Opinion
Case No. 6:06-cv-1359-Orl-31JGG.
October 26, 2006
ORDER
Plaintiff has moved for a preliminary injunction pending arbitration of this dispute (Doc. 2). Defendant opposes the Motion (Doc. 40).
Defendant, Elizabeth Allen, was a former Schwab employee who resigned on February 7, 2006. On April 19, 2006, she became employed by Plaintiff's competitor, Merrill Lynch. Schwab claims that Allen has breached the non-compete provisions of her employment agreement by soliciting Schwab clients and misappropriating client information. Schwab seeks a preliminary injunction prohibiting Allen from soliciting business from any client of Schwab whom Allen served (or became aware of) while employed by Schwab.
Allen denies that she "solicited" any of her former Schwab clients. Instead, she asserts in her affidavit that she did not misappropriate any Schwab business information and did not initiate any contact with her former clients. Rather, approximately 35 of her clients called her and indicated an interest in preserving their relationship after she left Schwab. Approximately 20 of her 330 Schwab clients ultimately followed Defendant and switched their accounts to Merrill Lynch.
Plaintiff has offered no evidence to refute Defendant's contention, and therefore cannot meet its burden of showing a likelihood of success on the merits. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction is DENIED.
DONE and ORDERED.