United States Third Circuit

In plaintiff's action against its former employee and his new employer to enforce the terms of the restrictive covenant not to compete, district court's grant of plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) defendant's new employer is a dispensable party to the action, and as such, will be dismissed under Rule 21 authority to restore complete diversity; 2) plaintiff, as the same corporate entity that entered into the 2005 Agreement with defendant, may now seek to enforce that agreement against him as its 2007 corporate restructuring was a stock sale rather than an asset purchase and there was no need for an assignment of the non-compete provision; 3) district court did not err in holding that plaintiff had a legitimate business interest in its customer goodwill and defendant's specialized training and skills as a pyrotechnician; and 4) a grant of preliminary injunction is vacated for failure to comply with the bond requirements of Rule 65(c).

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/15/2010
• Published 01/15/2010

Judges

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel