In a recent court case that played out in the Northern District of Texas, Caris Life Sciences Ltd. v. Natera Inc. (No. 3:20-CV-1046), Texas-based Caris filed suit after some of its salespeople resigned and went to work the same day for Natera—a company in a similar business. Caris argued the departing employees would be taking sensitive trade secrets to a competitor and therefore sought to enforce the departing employees' noncompete agreements.

The court denied Caris' motion for a preliminary injunction, and in cases such as these a decision at the injunction stage often mirrors the eventual outcome of the case itself, says John C.C. Sanders, a trial lawyer and founding partner of the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn, which represented Natera in the matter.