}); googletag.cmd.push(function() { Martin v. Jones, 41 N.E.3d 123, 141 (Ohio Ct. App. That is, the Court's reporting of the "facts" here should not be understood as a finding that those are the actual facts of this case. Bridgestone Am. Ohio May. }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { (TQL's Exs. Dont miss the hottest freight event of the summer! Specifically, TQL points to evidence that (1) Sunland, one of Daniels' customer accounts at TQL, has significantly decreased its book of business with TQL after Daniels' departure; and (2) 721 Logistics copied Daniels on two emails concerning a shipment from Sunland. In the meantime, Defendants filed a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); Answered Apr 10, 2023. He submitted his resignation two weeks ago after discovering that his former employer, Cincinnati-based Total Quality Logistics, intended to file a motion seeking to add PBJ as a defendant in an ongoing lawsuit against him over allegations he violated the terms of his noncompete agreement after leaving the United States' second-largest freight 2, 28, #49). at 555-56 ("[A] well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable, and 'that a recovery is very remote and unlikely.'") 16630 Southfield Ltd. P'ship v. Flagstar Bank F.S.B., 727 F.3d 502, 504 (6th Cir. (TQL's Exs. (TQL's Exs. googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); But, because TQL presented evidence at the preliminary injunction hearing suggesting that it may be able to supplement this claim, that dismissal is WITHOUT PREJUDICE. gptAdSlots.push(gptSlot); But, despite repeated calls, TQL had no success until March 2, 2018, when Michael Henshall, one of TQL's account executives, successfully bid for a piece of Sunland's business. googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); 462 S 4th St. . TQL recruits college graduatesRecruiters for TQL admit they seek college graduates to join their freight brokerage team as sales trainees, who are expected to make up to 100 cold calls per day. TQL has provided several pieces of evidence in this regard. Without any factual content, the Court cannot "draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." My brother left TQL and did not want to do anything improper, so he didnt go to work for a broker. googletag.enableServices(); (Id. Total Quality Logistics. Jan. 19, 2007) (explaining that, while the violation of a covenant could constitute "irreparable harm," "[e]ach case presents a different factual scenario that must be independently reviewed to determine whether a breach will result, or has resulted, in irreparable harm"); see also Procter & Gamble Co. v. Stoneham, 747 N.E.2d 268, 280 (Ohio Ct. App. In order to do business with TQL, trucking companies are required to provide certain financial information, the lawsuit says. Start with TQL's claim that Daniels breached his non-compete. JUDGE DOUGLAS R. COLE OPINION AND ORDER This cause is before the Court on two pending motions: (1) Total Quality Logistics' ("TQL") Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Doc. Both in their briefs and at the preliminary injunction hearing, Defendants argued that a preliminary injunction would harm all current and former TQL employees. (Id. However, after five months in the new role, his work-life balance was substantially worse, according to court documents. 2. A Cincinnati freight brokerage company is facing a $5m lawsuit over a data breach that occurred last month. 2002) (citing United Food & Com. Horter Inv. 10 but good luck getting them approved . Certainly, there is no requirement under federal law to plead any particular or specific amount of damages. Resume Builder; Salary Estimator; The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Cincinnati, seeks to hold Total Quality Logistics responsible for the theft last month of financial information, includingbank account and Social Security numbers andtax ID numbers from companies with whom it does business. Dont miss the hottest freight event of the summer! It does not provide the name of the customer at issue or any other factual context for TQL's claim. Evidence suggests that, on August 20, 2020, Daniels organized EDA Logistics, a limited liability company designed to conduct "freight arrangement services." Then, on September 14, 2020, it appears that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted the newly formed EDA Logistics a form of motor carrier authority called "broker" authority. (Id.). (Mot. The lawsuit also accuses TQL of being aware of the risk of cyber attacks, but not havingthe necessary data security procedures in place to protect the confidential information from hackers. Like its breach of contract claim, TQL's misappropriation of trade secrets claim rests on Daniels's alleged involvement with EDA logistics, a (potentially) competing freight-brokerage company. Many rival logistics firms now use nonsolicitation agreements in lieu of noncompetes. The injuries TQL alleges, including the loss of customer goodwill and the loss of fair competition due to the violation of a non-compete, usually constitute an irreparable injury. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati on Tuesday let several, but not all, claims proceed in the case against Total Quality Logistics LLC, in one of at least two lawsuits against the . }); The new salespeople TQL hires are on a very short leash and they are expected to make hundreds of cold calls all of the time and its very hard to find new customers, Meizlish said. But Ohio has a doctrine that authorizes courts to reform overbroad noncompetes.. Should TQL provide the missing pieces at trial, that could well result in the Court imposing final injunctive relief on TQL's behalf based on the non-compete and non-solicitation provisions. Nowhere in the email chain does 721 Logistics (or Sunland) explain why it reached out to Daniels. He even accepted a lower-earning position to reduce his workload, becoming a senior enterprise account manager to continue to work at the freight brokerage giant, second in size only to C.H. TQL is a multi-billion dollar leader in the 3rd party logistics industry. googletag.enableServices(); 2, 16, #47; TQL's Exs. See id. 1:2019cv01052 - Document 15 (S.D. at 9(b)(i)). Rather, both parties focus their arguments on the harm that might occur if the Court were to grant the requested preliminary injunction. googletag.enableServices(); 2013) (citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678). 8, #97-98). The "facts" in this section are taken from the Complaint and certain evidence introduced at the preliminary injunction hearing. We always thought people should be able to practice their trade; all we ask is that they dont call on our customers for a year, Bob Klare, president of MegaCorp, told FreightWaves in a previous article. That said, the Court's holding today is simply that TQL has not provided sufficient evidence at this time to substantiate an entitlement to preliminary injunctive relief. Those are some of the words current and former employees of Total Quality Logistics (TQL) used recently to describe the work culture at the United States' second-largest logistics company . Happened to me in 2012!!!!! On June 29, 2020, Daniels voluntarily resigned from TQL. TQL's website notes that on Feb. 23 the company confirmed a data breach of its IT systems. at 556. It appears, though, that within a few months after leaving TQL, Daniels may have decided that he was not entirely done with the freight-brokering industry. Hr'g, Ex. googletag.cmd.push(function() { Representing a wide variety of clients, the firm has particular strength and focus representing business in a variety of areas including transportation, health care, public sector, financial services, and energy industries. Bostwick testified that Daniels' primary responsibility in those various roles was to manage customer accounts. Here, the allegations in the Complaint are that Daniels is competing with TQL for business, which creates a plausible inference that he is experiencing at least some success in that regard. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; But that misunderstands a plaintiff's obligation at the pleadings stage. In fact, the records that TQL provided at the evidentiary hearing showed that TQL's logistics accounts executives began calling on Sunland as early as 2016. Accepting these facts as true, EDA's purpose and authority both at least suggest that it is competing in the freight-brokering business. to Prelim. Hackers, the company said, gained access to information in some of our carrier accounts.. They hold payment and try to use a small claim to hold dozens of loads over the carriers head. TQL became suspicious that this drop in business occurred because Daniels may have used connections he developed at TQL to solicit Sunland's business after his departure. googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); If it turns out that Daniels, in fact, did not violate his non-compete, then he is entitled to compete after that date, and any preliminary injunction then in place would improperly interfere with the public's interest in free competition. of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395 (1981) (explaining that "it is generally inappropriate for a federal court at the preliminary-injunction stage to give a final judgment on the merits"). Former employees told FreightWaves they were expected to work more than 60 hours per week to meet sales goals and were expected to be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to increase TQLs customer base and were expected to respond to customer problems or questions at all times. On its website, TQL states it works with a network of more than 85,000-plus carriers and moves more than 1.8 million loads of freight each year. TQL undoubtedly intended to ask him, under oath, about his past and current business activities. Until that process is complete later this week, were holding on sending any additional employees home for testing or work-from-home moves.. A tortious interference with a business relationship claim requires the plaintiff to show: (1) a business relationship; (2) that the defendant knew of that business relationship; (3) that the defendant intentionally obstructed that relationship; and (4) that the plaintiff sustained damages as a result. That motion argues that the Court should dismiss TQL's Complaint because it consists of "conclusory allegations and rote recitations of elements of [each] claim[]," and, as such, fails to satisfy Iqbal and Twombly pleading standards. Id. at 570. googletag.enableServices(); Mgmt., LLC v. Cutter, 257 F. Supp. The email chains revealed that on October 28, 2020, and then again on January 18, 2021, Daniels received an email from 721 Logistics about a potato starch shipment from Sunland. To survive Defendants' 12(b)(6) motion, then, TQL's Complaint must provide non-conclusory facts that, if true, plausibly support claims that (1) Daniels breached his non-compete; (2) Daniels and EDA misappropriated trade secrets; (3) EDA interfered with TQL's business relationships; and (4) EDA interfered with TQL's contracts. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In other words, the Court's denial of this motion is not an indication that the Court has concluded that injunctive relief is never available for harm of the type alleged here, but rather that TQL has not carried its burden of showing that such relief should be awarded now. googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot2', [[468, 60], [728, 90], [300, 100], [320, 50]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767472470-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); However, employment talks with Patterson ended two weeks later after Austin spoke with Chris Brown, TQLs general counsel. Access the headquarters listing for Total Quality Logistics, LLC. Aaron Aanderud Commercial HVAC Technician. Its fast-paced, energetic s TQL Total Quality Logistics 1992). TQL claims that EDA "intentionally interfered with [that contract] by entering into an employment relationship with Daniels prior to the expiration of his restrictive covenants in the NCA." Your name will not be used without your permission in a follow-up article. to Prelim. TQL provides freight brokerage and third-party logistics services to customers across the continental United States. A day before the terminations began, Oaks sent out two company-wide emails addressing TQLs work-from-home bandwidth progress as federal and state health agencies were urging companies to allow employees to work remotely in an effort to curb the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. Send your complaint to this team now, you can find them on google. In fact, allegations in the complaint need not even be particularly convincing. OPINION AND ORDER MATTHEW W. MCFARLAND, JUDGE. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Cincinnati, seeks to hold Total Quality Logistics responsible for the theft last month of financial information, including bank account and Social. Carriers and Trucks are the backbone of this industry. And then to make matters worse, theres a one-way fee-shifting provision in the contract that says if TQL sues under the contract and prevails, the employee is liable for TQLs attorneys fees, Patterson said. Plaintiff Total Quality Logistics, LLC ("TQL") is an Ohio limited liability company with its principal place of business in Clermont County, Ohio. A massive data breach at a Cincinnati-area freight brokerage firm that does business across the U.S. and Canada has harmed tens of thousands of people, a lawsuit says. Hr'g, Ex. Consistent with that understanding, the Court can issue a preliminary injunction only "upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief." Of course, the plausibility of any inference will depend on the Court's "common sense and the strength of competing explanations" for why Daniels apparently started EDA. And courts have held that it is overbroad and cant be enforced as written. If the Court were to preliminarily enjoin Daniels and EDA today, that injunction will likely remain in effect for some time after June 2021, which is the date when Daniels' non-compete expires (at least absent tolling of the covered period). If Daniels is not violating his non-compete, the public has an interest in allowing him to form his own company and participate in the freight-brokerage market. It is plausible that Daniels, who allegedly had no knowledge of the freight-brokerage business when he joined TQL, and who allegedly received and had access to trade secret information while at TQL, used those trade secrets to establish and (potentially) operate what appears to be a competing freight-brokerage business, EDA Logistics. Ohio Apr. Hr'g, Exs. Rather, the Potato Shipment Emails merely show, at the bottom (and thus the start) of a long chain, that Sunland sent an email to Daniels. The contract at issue here is Daniels' non-compete agreement. }); According to court filings, [Jacob] Patterson brings this action to stop TQLs economic bullying so that he can move on with his life and career.. Moreover, neither of the two emails 721 Logistics sent Daniels and Sunland concerning one of Sunland's potato starch shipments provide much additional insight. He submitted his resignation two weeks ago after discovering that his former employer, Cincinnati-based Total Quality Logistics, intended to file a motion seeking to add PBJ as a defendant in an ongoing lawsuit against him over allegations he violated the terms of his noncompete agreement after leaving the United States second-largest freight brokerage in April 2021. 29, 2021). Allegations that the defendant committed an element of the claime.g., "defendants colluded"are mere "conclusory" statements that do not suffice to state a claim under Fed R. Civ. googletag.cmd.push(function() { Need some recourse against brokers. googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/FW_Super_Leaderboard', [[300, 50], [970, 90], [300, 100], [728, 90]], 'div-gpt-ad-1668097889433-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner2).addService(googletag.pubads()); For the reasons discussed above, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Defendants' Motion to Dismiss TQL's Complaint (Doc. Inj. Mot., Apr. In order for these counts to move forward, then, TQL must plausibly allege the four traditional elements of a breach of contract claim: (1) the existence of a valid agreement; (2) that the plaintiff (TQL) performed; (3) that the defendant (Daniels) failed to perform; and (4) that TQL sustained injury. Rather, the Court must rely on the evidence that TQL did present. My first morning in the new job my employer gets a fax from my former employer attorney. Mach. Had TQL taken the well-known risk of cyber-intrusion seriously and adequately tested, auditedand invested in its IT systems, and adequately trained its staff," the lawsuit says, the data breach would never have occurred.. A month after leaving TQL in December 2020, Austin started working at USI as vice president of transportation and logistics in its property and casualty division. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Therefore, on balance, the Court concludes that TQL is not entitled to a preliminary injunction at this time. Lucero v. Detroit Pub. The amount in damages exceeds $5 million, according to the lawsuit. (Compl., Doc. That is a heavy burden to bear. The motion to dismiss, like the motion for a preliminary injunction, is fully briefed and ripe for review. googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); Try Casetext free Opinion CA2020-09-056 12-06-2021 TOTAL QUALITY LOGISTICS, LLC, Appellant, v. INTEGRITY EXPRESS LOGISTICS, LLC, Appellee. (Id. Ken Oaks and Ryan Legg co-founded TQL in 1997, but the two parted ways 16 years ago. Facts and Procedural History { 2} TQL is a freight broker and third-party logistics company headquartered in Clermont County, Ohio. These facts, then, raise a plausible inference that EDA is interfering with the NCA between Daniels and TQL. Shortly thereafter, on March 8, 2021, EDA and Daniels removed the case to this Court on diversity grounds. for Prelim. Skip to Content. Total Quality Logistics (TQL) Phoenix, AZ. (citing Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997) (per curiam)). This is not enough to state a claim, Defendants contend, because, TQL "failed to allege that EDA actually engages in freight brokerage." But at this point in the process, federal pleading standards require TQL only to plausibly allege that Daniels is misappropriating trade secrets. This "plausible inference" satisfies post-Twombly and Iqbal pleading standards and is thus sufficient to carry TQL's tortious interference with a contract claim over the line. Rather TQL's claim is the type of "unadorned, the defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation" that fails to make the cut under Iqbal and Twombly. See Expert Janitorial, LLC v. Williams, No. A lawsuit charges that Total Quality Logistics, LLC BB #:203922 Cincinnati, had a massive data breach that has allegedly harmed thousands of people. }); President Joe Biden signed an executive order in July 2021 encouraging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ban or limit noncompete agreements. 2019). 1977)). Any such search, review, and production performed at the direction of this Court in connection with the above-captioned lawsuit shall not be a violation of the Stored Communications Act, 18 U . Ive been around for a long time and while its very challenging work, I feel like I owe it to all of these plaintiffs to see this case to the end, Meizlish told FreightWaves. The complaint, filed in September 2010 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, claims that more than 4,500 employees working at TQLs headquarters in Cincinnati from September of 2008 to mid-April of 2016 were cheated out of millions of dollars in overtime pay while working at the second-largest freight brokerage in the U.S. Also named in the complaint is Ken Oaks, chief executive and co-founder of Cincinnati-based TQL. Then, when Michael Henshall left TQL in June 2018, he passed the Sunland account over to Daniels. Although it is "plausible," based on the facts alleged, that EDA is operating and soliciting customers, it does not necessarily follow that EDA is soliciting TQL's customers. 2012). TQL is WORST Broker Pirates in industry . I must commend them for recovering my money from the people who stole from me. But, here, the facts in the Complaint, and particularly the allegation that EDA sought and received exactly the same kind of freight-brokering licensure that TQL uses to offer its services, give rise to the common sense, reasonable inference that Daniels is conducting freight-brokering services through EDA. 2023 www.cincinnati.com. Winter v. Nat. Accordingly, the Court will exclude $2,112.64 in billings that the Court deems useable in related litigation. Aaron Beeman Business Development Manager. 12, "W. Va. Sec'y of State Bus. 8, #96). Id. Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 14 years. The Irreparable Harm And Public Interest Factors Do Not Require A Preliminary Injunction. That said, a finding that there is no likelihood of success on the merits tips that balance in such a way that is "usually fatal" to the request for a preliminary injunction. TQL posted revenues of around $3.6 billion in 2019. The big problem with TQLs noncompete is that its drafted so broadly, everyone knows its overbroad and wont be enforced as written, said Pete Patterson. If you need a reliable and experienced fund retrieval expert. 1998)). Although these facts suffice to create a plausible inference that Daniels is actually competing against TQL, the only solid conclusion that the Court can draw from the evidence provided at this stage is that Daniels is at least preparing to compete with TQL. googletag.enableServices(); Inj. Defendants' argument directed at damages similarly falls flat. The regulating bodies in charge of controlling these establishments really need to do better! Overstreet v. Lexington-Fayette Urban Cnty. What is the vacation policy like at Total Quality Logistics (TQL)? TQL are extornists! This trend continued into the third quarter, which is the quarter right after Daniels left TQL. 13, 14, "FMCSA Licensing History"). The Complaint Plausibly Alleges That EDA Logistics Tortiously Interfered With TQL's Contracts. I highly recommend this fair service. We looked at the docket of Clermont County Court of Common Pleas for the last five years and there are between 400 and 500 cases with TQL as the plaintiff, Pete Patterson told FreightWaves. 17, 2021). TQL recommended carriers take extra security measures and contact their bank or financial institution and notify them that their information specifically bank account, routing and tax ID numbers may have been compromised, and suggested carriers place a fraud alert on their credit files. The Court, therefore, DENIES Defendants' motion to dismiss TQL's breach of contract claim. 8). }); Some attorneys who have represented former TQL employees in similar noncompete actions refer to the freight brokerage as the bully on the block. They say the company uses the legal system to keep employees from leaving for fear of being hit with a lawsuit and discourages other companies in the transportation industry from hiring its former employees for fear of being sued as well. Specifically, TQL asserts that a preliminary injunction would further (1) the public interest in upholding contracts and preventing unfair competition; and (2) the public interest in the fair, predictable administration of the freight-brokering industry. But, as "[p]reparing to compete is not equivalent to competing," this evidence alone is insufficient to support a preliminary injunction. Bell Atl. TQL and their kind are the herniated disc in the industry. }); Wednesday is Jacob Pattersons last day at PBJ Express, a small trucking firm in Joplin, Missouri, where he has worked for the past 15 months. (Compl., Doc. 1995)). (Doc. (Id. Legg later formed MegaCorp Logistics, which has a nonsolicitation agreement. Basicomputer Corp. v. Scott, 973 F.2d 507, 512 (6th Cir. A, #58-64, "NCA"). Hr'g, Ex. The Complaint Plausibly Alleges That Daniels Breached His Non-Compete. According to court documents, Austin was told that hiring Patterson would hurt [USIs] business relationship as TQL is a 20-year client of USI. Mot., Apr. Truckload carrier U.S. Xpress announces 2nd round of corporate layoffsApex Capital blames malware attack for unplanned system outageSlync.io fires CEO Chris Kirchner, strips board chairmanship, This firm TQL stole my money but I had to hire ( REMOTESPYTECH ) to help me recover them. For over 15 years, we've specialized in arranging the transportation of full truckload shipments for thousands of companies across the country and various industry segments. Inj. Workers Union, Local 1099 v. Sw. Ohio Reg'l Transit Auth., 163 F.3d 341, 347 (6th Cir. TQL presses two counts based on this alleged breach, one seeking damages and the other injunctive relief, but the underlying conduct (breach of contract) is the same. Those arguments are not particularly relevant here, as the Court has already held that there is no "substantial likelihood of success on the merits" that can justify a preliminary injunction. Daniels' resume from that period highlighted his ten years of "sales and management experience," which included time working as an Assistant Manager at Footlocker, a seven-year stint as a Universal Sales Consultant with Verizon Telecom, and his rather recent tenure as a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual. Have something to share about Total Quality Logistics?
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