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A recent case out of Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals raises important raises important issues related to physician non-compete agreements. Let’s take a look: Before addressing the specifics of this case, some context is necessary: Agreements not to compete are restraints of trade. In any non-compete case, there are two lenses: restraint of trade … Continue reading
New Mexico has passed a new law that limits physician non-compete agreements. Although the law places some limitations on restrictive covenants for doctors, it is not an outright ban of such restrictions (of the sort found in several states like Alabama or Massachusetts). Under the new law, employee physician non-compete agreements are banned. If an … 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
Last week, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court order finding a physician non-compete agreement unenforceable as against public policy. Although Texas has no outright ban on physician non-compete agreements (like Massachusetts or Alabama), the decision suggests that Texas courts may be willing to invalidate physician non-compete agreements where there is evidence of … Continue reading
A recent North Carolina non-compete case has pitted one of the nation’s largest allergy clinics against one of North Carolina’s most respected physicians. Earlier this month, Charlotte-based Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center (CAAC) filed a lawsuit against one of its former doctors, Dr. Maeve O’Connor. Dr. O’Connor has joined the practice back in 2003 and … Continue reading
Recent developments in Pennsylvania provide yet another compelling example of why non-compete agreements in the healthcare sector should be void as against public policy. In late December, five obstetricians who were affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) gave notice that they intended to leave the system to go work for rival Highmark … Continue reading
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final decision approving a consent order that will invalidate the non-compete agreements of ten cardiologists who are terminating their employment with Renown Health in Reno, Nevada. The move has been expected since late this summer, when the parties reached a tentative agreement on the matter. The situation … Continue reading
A recent non-compete case out of Missouri raises a number of interesting considerations, including some related to choice of law and conflicts of law. The case is TLC Vision (USA) Corp. v. Freeman, 2012 WL 5398671 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 2, 2012). TLC is basically in the business of running centers that provide vision correction services. … Continue reading
Interesting non-compete news out of Weymouth, Massachusetts (a small city about twenty miles south of Boston). Back in September 2009, a Boston-area dentist Gerald Maher sold his practice to a newly formed company called Dental Wellness. As part of the transaction, Maher agreed (1) to refrain from practicing dentistry within a 15-mile radius of Dental … Continue reading
In today’s America, non-compete agreements have become ubiquitous. Everybody has one. The wine salesman. The disc jockey. The advertising executive. Even the maid. One of the most obscene examples of the widespread use (and abuse) of non-compete agreements is that of non-competes in the healthcare industry. Many doctors are either driven out of town – … Continue reading
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