Yesterday, a third court weighed in on the FTC’s proposed ban on non-competes, set to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Judge Corrigan of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the plaintiff Properties of the Villages, Inc.’s (“POV”) motion to stay the effective date of the rule and preliminarily enjoin its enforcement.
Continue Reading More Bad News for the FTC: Federal Court in Florida Enjoins Enforcement of Non-Compete Ban
On March 7, 2019, a group of six United States senators from both sides of the aisle submitted a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a federal investigation into the use of non-compete agreements on the basis that their widening use in recent years raises concerns about their negative impact on both workers and the national economy. Specifically, the letter asks the GAO to assess the following three questions:
In recent weeks, courts almost routinely have been denying preliminary injunctive relief in cases alleging violation of non-compete and similar employment agreements. Three examples: Burleigh v. Center Point Contractors, 2015 Ark. App. 615 (Oct. 28, 2015); Evans v. Generic Solution Engineering, LLC, Case No. 5D15-578 (Fla. App., Oct. 30, 2015); and Great Lakes Home Health Services Inc. v.
Continue Reading Trend In The Courts: It’s Getting Harder To Obtain Preliminary Injunctions In Restrictive Covenant Cases
A Florida franchisee executed a franchise agreement (FA) containing a non-compete provision and a Pennsylvania forum selection clause. Following termination of the FA, the former franchisee’s wife opened a similar business in another part of Florida. The franchisor filed suit in Pennsylvania against the former franchisee and his wife, and they moved to dismiss or, alternatively, to transfer the case
Continue Reading Non-Compete and Forum Selection Clauses in Franchise Agreement Binding on Franchisee Who Signed It and on His Wife Who Didn’t
By Joshua Salinas and Jessica Mendelson
A Florida District Court of Appeal recently confirmed that plaintiffs in trade secret misappropriation cases must identify their trade secrets with reasonably particularity before conducting discovery. AAR Mfg., Inc. v. Matrix Composites, Inc., No. 5D11–3802, 2012 WL 3870419 (Fla.App. 5 Dist., 2012). The Court of Appeal, however, rejected the notion that, as
Continue Reading Florida Court Rejects Argument That Plaintiff Must Make “Threshold Finding” of Trade Secret Before Proceeding With Discovery
By Marcus Mintz
In a recent case filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Mainline Information Systems, Inc. v. Fordham, No. 11-137, 2011 WL 2938435 (N.D. Fl. July 21, 2011), the plaintiff sought a preliminary injunction against an individual defendant for tortious interference with business relationships and for misappropriation of trade secrets. Plaintiff provides
Continue Reading Affidavits Not Enough to Obtain Injunctive Relief in Alleged Raiding Case
White Wave International, Inc. filed an action in Florida against Lindsay Lohan, Lorit LLC, a company she has an indirect ownership interest in, and several other defendants arising out of a certain Confidentiality Agreement Between Firms (“CABF”) between White Wave and Lorit. It was alleged by White Wave that the CABF provided Lohan, Lorit and the other defendants with a time-limited opportunity
Jerry Powers, the founder of Miami’s successful magazine, Ocean Drive, has sued the purchaser of the business and now-publisher of the magazine, Niche Media Holdings, LLC (“Niche Media”) seeking a declaratory judgment that the non-compete restrictions contained in the parties’ asset purchase agreement (“APA”) and the employment agreement he entered into following the sale do not (a) prevent Powers from
Continue Reading Is it Competing? Magazine Mogul Sues for Declaration of Rights under Agreements
On July 30, 2009, the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court decision granting over $1.6 million in damages to a former employer, but upheld an injunction against the former employee, enforcing a non-compete agreement. In Proudfoot Consulting Co. v. Gordon, No. 09-14075, Judge Trager issued an opinion finding that a non-compete agreement that prevented a former Project Director from
In Zupnik v. All Florida Paper, Inc., No. 3DO8-1371, 2008 WL 5412090 (Fla. 3rd D.C.A. Dec. 31, 2008), the Florida Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed a trial court’s entry of a temporary injunction against Stewart Zupnik and Dade Paper & Bag Company. The Court’s reasoning was that the restrictive covenants in question had expired and All
Continue Reading Florida Third Circuit Court of Appeals Reverses Entry of Injunction