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Contract Terms Non-Compete Agreements Forfeiture

Conn Kavanaugh

It’s Confirmed: Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act Excludes Non-Solicitation Agreements

Conn Kavanaugh on

On June 13, 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a significant decision in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc. (SJC-13697) confirming that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (the “MNAA”) does...more

Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Scope of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act

On Friday, June 13, 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., SJC-13967, holding that forfeiture clauses tied to non-solicitation agreements were definitively...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Scope of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has ruled that a forfeiture clause triggered by a breach of a non-solicitation agreement is not a "forfeiture for competition agreement" under the Massachusetts Noncompetition...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Forfeited Equity Trap: Why Your Non-Compete Might Be Worthless

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Imagine you’re a private equity firm. You buy a company, and you want to retain and incentivize key employees, so you give them some equity in the form of incentive units.  You also want to prevent them from running off and...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Tenth Circuit Affirms Distinction Between Forfeiture and Penalty for Competition

In Lawson v. Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the forfeiture of certain stock awards for violating a covenant not to compete. Like the Seventh Circuit in LKQ Corp. v....more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Restrictive Covenants Unenforceable Where Consideration Forfeited

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In North American Fire Ultimate Holdings, LP v. Alan Doorly, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the restrictive covenants included in an incentive unit grant agreement were unenforceable when the units received by the...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Enforcement of Forfeiture-for-Competition Provisions

Morris James LLP on

LKQ Corp. v. Rutledge, C.A. No. 110, 2024 (Del. Dec. 18, 2024) - In this en banc decision, the Delaware Supreme Court answered a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Feeling Competitive: The Reasonableness of Forfeiture-for-Competition Provisions

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In 2024, employers rushed to track the twists and turns of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) noncompete ban, which attempted to limit the enforceability of agreements that restrict employees from working for a competitor...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Massachusetts High Court To Weigh In on Forfeiture-for-Solicitation Provisions in Era of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement...

Epstein Becker & Green on

On Monday, March 3, 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) heard argument in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., regarding whether the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G. L. c. 149, § 24L (the...more

Mayer Brown

Delaware Law Alert: The Delaware Supreme Court Further Validates Forfeiture-for-Competition Provisions—What It Means for M&A Deals

Mayer Brown on

In a notable holding, the Delaware Supreme Court has confirmed that forfeiture-for-competition provisions generally are not subject to reasonableness review, greatly enhancing the likelihood of their enforceability. LKQ...more

BakerHostetler

Delaware Is an Employee Choice State - It Is Official

BakerHostetler on

The Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling in Cantor Fitzgerald v. Ainslie, which reversed the Court of Chancery’s 2023 finding that forfeiture-for-competition provisions should be evaluated by the same “reasonableness” standard as...more

BakerHostetler

Delaware Supreme Court Settles Forfeiture-for-Competition Question, Adopts Employee Choice Doctrine - Seventh Circuit Asks, ‘Are...

BakerHostetler on

Less than two months after the Delaware Supreme Court provided the employers, investment partners and other business leaders that trust in the stability of Delaware law to protect their critical business interests with the...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Rejects “Reasonableness” Test for Forfeiture-for- Competition Provisions

Paul Hastings LLP on

Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a Chancery Court decision that we wrote about previously, which invalidated a forfeiture-for-competition provision as an unreasonable restraint of trade. The Ainslie et al. v....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Not All Is Lost for California Employers: Enforce Non-Compete Forfeiture Provisions through ERISA Top Hat Plans?

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Even before the California Supreme Court decided Edwards in 2008, employers knew all too well the woes of attempting to enforce non-competes against California employees. Edwards simply reaffirmed California’s long-standing...more

Sunstein LLP

August 2018 IP Update - Non-Competition Agreements: Massachusetts Meets California Halfway

Sunstein LLP on

California has long led the nation in its disdain for noncompetition agreements. Pressed by venture capitalists who believe that this gives California an advantage over other states, the Massachusetts legislature has finally...more

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