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 recurrent theme in non-compete litigation is the overriding importance of choice-of-law. The latest example comes to us from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and pits a Texas choice-of-law provision against Oklahoma public policy. Let’s take a look: Sometime in early 2013, Tulsa, Oklahoma based F&M Bank began talks … Continue reading
Dimitrios Tsirkos first became a Mister Softee franchisee in the mid 1980’s. To be clear, we are talking about the ice cream truck business. Over the years, Tsirkos entered several franchise agreements with Mister Softee and ultimately controlled sixteen Mister Softee franchises with a territory spanning parts of Bronx, New York and Queens Counties. At … Continue reading
A recent non-compete case out of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals deals with the issue of restrictive covenants and independent clauses. Let’s take a look: In the Trial Court Defendants Dale Denton and David West were employees of Richland Towers, Inc. They signed employment agreements with Richland that contained, among other restrictive covenants, non-compete … Continue reading
This is not your standard non-compete case: Just days ago, the Eleventh Circuit handed down its opinion in an extremely complex dispute related to shopping plazas, anchor tenants and restrictive covenants. Let’s take a look: Winn-Dixie is a regional grocery store chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. It has hundreds of supermarkets throughout the Southeast. In … 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
If you need an Ohio non-compete lawyer, call our office at 954-332-2380. We have relationships with non-compete lawyers in Ohio. Just a few days ago, the Southern District of Ohio issued a decision in a non-compete case that reads like a treatise on non-compete agreements, choice of law and conflicts of law. Let’s take a … 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
