Opinion ID: 2371423
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Irreparable Harm and the Breadth of the Preliminary Injunction

Text: LeJeune's final arguments challenge the Circuit Court's use of discretion in determining irreparable harm to Coinco and by fashioning the preliminary injunction. The Circuit Court made its determination of irreparable harm based on the inapplicable theory of inevitable disclosure. The trial judge found that Coinco would suffer irreparable harm if LeJeune were permitted to work as a national accounts representative at Mars because it would be inconceivable... how he could do [the job] without considering or weighing Coinco's trade secrets. Based on this reasoning, the Circuit Court issued its preliminary injunction, barring LeJeune from working for Mars in any area in which he would have to use or disclose Coinco's confidential and trade secret informationincluding specifically the Vending Industry, Amusement Industry, and/or the Specialty Markets Industries, and also including, specifically, as Mars' National Accounts Representative for the Amusement Industry. The analysis underlying the injunction relies on the assumption that LeJeune's exposure to trade secrets will cause those secrets to be inevitably disclosed by virtue of the new employment with a competitor. As a result, the Circuit Court's order is not merely an injunction against the use of trade secrets, but an injunction restricting employment. Whyte, 101 Cal. App.4th at 1462, 125 Cal.Rptr.2d 277. Because inevitable disclosure does not apply, the trial court was wrong to issue the injunction limiting the scope of LeJeune's employment with Mars. Rather, the focus should be on precluding the disclosure of trade secrets. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION VACATED; CASE REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION; COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLEE.