had refused to grant an unconditional permit to display the film but had conditioned its approval upon the deletion by the petitioner of the so-called '90 second rape scene.' The Court of Civil Appeals has affirmed the action of the trial court in denying the termporary injunction.

In suits for temporary injunctions, the trial judge is endowed with broad discretion to grant or deny the injunction. Railroad Commission v. Shell Oil Co., 146 Tex. 286, 206 S.W.2d 235. Accordingly, the scope of appellate review in such cases is limited to the narrow question of whether the action of the trial judge in granting or denying the temporary injunction constitutes a clear abuse of discretion. Texas Foundries v. International Moulders & Foundry Workers' Union, 151 Tex. 239, 248 S.W.2d 460.

The purpose of a temporary injunction is to preserve the status quo of the subject matter of the pending a final trial of the case on its merits. Transport Co. of Texas v. Robertson Transports., Inc., 152 Tex. 551, 261 S.W.2d 549. In the last cited case, we defined 'status quo' as being 'the last, actual, peaceable, non-contested status which preceded the pending controversy.' Applying that definition to the case at bar would result in the status quo to be properly preserved being that time at which petitioner had no permit to display his film, conditional or otherwise. By his petition, petitioner sought to have the board enjoined from interfering with the display of the film in question thus affording him the opportunity to display the film as if he had an unconditional permit.

To have granted the petitioner that relief could quite possibly have rendered the questions in this case moot rather than have preserved them for ultimate decision when the case came on for trial as a suit for permanent injunction. Such a result would defeat the purpose of the temporary injunction...

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    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • June 3, 1966
    .......         A. B. Keel, City" Atty., Hawthorne, for respondent. . Page 704 . \xC2"....2d 768, 771, 174 N.Y.Supp.2d 813, 817 16 ; Janus Films Inc., v. City of Forth Worth, Tex.Civ.App. ...88, 96--99, 60 S.Ct. 736, 84 L.Ed. 1093; Fort v. Civil Service Commission, 61 Cal.2d 331, 339, ......
  • Universal Amusement Co., Inc. v. Vance
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)
    • December 18, 1978
    ...Co., 526 S.W.2d 526 (Tex.1975); Oil Field Haulers Ass'n v. Railroad Comm'n, 381 S.W.2d 183 (Tex.1964); Janus Films, Inc. v. City of Fort Worth, 163 Tex. 616, 358 S.W.2d 589 (1962); Transport Co. of Texas v. Robertson Transports, Inc., 152 Tex. 551, 261 S.W.2d 549 (1953); Texas Foundries, In......
  • Moore v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
    • June 30, 1971
    ...the trial court in granting of denying a temporary injunction constitutes a clear abuse of the discretion. Janus Films, Inc. v. City of Fort Worth, 163 Tex. 616, 358 S.W.2d 589 (1962); Texas Foundaries, Inc. v. International Molders & Foundry Workers' Union, 151 Tex. 239, 248 S.W.2d 460 (19......
  • Clint Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Marquez
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Texas
    • April 1, 2016
    ...status which preceded the pending controversy.” In re Newton, 146 S.W.3d 648, 651 (Tex. 2004) (quoting Janus Films, Inc. v. City of Fort Worth, 163 Tex. 616, 358 S.W.2d 589, 589 (1962) ). Here, the parents seek not to preserve the status quo, but to force the district to change the way it d......
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