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
Florida continues to be a hotbed for non-compete litigation (possibly in light of the fact that Florida non-compete laws are among the most pro-employer in the country). A recent case out of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami pits National Deli, one of America’s largest manufacturers of deli … 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 decision out of the Northern District of New York is a fantastic example of the thorough, methodical process all courts should bring to the analysis of non-compete claims. The decision also provides a wealth of useful information about defending non-compete claims under New York law. Let’s take a look: Two companies, DS Parent, … 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
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal states what some of us have known for the past few years: Litigation over non-compete agreements is on the rise. But rather than that assertion being purely anecdotal, the story backs up that conclusion with statistical data. Apparently, over the past decade, there has been a 61% … 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
Pittsburgh-based Blue Belt Technologies, an emerging player in the medical device and medical technology industry, continues to find itself at the center of non-compete disputes. Earlier this year, Blue Belt clashed with MAKO Surgical, a rival in the surgical robotics industry, after Blue Belt hired former MAKO sales executive Jeffrey Gellman. This time, Blue Belt, … Continue reading
Devicor Medical Products, a major player in the medical device industry, has lost its bid to prevent a former employee from working for Hologic, a company with divisions that compete against Devicor in the breast biopsy product market. In June 2005, Keith Reed began work as a sales representative for Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Devicor’s predecessor. In … Continue reading
Landry’s Restaurants, the Houston-based company that owns more than 40 restaurant chains and 400 properties including restaurants, hotels and casinos, has sued a former employee for breaching a non-compete agreement. Last week, Landry’s filed suit against Tim Kohler, who formerly served as director of operations for Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse, the highly-acclaimed steakhouse with locations … Continue reading