A New Jersey federal court recently granted a defendant-company’s motion to compel arbitration pursuant to a non-compete agreement between the plaintiff-company and two former employees who had discontinued employment with the plaintiff and went to work for the defendant. The case is Precision Funding Group, LLC v. National Fidelity Mortgage, Civ. No. 12-5054 (RMB/JS),
Washington Forum Selection Clause Enforced by California Court in Non-Compete Action
A California federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that a non-compete agreement is unenforceable under California law, upholding the parties’ Washington forum selection clause. Meras Engineering, Inc. v. CH20, Inc., No. C-11-0389 EMC (N.D. Cal. Jan. 14, 2013). CH20 is a Washington corporation with its principal place of business in Washington.
Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine
The inevitable disclosure doctrine is a common law doctrine that has been used by some courts to prevent a former employee from working for a competitor, even in the absence of a non-compete, because the former employee’s new job duties would inevitably require him to rely upon, use or disclose his former employer’s trade secrets.
Bill in New Jersey Legislature Would Invalidate Restrictive Covenants
An article recently posted on the Jackson Lewis website describes a bill introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly that would invalidate non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation agreements for former employees who are eligible for unemployment benefits. A similar proposal is under consideration in Maryland. We will continue to monitor this topic.
Missouri Cases Illustrate Enforceability of Well-Drafted Non-Competition Agreements
Shawn Kee and Jessica Liss write on the Jackson Lewis website about two recent cases interpreting Missouri law on non-competes, Whelan Security v. Kennebrew, 379 S.W.3d 835 (Mo. 2012) and TLC Vision (USA) Corp. v. Freeman, 2012 WL 5398671 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 2, 2012).
The Georgia Restrictive Covenants Act – Two Years Later
As previously reported in a legal alert issued by Jackson Lewis on May 12, 2011, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed the Georgia Restrictive Covenants Act into law almost two years ago, on May 11, 2011. Since that time, many employers have required employees to sign new covenants that comply with the law.
The Georgia Restrictive
Nebraska Court Addresses Meaning of “Solicitation” in Non-Compete Agreement
A Federal Court in Nebraska issued a preliminary injunction enforcing an employee non-compete agreement in a case that explains, for the first time, what a Nebraska court may consider “solicitation.” The case, Farm Credit Services of America v. Opp, No. 8:12-cv-382 (D. Neb. 2013), involved a crop insurance salesman, Opp, who signed a non-compete
Joint B-School/Law School Study Sheds Empirical Light on Use of Non-Competes in CEO Contracts
A recent study by three business and law school professors analyzed a random sample of 1,000 CEO employment contracts for 500 American companies over a seventeen year time span. The study determined how often the contracts included non-competes, whether the use of non-competes has increased over time, whether the use of non-competes is correlated to
Georgia Court of Appeals Refuses to Enforce Florida Forum Selection Clause
The Georgia Court of Appeals refused to enforce a forum selection clause in a restrictive covenant agreement entered into by a Georgia resident because it would have led to a different result than applicable Georgia law. Carson v. Obor Holding Company, LLC (Nov. 20, 2012). Obor Holding provides software and staffing services to clients in
You Fired Me, So Now I Can Compete – True or False?
We have often been asked: if an employer fires an employee, can a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement be enforced? Some federal district courts interpreting New York law had said “no.” A recent decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Hyde v. KLS Professional Advisors Group, LLC, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 21111 (2nd Cir.