News & Analysis as of

Non-Compete Agreements Breach of Contract

Non-Compete Agreements are contracts, typically formed in employment or business purchase contexts, where one party agrees to refrain from engaging in a particular line of work or pursuing business within a... more +
Non-Compete Agreements are contracts, typically formed in employment or business purchase contexts, where one party agrees to refrain from engaging in a particular line of work or pursuing business within a certain industry or locale. The purpose of these agreements is to protect employers or business purchasers from competition stemming from former employees or former owners of a business. less -
Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Top Massachusetts Court Clarifies That Non-Solicitation Covenants Fall Outside the State’s Non-Compete Law

In a closely watched decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc. clarified that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA) (G.L. c. 149, § 24L) does not apply to...more

Morgan Lewis

Massachusetts High Court Clarifies Noncompete Law’s Scope, Declines to Let Nonsolicits ‘Through the Back Door’

Morgan Lewis on

In Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) clarified that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA or the Act) does not apply to a forfeiture clause triggered by a breach...more

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.

Massachusetts High Court Rules for Employer in Nonsolicitation Challenge

Although the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act expressly excludes nonsolicitation agreements from its definition of “noncompetition agreements,” the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently responded to a...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Scope of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act

Holland & Knight LLP on

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

BCLP

Hong Kong High Court Grants Injunction to Enforce Restrictive Covenants

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In two separate decisions in April 2025, the Hong Kong High Court first refused, but then allowed, an IT company’s application for an interlocutory injunction to enforce post-termination restrictive covenants against its...more

Freeman Law

Is it Really Over? Contract Provisions that Survive Termination and Why.

Freeman Law on

Just like many relationships, not all parts of a contract become things of the past when they expire or terminate. One way to ensure that a contractual right or duty applies post-termination is to specify that will it...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

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

Morgan Lewis - Tech & Sourcing

Radius Clauses in Music Performance Contracts

As the summer 2025 concert season continues to ramp up, we want to take the opportunity to explain why your favorite band or artist might only be performing once in your region this summer: a radius clause....more

Lathrop GPM

Massachusetts Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction for Noncompete Violations, Denies Injunction for Trademark Infringement

Lathrop GPM on

A federal court in Massachusetts recently granted, in part, a Motion for Preliminary Injunction as to enforcement of franchise agreement noncompete covenants but denied the motion as to claims of trademark infringement,...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisee 101: When the Competition Leaks

Lewitt Hackman on

A Massachusetts federal court granted a franchisor’s request to enforce the franchise agreement’s post-termination non-compete provision against a terminated franchisee....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Two business court rulings offer insights on trade secret pleadings, employment agreements, and credibility

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Maven Advantage, Inc. and Square One Storm Restoration, LLC are competing roofing businesses. Maven alleged that two employees (Couch and Daniels) stole Maven’s trade secrets (customer lists) and then quit to work for Square...more

Jenner & Block

Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms Reluctance to Blue-Pencil Overbroad Restrictive Covenants in Sunder v. Jackson

Jenner & Block on

The Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Sunder Energy, LLV v. Jackson, No. 455, 2023, 2024 Del. LEXIS 407 (December 10, 2024) reaffirmed the courts’ limited willingness to modify or “blue-pencil” overbroad restrictive...more

Proskauer - Trade Secrets

Georgia Federal Court Denies TRO and Motion to Dismiss in Trade Secrets Case

On March 27, 2025, in Stimlabs LLC v. Griffiths, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ordered a former executive, Sarah Griffiths, to face claims related to her alleged theft of Stimlab’s trade secrets...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Employee pirates can plunder a business. Arrrgh ye ready?

Piracy is defined as robbery by ship- or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, with a goal of stealing cargo or other valuables. During the Golden Age of Piracy, from the 1680s to the 1720s, infamous...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Colombie-Britannique : la Cour d’appel confirme un jugement sommaire rejetant une demande d’action collective

Le 13 février 2025, la Cour d’appel de la Colombie-Britannique (la « CACB ») a rejeté une demande d’autorisation d’interjeter appel du jugement sommaire rendu dans l’affaire Latifi v. The TDL Group Corp., confirmant que des...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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Seventh Circuit Rules Forfeiture-for-Competition Clauses Under Delaware Law Enforceable and Not Subject to Reasonableness Review

In 2021, LKQ Corporation (LKQ) filed suit against Robert Rutledge, its former plant manager, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. LKQ alleged that Rutledge’s working for a competitor within nine...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisee 101: Muscling Through the Competition

Lewitt Hackman on

A Minnesota district court issued a preliminary injunction against a former franchisee who engaged in a competing business during the franchise relationship. Snap Fitness, Inc., a gym franchisor, entered into a franchise...more

Lathrop GPM

Minnesota Federal Court Grants Franchisor’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction for Noncompete and Lanham Act Violations by...

Lathrop GPM on

A federal court in Minnesota recently granted franchisor Snap Fitness Inc.’s motion for preliminary injunction against an out-of-state franchisee that announced its intentions to open a competing gym during the term of the...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisee 101: Kicking Injunctions to the Curb

Lewitt Hackman on

A Kansas district court denied a franchisor’s motion for preliminary injunction against its former franchisee who engaged in competing businesses immediately after terminating the franchise relationship....more

King & Spalding

NLRB General Counsel Announces Intention to Pursue Expansive Remedies for Non-Compete Agreements and to Target So-Called “Stay or...

King & Spalding on

On October 7, 2024, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo issued Memorandum GC 25-01, where she argues for expansive remedies for employers who violate the National Labor Relations Act...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Court Ruling in Ohio Highlights Evolving Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Landscape

As the Federal Trade Commission’s Non-Compete Rule is appealed through the federal courts, a ruling from a court in Cleveland, Ohio, exemplifies how certain courts have recently approached non-compete and non-solicitation...more

WilmerHale

Beating the Odds: First Circuit Doubles Down on Massachusetts Decision Enforcing Noncompete Against Sports Betting Executive Newly...

WilmerHale on

Against a growing trend of legislation and broader efforts seeking to limit or eliminate post-employment noncompetition restrictions, recent Massachusetts and First Circuit decisions in a dispute between DraftKings and one of...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisee 101: No Spice; No Injunction

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A Colorado federal court denied a franchisor’s request for preliminary injunction that would enforce a non-compete provision against a former franchisee. The franchisor of spice and tea shops known as Spice & Tea Merchants...more

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