A recent Illinois trade secrets and non-compete decision involving a 3D printing salesman serves as a reminder that some Illinois courts will scrutinze overly broad non-compete provisions and may limit injunctive relief to the territory that the employee actually serviced for their former employer. Fisher/Unitech, Inc. v. Computer Aided Technology, Inc., Case No. 13 C 2090 (N.D.Ill., 4/9/13)…. Continue Reading
Category Archives: Non-Compete Enforceability
Subscribe to Non-Compete Enforceability RSS FeedNew Jersey Appellate Court Affirms No Damages Award Against Individual Defendants In Non-Compete Case
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & ProcedureA New Jersey jury decided that two individual defendants violated their non-competition contractual commitments but that they owed no damages. The trial court then denied the former employer’s motion to enjoin the individuals from continuing to compete. A few days ago, the State’s Appellate Court held that there was a plausible explanation for these several results… Continue Reading
New Jersey Legislators Propose Banning Non-Compete Agreements With Employees Who Can Claim Unemployment
Posted in Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Restrictive CovenantsBy Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan New Jersey state legislators recently proposed A3970, a bill designed to prevent New Jersey businesses from enforcing “non-compete agreements with staffers who can claim unemployment compensation.” The bill, which is sponsored by Assembly members Joseph Egan and Peter Barnes, was recently referred to the state’s Assembly Labor Committee. If the bill… Continue Reading
Protecting Company Information When Employees Bail: California Alternatives to Employee Non-Compete Agreements
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Robert B. Milligan, Jessica Mendelson, and Joshua Salinas How does a California employer prevent its business from walking out the door along with a departing employee? In most jurisdictions, the employer could have the employees sign a non-compete agreement. Not in California. One of the notorious employment laws that separates California from other states… Continue Reading
Illinois Legislator Proposes Unique Employment Noncompete Agreement Act
Posted in Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Restrictive CovenantsRep. Thomas Morrison, a Republican member of the Democratic-controlled Illinois General Assembly, has introduced HB 2782 (98th G.A.) – the “Employment Noncompete Agreement Act.” The bill would create a new Illinois statute, not simply an amendment to an existing one, that differs markedly from every current state non-compete statute. Rep. Morrison introduced the identical bill… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Governor Weighs In On Non-Compete Reform Debate
Posted in Legislation, Non-Compete EnforceabilityAt the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council on March 12, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick reportedly described arguments in favor of eliminating the state’s longstanding approval of non-compete clauses as “compelling,” while stopping short of endorsing those efforts. During a question-and-answer session at the conference, Branko Gerovac, chief strategy officer at search engine optimization… Continue Reading
California Style Non-Compete Legislation Introduced In Minnesota
Posted in Legislation, Non-Compete EnforceabilityNew proposed legislation introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives would invalidate effectively all employee non-compete agreements if passed. On February 11, 2013, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party members Joe Atkins and Alice Hausman introduced H.F. No. 506. The bill was read and referred to the Committee on Labor, Workplace and Regulated Industries, a committee chaired by Rep. Sheldon… Continue Reading
Federal Court Requires Foreign Resident To Litigate Non-Compete Dispute in Missouri Based Upon Forum Selection Clause
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive CovenantsBy Robert Milligan and Grace Chuchla It’s 8,242.7 miles or a 17 hour flight between the Philippines and Missouri. Nobody would dispute that this is a significant distance, but as far the Eastern District of Missouri is concerned, forcing a defendant who lives in the Philippines to participate in litigation occurring in Missouri does not… Continue Reading
Federal Court Rules That Twitter Invites and Facebook Posts Do Not Constitute Impermissible Employee Solicitations
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Social Media, Trade SecretsOn January 22, 2013, United States Magistrate Judge Steven Shreder of the Eastern District of Oklahoma issued a report and recommendation, following Plaintiff Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.’s motion for preliminary injunction against its former employee Todd Cahill, concerning whether certain social media communications constituted impermissible employee solicitations in violation of a restrictive covenant agreement. Pre-Paid… Continue Reading
New York Federal Court Denies Injunction to Enforce Restrictive Covenants Against Terminated Employee
Posted in Non-Compete EnforceabilityGarrod, a salesman for more than 25 years in the field of elastomeric precision products (EPP), was terminated in mid-2012 after spending an aggregate of a dozen of those years working for manufacturers of EPP parts Fenner and a company acquired by Fenner. He had signed both employers’ agreements containing non-compete and customer non-solicitation clauses–which… Continue Reading
California Federal Court Dismisses California Employee’s Challenge Of His Non-Compete Agreement Based Upon Enforceable Forum Selection Provision
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Unfair CompetitionBy Robert Milligan and Grace Chuchla California federal courts have again said it loud and clear — when analyzing whether or not the enforcement of a forum selection clause within a non-competition agreement is contrary to California public policy, the court will not consider the substantive effects of enforcing the clause. In a recent case out of… Continue Reading
California Federal Court Ships Fiduciary Duty and Unfair Competition Suit to Delaware Based Upon Forum Selection Clause
Posted in Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & ProcedureBy Robert Milligan and Grace Chuchla Using a forum selection clause to transfer a case out of California federal court may have become easier thanks to a recent order from Judge Koh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In her order, Judge Koh granted defendants’ motion to transfer plaintiff’s complaint to… Continue Reading
Federal Trade Commission Removes Bleach Companies’ Non-Compete Agreement
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Restrictive CovenantsThe Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently put an end to a non-compete agreement between two bleach companies that allegedly drastically reduced competition in the American South. Oltrin Solutions, LLC and JCI Jones Chemicals Inc., were competitors in the market for bulk bleach, which is used primarily as a disinfectant in municipal water treatment. Oltrin is… Continue Reading
To Work or Not to Work – Maryland’s Senate Considers Changes To Non-Compete Law for Those on Unemployment
Posted in Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive CovenantsOn January 9th, the Maryland Senate introduced a bill which if passed would invalidate employee “noncompetition covenants” for former workers who applied for and obtained unemployment benefits. Senate Bill 51 is sponsored by Senator Ronald N. Young, Democrat, who just began his third year in the Maryland Senate. If enacted, the bill will take effect… Continue Reading
2012 National Year in Review: What You Need to Know About the Recent Cases/Developments in Trade Secrets, Non-Compete, and Computer Fraud Law
Posted in Computer Fraud, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionIn Seyfarth’s first installment of its 2013 Trade Secrets Webinar series, Seyfarth attorneys Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan, and Joshua Salinas will review noteworthy cases and other legal developments from across the nation this past year in the areas of trade secrets and data theft, non-compete enforceability, computer fraud, and company owned social media accounts and… Continue Reading
2012 Year in Review On Significant Trade Secret, Non-Compete, and Computer Fraud Cases, Legislation, and Developments Now Available
Posted in Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Computer Fraud, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionWe are pleased to announce the publication of the Trading Secrets Blog 2012 Year in Review. The 2012 Review is a compilation of our significant blog posts from 2012 and is categorized by specific topics: Trade Secrets; Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Non-Competes and Restrictive Covenants; and Legislation. As the specific blog entries, including our Top 10… Continue Reading
Chicago Breakfast Briefing: Protecting Your Most Valuable Assets – Trade Secrets, IP and Your Employees
Posted in Data Theft, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionIllinois and Federal laws have evolved significantly in recent years and as a result employers now have many tools available to protect themselves. Understanding these tools, as well as the impact of legal changes in this area, is necessary if a company intends on protecting its most valuable assets (i.e. trade secrets, IP and employees)…. Continue Reading
Top 10 Developments/Headlines in Trade Secret, Computer Fraud, and Non-Compete Law in 2012
Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionBy Robert Milligan and Joshua Salinas As part of our annual tradition, here is our list of the top 10 developments/headlines in trade secret, computer fraud, and non-compete law for 2012. Last year we predicted that in 2012 we would see a significant increase in social media cases and this year did not disappoint. In fact,… Continue Reading
2012 Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes Webinar Series – Year in Review
Posted in Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Computer Fraud, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionThroughout 2012, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of eight webinars: 1) Employee Privacy, Social Networking at Work, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse… Continue Reading
NBA Sports Agent Slams Non-Compete and Trade Secret Claims and Scores 85K Jury Verdict Against Former Agency For Privacy Violation
Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionBy Robert Milligan and Jessica Mendelson We have previously blogged on the colorful sports agent case of Mintz v. Mark Bartelstein & Associates d/b/a Priority Sports & Entertainment et al., Case No. 12-02554 SVW (SSX), (C.D. Cal.), where Aaron Mintz, a National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) certified player-agent, and his former employer, Priority Sports &… Continue Reading
2012 California Year in Review Webinar: What You Need to Know About the Recent Developments in Trade Secret, Non-Compete, and Computer Fraud Law
Posted in Computer Fraud, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsOn Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. pacific/12:00 p.m. central, Jim McNairy, Jessica Mendelson and Joshua Salinas will present the “2012 California Year in Review,” the final segment in this year’s Trade Secret Webinar Series. You can register for this complimentary webinar here. In Seyfarth’s final installment of its 2012 Trade Secret Webinar series,… Continue Reading
US Supreme Court Strikes Down Oklahoma Supreme Court Decision And Holds That Arbitrator, Rather Than Court, Must Determine the Enforceability of Non-Compete Agreements Containing Arbitration Provisions
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive CovenantsBy Robert Milligan and Grace Chuchla There are not many issues that the United States Supreme Court can unanimously resolve in five short pages. The preeminence of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) is apparently one such issue, as the Supreme Court recently illustrated in its November 26 per curium opinion in Nitro-Lift Technologies LLC v. Howard, 568… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Court Rules That Facebook Posting of New Job Does Not Violate Non-Competition Covenant
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade SecretsA hair salon’s motion for entry of a preliminary injunction against a stylist was denied even though she had signed non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements with the salon, and immediately after leaving her prior employment she was employed by a nearby competitor, a fact noted on her Facebook page. Invidia LLC v Difonzo, Case No…. Continue Reading
Employers Thankful For New Second Circuit Non-Compete Decision
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, UncategorizedBy Jessica Mendelson and Grace Chuchla Employers in the Second Circuit are thankful for a recent non-compete summary order in which the Court found that an employee’s challenge of his non-compete agreement by way of a preliminary injunction motion failed because he failed to show irreparable injury. Specifically, the Court found that an employee’s potential loss of income does not qualify as an irreparable injury in… Continue Reading