Leggat

I. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

Plaintiff JTH Tax LC d/b/a Liberty Tax Service (“Liberty”) is a franchisor of Liberty Tax Service income tax preparation service centers located throughout the United States. On or about January 31, 2011, Defendants entered into a Franchise Agreement with Liberty, agreeing that – upon termination of the franchise agreement – Defendants would refrain from use of Liberty’s literature and forms and return all customer information and Operations Manuals to Plaintiff.

1 A hearing is not necessary in this case, as the adverse parties had sufficient notice of the motion and all parties have had the opportunity to brief the relevant legal issues and submit pertinent evidence. See Haberland v. Bulkeley, No. 5:11cv463, 2012 WL 1564519, at *3 (E.D.N.C. May 2, 2012). Defendants operated their franchise in California and continued to conduct business after termination of the Franchise Agreement. The Franchise Agreement (Compl. Ex. A, ECF No. 1-2) specified that Virginia law would govern all disputes arising out of the agreement or any dealings of the parties. The Agreement contained a forum selection clause specifying Virginia Beach state courts and the

Eastern…