Articles Posted in Non-Compete Agreements

It is critical that Florida employers carefully write their non-compete agreements to ensure they are enforceable and prevent employees from performing the types of activities that the employer needs. Non-compete law in Florida is nuanced and slight deviations in contract wording can sometimes mean the difference between success or failure. Peter Mavrick is a Miami…

The decision whether to bring a case in federal court or Florida state court can have significant consequences to the disposition of non-compete litigation. While both federal and Florida will usually apply the same substantive law, the procedure applied differs. This is particularly pertinent in non-compete litigation. Florida courts, when considering whether to enjoin a…

Preservation of a business’ trade secrets may constitute a legitimate business interest that justifies the enforcement of a non-compete agreement. However, it is vital that a business seeking to enforce the non-compete agreement sufficiently prove the existence of the trade secret. General statements that the business has such valuable information cannot act as a substitute…

Noncompete agreements sometimes designate the laws of other states to govern the parties’ contractual obligations, even if the agreement is made in Florida. This is known as a choice of law provision. When these choice-of-law provisions are valid and enforceable, they can have significant repercussions on the results of noncompete litigation. Peter Mavrick is a…

Florida employers who seek to protect their client lists from misappropriation by former employees will often need to show that the client list was a trade secret. This is important even when the former employee is subject to a non-compete agreement. This is because non-compete agreements cannot be enforced without a “legitimate business interest,” and…

Companies often hire experienced sales and business development professionals to expand their business. A non-solicitation provision in an employment contract is intended to prevent post-termination solicitation of clients with whom the business has substantial relationships. When an employee brings clients to a company, it is important to distinguish whether the employee had a prior business…

When the wording of a contractual provision is confusing or ambiguous, courts must interpret the contract in a rational manner. Some examples of vague contractual provisions include, “during business hours” and time frames with no clear anchor date, i.e. “within six months of commencement.” The courts generally agree that where one interpretation of a contract…

This article is the second of a two-part series concerning the enforcement of noncompete agreements when the former employee claims that his former employer engaged in illegal conduct. Part I explored the enforceability of contracts which contain illegal terms. This, Part II, addresses how allegations of illegal conduct can affect noncompete agreements particularly. As shown…

Former employees who are accused of breaching their noncompete agreements with their former employer sometimes try to claim that the former employer engaged in illegal conduct, and thus, a noncompete agreement cannot be enforced. While there are certain types of unlawful conduct which a court may cite to justify the denial of request for a…

A non-compete period may not be tolled because an employee is called for active military duty. While an employee may not be denied reemployment on account of a person’s performance of military duty, under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 38 U.S.C. § 4311, a court may consider the fact that…