Filed 12 July 16 A11:49 Gary Fitzsimmons District Clerk Dallas District

DC-12-07780 Cause No. ____________ WONDERLAND MONTESSORI ACADEMY, LLC, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS PATHSHALA, INC., d/b/a ROCKBROOK MONTESSORI ACADEMY, and RADHIKA SONI, Defendants. IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF

DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS

______ I-162ND JUDICIAL DISTRICT

ORIGINAL PETITION AND VERIFIED APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER, TEMPORARY INJUNCTION, AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION Wonderland Montessori Academy, LLC (Wonderland) by and through its counsel, brings this suit against Texas Pathshala, Inc., doing business as Rockbrook Montessori Academy (Rockbrook), and Radhika Soni (collectively Defendants) and respectfully shows the court as follows: I. DISCOVERY CONTROL PLAN 1. Discovery is intended to be conducted pursuant to Discovery Level 2. TEX. R.

CIV. PROC. 190.3. II. PARTIES 2. Plaintiff Wonderland Montessori Academy, LLC, a Texas Limited Liability

Company, is a resident of Denton County, Texas. 3. Defendant Texas Pathshala, Inc., doing business as Rockbrook Montessori

Academy, a Texas For-Profit Corporation, is a resident of Dallas County, Texas. It can be

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served through its registered address, Vineeta Bhargava, at 725 Penfolds Lane, Coppell, Texas 75019, or wherever she may be found. 4. Defendant Radhika Soni is a resident of Denton County, Texas. She may be

served at her home, 195 E. Round Grove Rd. #1923, Lewisville, Texas 75067, or wherever she may be found. III. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and

Remedies Code Section 65.021 of the Civil Practices and Remedies Code (granting district courts jurisdiction over injunctive proceedings). The amount in controversy is within the

jurisdictional limits of the Court. Venue is proper in Dallas County under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code 15.002 because Defendant Rockbrook is a resident of Dallas County. IV. BACKGROUND FACTS 6. Wonderland Montessori Academy, LLC, operates a private educational facility in

Flower Mound, Texas, offering educational programs for children as young as infants through children in elementary school. Mr. Sanjay Joshi is an owner of Wonderland. Ms. Heather Cole is the Director of Wonderland. 7. Parents with students enrolled at Wonderland enter into an ongoing contractual

relationship with Wonderland. To terminate this relationship, parents are required to provide written notice of withdrawal thirty (30) days in advance of the last day of enrollment. 8. Rockbrook Montessori Academy has recently opened a private educational

facility in Flower Mound, Texas, offering educational programs for children as young as eighteen (18) months through children in elementary school.

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For the past several months, Rockbrook has actively and aggressively recruited

teachers from Wonderland, often using underhanded methods of recruitment. On at least one occasion, a Rockbrook employee called Wonderland posing as a doctors office in order to speak with a Wonderland teacher. On another occasion, Rockbrooks owner, Vineeta Bhargava,

visited the home of a Wonderland teacher uninvited in order to try to convince the teacher to join Rockbrook. 10. In late-May 2012, Radhika Soni (Ms. Soni), who was employed with

Wonderland as an Assistant Teacher, notified Wonderland that she was leaving to take a teaching position at Castle Creek, a preschool in Flower Mound. Ms. Soni was asked explicitly by Ms. Cole whether she was going to work for Rockbrook, as another teacher from her classroom had already given her notice to resign and join Rockbrook. Ms. Soni denied that she would be working for Rockbrook. Ms. Sonis last scheduled day at Wonderland was Friday, June 8, 2012. 11. On Wednesday, June 6, 2012, Mr. Joshi learned from a parent of a student that

Ms. Soni had approached her about immediately moving her child to Rockbrook Montessori. In the conversation with the parent, Ms. Soni encouraged the parent to leave Wonderland and not to pay any tuition to Wonderland that had not already been paid. She also told the parent that she believed that Rockbrook would be willing to provide financial incentives for the move. 12. Upon learning of this conversation, Ms. Cole immediately confronted Ms. Soni

about this conduct, at which time Ms. Soni strongly and repeatedly denied engaging in this conduct. After that, Mr. Joshi spoke with Ms. Soni about this, and she again denied it. 13. That evening, Ms. Cole and Mr. Joshi both met with Ms. Soni in a conference

room at Wonderland. During this meeting, Ms. Soni admitted to approaching several parents

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and encouraging them to move to Rockbrook. This contradicted what she had stated earlier on Wednesday. 14. After considerable questioning, Ms. Soni stated that during the hiring process at

Rockbrook, she was told that Rockbrook needed students from Wonderland. She stated that she was offered an hourly wage of $14.00 per hour initially, but that she would be given a raise of $2.00 per hour within 2 months if she was able to add additional students to her classroom. 15. Ms. Soni admitted that, in order to receive the promised raise, that she solicited

several parents of children in her class at Wonderland, encouraging the parents to give notice of withdrawal to Wonderland and to enroll their child at Rockbrook. Ms. Soni solicited these parents before her position at Wonderland expired. 16. On Thursday, June 7, 2012, Ms. Soni called in sick to work, claiming that she had

a high fever and would not be able to attend work. She did not come to work that day or on Friday, June 8th, her last scheduled day. On Friday, June 8, 2012, Ms. Cole learned from another parent, whose child was not even in Ms. Sonis class, that Ms. Soni had approached them about moving to Rockbrook. Since then, numerous parents have come forward stating that Ms. Soni solicited them. 17. Since Ms. Soni announced her departure, numerous children have withdrawn

from Wonderland. Upon information and belief, Mr. Joshi and Ms. Cole believe that some of these children have left as a result of Ms. Sonis conduct. Plaintiff is seeking $75,000 in damages for this wrongful conduct. V. CAUSES OF ACTION 18. herein.
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Plaintiff incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth

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Breach of Fiduciary Duty. As an employee of Wonderland, Ms. Soni owed a

fiduciary duty to Wonderland during her term of employment, including a duty not to redirect customers to a competing enterprise. By encouraging parents of students at Wonderland to terminate their contractual relationship with Wonderland and to enroll their child at Rockbrook, she breached this fiduciary duty. These actions have caused, and continue to cause, irreparable injury to the Plaintiff as well as actual damages. 20. Aiding and Abetting in Breach of Fiduciary Duty. By encouraging and

incentivizing Ms. Soni to breach her fiduciary duty owed to Wonderland by soliciting parents of students at Wonderland to enroll at Rockbrook, Rockbrooks conduct constitutes aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty. These actions have caused, and continue to cause,

irreparable injury to the Plaintiff as well as actual damages. 21. Tortious Interference with Contract. Ms. Soni, as agent for Rockbrook, interfered

with Wonderlands contracts with the parents of students at its school by wrongfully encouraging the parents to terminate their contractual relationship with Wonderland. Rockbrook interfered with Wonderlands contracts with the parents of students at its school by wrongfully encouraging and incentivizing Ms. Soni to interfere with the aforementioned contracts. These actions were tortious and wrongful. These actions have caused, and continue to cause, irreparable injury to the Plaintiff and actual damages. VI. APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER, TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION 22. herein. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth

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Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law for the harm being suffered as a result of

Defendants actions, and Plaintiff will continue to suffer immediate and irreparable harm, including the loss of the enrolled students at Wonderland, the consequent disruption of Plaintiffs business, and irreparable loss of Plaintiffs good will and business reputation, unless Defendants are restrained and enjoined from interfering or attempting to interfere with Wonderland and the employees and students of Wonderland. 24. Plaintiff therefore requests, pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 680,

Section 650.11 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and the common law of equity, that this Court issue a temporary restraining order, and upon hearing a temporary injunction and permanent injunction against Defendants. The Plaintiff requests that the injunction order provide that Defendants, and all other persons or entities acting on Defendants behalf: a. b. 25. performed. VII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF 26. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Plaintiff respectfully requests that are restrained from contacting, soliciting, or in any way recruiting teachers or other staff members from Wonderland; and are restrained from contacting, soliciting, or in any way recruiting students or parents of students who attend Wonderland.

All conditions precedent to the relief requested herein have occurred or have been

Defendants be cited to appear and answer, and that upon this petition, or hearing sought hereafter, or at trial of this cause, this Court enter relief as follows: a. b. A temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and permanent injunction against Defendants granting such relief as requested above; Actual and Exemplary Damages; and

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c.

Any other relief to which the Plaintiff shows it is entitled. Respectfully submitted, By: /s/ Jason Copling Jason Copling Texas State Bar No. 24036400 MUNSCH HARDT KOPF & HARR, P.C. 3800 Lincoln Plaza 500 N. Akard Street Dallas, Texas 75201 (214) 855-7500 (telephone) (214) 855-7584 (facsimile) E-mail: jcopling@munsch.com E-mail: crusek@munsch.com ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

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