Injunction Bars Ex-Publisher of Signal From Working on Rival Paper

A Superior Court judge Thursday prohibited the former publisher of the Newhall Signal from helping publish a new paper, the Santa Clarita Valley Citizen, until a hearing is held to determine if he violated an agreement not to compete with the Signal.

The restraining order bars Tony Newhall, 47, from working on the Citizen, which is owned by his parents, Scott and Ruth Newhall. The twice-weekly paper is still scheduled to make its debut Sunday, Scott Newhall said.

The order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of Newhall Newspapers and its parent company, Morris Newspaper Corp. of Savannah, Ga.

The lawsuit was filed against Tony and Scott Newhall, 74, the Signal’s former owner, charging them with breach of contract for starting the Citizen and for soliciting Signal employees and advertisers for the new paper.

The suit did not name Ruth Newhall, 78, the Signal’s former editor.

“The court vindicated our legal position,” Signal attorney Allan Browne said. “Tony cannot compete.”

Browne said Scott Newhall was named in the suit because he hired his son as publisher of the Citizen knowing that it violated the contract Tony Newhall signed with Morris. “Scott was involved in inducing Anthony to breach the agreement,” he said.

Scott Newhall called the lawsuit an attempt to keep the Citizen from competing with the Signal, arguing that the contract is not valid under California law.

Browne denied the allegation, saying, “It has never been our intention to shut down” the Citizen. “We welcome open competition. We just wanted them to use fair play, to stand behind the agreement and promises they made.”

All three members of the Newhall family quit the Signal on Aug. 9 after a dispute involving stock ownership. Shortly thereafter, the Newhalls announced plans to start a new paper.

Scott and Ruth Newhall signed a contract promising not to compete with the Signal when they sold their interest to Morris in 1978. That agreement expired this year.

According to the lawsuit filed against him, Tony Newhall signed a similar 10-year contract in 1983, when he sold his remaining shares of stock to Morris for $779,186.

Tony Newhall also maintained that the contract is not valid, predicting that the restraining order eventually will be overturned.

“I view it as a temporary decision,” Tony Newhall said of the court order. “I feel very confident it will be reversed once time is allowed for the entire facts to be represented.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Miriam Vogel scheduled a hearing Sept. 30 to determine whether a preliminary injunction will be issued against Tony Newhall until the matter goes to trial.