Florida has one of the most employer-friendly restrictive-covenant statutes in the country, Section 542.335, Fla. Stat. For example, the statute prohibits judges from considering any hardship suffered by the person against whom enforcement is sought. The statute also contains a rebuttable presumption that a violation of an enforceable restrictive covenant creates irreparable injury. Yesterday, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal (which covers Miami-Dade County) issued an opinion showing the power of this presumption. The opinion, in Allied Universal Corp. v. Given, can be downloaded here.

Allied manufactures and distributes water-treatment chemicals. Defendant Given worked as a regional sales manger for Allied and signed a non-compete agreement. As part of his employment, he received training regarding various aspects of Allied’s business. Given resigned from Allied to work for Univar, a company that competes with Allied. Allied filed suit and sought a temporary injunction, which the trial court denied on the grounds that Allied failed to show irreparable harm.

The appellate court focused on the rebuttable presumption of irreparable injury and described the evidence offered by Allied:

At the evidentiary hearing on the motion for temporary injunction, Allied presented unrebutted evidence of the existence of statutorily legitimate business interests to be protected and evidence that Given had substantial relationships with specific prospective or existing Allied customers. Allied’s president, Mr. Palmer, testified that his company had trained Given, over the course of Given’s six-year employment, in its manufacturing and production techniques, marketing strategies, and confidential pricing strategies. In addition, Given had knowledge of existing and prospective customers, and had been sent to several trade meetings to cultivate these contacts.

Thus, the court concluded that Allied had successfully shifted the burden to Given to establish the absence of irreparable injury. But Given “failed to present any such evidence.”

Interestingly, Given argued that because he had not yet begun actively working for Univar, he had not breached the noncompete and no damages were incurred. But he admitted that if he were not enjoined, he would start working for Univar. The court rejected this argument, noting that “the only focus at the preliminary injunction stage is to maintain longstanding relationships and preserve the company’s goodwill.” In the future, plaintiffs can use this language to highlight the need to maintain the status quo.

Given Florida’s employer-friendly restrictive-covenant statute, noncompete and related agreements are powerful tools for Florida companies seeking to protect trade secrets and proprietary information. Cases like Allied show how this statute makes it easier for an employer to obtain an injunction prohibiting violations of a restrictive covenant.