KFORCE, INC., F/K/A ROMAC INTERNATIONAL, INC., SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO ROMAC ASSOCIATES OF FORT LAUDERDALE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
KERIN MICKENBERG, F/K/A KERIN B. LAKE, APPELLEE
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The court held that the former employee's emails to customers constituted solicitation, creating a presumption of irreparable injury, entitling the employer to a temporary injunction.
Kforce sought a temporary injunction to enforce a non-compete agreement against Mickenberg, a former employee who contacted Kforce's customers via ema…
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PER CURIAM.
Kforce, Inc. appeals a non-final order denying its request for temporary injunction against Kerin Mickenberg which sought to enforce a covenant not to compete.
When she went to work for Kforce in 1995, Mickenberg signed a covenant not to compete. She left Kforce in 2002 and began to work for a competitor. At the hearing on the temporary injunction, Kforce proved that Mickenberg had contacted its customers by e-mail. The emails demonstrated Mickenberg’s attempt to circumvent the terms of the noncompet-ition agreement. For example, two e mails informed clients that Mickenberg was trying to “remain low key” to avoid any “conflict of interest” issues. Other comments were that she was willing “to work with [the client] behind the scenes for a little while” and to contact her if she could be of any assistance.
These e-mails amounted to a direct solicitation of Kforee’s customers. Under section 542.33(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1995), “solicitation of existing customers shall be presumed to be an irreparable injury.” At the hearing, Kforee demonstrated entitlement to a temporary injunction. We reverse the order of the circuit court and remand with directions to enter a temporary injunction enforcing the noncompetition agreement.
KLEIN, SHAHOOD and GROSS, JJ., concur.
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Massey Servs., Inc. v. Sanders (Fla. 5th DCA 2021)…ict stated: “We find it hard to find a clearer example of misconduct than an employee soliciting fellow employees on the job for his own business venture in competition with his current employer.” Id. In the second case, Kforce, Inc. v. Mickenberg, 846 So. 2d 1190 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), the employer appealed the denial of its request for a temporary injunction for the 8 violation of a noncompete provision. Kforce, Inc., 846 So. 2d at 1190. The employee, Mickenberg, after leaving the company, reached out to Kfor…