Court Opinion

ID: 9402948
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-19 15:08:30.380653+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:03.591058
License: Public Domain

Opinion issued June 13, 2023

                                     In The

                             Court of Appeals
                                    For The

                         First District of Texas
                           ———————————
                             NO. 01-22-00282-CV
                           ———————————
                      BRYCE CARPENTER, Appellant
                                       V.
                   DASPIT LAW FIRM, PLLC, Appellee

                  On Appeal from the 189th District Court
                           Harris County, Texas
                     Trial Court Case No. 2022-13046

                         MEMORANDUM OPINION

     In this interlocutory appeal,1 appellant, Bryce Carpenter, challenges the trial

court’s order granting appellee, Daspit Law Firm, PLLC (“DLF”), a temporary

1
     See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(4).
injunction in DLF’s suit against Carpenter for tortious interference with existing

contracts, conversion and theft under the Texas Theft Liability Act,2 breach of

fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. In three issues, Carpenter contends that the

trial court erred in granting DLF temporary injunctive relief.3

      We affirm.

                                    Background

      In its second amended petition and application for injunctive relief, DLF

alleged that it was a law firm that specialized in representing “individuals who ha[d]

been harmed in motor vehicle accidents,” as well as cases involving “premises

liability . . . , plant explosions, workplace injuries, and other negligent acts.”

According to DLF, it “relie[d] heavily on [its] advertising efforts” and in developing

trusted referral sources to gain clients. DLF “d[id] not make its referral sources or

its client list public”; it allowed only its own attorneys to have access to that

information.

      In representing its clients against major corporations, DLF “acquired

specialized knowledge” for its sole use and created “pleadings and motions” tailored

“to each type of case” that it prosecuted. DLF stored the forms it created in its

2
      See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 134.001–.005.
3
      In his reply brief, Carpenter withdrew his second issue. Thus, we consider only his
      first, third, and fourth issues raised in his appellant’s brief.
                                              2
“online server, various inter- and intra-net networks, [its] computer hard drives,” and

other “data centers.” Further, DLF “developed proprietary software and other

technological resources to service its clients.” Only DLF’s “trusted employees and

associates ha[d] access” to those resources.

      Carpenter, who was licensed to practice law in June 2021, began working for

DLF in the fall of 2021 as “an associate in an at-will capacity.” Through his

employment with DLF, Carpenter had access to DLF’s in-house forms, “current list

of clients and their contact information,” client referral sources, proprietary

software, and other resources. While employed with DLF, Carpenter “had no

significant or substantial responsibilities” as to DLF’s “administrative day-to-day

business,” “no strategic discretion” as to “the progression of litigation matters,” “no

first chair trial duties,” and no “independent contractual relationship with any client

on whose case” he “worked during the time he worked for [DLF].” (Internal

quotations omitted.)

      DLF terminated Carpenter’s employment on February 23, 2022. On March

22, 2022, DLF learned that Carpenter had targeted certain clients of DLF “whose

cases were identified as having . . . significant value” and Carpenter had “induced”

four of them “to terminate [DLF’s] representation and hire Carpenter.” Carpenter

“did not have any independent contractual relationship with any client on whose case

[he] worked during the time he worked for [DLF].” Further, Carpenter “did not

                                               3
originate or source” business with any of DLF’s clients whom he contacted after the

termination of his employment “such that any . . . had a prior business dealing with

Carpenter.”

      According to DLF, “Carpenter’s efforts to court business away from [DLF]

constitute[d] tortious interference” with its existing contracts, and “[t]he prospect”

of DLF’s existing clients “signing new contracts” with Carpenter “pose[d] a

significant risk of irreparable harm to DLF.” DLF acknowledged that it would still

“retain its interest in” the cases of the clients whom Carpenter had induced to fire

DLF, but “the prospect” of an inexperienced attorney, like Carpenter, “assuming

duties as an unsupervised lead counsel” would likely reduce the ultimate value of

those “cases and DLF’s interests in those matters.” As a result, DLF’s “interest in”

those former “clients’ cases [would] significantly depreciate in value” and cause

“pecuniary damage to DLF in a manner that [was] not susceptible to precise

measurement and which c[ould not] be readily repaired.”

      DLF alleged that Carpenter’s actions also showed that he was misusing “a

proprietary list” of DLF’s “confidential client data.” On DLF’s “information and

belief, Carpenter [was] in possession of proprietary and confidential files belonging

to DLF,” including a list of its clients, “their contact information,” and possibly their

“highly sensitive personal information such as social security numbers” and “other

identification materials,” including “health information” protected under the federal

                                               4
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”).4 All of

that information, according to DLF, was “subject to turnover to DLF by Carpenter”

and “justifie[d] emergency intervention.”

      Further, DLF alleged that Carpenter had “engaged in a public-facing

communications campaign seeking to harm [DLF’s] professional reputation by

posting defamatory per se and untrue posts to social media about [DLF].”

      DLF brought claims against Carpenter for tortious interference with existing

contracts, conversion and theft under the Texas Theft Liability Act, breach of

fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.

      In its application for temporary and permanent injunctive relief, DLF

requested that the trial court order that Carpenter: (1) either “return to [DLF] all

documents, forms, pleadings, electronic media . . . and technical information taken

from [DLF]” or “destroy all such material and provide proof of such destruction”;

(2) “cease representation of any clients” who hired him “as a result of” his “breach

of [the] fiduciary duty” he owed DLF or include DLF “on any such referral obtained

therefrom”; and (3) “submit all” computers, servers, “flash drives, or other hardware

for inspection by [DLF’s] computer forensic examiner.” DLF noted that the trial

court had already entered a temporary restraining order to prevent Carpenter from

4
      See 42 U.S.C. §§ 1320d–1320d–9.
                                             5
(1) “continuing contact with DLF clients and attempting to solicit his business to

them in tortious interference with DLF’s existing contractual relationships”;

(2) “continuing to access DLF’s proprietary, confidential, highly sensitive,

attorney-client privileged, and protected health information”; and (3) “committing

ongoing conversion or theft” of DLF’s personal property and “client information

protected under HIPAA.”

      DLF argued that it had a probable right to relief because since the termination

of his employment, Carpenter had “committed wrongful acts against DLF such as

interfering” with DLF’s client contracts and retaining control over attorney-client

privileged information and protected health information belonging to DLF’s clients

as well as confidential and proprietary information belonging to DLF.

      According to DLF, the “balancing of harms favor[ed] the issuance of the

injunctive relief” it requested.   Without injunctive relief, DLF would suffer

irreparable harm because its clients could sue DLF “for failure to adequately protect

their confidential and protected information.” Also, “[i]f Carpenter succeed[ed] at

convincing existing DLF clients to sign new contracts, DLF’s retained interest” in

those cases would “significantly depreciate in value” due to Carpenter’s lack of

experience and supervision and DLF’s inability “to exercise managerial control”

over the cases. As a result, DLF alleged, it would suffer pecuniary damage “in a

                                             6
manner that [was] not susceptible to precise measurement and which c[ould not] be

readily repaired.”

      “On the other hand,” DLF maintained that Carpenter was “not likely to be

prejudiced by . . . an injunction because he [would] be free to pursue new client

relationships and new business which [would] not prejudice [DLF’s] existing

contractual relationships.” DLF also argued that the injunctive relief requested “did

not impose an undue hardship on Carpenter” because “[n]o client [whom] Carpenter

originated or for whom Carpenter had significant or substantial responsibility

[would] be affected” by the injunctive relief requested. And, according to DLF, the

requested temporary injunction would maintain the status quo until the trial court

determined whether a permanent injunction was appropriate.

      Carpenter answered, generally denying the allegations in DLF’s petition and

specifically denying that DLF had suffered “any actual damages as a result of” the

“acts and/or omissions” alleged in its petition. Alternatively, Carpenter asserted that

“any losses or damages” that DLF had sustained were “de minimis, speculative,

and/or transient in nature” and thus not legally cognizable. Carpenter also “denie[d]

that he [had] failed to perform any contractual obligations under any contract” with

DLF and alleged that “to the extent he [was] a party to any contract with [DLF], he

satisfied all contractual obligations.” Further, Carpenter raised the affirmative

                                              7
defenses of waiver, estoppel, failure to mitigate damages, and unclean hands, and he

maintained that his conduct was justified.

      In response to DLF’s application for temporary injunction, Carpenter asserted

that DLF “failed to make a showing adequate to support a temporary injunction”

under “any of its theories of recovery.” Carpenter argued that “[b]ecause clients

have the right” to make an informed choice about the attorney they wish to hire, “a

departing attorney may not be prohibited from soliciting any of the firm’s current

clients or accepting employment from any of the firm’s current clients.” According

to Carpenter, as DLF could “claim no property right” in its client contracts, it had

“no right to relief under its claim” for “tortious interference with existing contracts.”

Further, Carpenter argued that DLF’s claims for conversion and theft failed because

DLF had no property right in “clients, client files” and “client information.”

      As to DLF’s claim for breach of fiduciary duty, Carpenter observed that DLF

did not allege “how [Carpenter] may have taken any action adverse to its interest.”

And as to DLF’s breach-of-contract claim, Carpenter noted that DLF had not shown

any written agreement with DLF that he had allegedly breached or any “imminent,

irreparable injury in the interim” as would be required to justify injunctive relief if

DLF were “able to prove the existence” and “breach of” any written agreement.

Further, according to Carpenter, DLF’s allegation that he had accused DLF of

“attempting to deprive clients of their right to choose representative counsel” was

                                               8
not actionable because it was “an accurate description” of DLF’s claim for tortious

interference with existing contracts.

      Carpenter argued that DLF was not entitled to temporary injunctive relief

because it had “failed to show any probability of a right to relief on the merits of any

of its claims,” that it was “likely to suffer irreparable harm in the interim,” or that it

“was without adequate remedy at law.”

      In    its   reply   to   Carpenter’s     response,    DLF     asserted    that   its

tortious-interference-with-existing-contracts claim was straightforward: DLF “had a

contingency fee contract with several clients,” Carpenter, who was either “a stranger

to the contracts” or an agent of DLF, “acting willfully and intentionally to serve his

own personal interests at [DLF’s] expense,” “induced those clients to breach their

contracts with [DLF], and the breach proximately caused damage to [DLF].” DLF

argued that Carpenter was wrong in asserting that DLF had no property rights to

protect because, unlike hourly attorney’s-fee contracts, contingency-fee contracts

contain assignments of interest that convey property rights in the clients’ suits to the

law firm. DLF also argued that it would prove a probable right to recover on its

breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim because Carpenter’s referral of DLF’s clients, who

had “contacted Carpenter in his capacity as an associate” of DLF, to his new law

firm constituted self-dealing and thus a breach of his fiduciary duty to DLF.

                                               9
      At the hearing on DLF’s application for temporary injunction, Robert Morse,

a DLF partner, testified that DLF had 4,261 active cases and used a database that

“allow[ed] [DLF] to run a number of reports.” Creation of DLF’s database took

“probably . . . hundreds of thousands of hours” of work by software engineers and

untold hours “on the attorney side.” DLF paid “about half a million dollars just to

get [the software] set up.”

      Morse stated that during Carpenter’s employment at DLF, Carpenter had

access to the “training materials” that DLF produced in-house, including “training

videos” made by DLF partners and “senior attorneys” on “a variety of topics.”

According to Morse, much of the information contained in those training materials

was confidential and proprietary.

      Morse explained that DLF protected the confidentiality of its training

materials and other proprietary information by having “every employee” sign an

employee handbook and a “Confidentiality & Nondisclosure Agreement” (the

“nondisclosure agreement”). A copy of DLF’s employee handbook signed by

Carpenter in acknowledgment of its receipt was admitted into evidence at the

hearing, as was a copy of the nondisclosure agreement signed by Carpenter.

      In signing the employee handbook, Carpenter agreed that none of DLF’s

confidential and proprietary information “should be divulged to persons outside [of

DLF] either during or after employment, except disclosures required by legal process

                                           10
and information specifically authorized for release by written approval from clients.”

The employee handbook warned Carpenter that his “obligation to maintain” the

confidentiality of DLF’s information “extend[ed] beyond employment” with DLF.

And the handbook warned Carpenter that he should “not assume that information or

work product [was] no longer confidential or owned by [DLF] because” he was “no

longer a [DLF] employee.” The employee handbook also contained a “return of

property clause upon termination.”       DLF property Carpenter would have had

included keys and a “parking pass” for DLF’s San Antonio office and “software”

that had been downloaded on his computer.

      By signing the nondisclosure agreement, Carpenter agreed to “maintain strict

confidentiality” of all “confidential, proprietary, private, personal, financial, legal,

operational or business information related in any manner” to DLF and its clients.

Morse explained that the nondisclosure agreement provided “some financial

penalties” for its violation. It contained a liquidated damages clause providing that

the employee “underst[ood] and agree[d] that” “the assessment of damages for any

breach of the [n]ondisclosure [a]greement may be difficult or impossible to ascertain

or quantify,” and obligated the employee to pay DLF $10,000.00 “as liquidated

damages for such breach.” The nondisclosure agreement also put the employee on

notice that it “in no way limit[ed] [DLF] from pursuing . . . other legal or equitable

remedies,” including, “attorney’s fees, damages and/or injunctive relief.”

                                              11
      Morse identified certain individuals who had signed contingent-fee contracts

with DLF, fired DLF, and hired Carpenter. Morse also noted that DLF’s client,

Jontavia Williams, sent an email to DLF notifying the firm that Carpenter had called

her and asked her “to come with him to his new firm.” Morse understood from

Williams that Carpenter had told her that “he left [DLF]” and “that it made sense”

for Williams to hire him as her attorney because “he knew [her] case.” But Williams

“refused” to hire Carpenter because Carpenter did not have “the resources or staff”

necessary to follow “through with [her] case.”      A declaration describing that

interaction and signed by Williams under penalty of perjury was admitted into

evidence at the hearing.

      Morse also explained that all of DLF’s client contracts included an assignment

of interest in the client’s causes of action. Carpenter would have known of the

existence of DLF’s contingent-fee contracts with those clients because, as “his

primary job responsibility,” he would have been “sent out” to “sign up clients[,] so

he would [have been] responsible for showing them the contract, answering any

questions about the contract, explaining the contract to them, and getting their

signature[s] on it.”

      Morse opined that Carpenter breached his fiduciary duty to DLF by “actively

solicit[ing] clients” whom he “no longer represented,” even though “he knew they

had counsel.” He did not simply tell them who their “new lawyer” at DLF was.

                                           12
Carpenter had “reason to know” that DLF would “fully inform[]” the clients whom

he had represented that he had left the firm and would give them “their new lawyer’s

information.”

       As to damages, Morse noted that because of his own experience in trying and

settling high-value cases, his working relationships with other attorneys, and the size

of DLF’s support staff, he was able to “take significantly larger settlements and

verdicts” than Carpenter, who had “never been in a courtroom.” Carpenter did not

have an office or support staff, and in an email sent to DLF during his employment,

which was admitted into evidence, Carpenter stated that he “barely kn[e]w how to

do discovery.” Morse also testified that while at DLF, Carpenter was not “do[ing]

the minimum” required to maintain the “small docket” that had been assigned to

him.   Carpenter “wasn’t noticing depositions, wasn’t sending discovery,” and

“wasn’t filing lawsuits.”     Those performance problems, according to Morse,

contributed to DLF’s decision to terminate Carpenter’s employment.

       Because of Carpenter’s lack of experience and resources, Morse opined that

Carpenter would not be able to “get the same results” in most cases that DLF would

have gotten. DLF was harmed by having Carpenter take clients from DLF because

doing so lowered the value of their cases, and DLF had “a piece of every one” of

those clients’ cases.

                                             13
      Carpenter responded at the hearing by proffering two declarations that he had

signed. In one, Carpenter focused on his work for DLF in Austin and summarized

a conversation he had with the Texas Bar Association’s Office of Disciplinary

Counsel. In the other, Carpenter denied having worked in Harris County, Texas and

stated that the “clients [who] fired [DLF] and hired [him] live[d] in the Austin area

and their cases” were filed in Travis County, Texas.

      In its amended order granting DLF a temporary injunction, the trial court

found that DLF “demonstrated a probable right of recovery” and that Carpenter’s

actions, if not enjoined, would

      create imminent and irreparable injury to [DLF] with no adequate
      remedy at law by tortiously interfering with [DLF’s] attorney/client
      contracts and improperly using confidential/proprietary information to
      which Carpenter gained general access unrelated to his function of
      attorney representing DLF clients.

Further, because “DLF owe[d] itself and its clients a duty to take reasonable steps to

protect its confidential/proprietary information which [Carpenter] may have

improperly taken and should return and/or preserve in the course of th[e] litigation

to prevent spoliation,” the trial court prohibited Carpenter from disclos[ing],

duplicat[ing], or disseminat[ing]” any of DLF’s confidential data or documents that

he may have taken from DLF and were still in his possession or control “except at

the direction of a [DLF] client or former client.” The trial court also required

Carpenter to “provide a list of clients who originated from [DLF] that he ha[d]

                                             14
contacted and/or currently represent[ed] since his termination from [DLF].” And

the   trial   court   prohibited   Carpenter    “from   destroying    or   altering   or

duplicating . . . data obtained from [DLF] located on any . . . computer hardware in

[his] possession, custody, or control” and required him to hold it for “inspection by

[DLF’s] computer forensic examiner with an eye . . . [for] making a forensic copy

for potential later inspection” by DLF if permitted by further order of the trial court.

       As to DLF’s clients, the trial court enjoined Carpenter “from making any

contact” with anyone on “the list of DLF clients to which [he] had general access

solely as a result of his employment” with DLF unless he had “formed an

attorney/client relationship with” the DLF client before the termination of his

employment. The trial court declared that “[n]othing” in its order was to “be

construed to prevent [Carpenter] from fulfilling his professional duties to his

clients.”

       The trial court also entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, including

that Carpenter “ha[d] a right to properly contact former DLF clients he represented

or formed an attorney/client relationship with while employed by [DLF],” “retain”

the work-product that he created while employed by DLF, and “receive client files

that the client direct[ed]” DLF to send to him. But Carpenter was not entitled to

“possess [DLF] client lists that include[d] clients with whom” he had “never formed

an attorney/client relationship” or “use [DLF] client lists to solicit new business”

                                               15
from DLF clients “with whom [Carpenter] never formed an attorney/client

relationship.” The trial court concluded that “[t]o the extent” that Carpenter had

“engaged in” such conduct, he would be liable to DLF “for taking the [DLF] client

list he was not authorized to take and breaching his agreement to not take and to

keep confidential general information he gained access to outside of [an]

attorney/client relationship.”

      The trial court found that DLF was entitled to temporary injunctive relief

based on its claim against Carpenter for tortious interference with existing contracts.

As to that claim, the trial court found that

      • DLF “had at least four attorney/client contracts which were subject to
        being interfered with by Carpenter after Carpenter’s termination of
        employment”;

      • Carpenter “engaged in willful and intentional conduct designed to
        wrongfully interfere with [DLF’s] attorney/client contracts”;

      • Carpenter “likely failed to disclose to four prospective clients . . . the
        inherent problems clients would experience if they terminated the [DLF]
        attorney/client contract and formed a new attorney/client contract with
        Carpenter”;

      • DLF “would likely retain its attorney fee and expense liens which would
        make it more difficult to get the case[s] resolved”;

      • Carpenter “lacked the skill and resources necessary to properly prosecute
        the client’s case such that the client’s case would likely be of less value”
        if handled by Carpenter rather than DLF; and

      • The value of DLF’s loss was “difficult to measure” and, while “the law
        [could] attempt to measure the loss,” the better practice would be to “stop
        the wrongful behavior to avoid the termination of future attorney/client
        contracts,” and “[w]ithout enjoining” Carpenter, he was “likely to continue
                                               16
          in his wrongful practice of engaging DLF clients without making proper
          disclosures resulting in more and more termination of [DLF]
          attorney/client contracts.”

      As to DLF’s remaining claims against Carpenter, which required DLF to show

that Carpenter “ha[d] in fact taken confidential/proprietary information and

disclosed it to third parties or used it or threatened to use it for his own gain or

otherwise do harm to DLF,” the trial court concluded that DLF had not made the

requisite showing. The trial court found that Carpenter had “returned to DLF the

computers [that] DLF [had] provided for him to do DLF work.” But the trial court

observed that the “forensic record of other electronic devices may prove otherwise,”

so it “consider[ed] the injunctive relief justified under the remaining causes of action

to prevent spoliation of evidence,” observing that DLF had “an obligation to verify

whether” Carpenter had “taken confidential/proprietary information and if so, to

enjoin [him] from using or continuing to possess such data.”

                                     Jurisdiction

      In his first issue, Carpenter argues that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to

consider DLF’s application for temporary injunction “because venue [was] not

proper in Harris County.” In making this argument, Carpenter relies on Texas Civil

Practice and Remedies Code section 65.023, which is a venue statute. See TEX. CIV.

PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 65.023; In re Fox River Real Estate Holdings, Inc., 596

S.W.3d 759, 765 (Tex. 2020).

                                              17
       Jurisdiction is not the same thing as venue. Jurisdiction refers to the authority

of a court to decide a case. Radenovic v. Eric D. Fein, P.C. & Assocs., 198 S.W.3d

858, 860 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2006, no pet.). Venue, on the other hand, has to do

with the place or county where a case may be tried. In re Parr, 199 S.W.3d 457,

461 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, no pet.); see Radenovic, 198 S.W.3d at

860.

       A court must have both subject-matter jurisdiction over a case and personal

jurisdiction over a party to issue a binding order or judgment. CSR Ltd. v. Link, 925

S.W.2d 581, 594 (Tex. 1996); Mass. Bay Ins. Co. v. Adkins, 615 S.W.3d 580, 610

(Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2020, no pet.). Carpenter did not challenge the trial

court’s subject-matter jurisdiction below or specifically raise that issue here, but

subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be waived and can be raised at any time while the

suit is pending, either by the parties or by the court. Univ. of Tex. Sw. Med. Ctr. at

Dallas v. Loutzenhiser, 140 S.W.3d 351, 358 (Tex. 2004); Harris Cnty. Fresh Water

Supply Dist. No. 61 v. Magellan Pipeline Co., L.P., 649 S.W.3d 630, 646 (Tex.

App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2022, pet. filed). The determination as to whether

jurisdiction exists is a question of law which we review de novo. Mayhew v. Town

of Sunnyvale, 964 S.W.2d 922, 928 (Tex. 1998).

       The Texas Constitution and legislative enactments confer subject-matter

jurisdiction, combined with the existence of the facts necessary for a court to

                                              18
exercise jurisdiction. French v. Moore, 169 S.W.3d 1, 5 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st

Dist.] 2004, no pet.). The allegations in the plaintiff’s petition ordinarily establish

the amount in controversy for a jurisdictional analysis. Cont’l Coffee Prods. Co. v.

Cazarez, 937 S.W.2d 444, 449 (Tex. 1996); see also Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue,

34 S.W.3d 547, 555 (Tex. 2000) (jurisdictional challenges based upon amount in

controversy “must ordinarily be decided solely on the pleadings”). We presume that

a trial court has jurisdiction unless the absence of jurisdiction affirmatively appears

on the face of the petition. French, 169 S.W.3d at 5.

      In its second amended petition, DLF alleged that “[j]urisdiction [was] proper

because the amount in controversy [wa]s within the jurisdictional limits” of the trial

court, and nothing in the record refutes that allegation. Carpenter does not identify

any other reason as to why the trial court might lack subject-matter jurisdiction in

this case.      Thus, there is no basis for concluding that the trial court lacked

subject-matter jurisdiction over DLF’s suit against Carpenter. See French, 169

S.W.3d at 5.

      As to whether the trial court had personal jurisdiction over Carpenter, we note

that in his motion to continue the hearing on DLF’s application for temporary

injunction, Carpenter alluded to filing a special appearance to challenge personal

jurisdiction.    See TEX. R. CIV. P. 120a.     But Carpenter never filed a special

appearance, and he made a general appearance when he filed his answer to DLF’s

                                             19
suit. See Baker v. Monsanto Co., 111 S.W.3d 158, 160 (Tex. 2003); Radenovic, 198

S.W.3d at 860. Because Carpenter made a general appearance, he waived any

challenge to personal jurisdiction. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 120a(1); Adkins, 615 S.W.3d

at 597. Thus, there is no basis for concluding that the trial court lacked personal

jurisdiction over Carpenter.

      To the extent Carpenter still complains about whether Harris County is a

proper venue for DLF’s suit, the record shows that after he filed this appeal, the trial

court granted Carpenter’s motion to transfer venue to Travis County. As a result,

any complaint about whether Harris County constituted a proper venue is moot. See

Heckman v. Williamson Cnty., 369 S.W.3d 137, 162 (Tex. 2012); In re Freestanding

Emergency Room Managers of Am., L.L.C., No. 14-19-00074-CV, 2019 WL

4071958, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 29, 2019, orig. proceeding)

(mem. op.) (dismissing as moot petition for writ of mandamus to compel trial court

to vacate order transferring venue to Austin County, Texas after trial court

reconsidered ruling and issued order denying motion to transfer venue).

      Based on the foregoing, we hold that the trial court did not lack jurisdiction to

consider DLF’s application for temporary injunction.

      We overrule Carpenter’s first issue.

                                              20
                                Temporary Injunction

       In his third and fourth issues, Carpenter argues that the trial court erred in

granting DLF temporary injunctive relief because “[t]he temporary injunction

[order] issued . . . [was] not adequately specific about the harm that would occur

absent its issuance” and DLF “fail[ed] to show a probable right of recovery as to any

of its claims or . . . imminent, irreparable injury in the interim prior to trial.”

       The purpose of a temporary injunction is “to preserve the status quo of the

litigation’s subject matter pending a trial on the merits.” Clint Indep. Sch. Dist. v.

Marquez, 487 S.W.3d 538, 555 (Tex. 2016) (internal quotations omitted); Green

Acquisitions, Inc. v. Everlasting Green, LLC, No. 01-21-00257-CV, 2022 WL

2919936, at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 26, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op.).

The “status quo” is the “last, actual, peaceable, non-contested status which preceded

the pending controversy.”       Marquez, 487 S.W.3d at 555 (internal quotations

omitted).

       A “temporary injunction is an extraordinary remedy and does not issue as a

matter of right.” Walling v. Metcalfe, 863 S.W.2d 56, 57 (Tex. 1993); Patel v. St.

Luke’s Sugar Land P’ship, L.L.P., 445 S.W.3d 413, 419 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st

Dist.] 2013, pet. denied). To obtain a temporary injunction, an applicant must

establish: (1) a cause of action against the defendant; (2) a probable right to the relief

sought; and (3) a probable, imminent, and irreparable injury in the interim. Butnaru

                                               21
v. Ford Motor Co., 84 S.W.3d 198, 204 (Tex. 2002); Patel, 445 S.W.3d at 419. “An

injury is irreparable if the injured party cannot be adequately compensated in

damages or if the damages cannot be measured by any certain pecuniary standard.”

Butnaru, 84 S.W.3d at 204. The applicant need not establish that it will prevail at

trial; rather, “the only question before the trial court is whether the applicant is

entitled to preservation of the status quo of the subject matter of the suit pending trial

on the merits.” Davis v. Huey, 571 S.W.2d 859, 862 (Tex. 1978); see also Patel,

445 S.W.3d at 419.

      Appellate courts review a trial court’s ruling on an application for a temporary

injunction for a clear abuse of discretion. Henry v. Cox, 520 S.W.3d 28, 33 (Tex.

2017); Patel, 445 S.W.3d at 419. Our review is limited to the validity of the trial

court’s temporary injunction order; we do not consider or determine the merits of

the underlying case. Henry, 520 S.W.3d at 33–34; Patel, 445 S.W.3d at 420. We

review the evidence before the trial court in the light most favorable to its ruling,

drawing all legitimate inferences from the evidence, and deferring to the trial court’s

resolution of conflicting evidence. Patel, 445 S.W.3d at 419–20. We will only

overturn a temporary injunction order if it is “so arbitrary that it exceed[s] the bounds

of reasonable discretion.” Henry, 520 S.W.3d at 34 (alteration in original) (internal

quotations omitted). There is no abuse of discretion if the trial court’s ruling is

reasonably supported by some evidence, even if the evidence is disputed. Patel, 445

                                               22
S.W.3d at 419; see also Henry, 520 S.W.3d at 34. As fact finder, the trial court is

the sole judge of the credibility of the witnesses and evidence. Daniels v. Battie, No.

05-21-00335-CV, 2023 WL 1462848, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas Feb. 2, 2023, no

pet.) (mem. op.); see also Regal Ent. Grp. v. iPic Gold Class Ent., LLC, 507 S.W.3d

337, 352 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, no pet.).

A.    Compliance with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683

      In his third issue, Carpenter argues that the trial court erred in granting DLF

temporary injunctive relief because it did not set forth specific reasons as to why an

injunction was necessary to prevent injury to DLF’s rights during the pendency of

the case.

      Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683 requires that a temporary injunction order

state the reasons for its issuance. TEX. R. CIV. P. 683. The order must also set forth

the reasons why the trial court believes irreparable injury will result if an injunction

preserving the status quo pending a trial on the merits is not granted. Id. And the

temporary injunction order must “describe in reasonable detail and not by reference

to the complaint or other document, the act or acts sought to be restrained.” Id.

These requirements are mandatory, and an order that does not comply with rule 683

“is subject to being declared void and dissolved.” Qwest Commc’ns Corp. v. AT & T

Corp., 24 S.W.3d 334, 337 (Tex. 2000); Clark v. Hastings Equity Partners, LLC,

651 S.W.3d 359, 370 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2022, no pet.).

                                              23
      As to the need for the temporary injunction, the trial court found that without

injunctive relief, Carpenter would “create imminent and irreparable injury to [DLF]

with no adequate remedy at law by tort[i]ously interfering with [DLF’s]

attorney/client contracts and improperly using confidential/proprietary information

to which [Carpenter had] gained general access unrelated to his function of attorney

representing DLF clients.” Further, the trial court found that “[w]ithout enjoining

[Carpenter], he [was] likely to continue in his wrongful practice of engaging DLF

clients without making proper disclosures . . . .”

      For purposes of obtaining a temporary injunction, DLF was not required to

conclusively show that Carpenter actually had its confidential information. The

likelihood that a defendant possesses, has disclosed, or will disclose confidential

information is sufficient to support injunctive relief barring its disclosure. See

Sandberg v. STMicroelecs., Inc., 600 S.W.3d 511, 537 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2020,

pet. denied); Q’Max Am., Inc. v. Screen Logix, LLC, No. 01-15-00319-CV, 2016

WL 796838, at *8 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 1, 2016, no pet.) (mem.

op.); see generally Butnaru, 84 S.W.3d at 204 (applicant for temporary injunction

has burden to show “probable, imminent, and irreparable injury” absent relief).

      Carpenter appears to argue that the trial court’s findings are insufficient to

support the temporary injunctive relief because the trial court found that DLF had

not shown that Carpenter had “taken confidential proprietary information and

                                             24
disclosed it to third parties or used it or threatened to use it for his own gain or

otherwise to do harm to DLF.” But the finding relied on by Carpenter does not

encompass DLF’s confidential client information, which the trial court found

Carpenter was misusing. And the trial court acknowledged that even without

definite proof that Carpenter had taken other confidential information from DLF,

DLF still had a professional “obligation to verify whether” Carpenter had taken such

information, “and if so, to enjoin [him] from using or continuing to possess” it.

      Courts have consistently concluded that injunctive relief is an appropriate

remedy to prevent the disclosure or misuse of confidential information. See, e.g.,

Sandberg, 600 S.W.3d at 537 (holding trial court did not err in granting permanent

injunction to prevent defendant, who was a certified public accountant and tax

attorney, from certain actions where evidence showed he had “likely retained” and

“used or disclosed” former employer’s confidential information); Q’Max Am., 2016

WL 796838, at *6, 8 (affirming temporary injunction barring defendants, who were

plaintiff’s former employees, from performing consulting agreement where

evidence supported trial court’s finding that performance of consulting agreement

likely would result in disclosure of plaintiff’s trade secrets and confidential

information); T-N-T Motorsports, Inc. v. Hennessey Motorsports, Inc., 965 S.W.2d

18, 24 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1998, pet. dism’d) (where evidence indicated

that defendants, who were plaintiff’s former employees, possessed plaintiff’s

                                            25
confidential information and were in position to use it to compete directly with

plaintiff, it was likely that defendants would use information to plaintiff’s detriment,

and only effective relief available to plaintiff was to restrain defendants’ use of its

trade secrets and confidential information pending trial).

       Here, the trial court enjoined Carpenter from misusing DLF’s confidential

client information to interfere with DLF’s existing client relationships. The trial

court also enabled DLF to protect its professional responsibilities by ascertaining

whether Carpenter had other confidential information belonging to the firm and

prohibited its disclosure if he did. We hold that the trial court complied with Texas

Rule of Civil Procedure 683’s requirement to state specific reasons as to why the

temporary injunction was necessary.

       We overrule Carpenter’s third issue.

B.     Evidentiary Support for Temporary Injunction Order

       In his fourth issue, Carpenter argues that the trial court erred in granting DLF

temporary injunctive relief because DLF “fail[ed] to show a probable right of

recovery as to any of its claims or to show imminent, irreparable injury in the interim

prior to trial.”

       A probable right of success on the merits is shown by alleging a cause of

action and presenting evidence that tends to sustain it. Intercont’l Terminals Co.,

LLC v. Vopak N. Am., Inc., 354 S.W.3d 887, 897 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]

                                              26
2011, no pet.); T-N-T Motorsports, Inc., 965 S.W.2d at 23–24. Here, the trial court

concluded that DLF was entitled to a temporary injunction because it showed a

probable right to recovery on its claim against Carpenter for tortious interference

with existing contracts.

      “A claim for tortious interference with a contract consists of four elements:

(1) the existence of a contract subject to interference; (2) willful and intentional

interference; (3) the willful and intentional interference caused damage; and

(4) actual damage or loss occurred.” Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Rincones, 520 S.W.3d

572, 588 (Tex. 2017); Vertex Servs., LLC v. Oceanwide Houston, Inc., 583 S.W.3d

841, 853 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2019, no pet.).

      Carpenter argues that the trial court erred in concluding that there was

evidence tending to show that Carpenter willfully and intentionally interfered with

DLF clients’ contracts because it could not have properly relied on the declaration

of DLF’s client Williams that Carpenter had “tried to convince” her to “come to his

new firm as his client” but did not inform her that if she did so, DLF would retain

its fee and expense interest in her case.5 Carpenter reiterates the hearsay objection

5
      Carpenter relies on statements of professional ethics to assert that he had the
      “obligation to inform his clients” when he left DLF and the clients had “the right to
      make an informed choice about their counsel.” But nothing in the trial court’s
      temporary injunction order prohibited Carpenter from fulfilling his professional
      responsibilities to his clients. On the contrary, the trial court expressly found that
      Carpenter “had a right to properly contact former DLF clients he [had] represented
      or formed an attorney/client relationship with” during his employment with DLF,
                                               27
to Williams’s declaration that he made unsuccessfully in the trial court, but this

evidentiary complaint does not correspond to any of the “issues presented” in his

appellant’s brief. See Wilson v. Empire Towing LLC, No. 01-18-01145-CV, 2019

WL 3484216, at *2 n.3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 1, 2019, no pet.);

Hooks v. Brenham Hous. Auth., No. 01-17-00602-CV, 2018 WL 6061307, at *3

(Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 20, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.) (holding

appellant waived complaints on appeal where assertions in “Argument” section of

appellant’s brief “d[id] not correspond to the two questions that he ha[d] designated

as his issues on appeal” (internal quotations omitted)).

      Further, in his appellant’s brief, Carpenter does not cite to any legal authority

applicable to the analysis of his evidentiary complaint beyond the general hearsay

rule. See TEX. R. EVID. 801; TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1(i); Wilson, 2019 WL 3484216, at

*2. And Carpenter does not provide any substantive analysis, with citation to legal

authority, to support his assertion that the evidence before the trial court otherwise

failed to support its finding that DLF presented evidence tending to show that

Carpenter willfully and intentionally interfered with DLF’s existing contractual

relationship with its clients. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1(i).

      and the temporary injunction order was not to “be construed to prevent” Carpenter
      “from fulfilling his professional responsibilities to his clients.”
                                             28
      The failure to provide substantive analysis of an issue or cite appropriate

authority waives a complaint on appeal. Marin Real Estate Ptrs. v. Vogt, 373 S.W.3d

57, 75 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2011, no pet.); Huey v. Huey, 200 S.W.3d 851, 854

(Tex. App.—Dallas 2006, no pet.); Cervantes-Peterson v. Tex. Dep’t of Family &

Protective Servs., 221 S.W.3d 244, 255 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, no

pet.). Thus, Carpenter waived his challenge to the trial court’s finding that he had

“engaged in willful and intentional conduct designed to wrongfully interfere with

[DLF’s] attorney/client contracts.”

      Finally, Carpenter argues that the trial court erred in granting DLF temporary

injunctive relief because DLF had no evidence of actual damages or that the damages

were “impossible to calculate.”

      As evidence of damages, Morse testified that DLF’s client contracts included

an assignment of interest in the clients’ claims and that the ultimate value of DLF’s

interest in those cases would be substantially less if they were prosecuted by

Carpenter, a first-year attorney without an office or support staff, than if the cases

had remained with DLF, a firm with experienced attorneys and support staff. Morse

also testified that while at DLF, Carpenter was not “do[ing] the minimum” required

to maintain the “small docket” assigned to him.         Carpenter “wasn’t noticing

depositions, wasn’t sending discovery,” and “wasn’t filing lawsuits.” And Carpenter

conceded in an email sent to DLF that he “barely kn[e]w how to do discovery.” This

                                             29
evidence, which was undisputed, constitutes some evidence in support of the trial

court’s finding that Carpenter’s interference with DLF’s client contracts caused

actual damage or loss to DLF. See Rincones, 520 S.W.3d at 588; Vertex Servs., 583

S.W.3d at 853.

      As to Carpenter’s complaint that the trial court erred in finding that DLF

showed that it would suffer irreparable harm without temporary injunctive relief, the

trial court was not required to find, as Carpenter suggests, that DLF’s damages were

“impossible to calculate,” only that they were difficult to calculate. See Butnaru, 84

S.W.3d at 204 (“An injury is irreparable . . . if the damages cannot be measured by

any certain pecuniary standard”); Rollins v. Univ. Coin & Bullion, Ltd., No.

09-06-150-CV, 2006 WL 2883122, at *4 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Oct.12, 2006, no

pet.) (mem. op); see also Martin v. Linen Sys. For Hosps., Inc., 671 S.W.2d 706,

710 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1984, no writ) (observing it is not easy to assign

dollar amount to intangibles such as company’s loss of clientele, goodwill,

marketing techniques, and office stability).

      We hold that the trial court did not err in finding that DLF satisfied its burden

to   show     that   it   had    a    probable      right   to   recovery     on    its

tortious-interference-with-existing-contracts claim and that it would suffer

imminent, irreparable injury without a temporary injunction.

      We overrule Carpenter’s fourth issue.

                                               30
                                    Conclusion

      We affirm the order of the trial court.

                                                Julie Countiss
                                                Justice

Panel consists of Justices Landau, Countiss, and Guerra.

                                            31