Tradesman International, Ins. v. Black

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying plaintiff’s request for permanent injunction in action seeking to enforce covenant not to compete against defendants-former employees of plaintiff, where defendants established competing company shortly after they had resigned from plaintiff. Plaintiff’s failure to seek preliminary injunction suggested that it had not suffered irreparable harm arising out of defendants’ conduct, and terms of covenant not to compete imposed undue hardship on defendants where: (1) any company information used by defendants fell short of trade secret or goodwill and was not subject to any confidentiality protections at plaintiff‘s company; and (2) enforcement of geographical restrictions would have precluded defendants from working anywhere in U.S. However, Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendants’ request for attorney fees where Dist. Ct. used wrong legal standard requiring proof that plaintiff initiated lawsuit in bad faith.