No decision on Joe Gibbs Racing's preliminary injunction request against Gabehart, Spire

There was no ruling Thursday from Judge Susan C. Rodriguez on the preliminary injunction that Joe Gibbs Racing is seeking against Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports in its ongoing lawsuit over stolen trade secrets.

Rodriguez took a 35-minute recess at the end of the hearing as she considered making a ruling before acknowledging that more time was needed. The high stakes for all involved – businesses and livelihoods – were top of mind for Rodriguez, who stressed it is important for the court to get its ruling right.

The preliminary injunction would keep things as they are until the case is resolved, which means that Gabehart would be restricted from working for Spire Motorsports. 

The six-hour day did not produce information that had not already been argued or filed with the Western District of North Carolina.

Joe Gibbs Racing continues to argue that Gabehart stole confidential information and trade secrets to be used at Spire Motorsports. However, the team has repeatedly admitted it currently has no evidence that the information ended up at Spire Motorsports.

Nevertheless, in JGR's view, the hiring of Gabehart was no coincidence. Spire Motorsports wanted Gabehart’s knowledge about how Joe Gibbs Racing operates in order to have a “shortcut to success” and reach the same level of race wins and championships. The photographic evidence from Gabehart’s electric devices shows that he took what they have called the “crown jewel” of information.

“We think it’s cheating,” said Gibbs counsel Thomas Melsheimer. 

The only reason to take the information, Melsheimer argued, was to help Spire Motorsports catch up and make himself more valuable, thereby justifying Gabehart's extravagant contract. According to Joe Gibbs Racing, Gabehart is being paid “multiples” more by Spire than what he earned in his previous role.

Additionally, Melsheimer argued that the information and spreadsheets that Gabehart created were not motivational quotes from his office to take with him. It was not, he argued, like something that said: “It’s better to fly with the eagles than run with the turkeys.” 

“The case is important because it’s our property, it’s our trade secrets, it’s our confidential information,” Melsheimer told reporters after the day’s proceedings ended. “That’s all we’re trying to protect, and trying to hold Mr. Gabehart to his promise that he made to us, and we’re trying to protect our information. That’s it.” 

Lawrence Cameron, counsel for Spire Motorsports, offered a strong rebuke to the allegations and how his clients have had to listen to them when there is no evidence to back any of them up. Spire Motorsports continues to claim it has no need for information from Gibbs, and that it doesn't possess any.

With no evidence that thus far shows Spire Motorsports has done anything it’s being accused of, in particular that it engaged in a scheme with Gabehart to steal information, Cameron argued that Joe Gibbs Racing is solely going by Gabehart’s conduct. Spire Motorsports has imaged and preserved the personal iPhone of co-owner Jeff Dickerson as well as the phone and iPad of team president Bill Anthony, and there is nothing there from Joe Gibbs Racing.

There were also more of the same arguments from counsel Joshua Davey, who reiterated that in taking photos and notes, Gabehart “screwed up. He did.” But it was not because he did it for Spire, nor because he was asked to do so by Spire Motorsports. 

Also being argued on Thursday was Gabehart’s noncompete clause. His counsel, Carey Davis, argued that Joe Gibbs Racing cannot terminate him twice, because the series of events began with the two sides working on a mutual separation in November  and then terminated him in February  after finding out he was taking information. Since Joe Gibbs Racing did not follow the procedures for the two sides to separate, the argument goes, it breached the contract first and therefore cannot enforce the noncompete clause.

Judge Rodriguez asked both sides many questions and for clarity on the issues they were arguing about. Among those was Rodriguez admitting that she finds the timeline of events for Gabehart to be problematic, along with the question of the direct evidence against Spire Motorsports is from Joe Gibbs Racing.

“That’s what we’re waiting to hear,” Cameron told reporters. “As we told the court today, it’s really easy to make an allegation and frankly, it’s been disappointing in this case the way Joe Gibbs Racing has made these really extreme allegations without backing them up with any actual evidence. This is a sport that is driven by sponsors and fans, and at the beginning of this case, JGR alleged that we had stolen their secret sauce. And they specifically said that Spire knew of and encouraged stealing of JGR’s secret sauce. 

“What’s been discussed in court today and in the court filing is essentially a spreadsheet with some publicly available data. There is just no evidence to support those allegations against Spire because it didn’t happen.”

While the parties await her ruling on the preliminary injunction, Rodriguze granted an extension of the temporary restraining order against Gabehart through April 9.