Jennings-Dill, Inc. v. Eric Israel

Syllabus

Appellant Eric Israel appeals the circuit court's issuance of a preliminary injunction that enjoins Israel from using documents to which he had access during his prior employment with Respondent Jennings Dill, Inc. (JDI). The injunction explicitly prohibits Israel from using the information in the documents to bid on any project on behalf of his current employer, Place Services, Inc. (PSI), or to solicit JDI employees. JDI alleged the documents contained confidential information and trade secrets. Israel argues the circuit court erred in finding JDI demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits because (1) no evidence was presented to show that Israel possessed or misappropriated a trade secret or confidential information, and (2) the circuit court relied exclusively on hearsay and speculative statements to find Israel had solicited JDI employees. Israel also argues the circuit court erred by improperly \balancing the equities\ between the parties to support granting the preliminary injunction. We affirm.