Injunction Against Business That Hired Former Employee

The Court of King’s Bench has upheld an injunction obtained by Rick Billington, KC and co-counsel Mathews Dinsdale Clark LLP in a case where a former employee went to work with a competitor of the plaintiff. The case involved an order that the competitor was required to preserve and protect all computer data that would be evidence in the claim that the competitor was benefiting from the misappropriation of confidential information by the former employee. Rick Billington and Lori Brienza had applied in June 2022 for the injunction, which was granted on an ex parte (without notice) basis to preserve electronic and paper records. At an October, 2022 hearing involving all affected parties, the court heard of the risk that the plaintiff’s former employees might misappropriate confidential information for the benefit of their new employer, an established competitor. Justice Jones found that there was a serious case made out, that the plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm if the competition was given the plaintiff’s confidential data and that the balance of convenience favoured the granting of the injunction. The original injunction was upheld as against the competitor. The decision is found at: PTW Canada Ltd v Smith, 2022 ABKB 781 (CanLII)