Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 292: Listen and Learn -- The Erie Doctrine (Civ Pro)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 126: Listen and Learn -- The Erie Doctrine
Just in time for grilling season in the Midwest, Hormel Foods Corporation (“Hormel”) filed a federal lawsuit in the District of Minnesota against its competitor, Johnsonville, LLC (“Johnsonville”), and two former Hormel...more
Employers in Ohio may soon need to reexamine employment agreements and internal policies if a proposed non-compete ban becomes law. A state Senate bill was recently introduced aiming to prohibit agreements that restrict a...more
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
As we navigate a rapidly evolving business and legal landscape, Seyfarth proudly presents the latest edition of our flagship publication, the 50-State Non-Compete Desktop Reference. Crafted with precision by our nationally...more
Last month, in DraftKings Inc. v. Hermalyn, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision concerning the application of California’s non-compete ban to agreements formed outside the state. Broadly, the decision...more
In the first known case to challenge California's legislative attempt to void noncompete agreements even for employees who do not live or work in California, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the application of...more
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
On September 26, 2024, a Boston-based federal appeals court refused to extend California’s sweeping noncompete ban to agreements that were signed outside the state and governed by another state’s law....more
The ongoing battle between DraftKings Inc. and its former executive, Michael Hermalyn, remains contentious, with the District of Massachusetts’ decision to enforce Hermalyn’s non-compete now appealed and argued to the First...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee recently signed Senate Bill 5935 into law, amending and expanding Washington’s statute restricting the enforceability of noncompetition covenants (Revised Code of Washington 49.2). The amended...more
The 2024 Washington State Legislature passed Substitute Senate Bill (S.S.B.) 5935 in February 2024, and Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law on March 13, 2024, updating and clarifying Washington law regarding...more
A recent ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a restrictive covenant case, Ascend Learning, LLC v. Bryan and SPIN-Learning, LLC, No. 22-cv-11978 (August 16, 2023), has implications for the...more
Historically, Georgia courts have declined to apply another state’s law to determine whether to enforce restrictive covenants against a Georgia employee, regardless of whether the agreement stated that another state’s law...more
It is no hidden secret that many employers use various restrictive covenants to protect their trade secrets, confidential information, goodwill, and customer relationships. For example, employers often use non-compete...more
On August 10, 2022, Colorado House Bill 22-1317 became law. Following the national trend of limiting employer use of non-compete and non-solicit covenants, Colorado now prohibits the use of non-competes and non-solicits...more
The New Jersey legislature is currently considering legislation that would add the state to the growing list of jurisdictions that have significantly limited the scope and enforceability of non-competition agreements and...more
Our business clients tell us everyday what we are all seeing in the headlines on a regular basis: employees are hard to hire and retain. Some commentators have coined the term “the great resignation” to aptly describe the...more
Continuing the ongoing trend of states placing restrictions on employee non-competes, on May 10, 2022, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill amending C.R.S. § 8-2-113 (the “Amendment”) and adding significant limitations...more
Employers faced with an apparent trade secret misappropriation by former employees must decide what jurisdiction to bring suit in. For an employer headquartered outside of California who employs California residents working...more
This month, the Ninth Circuit’s decision in DePuy Synthes Sales v. Howmedica Osteonics held that a U.S. district court in California properly invalidated a foreign choice-of-law and forum selection provision under California...more
In novel and important decision, DePy Synthes Sales v. Howmedica Ostionic’s, Ninth Cir. Case No. 21-55126, on March 14, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decisions to prevent a former employer...more
The landscape for restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements is changing rapidly across the country. Notice periods, compensation thresholds, and consideration requirements are increasingly common, and the days...more
Many employers have granted their white collar workers increased flexibility to work remotely in response to the pandemic. As a result, some employees have moved away from the areas surrounding their offices and into places...more
As in real estate, as in law. A recent ruling in the USDC for the District of Colorado demonstrates that procedural considerations of where to file may often have substantive consequences. Plaintiff LS3, Inc. (“LS3”) sued...more
Colorado law is not particularly friendly to noncompete agreements. A Colorado statute prohibits all such agreements unless they fall within one of four specific exemptions....more