No doubt, having a properly drafted agreement is critical if you wish to prevent a former employee from competing against you or soliciting your customers. But, simply having a clear and straight-forward agreement may not be enough to persuade a court to enjoin someone from violating the terms of it. Rather, a plaintiff must show that a post-employment restrictive covenant is necessary to protect “legitimate business interests” before any injunctive relief will issue. Further, and as the Superior Court reconfirmed earlier this month in ABM Industry Groups, LLC v. Palmarozzo, making such a showing is not always easy to do.
Joseph Palmarozzo was a branch manager for ABM Industry Group, a large, public company that provides janitorial and maintenance services to large facilities. In connection with his job, Palmarozzo entered into an employment agreement that included non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure obligations.
In December of 2016, Palmarozzo left ABM to become the General Manager of Compass Facility Services (“CFS”), a much smaller company than ABM, but one that also provided janitorial services. Shortly thereafter, ABM filed suit and moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent Palmarozzo from competing against ABM and soliciting its customers.
As a prelude to its
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