From Judge Troy Nunley's decision yesterday in Prehired, LLC v. Provins (E.D. Cal.):
Plaintiff is involved in the business of training and mentoring workers as to how to obtain a better job at a higher pay. Plaintiff markets its services through website and social media sites such as LinkedIn. Plaintiff charges a fee for its services; however, no fee is charged before a client obtains a job or completes the program.
On or about October 14, 2020, Plaintiff and Defendant signed a membership agreement, and Defendant thereafter completed his membership program without incident or complaint. Plaintiff and Defendant subsequently entered into negotiations for Defendant to assist Plaintiff with marketing its business and training its clients. [A deal was made but was later terminated. -EV]
According to Plaintiff, after the parties ended the MTT Partner Service Agreement, Defendant initiated a "campaign to damage the … business and to benefit his own business." [Details below. -EV] … Plaintiff alleges that in the short period following Defendant's statements, multiple clients and potential clients have cancelled sales calls and meetings, cancelled executed contracts, and decided to not complete pending contracts with Plaintiff. Plaintiff states many of these clients and potential clients have specifically referenced Defendant's statements as their basis for withdrawing their business.
As a result of Defendant's statements Plaintiff alleges it has lost a contract worth $20,000 and contractual partners whose work resulted in substantial revenue—including a partner who was expected to provide $2 million in revenue to Plaintiff.
