Robert Wood, Author at Texas Noncompete Law

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: < 1 minute | #Non-Solicitation

Texas Customer Solicitation Restrictions. Unfair Competition Law in Texas.

Texas noncompete agreements routinely contain a provision prohibiting an employee from soliciting, or doing business with, her employer’s customers (except on her employer’s behalf). Not infrequently, these provisions preclude the employee from soliciting any of her employer’s customers. However, some Texas cases have held that such provisions are too broad. Several Texas cases have held that nonsolicitation provisions should...

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: < 1 minute | #Noncompete Agreements

Scope of Noncompete Agreements in Texas

Assuming a non-compete agreement in Texas is worded properly and supported by adequate consideration, the next question is whether the restrictions contained in the agreement are reasonable. Texas courts have routinely held that the scope of the restrictions should bear some relationship to the activities that the employee performed for his former employer. For example, if an employee performs...

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: < 1 minute | #Noncompete Agreements

Right to Work Texas. Texas Noncompete Agreements Enforceable

“Texas is a right to work state–non-compete agreements are unenforceable here.” You’ve heard that 100 times, right? I know I have. And it is dead wrong. The fact that Texas is a “right to work” state means that Texas employees can’t be forced to join a union. It has nothing to do with whether non-compete agreements are enforceable. In...

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 2 minutes | #Noncompete Agreements

Stock Options in Texas Noncompete Agreements

A recurring issue in Texas law is whether financial compensation can constitute sufficient consideration for a non-compete agreement. This issue came up recently in a case from the Dallas Court of Appeals. In that case, a company that provided insurance brokerage services granted some stock options to one of its managing directors. The options were conveyed in an Employee...

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 3 minutes | #Noncompete Agreements

What Constitutes Confidential Information in Texas?

Texas courts have long held that an employer’s providing of confidential information can constitute sufficient consideration for a non-compete agreement. But it can be difficult to apply this widely accepted premise, as was demonstrated in a recent case. In the case, an insurance broker signed an employment agreement in which he acknowledged that he would receive confidential information: This...

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 2 minutes | #Trade Secrets

Relationship Between Trade Secrets and Confidential Information

In determining whether a non-compete agreement is enforceable, a Texas court will assess whether the consideration given by the employer justifies the non-compete agreement. Texas courts have held on multiple occasions that an employer’s providing of confidential information is sufficient consideration for a non-compete agreement. Even without an enforceable non-compete agreement, a Texas employer has legal rights and remedies...

Apr 16, 2010 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 2 minutes | #Non-Solicitation

Permissible Scope of Nonsolicitation Agreements in Texas

Not infrequently, non-solicitation agreements that employers require their employees to sign are extremely broad. These provisions often preclude the employee from soliciting all of her former employer’s customers. Sometimes, the provisions also preclude the employee from soliciting her former employer’s potential customers. A recent case involved the following non-solicitation provision: Accordingly, the Executive understands and agrees that for a...

Mar 23, 2009 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 2 minutes | #Non-Solicitation

Non-solicitation provisions must bear relation to employees’ activities

A recurring issue in employee mobility cases is the extent to which a non-solicitation provision in an employment contract is enforceable. Typically, an employment agreement will contain a provision prohibiting post-employment competition, provisions prohibiting post-employment solicitation of customers and/or employees, or both. It’s not uncommon for a provision prohibiting solicitation of employees to apply to all of the employers...

Dec 22, 2008 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 2 minutes | #Noncompete Agreements

Texas Non-Compete Agreements: Is A Promise to Provide Confidential Information Required Anymore?

A recurring issue in non-compete cases involves how definite the employer’s promise to provide confidential information must be for the agreement to be enforceable. Historically, disputes have focused on whether an explicit promise to provide the information was required, or whether an implied promise (e.g., language in which the employee "acknowledged" that he would receive information) was sufficient. In...

Oct 1, 2008 | By Robert Wood | Read Time: 2 minutes | #Noncompete Agreements

Texas Non-Compete Agreements: Confidential Information Need Not Rise to Level of Trade Secret

A recent case from the federal court in Dallas sheds some light on various issues involving the enforceability of non-compete agreements. In Staples, Inc. v. Sandler, No. 3:07-CV-0928-K, 2008 WL 4107656 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 29, 2008), the employee, Sandler, upon joining Staples, Inc., signed a “Proprietary and Confidential Information Agreement” and a separate “Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreement” (“Non-Compete Agreement”)....

Texas Customer Solicitation Restrictions. Unfair Competition Law in Texas.

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