Articles Posted in Non-Compete Agreements

Businesses enter into non-competition and confidentiality agreements with employees to protect trade secrets, which are usually in the form of specific practices, processes, designs, or a compilation of information. The agreements are designed to deter misappropriation of the trade secrets after the employment relationship has ended. The most frequent issue in non-competition or confidentiality agreement…

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. v. Waxman Under common law, non-compete clauses and agreements were generally rendered void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy and as unlawful restraints on trade. However, over the past several decades, the Florida Legislature has begun to loosen the reins on employers in allowing non-compete agreements to stand. Although earlier state…

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed, in part, a Broward Circuit Court temporary injunction involving a non-competition covenant between business competitors. 4UORTHO, LLC v. Practice partners, Inc., Physician Wellness Products, LLC, et. al., 18 So.3d 41, 43-44 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). The injunction prohibited “soliciting any practices which are current or prospective clients” of…

The recent Third District Court of Appeal opinion in Reliance Wholesale, Inc. v. Godfrey, 2010 Fla.App.LEXIS 19459 at * 9 (Fla. 3rd DCA December 22, 2010), held that where a non-competition covenant is drafted as an “independent covenant,” as distinguished from a “dependent covenant,” a material breach defense premised on the employer’s alleged failure to…

Under Florida law, non-compete contracts are often held unenforceable due to circumstances of the employer-employee relationship, employee background, or the contract itself. Generally, employers must show they have a “legitimate business interest” to make a non-competition covenant enforceable. A legitimate business interest could include specialized training the employer provided the employee, a sort of investment…