Employment & Labor Law
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Autonation, Inc. v. O
17 Fla. L. Weekly D1141 (S.D. Fla. October 6, 2004)
Defendant was employed by plaintiff as a manager of used car operations. Defendant signed two non-compete agreements during the course of employment. Defendant left plaintiff-employer and went to work for a company in direct competition with plaintiff-employer. Plaintiff brought a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the Court to enjoin defendant from working in direct competition with plaintiff.
Plaintiff must establish four elements in order to obtain a preliminary injunction: 1) a substantial likelihood that the plaintiff will prevail on the merits; 2) a threat that the plaintiff will suffer irreparable injury if the injunction is not granted; 3) the threatened injury to the plaintiff outweighs the threatened harm the injunction may do to the defendant; and 4) granting the preliminary injunction will not disserve the public interest. The Court found that plaintiff established all four elements and granted the preliminary injunction. First, restrictive covenants are valid if the employer can prove the existence of a legitimate business interest and that the contractual restraint was reasonably necessary to protect the interests of the employer. Defendant had been exposed to confidential business information and confidential business information is considered a legitimate business interest. Second, if the plaintiff establishes a legitimate business interest then irreparable injury is
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