In our recent webinar, “Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection,” Seyfarth’s Intellectual Property Partner, Lauren Leipold, along with Trade Secret Attorneys Eddy Salcedo and James Yu, shared essential strategies for enhancing IP protection in today’s complex landscape. As corporate espionage and data breaches become increasingly prevalent, the session provided valuable insights on effective methods for safeguarding your company’s

Continue Reading Webinar Recap! Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection

On October 4, 2024, Plaintiff ATS Tree Services, LLC (“ATS”) voluntarily dismissed its claims against the FTC challenging the agency’s Non-Compete Rule. See ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Fed. Trade Comm’n, et al., No. 2:24-CV-01743-KBH (E.D. Pa. July 23, 2024). The dismissal ends the case before a decision on the merits, preventing the FTC from obtaining a favorable ruling

Continue Reading Pennsylvania Plaintiff Drops Challenge to FTC Non-Compete Rule

Just over a month ago, employers throughout the United States breathed a sigh of relief after Judge Ada Brown in the Northern District of Texas issued a summary judgment ruling in the Ryan v. FTC litigation setting aside the FTC’s rule banning the vast majority of non-competes (the “Rule”). In that decision, Judge Brown reasoned—just as she had in her

Continue Reading The Saga’s Not Over – FTC Appeals Florida Court’s Stay of Non-Compete Rule

Once again surprising the country by acting ten days before her own self-appointed deadline, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling on August 20 in the Ryan v. FTC case setting aside the FTC Rule banning non-competes, and held (quoting Fifth Circuit precedent) that the ruling had “nationwide effect”

Continue Reading Federal Texas Court Sets Aside with “Nationwide Effect” the FTC Rule Banning Non-Competes

This just in: Judge Ada Brown ruled today on the parties’ dueling summary judgment motions – 10 days before her self-imposed deadline to do so – in Ryan LLC v. FTC. Judge Brown granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment while denying the FTC’s motion, determining that the FTC’s rule banning non-competes is an unlawful agency action and must

Continue Reading BREAKING: Federal Judge Rules FTC’s Non-Compete Ban to be Set Aside Nationwide

As we recently reported, in its Final Rule banning most worker non-competes, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) previously warned of its intent to vigorously enforce its non-compete ban wherever possible, which may include self-styled nonprofit and not-for-profit entities.  This warning threw most hospital systems in America, which are non-profit, into the chaos of unsettled expectations surrounding the current litigation

Continue Reading Code Red: AHA and FHA Acknowledge Industry Distortions to Emerge from the Threat to Regulate Nonprofit Hospitals Wherever Possible

Yesterday, a third court weighed in on the FTC’s proposed ban on non-competes, set to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Judge Corrigan of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the plaintiff Properties of the Villages, Inc.’s (“POV”) motion to stay the effective date of the rule and preliminarily enjoin its enforcement.

Continue Reading More Bad News for the FTC: Federal Court in Florida Enjoins Enforcement of Non-Compete Ban

Yesterday, the Court in the ATS Tree Services v. FTC case denied Plaintiff ATS Tree’s Motion to Stay and Enjoin the FTC’s recent ban on non-compete agreements (the “Final Rule”), because, the Court held, ATS Tree failed to establish irreparable harm and a likelihood of success on the merits. This puts this court’s ruling in direct conflict with the July

Continue Reading Federal Court in Pennsylvania Creates District Split on Enforceability of FTC Non-Compete Ban

An administrative law judge (“ALJ”) of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in J.O. Mory, Inc. recently required an employer to rescind certain restrictive covenants in its employment agreements. The decision is yet another attack on non-competes in line with the NLRB General Counsel’s May 30, 2023 memo (“Abruzzo Memo”) (see our prior article here), and apparent coordination

Continue Reading NLRB’s Non-Compete Power Grab – Can Employers Avoid NLRB’s Oversight?

In a rapid-fire response, the Ryan Court in the Northern District of Texas this morning denied Plaintiff and Plaintiff-Intervenors’ Expedited Motion for Limited Reconsideration of the Scope of Preliminary Relief, and Plaintiff and Plaintiff-Intervenors’ Motion for Expedited Consideration of their Motion for Limited Reconsideration of the Scope of Preliminary Relief (for more on these motions, see here). In a

Continue Reading UPDATE: Texas Judge Swiftly Denies Plaintiffs’ Request to Expand Scope of Injunction in FTC Non-Compete Ban Case