UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION CASE NO: 8:13-cv-02782-EAK-EAJ ALFRED MOON, ALFRED MOON JR., CHERYL MOON & MEGAN WHITE, Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants, vs. MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATES, INC. Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff. HEARING ON MTA’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION OCTOBER 28, 2014 Jonathan Pollard LLC 401 E. Las Olas Blvd. #1400 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 p. 954-332-2380 www.pollardllc.com
Among the many things that I learned while working at my old firm, Boies, Shiller & Flexner, was the importance of presentation--- Specifically, the value that a strong Powerpoint presentation can add to hearings, particularly where there are numerous complicated issues at play. This is an example of an actual Powerpoint presentation that we prepared for a hearing in the case Moon et al v. Medical Technology Associates, Inc (M.D.Fla 2013). In this case, we are defending the Moon family, owners of a medical gas company, against claims that they violated various non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. The case is presently pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida - Tampa Division. We prepared the attached Powerpoint for use at a recent evidentiary hearing on the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction.
In non-compete litigation, the preliminary injunction often represents the most critical part of the case. If a defendant can successfully defeat the motion for a preliminary injunction, this opens up the door for settlement and suggests that defendant has good odds of ultimately prevailing on the merits.
If you are in Florida and have been sued for violating a non-compete agreement or are facing the prospect of non-compete litigation, I urge you to contact our office at 954-332-2380. We have experience litigating non-compete cases in federal and state courts throughout Florida. We are licensed in all Florida state and federal courts (Southern District, Middle District and Northern District) as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
We focus our practice on defending non-compete, trade secret and trademark claims. For more information about me and my team, please visit www.pollardllc.com, check out or popular blog on non-compete litigation at www.thenoncompeteblog.com or view our page on JD Supra Business Advisors at www.jdsupra.com/profile/jonathan_pollard_docs/
Our goal is to be the most effective, most creative and most business-savvy non-compete and trade secret lawyers in the state of Florida. And, to date, we have made great progress to that goal. I urge you to read more about us and contact my office if we can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Pollard Direct: 954-332-2395
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Transcript
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
CASE NO: 8:13-cv-02782-EAK-EAJ
ALFRED MOON, ALFRED MOON JR., CHERYL MOON &
MEGAN WHITE,
Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants,
vs.
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATES, INC.
Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff.
HEARING ON MTA’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIONOCTOBER 28, 2014
“We never had anything close to an exclusive or special relationship with MTA . . .”
- Matt Brennan, owner of J.M. Brennan, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI
Between June 2013 and August 2014, JM Brennan has
done business with 7 different medical gas vendors:
9
ACS Medical LLC
MTA’s “Substantial” Customer Relationships
“[W]e have had a number of problems with MTA that have involved poor service, MTA’s failure to supply functioning equipment and MTA’s failure to keep its promises. … As a result, we have never had a very strong relationship with MTA.”
Q: In your view, did MTA do a good job of managing that relationship?
A: No.
Q: From 2008 through the present, has Titan/Just Service worked with numerous medical gas vendors?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you maintain an exclusive relationship with any one vendor?
A: No
- Al Mueller, owner of Just Service Inc. / Titan Plumbing in Greendale, WI
10
“Open up the Yellow Pages…”
Q If I were to start a business such as ARTEC, MTA, ACS -- how
would I -- how would I go about finding customers?
A: Open up the Yellow Pages under "hospitals." Every one of
those are a customer. Drive down the road and look for every
blue sign that says "H," turn left or right, pull into the front door;
and that's your customer. There's hospitals all over.
Q Would I be able to find the point person at that hospital?
A Very easily. They are all -- they're all inside that building.
Deposition of Ross Williams – Artec Environmental
11
The Law – Substantial Customer
Relationships
“There was little evidence of any exclusive or other kind of relationship that
could be construed as ‘substantial’ within the meaning of the statute.”
Anich Indus., Inc. v. Raney, 751 So. 2d 767, 771 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)
Lack of an exclusive customer relationship, use of multiple vendors, fierce
competition and customer dissatisfaction weighs against a finding of a
substantial relationship.
TrueBlue, Inc. v. Dyn, 2010 WL 3565756 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 9, 2010)
12
The Customers Solicit Bids
The Facts
“[W]hen we obtain a new project, we often solicit bids from a variety of vendors for both
equipment and services.”
-Declaration of Matt Brennan, Owner of J.M. Brennan, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI
13
The Shields Decision Controls
On remand the district court should consider the application of Shields v.