The Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning most non-compete agreements is now before a federal appellate court. On May 7, 2024, the FTC proposed a rule that would have banned most non-compete agreements. This rule would have substantially impacted many businesses because non-compete agreements are used to prohibit employees from using the company’s information to compete…
Continue reading ›A lawsuit is generally considered over once a litigant obtains judgment in its favor assuming no appeal is taken and no post-judgment collection issues exist. However, the losing party is often left unsatisfied. Therefore, the loser may try to “re-do” the lawsuit by suing the defendant again using slightly different claims or lodging the lawsuit…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have received significant attention this year after the Federal Trade Commission issued a rule on April 23, 2024, banning most employee non-compete agreements. The rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. However, on August 20, 2024, a court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
Continue reading ›Businesses commonly enter into restrictive covenants with their employees to prohibit them from unfairly competing with the business during and after employment. Restrictive covenants include contracts that restrict competition, such as non-compete agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and confidentiality agreements. When preparing a restrictive covenant, what provisions should be included? Typically, a business should include provisions that…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have been a standard business practice for many years. Businesses use non-compete agreements to protect their interests like proprietary business information, trade secrets, customer, goodwill, staff, and others. However, on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) upended this long-standing business practice by issuing a rule banning most non-compete agreements. See 16…
Continue reading ›Under Florida law, enforcement of a non-compete agreement requires requires proof of at least one “legitimate business interest.” Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (“The person seeking enforcement of a restrictive covenant shall plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests justifying the restrictive covenant.”). A failure to plead or prove the existence…
Continue reading ›The parol evidence rule is a substantive rule of law that limits the introduction of evidence to interpret the meaning of a contractual provision. King v. Bray, 867 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (“The parol-evidence rule is a substantive rule of law and… provides that a written document intended by the parties to…
Continue reading ›“Florida law … contains a comprehensive framework for analyzing, evaluating and enforcing restrictive covenants contained in employment contracts.” Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Alfieri, 23 F. 4th 1282, 1291 (11th Cir. 2022) (quotation and citation omitted). This framework includes a burden shifting approach between the restrictive covenant’s enforcer and enforcee that provides each party with an…
Continue reading ›Forum selection clauses are contract provisions intended to assign the forum where any disputes under the contract will be resolved, such as Broward County or Miami-Dade County, Florida. While signatories to the contract have agreed to be bound to the forum selected in the agreement, it is not always evident whether non-signatories will be bound.…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements often prohibit competition with other companies that are “similar to” or “competitive with” their own company. The wording of a non-compete covenant, however, can sometimes be understood to refer to the method of the business as opposed to the products or services being sold. Under Florida law, a non-compete agreement that prohibits doing…
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