Upholding earlier California Court of Appeal decisions and disagreeing with the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court has ruled in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP, ___ Cal. 4th ___ , 2008 Cal. LEXIS 9618 (Cal. Aug. 7, 2008) (No. S147190), that non-competition agreements in California are invalid under California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 (?Section 16600?), even if narrowly drawn, unless they fall within an express statutory exception. The Supreme Court has further held that contractual releases of ?any and all? claims do not encompass nonwaivable statutory claims and are not void, reversing the existing Court of Appeal precedent.

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