Robert S. Rifkin Labor and Employment Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Employer's Preliminary Injunction Request Denied

Friday, April 30, 2010 by Robert S. Rifkin

The Indiana Court of Appeals held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying an employer's request for a preliminary injunction to enforce non-solicitation, non-competition and confidentiality provisions of a former employee's employment agreement. Although the employee was terminated, he did not take confidential information, there was no evidence he disclosed confidential information, and he did not cause his employer to lose sales.

To obtain a preliminary injunction, the moving party must show that: (1) the moving party's remedies are inadequate and the moving party will suffer irreparable harm while the underlying action is pending; (2) the moving party has a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of his claim; (3) the possible injury to the moving party outweighs the potential harm to the non-moving party; (4) and granting the injunction would not be against the public interest.

In denying the requested injunction, the court of appeals found that the potential harm to the employee outweighed the likely harm to the employer. If the injunction were granted, the former employee would have to find other work and would incur expenses previously paid by his former employer for health and life insurance and for automobile expenses.

Because the granting or denial of a preliminary injunction is within the discretion of the trial court, the denial of an injunction will only be reversed where there has been a clear abuse of the trial court's discretion.

Posted at 17:49 PM

Topic: Labor and Employment