TAMPA (LN) — U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Carolyn DeGori denied Sunbit's motion for an ex parte temporary restraining order on April 22, 2026, finding the company did not demonstrate that irreparable harm would occur if defendants were given notice to respond.
Sunbit, a technology company providing point-of-sale consumer financing, alleged that Keil, who worked for CareCredit from 2016 to 2022 before joining Sunbit, returned to a competing role at Synchrony and CareCredit in late February or early March 2026.
The suit alleged that Keil violated confidentiality and non-solicitation obligations and that Synchrony and CareCredit knowingly hired her to use Sunbit's trade secrets, including merchant lists, pricing data, and sales strategies.
Sunbit sought the ex parte order to prevent the defendants from imaging and deleting data from Keil's personal phone, which the company claimed still contained confidential information. Sunbit argued that immediate and irreparable injury would result if the device was imaged without agreed-upon protocols to prevent spoliation.
The court found that Sunbit did not establish that irreparable harm would occur absent an opportunity for defendants to be heard. Instead, the court noted that Sunbit proceeded on inferences that did not satisfy the standard for such extreme relief.
The judge noted that the defendants had agreed the phone should be imaged and searched, and that Keil had been suspended from working in any capacity since receiving a cease-and-desist letter on March 13, 2026.
"Rule 65 requires that courts consider not only the need for the restraining order, but also the need for proceeding ex parte," DeGori wrote, citing Liqid, Inc. v. Stevenson.
The court described the ex parte temporary restraining order as an "extreme remedy to be used only with the utmost caution."
Sunbit's motion for a preliminary injunction remains pending and will be ruled on after briefing concludes.
The court directed Sunbit to serve the defendants with the complaint and order by April 23, 2026, and set a response deadline for the preliminary injunction motion for April 30, 2026.
Sunbit's motion for expedited discovery was taken under advisement, with defendants required to respond by May 1, 2026.