An effort by American Family Insurance to obtain an ex parte temporary restraining order against a former employee, Barry Gustafson, failed in large part because of an insufficient affidavit submitted by the plaintiff in its TRO application.
The case arose under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), as well as other pendent state claims for unfair competition. Increasingly, employers are using the CFAA to federalize competition cases, particularly given the expansive reading some circuit courts have given to the statute. The gist of plaintiff's claim was that Gustafson downloaded information from American Family's computers and used that information to solicit away customers for his new venture. The TRO was denied, and the court chastised the plaintiff for its conclusory affidavit.
In particular, the court noted that the affiant could not set forth any facts demonstrating that Gustafson had solicited or continued to solicit customers improperly. Additionally, the affidavit indicated that Gustafson began soliciting customers in July or August of 2008, but given that the complaint and ex parte TRO were filed on December 21, the statements of the affiant undercut any argument of "immediate injury."
The case demonstrates the care which attorneys must take in securing testimony by way of affidavit. Too often, insufficient or hastily prepared affidavits contain inadmissible hearsay or improper conclusions. This can doom an employer's chances of obtaining immediate injunctive relief regardless of the merits.
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Court: United States District Court for the District of Colorado
Opinion Date: 12/22/08
Cite: American Fam. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Gustafson, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103068 (D. Col. Dec. 22, 2008)
Favors: Employee
Law: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
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