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A team of insurance brokers left Wells Fargo, probably took $6.5 million in business with them and managed not to get enjoined. But they might be toast in the end and owe Wells Fargo lots of money. Let’s take a look: Case Background Joshua Tyndell, William Dineen, H. Keith McNally, Thomas Blue, and Erin Repp … Continue reading
FOR-EV-ER. Remember The Sandlot? That’s what we’re talking about here. FOR-EV-ER. A recent decision out of Michigan and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reminds us that some non-competes can last forever and that jury instructions are incredibly important. Let’s take a look: In 1947, Fred Barton developed a radiator stop leak … Continue reading
A recent case out of the Southern District of Florida provides important guidance into the limits of non-compete agreements under Florida law. The case is one of the most comprehensive Florida non-compete decisions of the past several years, whether in state or federal court. Let’s take a look: IDMWorks is a company that specializes in … Continue reading
Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran a story about non-compete agreements making it difficult for younger journalists to get new jobs and move up in the news world. The article focused substantially on a young journalist named Stephanie Russell-Kraft who moved from Law360 to Thomson Reuters. Shortly after beginning work at Thomson Reuters, her … Continue reading
A very important decision out of the Western District of Michigan touches upon several important aspects of non-compete litigation and particularly non-compete defense. Not surprisingly, the case pits Stryker against a former sales rep. Stryker, as many folks know, is notorious for aggressively enforcing its non-compete agreements. Let’s take a look: Christopher Ridgeway was hired … Continue reading
A recent case out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit raises some interesting issues related to assignment of employee non-compete agreements. Let’s take a look: Brandon Tipton, Michael Gilbert and Steven Padgett all worked for Treadway Electric Company in Arkansas. Treadway was a distributor of electrical supplies and equipment. As … Continue reading
A recent case out of the District of New Jersey addresses disintermediation as a legitimate business interest in the non-compete context. Disintermediation is just a technical term for cutting out the middle-man. Let’s take a look: CarePoint Health Management Associates is a New Jersey hospital system. UpStream Healthcare Management Associates is a hospital management company … Continue reading
Antitrust claims based on employee non-compete agreements generally fail because the plaintiff cannot establish antitrust standing. In the Eleventh Circuit, the test for antitrust standing requires the plaintiff show (1) antitrust injury and (2) that he or she is an efficient enforcer of the antitrust laws. The first prong – antitrust injury – is satisfied … Continue reading
A recent case out of the Louisiana Court of Appeal reminds us that some states will enforce physician non-compete agreements, even in the absence of a clear protectable interest and even where such enforcement threatens harm to the public. But the case does more than that: It forces us to take a hard look at … Continue reading
In August 2004, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and UBS entered a pact not to sue one another over client relationships in their wealth management businesses. This pact was known in the industry as the Protocol for Broker Recruiting or simply the Protocol. Under the Protocol, brokerages essentially agreed that individual brokers could move between firms and … Continue reading
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