Opinion ID: 1194678
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Irreparable Injury to Plaintiff Absent the Injunction

Text: After determining that a plaintiff has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his underlying claim, the second factor that a court must consider when deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction is whether the plaintiff will suffer irreparable injury without the injunction. Tumblebus, 399 F.3d at 760. A plaintiff's harm from the denial of a preliminary injunction is irreparable if it is not fully compensable by monetary damages. Overstreet v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Gov't, 305 F.3d 566, 578 (6th Cir.2002). However, an injury is not fully compensable by money damages if the nature of the plaintiff's loss would make the damages difficult to calculate. Basicomputer Corp. v. Scott, 973 F.2d 507, 511 (6th Cir.1992) (citing Roland Mach. Co. v. Dresser Indus., Inc., 749 F.2d 380, 386 (7th Cir.1984)). The likely interference with customer relationships resulting from the breach of a non-compete agreement is the kind of injury for which monetary damages are difficult to calculate. The loss of customer goodwill often amounts to irreparable injury because the damages flowing from such losses are difficult to compute. Similarly, the loss of fair competition that results from the breach of a non-competition covenant is likely to irreparably harm an employer. Id. at 512 (internal citations omitted). Such injuries are precisely what Plaintiff will suffer if Defendants are allowed to continue to breach the franchise agreement's non-compete clause. Accordingly, we find that Plaintiff would likely suffer an irreparable injury without the issuance of the preliminary injunction.