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Texas Contract & Noncompete Disputes Blog
Over the past decade Attorney Robert Wood has published hundreds of articles on the Texas Contract & Noncompete Disputes Blog, establishing himself as an authority on Texas noncompete law. If you want to gain a better understanding of how noncompete and other contractual issues are handled in the Texas courts, you’re in the right place.
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February 8, 2017 / By Robert Wood
Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act
In Texas, a business and/or employer can bring a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets if a competitor or employee acquires a business’s trade secrets improperly or uses them without permission. Tantamount to establishing a misappropriation of trade secrets claim is establishing that a trade secret, in fact, existed. Under Texas law, a “trade secret”…
February 3, 2017 / By Robert Wood
Noncompete Agreements in Texas
Many noncompete cases are filed after an employer learns that an ex-employee is violating his covenant not to compete. Sometimes, an ex-employee competes for several months before an employer discovers that the ex-employee is doing so. This is especially possible in an age in which much commerce is done via the internet. Thus, by the…
January 25, 2017 / By Robert Wood
Noncompete Agreements in Texas
Under Texas law, parties may only be entitled to recover their attorneys’ fees if permitted by statute, by a contract between the parties, or under equity. At times, there may be multiple avenues for a prevailing party to receive attorneys’ fees. However, at other times, a statute may preempt, or override, every other avenue to…
December 29, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Physician Employment Contracts
Under Texas law, non-compete agreements involving a physician in some situations must include a handful of provisions (“requirements”) in order for the non-compete to be enforceable. One such requirement is that a physician non-compete agreement must contain a buyout provision. When must a buyout provision be included? Are requirements like buyout provisions required in all…
October 17, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Articles // Noncompete Agreements in Texas
Worldwide Geographic Restriction of Texas Noncompete Agreements May Be Enforceable Last revised: 10.17.16 In the past, Texas courts have not fully embraced the ability of a non-compete agreement to restrict an employee from working anywhere in the world. In several cases, Texas courts have held that the proper geographic scope of a noncompete agreement is…
September 30, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Articles // Contract Law
In Texas, the statute of limitations for breach of contract is four (4) years. The period begins from the day the contract was breached. What is a statute of limitation? The statute of limitations first appeared in early Roman law. It later developed into the criminal and civil common law of England. The purpose of the statute…
September 25, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Articles // Contract Law
Settlement Agreements: Fraudulent Inducement and the Duty to Read Your Contract Settlement agreements are contracts. They impose binding obligations on both parties. Consider the following example: Employer sues ex-employee for breach of non-compete. Employee files a counterclaim for unpaid sales commissions. Eventually, the two parties sign a settlement agreement. As part of the settlement agreement, the parties…
September 9, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Articles // Noncompete Agreements in Texas
I’m periodically contacted by an employee who says to me: My employer fired me. That means my noncompete goes away, right? Not exactly. There is no rule in Texas stating that if an employee is fired, rather than quits, a noncompete agreement that he signed goes away. The reason for this is simple: the consideration…
August 22, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Articles // Non Solicitation Agreements in Texas
Are Non-solicitation Clauses Enforceable in Texas? The answer is, they can be, but, like noncompete agreements, they must comply with the statutory requirements against unlawful restraints on trade. Just like a noncompete provision (which keeps an employee from having a certain type of job), a non-solicitation provision (which keeps an employee from soliciting his former…
August 21, 2016 / By Robert Wood
Articles // Noncompete Agreements in Texas
Does the Texas noncompete statute apply to independent contractors as well as employees? Although there is not much case law on this, the answer is almost certainly yes. One case in particular out of the Fort Worth Court of Appeals dealt with a noncompete agreement dispute involving an independent contractor. Neither the company attempting to…