Pathfinder Communications Corp. v. MacY

795 N.E.2d 1103, 20 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 684, 2003 Ind. App. LEXIS 1735, 2003 WL 22137217
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 17, 2003
Docket02A04-0303-CV-146
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 795 N.E.2d 1103 (Pathfinder Communications Corp. v. MacY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pathfinder Communications Corp. v. MacY, 795 N.E.2d 1103, 20 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 684, 2003 Ind. App. LEXIS 1735, 2003 WL 22137217 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.

Pathfinder Communications Corporation ("WOWO") filed a motion for preliminary injunction and a complaint requesting a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and damages against its former employee, Dave Macy ("Macy"),1 in Allien Superior Court alleging that Macy violated a covenant not to compete by obtaining employment at a competing radio station. After a hearing was held on WOWO's motion for preliminary injunction, the trial court found that WOWO did not have a legitimate protecti-ble interest in Macy or his radio program "Macy in the Morning," and that the covenant not to compete was unenforceable because it was overbroad. The trial court therefore denied WOWO's motion for preliminary injunction. WOWO appeals raising three issues, which we restate as:

I. Whether WOWO has a legitimate protectible interest in Macy, its former on-air personality;
II. Whether the covenant not to compete is overbroad; and,
III. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it denied WOWO's motion for a preliminary injuncetion.

Concluding that WOWO does have a legitimate protectible interest in Macy, [1107]*1107that the covenant not to compete is rendered reasonable by "blue penciling" or striking its overbroad language, but that the trial court properly denied WOWO's request for injunctive relief, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

Facts and Procedural History

Pathfinder Communications owns and operates several AM and FM radio stations in Indiana, including WOWO, a Ft. Wayne AM radio station. In 1998, WOWO hired Macy to be its morning show host from 5:00 am. to 9:00 am. Prior to his employment with WOWO, Macy had developed the radio program "Macy in the Morning," a talk show featuring telephone calls from the public as well as political and social commentary by Macy. The show was described as being combative and opinionated with a conservative viewpoint. Topics often discussed on the show included abortion, religion, gun control, and gay and lesbian rights. Macy developed that format during his employment at radio stations in Ohio and Tennessee, and WOWO hired Macy specifically for his "Macy in the Morning" show format.

When he was hired by WOWO, Macy signed an employment agreement that contained the following covenant not to compete:2

Employee agrees that during the term of Employee's employment and for a period of twelve (12) consecutive calendar months thereafter, Employee will not engage in activities or be employed as an on-air personality, either directly or indirectly, with the following radio stations (which radio stations are in direct competition with and are engaged in radio broadcasting business substantially similar to WOWO): WAJL, WBTU, WEXI, WGL, WGLL-FM, WSHI, WJFX, WLDE, WXKE, WGL, WYSR, WEJE, WFCV, WLZQ,.

Ex. Vol., Plaintiff's Ex. 1. The agreement also provided: "the parties expressly agree that the restrictions set forth" in the covenant "are fair and reasonable in all respects." Id.

In 2002, WOWO commissioned a consulting study of all of the station's programming, including Macy's show. As a result of that study, WOWO determined that it should modify the format of Macy's show to focus more on "hard news," weather, and local events. WOWO told Macy to tone down the controversial and combative nature of the show, and that Macy needed to approach issues in a less controversial fashion. Tr. pp. 89-90. Macy was also told to avoid discussions of issues such as religion, abortion, and gay and lesbian rights unless they were "newsworthy." Tr. p. 91. Essentially, WOWO decided to "take the program in a different direction" with more emphasis on news and information and less emphasis on controversial programming. Tr. p. 99. The name of Macy's show was also changed to "Fort Wayne Morning News with Dave Macy." After the change in format, the Arbitron ratings for Macy's show rose by three full shares.3

Macy's employment with WOWO was terminated in December 2002 after Macy falsified program logs, which is a violation [1108]*1108of the rules and regulations established by the Federal Communications Commission.4 Two months later, WGL, a competing radio station in Fort Wayne, hired Macy to host their morning show utilizing the "Macy in the Morning" format. On February 24, 2003, WOWO filed a complaint requesting a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and damages against Macy alleging that Macy had breached the covenant not to compete described in his employment agreement. On that same date, WOWO filed a motion requesting a preliminary injunction and/or temporary restraining order.

A hearing was held on the motion on March 3-4, 2008. On March 21, 2008, the trial court issued its findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court found:

10. When WOWO discontinued the "Macy in the Morning" talk show and instituted the news/talk program entitled "Fort Wayne's Morning News with Dave Macy," it fundamentally changed the format of the show and the product known as "Macy in the Morning" for which Macy had been hired and for which he became known.
* otook
16. Since "Macy in the Morning" no longer existed after September 2002, and Dave Macy no longer was on the air for WOWO in any capacity after December 16, 2002, nothing remained within which WOWO could claim a property right.
# ok
18. WOWO has no legitimate protecti-ble interest in "Macy in the Morning" or Dave Macy as it voluntarily chose to eliminate his persona and that style of show from its programming.
# ok
20. Even if the Court were to determine that a legitimate protectible interest existed, the non-compete covenant is still unenforceable as it is overly broad with respect to the activities proscribed.

Appellant's App. pp. 10-12. The trial court therefore denied WOWO's request for a preliminary injunction. WOWO now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Standard of Review

The denial "of a preliminary injunction rests within the sound discretion of the trial court, and our review is limited to whether there was a clear abuse of that discretion." Apple Glen Crossing, LLC v. Trademark Retail, Inc., 784 N.E.2d 484, 487 (Ind.2003)

To obtain a preliminary injunction, the moving party has the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the movant's remedies at law are inadequate, thus causing ' irreparable harm pending resolution of the substantive action; (2) the movant has at least a reasonable likelihood of success at trial by establishing a prima facie case; (8) threatened injury to the movant outweighs the potential harm to the non-moving party resulting from the granting of an injunction; and (4) the public interest would not be disserved. If the movant fails to prove any of these re[1109]*1109quirements, the trial court's grant of an injunction is an abuse of discretion.

Id. at 487-88 (citing Ind. Family & Soc. Servs. Admin. v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Med-1 Solutions, LLC v. Jennifer Taylor
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2024
David Buck v. Samaron Corporation (mem. dec.)
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2020
Zimmer US Inc. v. Mire
188 F. Supp. 3d 843 (N.D. Indiana, 2016)
Distributor Service, Inc. v. Stevenson
16 F. Supp. 3d 964 (S.D. Indiana, 2014)
Harlan Laboratories, Inc. v. Campbell
900 F. Supp. 2d 99 (D. Massachusetts, 2012)
Bodemer v. Swanel Beverage, Inc.
884 F. Supp. 2d 717 (N.D. Indiana, 2012)
Coates v. Heat Wagons, Inc.
942 N.E.2d 905 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2011)
Coffman v. Olson & Co., PC
906 N.E.2d 201 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)
Gleeson v. Preferred Sourcing, LLC
883 N.E.2d 164 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Central Indiana Podiatry, P.C. v. Krueger
882 N.E.2d 723 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2008)
Glenn v. Dow AgroSciences, LLC
861 N.E.2d 1 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2007)
Central Indiana Podiatry, P.C. v. Krueger
859 N.E.2d 686 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2007)
City of East Chicago v. Lake County Transfer, Inc.
854 N.E.2d 23 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
MacGill v. Reid
850 N.E.2d 926 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
Press-A-Dent, Inc. v. Weigel
849 N.E.2d 661 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
Sharvelle v. Magnante
836 N.E.2d 432 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2005)
Pathfinder Communications Corp. v. MacY
795 N.E.2d 1103 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
795 N.E.2d 1103, 20 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 684, 2003 Ind. App. LEXIS 1735, 2003 WL 22137217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pathfinder-communications-corp-v-macy-indctapp-2003.