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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
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
Another recent case out of Minnesota raises a number of interesting non-compete and trade secret issues. The case involves a familiar chain of events: Harley Automotive Group, Inc. sells wholesale automotive parts and supplies to car dealerships. The company is based in Minnesota but also has a facility in Fort Myers, Florida. Harley sells its … Continue reading
A recent case out of Minnesota raises a number of non-compete and trade secret issues. Let’s take a look: In 2005, Robert Wilcox was hired as the general manager of ground handling services at Minneapolis St. Paul Airport (“MSP”) for a company called Integrated Airline Services Alliance. In 2006, Menzies Aviation purchased Integrated. Menzies bills … Continue reading
A strange case out of California: A company called Zora Analytics contracted with a company called AnanSys Software for the placement of temporary software engineers. AnanSys then subcontracted out the job to a company called Cigniti. AnanSys made Cigniti sign a software consulting agreement, which contained a non-compete/non-disclosure agreement. Cigniti then assigned one of its … Continue reading
Strangely enough, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has become a hotbed of non-compete litigation. That may simply be a product of national trends: As Dow Jones recently reported, companies are becoming increasingly aggressive on the non-compete front. More and more companies are requiring employees to sign non-compete, non-disclosure and … Continue reading
What follows is one of the most absurd, complicated, fantastical non-compete-related disputes that I have ever seen. This is going to be a long one. The Major Players In 1997, two individuals in Pennsylvania formed a company called Freedom Medical, Inc. Freedom Medical engages in the business of buying and selling medical equipment. In 1999, … Continue reading
A recent decision out of New York’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department, raises the interesting consideration of non-compete agreements and rescission. The case apparently has been in litigation for several years, but the recent appellate decision is worth a look. Back in 2004, Richard Smith left a company called Lenel Systems, which develops, manufactures and sells … Continue reading
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