Convergent Mobile, Inc. v. JTH Tax, Inc.
- Yvonne Rogers
- 4:19-cv-06484
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Convergent Mobile v. JTH Tax, Judge Rogers denied without prejudice JTH’s request for emergency relief concerning Google accounts.
JTH Tax, Inc. and Convergent Mobile, Inc.; the ruling denied JTH’s requested emergency restrictions and transfer of control over the Google My Business account without prejudice.
What happened
In Convergent Mobile, Inc. v. JTH Tax, Inc., JTH asked the court to stop Convergent from deleting JTH’s customer information and to return control of JTH’s Google business accounts.
The court applied the standards used for a preliminary injunction, which require a party to show, among other things, a likelihood of success on the merits. The court found that JTH could not show that likelihood because JTH’s own motion acknowledged that the Google account dispute was outside the contract dispute being litigated in the case.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied JTH’s motion for a temporary restraining order and request for an order to show cause without prejudice, based on the record before the court. The ruling terminated the motion docketed as No. 32.
The detailed version
- Convergent Mobile, Inc. v. JTH Tax, Inc. · No. 4:19-cv-06484
- Yvonne Rogers
- Dec. 20, 2019
Background
JTH Tax, Inc., doing business as Liberty Tax Service, filed an emergency motion seeking a temporary restraining order and an order requiring Convergent Mobile, Inc. to appear and explain why a preliminary injunction should not issue. JTH asked the court to prevent Convergent from destroying or deleting JTH’s customer confidential information during the case, including information associated with JTH’s Google My Business account. JTH also asked the court to require Convergent to give up access and control of that account and any other Google My Business accounts that Convergent serviced for JTH.
Legal standard
The court explained that a temporary restraining order is evaluated under the same general standards as a preliminary injunction. Preliminary injunctive relief is an extraordinary remedy that is not awarded automatically. The requesting party must establish four factors, including a likelihood of success on the merits, likely irreparable harm without the relief, a favorable balance of equities, and consistency with the public interest.
Court’s reasoning
The court concluded that JTH had not satisfied those requirements. In particular, JTH could not establish a likelihood of success on the merits because JTH’s motion repeatedly conceded that the Google My Business account and its contents were outside the scope of the litigation. The court described the pending case as involving a contractual dispute between Convergent and JTH, while JTH’s requested relief concerned ownership and control of the Google account and content.
Disposition
The court denied without prejudice JTH’s motion for a temporary restraining order and request for an order to show cause, based on the record then before the court. The court stated that the ruling terminated Docket No. 32.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.