Injunction to stop ex-worker approaching firm’s clients

A HOTEL marketing agency has been granted a High Court injunction preventing one of its key ex-workers from approaching clients of the agency for the first 12 months of her employment with a rival firm.

The injunction remains in place pending the full hearing of an action for alleged breach of contract being taken by Net Affinity Ltd (NAL) against Michelle Conaghan and against her new employer Revmac Ltd, trading as Avvio, from employing her almost immediately. The injunction also provides that Avvio cannot approach NAL clients for the same period.

Both companies are involved in hotel marketing with NAL, it is claimed, specialising in reservation and booking systems for independent and group hotels in Ireland. NAL says it focuses on a niche market in helping hotels to market themselves through the use of social media and digital marketing strategies.

NAL says Avvio is the dominant competitor and its business will be damaged if there is not a 12-month period between her leaving NAL and taking up a job with Avvio because of technical skills and knowledge she gained in her former employment.

It also claims she kept confidential information downloaded from her company laptop the day before she handed in her notice on February 14 last.

NAL also claimed she was in breach of a non-compete clause in her contract of employment.

The claims were denied by Ms Conaghan and Avvio.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne was not prepared to injunct Ms Conaghan from taking up employment with Avvio for 12 months but was prepared to order that Ms Conaghan could not approach, solicit or deal with any existing customers of NAL for that period.

Given customers of the agency renew their contracts over a 12-month period, it seemed to the judge that this is the period within which NAL was entitled to have protection.

Ms Justice Dunne also said there was strictly speaking no evidence before the court that Ms Conaghan had passed on confidential information to Avvio.

The judge accepted it would be virtually impossible to establish, for instance, if another Avvio employee approached a NAL customer, that this did not arise from some form of contact through Ms Conaghan. She was therefore prepared to order the injunction prohibiting the approaching NAL clients should also be against Avvio for the same period.

The judge also said she had concluded the non-compete clause in Ms Conaghan’s contract was void and unenforceable.