Attorney Todd J. Bennett
Attorney Sudeshna Trivedi
A salesperson who was wrongfully terminated from his employment will not be subject to broad restrictions, after B&B attorneys Todd Bennett and Sudeshna Trivedi successfully defeated his former employer’s emergency motion for a preliminary injunction. The employer sought in part to enjoin the B&B client from soliciting a wide pool of potential customers, which would have greatly diminished his chances of finding future employment in the technology services sales industry.
The employer filed suit against the B&B client in early June 2022, alleging a slew of claims including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy. Months later, in August 2022, the employer filed an “emergency” motion for preliminary injunction against the B&B client, alleging irreparable harm and demanding immediate relief based on the same facts as alleged in early June 2022.
A judge of the Suffolk Superior Court was dissuaded by the employer’s arguments. In an order issued the day after a hearing, Judge Cowin found that the employer did not have a likelihood of success on the merits of its claims and that the employer’s claim for irreparable harm was “belied by the fact that the evidence purportedly supporting its claim for relief was discovered several months ago.” This decision makes clear that a delay in seeking injunctive relief is evidence of a lack of irreparable harm. Irreparable harm that is actual and imminent is essential to obtaining such relief. Here, the employer’s lack of urgency, among other deficiencies, proved fatal.
B&B continues to represent its client in defense of his employer’s claims and in a suit against his former employer to recover unpaid wages that were withheld in violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act. A copy of the Court’s decision can be found here.
