Action Learning Systems, Inc. v. Bob Crowe et al

Filing 68

STIPULATED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION by Judge George H. Wu. UPON CONSENT OF THE PARTIES, IT IS ACCORDINGLY ORDERED: 1. That the Defendants CROWE, SMITH and EAG, including any officer, agent, employee, and/or representative of EAG, and other persons w ho are in active concert or participation with the Defendants, shall be enjoined, directly or indirectly, from soliciting any ALS current employee for six months (beginning August 12, 2014 and continuing for six months from the date of this Order ) (the "No-Solicit Period") regarding leaving ALS or to provide work for or on behalf of Defendants. a. In connection with the above non-solicitation provision, ALS' counsel shall provide a list to Defendants' counsel of cur rent ALS employees as of August 12, 2014 (the "No-Solicit List"), and Defendants' counsel shall not use or disclose the "No-Solicit List" to Defendants or to anyone else. b. Defendants shall contact their counsel regardi ng any individual they seek to solicit or hire. 2. That Defendants shall have fourteen days from entry of this Order to return to ALS all items (tangible and intangible). 3. Within 7 days of entry of this Order, Defendants Smith and Crowe, through their counsel, will provide to ALS's counsel a list of all contact information they have for any individual employed by a school district that was an ALS client during Smith's and Crowe's employment with ALS. (See attached document for other requirements.) (lom)

1 JANINE C. OGANDO (CA Bar No. 165625)
Ogando Law Offices
2 21-C Orinda Way, #132
Orinda, CA 94563
3 Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
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Attorneys for Plaintiff
5 ACTION LEARNING SYSTEMS, INC.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Case No. CV 14-5112-GW(SHx)

9 ACTION LEARNING SYSTEMS,
INC., a Delaware Corporation,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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BOB CROWE, an individual, KELLY
13 SMITH, an individual, ELEVATED
ACHIEVEMENT GROUP
14 INCORPORATED, and DOES 1-500,

STIPULATED PRELIMINARY
INJUNCTION
The Hon. George H. Wu, Presiding

Defendants.

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This cause came to be heard on the motion of Plaintiff Action Learning
Systems, Inc. (“ALS”) on August 11, 2014 for the issuance of a preliminary
injunction pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The parties have stipulated and agreed to the entry of a preliminary injunction
on the terms set forth herein.
UPON CONSENT OF THE PARTIES, IT IS ACCORDINGLY
ORDERED,
1.

That the Defendants CROWE, SMITH and EAG, including any officer,
agent, employee, and/or representative of EAG, and other persons who
are in active concert or participation with the Defendants, shall be
enjoined, directly or indirectly, from soliciting any ALS current
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PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND ORDER THEREON

1279197.1

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employee for six months (beginning August 12, 2014 and continuing

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for six months from the date of this Order) (the “No-Solicit Period”)

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regarding leaving ALS or to provide work for or on behalf of

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Defendants

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a.

In connection with the above non-solicitation provision, ALS’

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counsel shall provide a list to Defendants’ counsel of current ALS

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employees as of August 12, 2014 (the “No-Solicit List”), and

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Defendants’ counsel shall not use or disclose the “No-Solicit List”

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to Defendants or to anyone else.

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b.

Defendants shall contact their counsel regarding any individual

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they seek to solicit or hire. If an individual appears on the No-

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Solicit List, the individual may not be solicited during the Non-

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Solicit Period unless otherwise agreed in writing by ALS.

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2.

That Defendants shall have fourteen days from entry of this Order to

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return to ALS all items (tangible and intangible), including but not

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limited to, the laptop computer retained by the Defendant SMITH, the

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iPhone retained by the Defendant CROWE, and any printers, as well as

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all other tangible items, and all documents, whether originals or copies,

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in hardcopy or in data format, files, data, and materials, that were

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provided to or taken by Defendants Smith and Crowe during their

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employment with ALS, including but not limited to, ALS employee

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contact information, ALS customer contact information, customer lists,

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training materials, tests, forms, calendars, guides, schedules, and all

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ALS contracts, any and all notes and emails created during

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employment, including all transferred documents, information or other

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data.

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device, including any computer, telephone, hard drive, CD, DVD, or

No documents shall be deleted from any electronic storage

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STIPULATED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND ORDER THEREON

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USB stick (whether or not the item is being returned to ALS), until

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after Defendants’ counsel provides to ALS a list of all electronic

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storage devices with an inventory of all ALS documents and data

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contained on each storage device, and unless counsel for ALS agrees in

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writing that such data can be deleted from the electronic device.

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3.

Within 7 days of entry of this Order, Defendants Smith and Crowe,

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through their counsel, will provide to ALS’s counsel a list of all contact

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information they have for any individual employed by a school district

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that was an ALS client during Smith’s and Crowe’s employment with

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ALS.

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contact information for the listed individuals.

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4.

Smith and Crowe will then delete and/or discard any such

All parties to this action, including but not limited to any officer, agent,

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employee, and/or representative of EAG and/or ALS, and all other

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persons who are in active concert or participation with either of them,

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shall be enjoined as follows:

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a.

Initial soliciting of any new customer by any party shall not

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mention or refer to the competing company of ALS or EAG, and

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specifically, at any time, Defendants shall not mention or refer to

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any non-public information relating to ALS’ financial situation,

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pricing, services, marketing or contract information.

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b.

The parties shall not disparage each other, including but not

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limited to making any statement that any party is going out of

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business or making any reference to the pending litigation to any

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third party. If asked about the litigation, the parties shall state that

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the litigation is pending.

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5.

Because the parties have been unable to agree to the terms of a
stipulated injunction pertaining to ALS’s allegations of copyright

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STIPULATED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND ORDER THEREON

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infringement, a hearing will take place before the court regarding those

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issues on a date to be agreed upon.

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THE COURT FURTHER ORDERS:

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6.

This Agreed Preliminary Injunction is entered by agreement of the

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parties for the sole purpose of conserving judicial resources and

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limiting the cost of litigation, and as such, nothing in this Order

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constitutes an admission or waiver of any right, claim or defense by any

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party, including without limitation, any claim for attorneys’ fees

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incurred either prior to or subsequent to the entry of this Order.

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7.

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The Court’s Order will remain in full force and effect or as this Court
specifically orders otherwise;

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If either party has reason to believe there is a breach of this preliminary

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injunction, that party will provide written notice of the alleged breach

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to the other party within forty-eight (48) business hours of the alleged

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breach. The parties will then confer in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

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If the alleged breach has not been resolved after the passage of five (5)

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business days, the party seeking relief under this Order may apply to

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the Court for relief ex parte basis without the need to follow the regular

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motion schedule.

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21 IT IS SO ORDERED this 20th day of October, 2014.
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THE HONORABLE GEORGE H. WU
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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STIPULATED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND ORDER THEREON

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