Rafael Chodos, an Individual v. West Publishing Company, Inc., a Minnesota Corporation Doing Business in California Dba Bancroft-Whitney Company

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge.

This case presents the question whether a publisher retains the right to reject an author’s manuscript written pursuant to a standard industry agreement, even though the manuscript is-of the quality contemplated by both parties. In this case, attorney Rafael Chodos entered into a standard Author Agreement with the Bancrofts Whitney Publishing Company under which he agreed to write a treatise on the intriguing subject of the law of fiduciary duty. The agreement is widely used in the publishing industry for traditional literary works as well as for specialized volumes.…