Preliminary Injunction Cannot be Reviewed Because Defendant Failed to File the Record in Time
The Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for failure to timely file the record in Murphy v. Michelle Smith Designs, No. 07-251 (12/5/07).
Murphy sold the assets of his embroidery business to Smith. He agreed to work for her as a manager and signed a noncompete agreement that he would not compete against her for 2 years after his employment ended. However, he opened a competing business immediately after his employment ended.
Smith obtained a preliminary injunction to prohibit Murphy from operating a competing business. After the trial was delayed, the trial court refused to dissolve the preliminary injunction on January 23, 2007. Murphy appealed that order and filed the record with the clerk on March 9, 2007. When a party appeals a refusal to modify a preliminary injunction in Arkansas, the record must be filed with the clerk within 30 days of the entry of the order. See Ark. R. App. P.--Civ. 5(a). In this case, Murphy had to file the record by February 22, 2007. The court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
