Opinion
Civil Action No. 7:06-cv-102 (HL).
December 5, 2006
ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Emergency Motion to Enjoin Defendant From Pursuing Second-Filed Action in Minnesota (Doc. 10). This matter came before the Court for oral argument on November 22, 2006. Shortly before argument was scheduled to begin, the Court learned the parties were also scheduled to argue a nearly identical motion, filed in a related case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, before the Honorable William S. Duffey, Jr., later that day.
Mark Hasty, a former St. Jude sales representative, and Biotronik filed this case on October 11, 2006 seeking a declaratory judgment that the restrictive coventants in Hasty's employment contract with St. Jude are invalid and unenforceable. Stephen V. Rode, another former St. Jude sales representative, and Biotronik also filed an action in the Northern District,Stephen V. Rode and Biotronik, Inc., v. St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., 1:06-cv-2448-WSD, seeking a declaratory judgment that the restrictive covenants in Rode's identical employment contract are also invalid and unenforceable.
To facilitate a prompt resolution of this matter and in the interest of judicial economy, all parties agreed to adopt Judge Duffey's ruling on this matter in the Northern District case. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth by Judge Duffey in the attached Order, Plaintiffs' Emergency Motion to Enjoin Defendant From Pursuing Second-Filed Action in Minnesota (Doc. 10) is denied.
SO ORDERED.