Metropolitan L. Co., Ltd. v. Greenfield

[247]

TYLER, P. J.

Appeal from an order granting a temporary injunction. The action in which the relief was prayed for and granted was one for damages. The allegations are to' the effect that defendant Greenfield was employed by plaintiff as a laundry driver to collect from and deliver to customers of plaintiff certain laundry work; that at the time Greenfield entered upon his employment he agreed in writing that while in the employment of plaintiff, or thereafter should such employment be terminated, he would not solicit, divert or take away or furnish to any person, for a period of one year after the termination of such employment, information that would lead to the obtaining of plaintiff’s customers. The complaint alleged that the employment had terminated and Greenfield had and was violating his contract with plaintiff by soliciting plaintiff’s customers to bestow their work upon a competitor of plaintiff, and many customers had in consequence been induced to give their work to a rival concern to the great and irreparable damage of plaintiff. The answer denied the facts pleaded in the complaint and alleged certain other facts which it is claimed show that plaintiff was not entitled to maintain the action. Upon reading the verified complaint, to which was attached Greenfield’s contract with plaintiff not to solicit plaintiff’s customers, a preliminary injunction was issued by the terms of which Greenfield was restrained from doing such acts as his agreement recited he was not to do. It is from the order granting the injunction that Greenfield has appealed.

Appellant makes the contention that he was denied the opportunity of presenting his defense, and the action of the trial court in issuing the injunction after the filing of his answer was an abuse of discretion, arbitrary and erroneous. While it may be conceded to be the general rule that a temporary injunction will not be granted upon the complaint alone when defendant files an answer specifically denying all the material allegations of the complaint

(Crandall

v.

Woods,

6 Cal. 449;

Gagliardo

v.