On July 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of California issued a decision that could provide courts in the state with significant discretion to refuse to enforce employment arbitration agreements even if only one term is determined...more
Members of the New York City Council are looking to accomplish what the New York State Legislature could not – proposing various bans on the use of non-competes in New York City. On February 28, 2024, members of the New York...more
Most employers know that California has for decades prevented enforcement of employee non-competition and customer non-solicitation agreements. Some companies with California operations modify their agreements with employees...more
As previously highlighted by Benesch, California strengthened its long-standing prohibition on non-competition agreements on January 1, 2024. In addition, and also as previously highlighted by Benesch, one of these...more
The Florida Legislature is currently considering two bills that, if enacted in their current form, would significantly reduce (and potentially eliminate altogether) the enforceability of noncompete agreements against...more
Two bills took effect in California earlier this month imposing further limitations on restrictive covenants in employment agreements, one of which voids noncompete agreements even if they are signed outside of the state....more
On September 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 699 into law, prohibiting employers from entering into or attempting to enforce noncompete agreements, which are void under state law. The law is...more
In another strike against restrictive covenants in employment contracts, Judge Paul G. Gardephe of the Southern District of New York ruled in Jessica Denson v. Donald J. Trump For President, Inc. that the non-disclosure and...more
Our sympathies go out to those in the oilfield services industry in Texas—it looks like you got a lump of coal. In Mesa Southern CWS Acquisition v. Deep Energy Exploration Partners the Houston Court of Appeals upended the...more
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston recently issued an opinion that will have profound impacts on mineral liens and contractual provisions purporting to waive mineral liens. The question of whether or not a pre-work...more
The FTC recently brought action against two companies for including non-disparagement provisions that bar or impose financial penalties on consumers for writing negative reviews in their form contracts, without a meaningful...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal has invalidated an arbitration agreement between a law firm and its “partner” because the agreement restricted the scope of arbitral relief available and made pre-arbitration proceedings...more
Trying to collect attorney’s fees based on a void contract? Surprisingly, you can, according to a recent California Court of Appeal case. In California-American Water Co. v. Marina Coast Water Dist., the California Court of...more
A recent decision in the North Carolina Business Court could have significant implications on non-competition covenants in employment agreements that contain a very common automatic renewal term. The decision, if followed by...more
In an M&A transaction, the convention is for the seller to make representations and warranties to the buyer regarding the target business. When the target business is a private company, the acquisition agreement typically...more
Nevada Companies Must Review Their Noncompete Agreements - The Nevada Supreme Court recently has injected substantial uncertainty into any Nevada contract that contains a noncompete agreement, and companies need to...more