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 non-compete and other contractual issues are handled in the Texas courts, you’re in the right place.
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Even though noncompete and nonsolicitation provisions generally are enforceable in Texas, they must be reasonable in scope. In a recent case from the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, the court held that a provision prohibiting solicitation of employees was too broad and, therefore, unenforceable. The provision in question prohibited the employee, for a two-year period, from soliciting or employing...
Continue ReadingSeveral Texas courts have held that a victorious employer in a noncompete case cannot recover its attorneys’ fees against the losing employee. This is based upon the fact that the Texas noncompete statute does not explicitly authorize an award of attorneys’ fees to a winning employer. However, a recent case out of the Houston Court of Appeals shows that...
Continue ReadingThe Texas statute governing noncompete agreements contains specific requirements that must be met for a physician noncompete agreement to be enforceable. One such requirement is that the agreement must contain a provision allowing the physician to "buy out" of the noncompete if he or she wishes to do so. In a recent case from the Houston Court of Appeals,...
Continue ReadingMisappropriation of trade secrets is a proper basis for a court to order a temporary injunction; however the language in the injunction must be limited to prevent it from becoming blanket prohibition on competition. In Reliant Hosp. Partners, LLC v. Cornerstone Healthcare Group Holdings, Inc., 374 S.W.3d 488 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2012, pet. filed), Cornerstone Healthcare Group (“Cornerstone”) brought suit...
Continue ReadingA decision from the Arizona Court of Appeals illustrates precisely why employers must exercise care when choosing to classify particular company information as trade secrets. Reversing the lower court’s grant of a counterclaim for misappropriation of trade secrets, the court in Calisi v. Unified Financial Services, 2013 WL 1490465 (Az.Ct. App. 2013) determined that the employer failed to demonstrate...
Continue ReadingWhile an employer may draft an enforceable non-compete covenant, it does not automatically follow that courts will enforce it with injunctive relief. Such was the case in Welsco, Inc. v. Brace, 2012 WL 4087224 (E.D. Ark. 2012). There, although the employment agreement was considered reasonable in both scope and duration, the...
Continue ReadingGeorgia employers cannot bring an independent claim for violation of the Georgia Trade Secrets Act based on the inevitable disclosure doctrine in the context of non-compete litigation. This was the conclusion of the Georgia Supreme Court in Holton v. Physican Oncology Servs., LP, 2013 WL 1859294 (Ga. 2013). The Court, in explaining its decision, noted the generally unsettled nature...
Continue ReadingA recent decision from the Sixth Circuit upholding a district court’s preliminary injunction in litigation involving a non-compete clause demonstrates why an employee should sometimes be wary of legal advice from a new employer. In Firstenergy Solutions Corp. v. Flerick, 2013 WL 1500452 (6th Cir. 2013), Paul Flerick (“Flerick”) was employed as a salesman in the electric energy and...
Continue ReadingA preliminary injunction granted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York enforcing restrictive covenants against a former executive illustrates how narrowly tailored employment agreements are effective because of the willingness of courts to find them reasonable. In DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. v. Eisenberg, 2013 WL 2420835 (S.D.N.Y...
Continue ReadingIn the oil and gas industry, certain well construction costs are known as “complex services.” Traditionally, oil and gas companies have used paper records to track and pay costs. Company A developed software that allowed oil companies to plan, procure and pay for complex services online. Company A entered into an agreement with a software company, Company B, to...
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