Summary
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied Global Electronic Testing Services’ motion for a preliminary injunction against former employee Elijah Miller. The court held that GETS failed to demonstrate irreparable harm, rejecting asserted presumptions under Florida law and finding its evidence of customer loss and trade-secret misappropriation conclusory and speculative. The court also emphasized GETS’s unexplained five-month delay in seeking injunctive relief.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Global ETS established irreparable injury sufficient to support a preliminary injunction.
- Whether Florida Statutes section 542.335(1)(j)'s presumption of irreparable injury for violation of an enforceable restrictive covenant applies in federal court.
- Whether federal or state law recognizes a presumption of irreparable injury for actual or threatened trade-secret misappropriation.
- Whether Global ETS's evidence and unexplained five-month delay independently defeated its showing of irreparable harm.
Holdings
- Global ETS failed to show that it would suffer actual and imminent irreparable injury absent a preliminary injunction. Its conclusory allegations of customer loss, reputational damage, and use of proprietary information were insufficient, and the speculative possibility of competition did not establish irreparable harm.
- The Florida statutory presumption of irreparable injury for violation of an enforceable restrictive covenant does not govern a federal diversity action seeking a preliminary injunction because it conflicts with traditional federal equity practice.
- The court declined to recognize a presumption of irreparable injury for trade-secret misappropriation because no state or federal statute creates such a presumption and no binding judicial decision recognizes one.
Key quotations
“Because GETS fails to persuade that it will suffer an irreparable injury in the absence of a preliminary injunction, I need not consider the other factors.”
“A showing of irreparable injury must be “neither remote nor speculative, but actual and imminent.”” (1285)
“Accordingly, that presumption “does not govern in a federal diversity action for a preliminary injunction.”” (466)
“A delay in seeking a preliminary injunction of even only a few months—though not necessarily fatal—militates against a finding of irreparable harm.” (1248-49)
Factual background
Global ETS employed Miller as a Sales Development Representative, where he managed more than 300 customer accounts and had access to sensitive testing processes, procedures, and customer information. During his employment, Miller signed non-compete and non-disclosure agreements, then resigned in December 2024 to work for Worldwide, a competing testing laboratory formed with the CEO of a Global ETS customer. Global ETS alleged that Miller was using its proprietary information and sought to enjoin his employment, disclosure of information, and solicitation of customers, vendors, and employees. The record showed that Worldwide was still in development and training, had performed only one training job, and was not yet certified to conduct customer business.
Procedural history
Miller filed claims for race discrimination and retaliation on June 24, 2025. Global ETS asserted counterclaims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and the parties' non-compete and non-disclosure agreements on July 31, 2025. Global ETS moved for a preliminary injunction on November 21, 2025; the parties agreed that no evidentiary hearing was necessary. The district court denied the motion.