Battles That Decide Wars

It is often said that noncompete cases differ from other types of civil litigation in that the initial battle in the case often decides the war. If you slip and fall while buying groceries and decide to sue the supermarket, your case will follow the typical path of civil litigation: a complaint will be filed, commencing a lawsuit; the defendant will answer; the parties will spend months or even years gathering information in the discovery phase; and the case will be resolved through the summary judgment process or at trial. All of this will take at least a couple of years. Most noncompete cases, on the other hand, have an intense but brief lifespan. The plaintiff in these cases -- the former employer -- typically will say that there is an emergency and that it will suffer "irreparable harm" if the former employee is permitted to compete in violation of his agreement. The plaintiff therefore will seek an immediate remedy from a judge: a temporary restraining order and/or