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Cause No. ____________

WONDERLAND MONTESSORI ACADEMY, LLC, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS PATHSHALA, INC., d/b/a ROCKBROOK MONTESSORI ACADEMY, and RADHIKA SONI, Defendants.

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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS ______ 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

Filed12 July 16 A11:49Gary FitzsimmonsDistrict ClerkDallas District

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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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9. 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 doctor’s office in order to speak

with a Wonderland teacher. On another occasion, Rockbrook’s 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. Soni’s 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. Soni’s 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. Soni’s conduct. Plaintiff is seeking $75,000 in

damages for this wrongful conduct.

V. CAUSES OF ACTION

18. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth

herein.

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19. 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, Rockbrook’s 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 Wonderland’s contracts with the parents of students at its school by wrongfully encouraging

the parents to terminate their contractual relationship with Wonderland. Rockbrook interfered

with Wonderland’s 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. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth

herein.

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23. 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 Plaintiff’s

business, and irreparable loss of Plaintiff’s 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. are restrained from contacting, soliciting, or in any way recruiting teachers or other staff members from Wonderland; and

b. are restrained from contacting, soliciting, or in any way recruiting students or parents of students who attend Wonderland.

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

performed.

VII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

26. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Plaintiff respectfully requests that

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. A temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and permanent injunction against Defendants granting such relief as requested above;

b. 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