A federal judge in Dallas has denied an application by Cumulus Media seeking a restraining order against former 96.7/1310 The Ticket hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp.
McDowell and Kemp resigned last month, leaving their post hosting The Hang Zone in middays on The Ticket. The duo left the Cumulus-owned station over an unwillingness by the company to allow McDowell and Kemp to launch their own podcast separate from their radio show.
Days after leaving, McDowell and Kemp launched their podcast The Dumb Zone. The company filed an Emergency Application for Temporary Restraining Order in U.S. District Court in Dallas on August 4. McDowell and Kemp are accused of breaching their contracts and violating their six-month non-compete.
“By starting The Dumb Zone while still employed by Susquehanna and operating The Dumb Zone immediately after the termination of their employment from Susquehanna, Defendants are in violation of the non-compete, non-solicitation, and non- disparagement provisions of their respective Agreements,” the complaint by Cumulus subsidiary Susquehanna says. “Moreover, Defendants are actively misappropriating The Ticket’s social media platforms to cause confusion and re-direct The Ticket’s fans and listeners to The Dumb Zone and are violating their fiduciary duties to Susquehanna while infringing upon its intellectual property. In their most recent affront, Defendants have begun soliciting Susquehanna’s sponsors and customers to advertise on The Dumb Zone in patent and willful violation of their Agreements.”
Judge Karen Gren Scholer wrote in her decision that Cumulus didn’t provide evidence to support claims that any immediate or irreparable injury, loss or damage has resulted from McDowell and Kemp launching their podcast.
“Defendants are not competing with Plaintiff, have not disparaged Plaintiff, have not solicited Plaintiff’s advertisers or its employees, and have breached no duties, contractual or otherwise, to Plaintiff,” a response to the lawsuit by attorneys for McDowell and Kemp said. “The lawsuit is made up from whole cloth and motivated by a desire to retaliate against Defendants for engaging in protected activities.”
