Judge Susan C. Rodriguez has issued a limited restraining order that affects the lawsuit involving Joe Gibbs Racing and Chris Gabehart/Spire Motorsports.
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A brief hearing took place on Monday morning. Judge Rodriguez ruled that Gabehart can continue in his new role as chief motorsports officer at Spire Motorsports. He just can't do anything that would overlap with his previous role as competition director at Joe Gibbs Racing, the team currently suing him and Spire Motorsports.
This temporary restraining order means that Gabehart can continue working on the various teams fielded by Spire Motorsports and TWG Motorsports in other series. This includes the Craftsman Truck Series, Late Model ranks, Sprint Cars, and the NTT IndyCar Series.
"I'm happy with the decision. We take trade secrets super serious and we're not hypocrites about it," Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson told media members after the hearing.
As part of the ruling, the judge ordered Gabehart to turn over any proprietary information from Joe Gibbs Racing that he may still have in his possession. The former competition director says he has already done so.
Judge Rodriguez also ordered Joe Gibbs Racing to put up $100,000 bond. This would go to Gabehart if he received a favorable ruling in this case.
"We are pleased with today's ruling by the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina for a temporary restraining order enforcing the terms of our contract with Chris Gabehart," Joe Gibbs Racing said in a written statement, per Motorsport.
"We will continue the legal process to protect our information and fight for what is right for our race team, our employees, and our partners."
Spire Motorsports and Gabehart have previously maintained that the two roles have no overlap, so they will operate under the status quo after the limited restraining order ruling.
All parties involved in this lawsuit will meet in court once again on March 16. This hearing will focus on a JGR-filed motion for expedited discovery. JGR's legal team would try to find damning communication between Gabehart and Spire Motorsports showing that they aimed to steal and distribute trade secrets and confidential information.
The hearing on March 16 will also focus on the Joe Gibbs Racing-filed motion for a preliminary injunction. The previous motions for the retraining order and preliminary injunction sought to keep Gabehart from working in his role at Spire Motorsports for an 18-month period.
