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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND SOUTHERN DIVISION UNITED SHEET METAL, INC., Plaintiff, Civil Action No. AW-00-3640 vs. JERRY PUGH, Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION Currently pending before the Court are: (1) Plaintiff's Motion for Remand; (2) Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction; and (3) Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgement. A telephonic conference held on January 11, 2001 to discuss Plaintiff's request for expedited discovery in light of Defendant's motion for summary judgement. Plaintiff's motion for remand has been fully briefed by all parties. No hearing is deemed necessary. See Local Rule 105.6. Upon consideration of the arguments made in support of, and opposition to, the motion for remand, the Court makes the following determinations. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND From 1988 to December 1993, United Sheet Metal employed the Defendant, Jerry Pugh, in a position covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The collective bargaining agreement was negotiated between the Sheet Metal Workers' Union No. 100 and the Sheet Metal Contractors Association of the District of Columbia. After several years of employment, United Sheet Metal approached Mr. Pugh on the prospects of him assuming a new position as Estimator. The position of Estimator imposed certain new

managerial and supervisory responsibilities upon Mr. Pugh. 1 Because the position provided access to United Sheet Metal's bid system and its clients, the employer required Mr. Pugh to execute an employment agreement for the position of Estimator. The employment agreement included a non-competition clause that precluded Mr. Pugh from working its competitors in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas for three years following any separation from his employment at United Sheet Metal. Mr. Pugh assumed the position of Estimator after execution of the employment agreement. In April 2000, Mr. Pugh was terminated from his position at United Sheet Metal. On November 31, 2000, United Sheet Metal learned that Mr. Pugh had been hired by a competitor doing business in the region. Thereafter, United Sheet Metal brought a breach of contract claim against Mr. Pugh and the competitor seeking to enforce the non-competition clause through a preliminary injunction preventing Mr. Pugh from assuming his new position. Defendant obtained removal from state court to this Court based upon the defense that section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) pre-empted Plaintiff's breach of contract claim because the asserted contract is not valid pursuant to section 9 of the LMRA. Upon removal, Plaintiff filed a motion to remand claiming the removal was improper pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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