On February 12th, 2020, King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Parisien entered a Preliminary Injunction in the case of One Way Group, LLC v. CQD, LLC, et al. [1]. The Preliminary Injunction effectively prevents Defendants, CQD, LLC and two other Individual Defendants from violating the terms of a Covenant Not to Compete that was part of a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the purchase of a business previously owned, in part, by the Individual Defendants.

The dispute, filed in December 2019, is between two Washington Limited Liability Companies and former members of a separate Limited Liability Company, which had sold a restaurant to the Plaintiff. The Complaint, filed in King County Superior Court, sought injunctive relief, including a preliminary injunction and a request to compel arbitration. The Plaintiff obtained a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) on December 6, 2019 that effectively halted the competing business’ operations, but the case remained at standstill until a hearing could be finally held on February 7th and 11th of 2020. By the terms of the Court’s order, the Preliminary Injunction will remain in effect until the outcome of arbitration.

This case illustrates the significance of written contracts, especially ones that have restrictive covenants, and the potential consequences for violating the terms of those covenants.

The Plaintiff seeks to move this matter forward to arbitration for final resolution of its disputes with the Defendants.

[1] King County Superior Court Case# 19-2-31709-4 SEA