Clear Edge v Elliot
Springboard injunctions have traditionally been used as a way of stopping former employees using information they’ve obtained improperly. A company might apply to the courts for this special sort of injunction when it looks as though an ex-employee might use confidential information to get a head start in competition against them.
Now the High Court has confirmed that these sorts of injunctions aren’t limited to enforcing post-termination restrictions. They can apply in response to any contractual breaches by an employee.
In this case the three Defendants were a single team employed by Clear Edge. The company believed that they had conspired to leave and join a new employer and had copied and kept confidential information during their employment. This amounted to a serious breach of the duty of fidelity and, potentially, of their fiduciary duty too.
The High Court granted the springboard injunction because of the real risk of the employees misusing the information. The court said that it’s right to intervene in this way to prevent an employer suffering losses because of a former employee’s breach of contract. This sort of injunction isn’t just for cases where an employee threatens to abuse confidential information.
