Ahern Rentals Inc. v. Young, No. 2:2021cv02190 - Document 13 (D. Nev. 2021)
Court Description: TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER granting in part and denying in part 5 Motion for Temporary Restraining Order. TRO to expire at 5:00 PM on 1/4/22. Plaintiff to post $200 bond by 5:00 PM on 12/27/2021. Deadlines set re: 6 Motion for Prelimin ary Injunction. Responses due by 12/29/2021. Replies due by 1/3/2022. Motion Hearing set for 1/4/2022 at 01:30 PM in LV Courtroom 6D by videoconference before Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 12/22/2021. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - KF)
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Ahern Rentals Inc. v. Young Doc. 13 Case 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Document 13 Filed 12/22/21 Page 1 of 6 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 Ahern Rentals, Inc., 4 Case No.: 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Plaintiff 5 v. 6 John Matthew Young, 7 Defendant Order Granting in Part Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Setting Briefing Schedule on Emergency Motion for Preliminary Injunction [ECF No. 5] 8 9 Ahern Rentals, Inc. contends that it employed John Matthew Young as an outside sales 10 representative at its branches in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, until he quit in May 11 2021. It alleges that Young signed a non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure 12 contract agreeing that, after his employment ended, he would not solicit or accept business from 13 Ahern’s customers, work for Ahern’s competitors within a 100-mile radius of any store at which 14 Young did business for a year, or disclose or use any of Ahern’s trade secrets that he had 15 acquired during his employment. The agreement also prohibited Young from taking possession 16 of Ahern’s confidential information or trade secrets. According to Ahern, Young broke each of 17 these promises when he sent confidential Ahern documents to his personal email address, took a 18 sales job with EquipmentShare.com, Inc., and successfully solicited one of Ahern’s customers. 19 Ahern thus sues Young for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and 20 fair dealing, conversion, and misappropriation of trade secrets.1 It seeks injunctive and monetary 21 relief. 22 1 23 ECF No. 1-1 at ¶¶ 47–82 (complaint). Ahern also alleges injunctive relief as a claim for relief. Id. at ¶¶ 83–89. I construe those allegations as part of Ahern’s prayer for relief because an injunction is a remedy, not a cause of action. Dockets.Justia.com Case 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Document 13 Filed 12/22/21 Page 2 of 6 Ahern originally filed its complaint against Young in state court.2 It sought a temporary 1 2 restraining order and preliminary injunction there,3 but Young removed the action before the 3 state court ruled on either. Ahern now moves on an emergency basis for both an order 4 temporarily restraining Young from engaging in five categories of conduct4 and a preliminary 5 injunction to the same effect.5 Young has not yet responded to any of Ahern’s emergency 6 motions.6 Because I find that Ahern has met the standard for obtaining a narrowly tailored 7 restraining order with notice, I grant in part its motion for that relief and set an expedited briefing 8 and oral-argument schedule for its emergency motion for a preliminary injunction. Discussion 9 10 The legal standard for issuing a temporary restraining order and the legal standard for 11 preliminary injunctive relief are “substantially identical.”7 Both are “extraordinary” remedies 12 and “never awarded as of right.”8 The Supreme Court clarified in Winter v. Natural Resources 13 Defense Council, Inc. that to obtain an injunction, the plaintiff “must establish that [it] is likely to 14 succeed on the merits, that [it] is likely to suffer irreparable injury in the absence of preliminary 15 relief, that the balance of equities tips in [its] favor, and that an injunction is in the public 16 17 18 19 20 2 See ECF No. 1. 3 ECF No. 1-2. 4 ECF No. 5. 5 ECF No. 6. 6 Before Ahern filed this action, Young filed his own suit against Ahern in North Carolina state court, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief enjoining Ahern from enforcing its contract. ECF 22 No. 5 at 8. 7 See Stuhlbarg Int’l Sales Co. v. John D. Bush and Co., 240 F.3d 832, 839 n.7 (9th Cir. 2001) 23 (stating that the “analysis is substantially identical for the injunction and the TRO”). 21 8 Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008). 2 Case 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Document 13 Filed 12/22/21 Page 3 of 6 1 interest.”9 The Ninth Circuit also recognizes an additional standard: “if a plaintiff can only show 2 that there are ‘serious questions going to the merits’—a lesser showing than likelihood of success 3 on the merits—then a preliminary injunction may still issue if the ‘balance of hardships tips 4 sharply in the plaintiff’s favor, and the other two Winter factors are satisfied.”10 5 Based on the evidence that Ahern provides with its emergency motion for a temporary 6 restraining order, I find good cause to believe that Young has breached his agreement with 7 Ahern. While Young is ostensibly employed at EquipmentShare’s office in Ladson, South 8 Carolina (seemingly outside of the 100-mile restricted radius), he is working from his home in 9 Charlotte, where he previously performed services for Ahern.11 He has also successfully 10 solicited at least one Ahern customer.12 There is also good cause to believe that Young took 11 documents containing Ahern’s confidential and proprietary information concerning pricing 12 reports, business plans and pending projects, and information regarding customer leads.13 That 13 he has such information lends to the likelihood that he has or will misappropriate that 14 information by using it for his own benefit in his job with EquipmentShare. I also find that 15 Ahern has demonstrated that the equities tip in its favor and the public has a strong interest in 16 granting restraining orders in these circumstances. Although it is a closer call, I find that Ahern 17 has shown that it is likely to suffer further irreparable harm unless Young is restrained from 18 engaging in three categories of conduct. So I conclude that Ahern has met the standard for 19 20 9 Id. at 20. 21 10 22 11 See ECF No. 5-2 at 25–26 (Vawter declaration). 12 Id. at 22. 13 Id. at 29. 23 Shell Offshore, Inc. v. Greenpeace, Inc., 709 F.3d 1281, 1291 (quoting All. for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1135 (9th Cir. 2011)). 3 Case 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Document 13 Filed 12/22/21 Page 4 of 6 1 obtaining a narrowly tailored temporary restraining order against Young that prohibits him from 2 working as a sales representative within 100 miles of Ahern’s Charlotte and Raleigh stores, 3 soliciting any of Ahern’s customers, and using any of Ahern’s trade-secret or confidential 4 information. But for several reasons I decline Ahern’s requests for a restraining order instructing that 5 6 Young is (1) prohibited from getting rid of evidence, (2) required to preserve evidence, and (3) 7 prohibited from encouraging any Ahern employee to quit or provide services to another 8 company.14 The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure already impose the first two obligations on all 9 parties and their counsel.15 There is no evidence showing that Young has or violated or is 10 inclined to violate these basic procedural rules. Finally, those requests are better resolved in the 11 context of a discovery motion.16 And as for encouraging Ahern employees to quit, Ahern offers 12 no evidence that Young has done or may do any such thing. So I deny Ahern’s request for an 13 order restraining that conduct. 14 Conclusion 15 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Ahern’s emergency motion for a temporary 16 restraining order [ECF No. 5] is GRANTED in part: 17 1. 18 retained, or providing consulting, contracting, sales, or other services that involve the 19 same or similar services he performed at Ahern Rentals, Inc. (outside equipment sales or Young is enjoined and prohibited from, directly or indirectly, being employed, 20 21 14 See ECF 5 at 15–16, ¶¶ 3, 5. 22 15 See, e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P. 26, 37. 16 23 Ahern has filed an emergency motion for expedited discovery. ECF No. 7. Magistrate Judge Weksler has ordered Young to respond to that motion by December 22, 2021. ECF No. 9 (minute order). 4 Case 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Document 13 Filed 12/22/21 Page 5 of 6 1 rental) to any person or entity, including but not limited to EquipmentShare.com, Inc., 2 that competes with Ahern within a 100-mile radius of Ahern’s Raleigh and Charlotte, 3 North Carolina, branches; 4 2. 5 of Ahern, as defined in § 2.3 of Young’s Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Non- 6 Disclosure Agreement with Ahern.17 7 3. 8 use of, any of Ahern’s documents (including all copies), tangible information, and 9 tangible data to the extent he is in possession of, or has access to, such confidential Young is enjoined and prohibited from attempting to solicit from any “Customer” On or before December 23, 2021, Young must turn over to Ahern, and cease any 10 information. Young is enjoined and prohibited from using or divulging any of Ahern’s 11 confidential or trade secret information. 12 4. 13 respects. 14 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this temporary restraining order will automatically The emergency motion for a temporary restraining order is DENIED in all other 15 EXPIRE at 5:00 p.m. on January 4, 2022, unless it is extended by the court for cause or 16 converted into a preliminary injunction. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Ahern must post bond in the amount of $200 by 17 18 5:00 p.m. on December 27, 2021, to effectuate this order and recompense Young if it is later 19 determined that he has been wrongfully restrained. 20 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Ahern’s emergency motion for a preliminary 21 injunction [ECF No. 6] will be heard at 1:30 p.m. on January 4, 2022, in Courtroom 6D using 22 Zoom video conference. Young has until December 29, 2021, to file any response to Ahern’s 23 17 ECF No. 5-3 at 4–5. 5 Case 2:21-cv-02190-JAD-BNW Document 13 Filed 12/22/21 Page 6 of 6 1 emergency motion for a preliminary injunction. Ahern has until noon on January 3, 2022, to 2 file any reply. 3 _______________________________ U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey December 22, 2021 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 6
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