How to enjoin a former employee

Originally published by David Coale.

Halliburton obtained an injunction in an arbitration against a former employee.  The employee sought vacatur under the FAA, arguing that it allows judicial review of an injunction for vagueness.  After reviewing some dispute as to whether such review is allowed after Hall Street, the Court rejected the challenge.  The employee challenged a provision that enjoined him from “utilizing in any fashion” certain documents “that concern [Halliburton’s] products or services, arguing that “utilization” was undefined, the limitation had no time period, and the document description was vague.  The Court found that, “read in context,” it was clear that the arbitrator was referring to material that the employee had improperly taken from Halliburton.  Because this gave the employee “fair notice of what he may, and must not, do,” it was “clearly capable of being implemented and enforced.” McVay v. Halliburton Energy Services, No. 10-10172 (April 22, 2015).  The entire injunction appears on pages 6-7 of the opinion and is of general interest to noncompete and trade secret litigation.

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