Court Affirms Injunction Against Third Parties in Business Dispute

Andrew Mayer founded Murphy Pipeline Contractors, LLC, which he sold to PURIS, LLC for $55 million. As part of the sale, Mayer agreed to a noncompete that restricted his ability to compete with Murphy, solicit its customers, or recruit its employees for 18 months after the sale. The court affirmed a preliminary injunction against non-signatory third parties who assisted a former business owner in violating the noncompete agreement and building a direct competitor using confidential information.

The injunction was issued by the Eleventh Circuit regarding the application of the former owner’s stipulated geographic scope of competition. The court found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding irreparable harm or applying the terms of the noncompete agreement to the involved parties.