News & Analysis as of

Non-Compete Agreements Employment Contract Appeals

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 -
Husch Blackwell LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Limits Scope of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement

Husch Blackwell LLP on

The Massachusetts legislature passed the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA) in 2018, culminating a longstanding effort to balance employers’ rights to protect legitimate business interests—such as trade...more

Kerr Russell

What Ever Happened to the Ban on Covenants Not to Compete?

Kerr Russell on

Question: Last year we heard that the Federal Trade Commission was going to ban covenants not to compete. It was a big deal at the time. Nothing has been said about this in months. Is this still going to happen? If so, when? ...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

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

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

Cranfill Sumner LLP

Fifth and Eleventh Circuits Grant FTC’s Motion to Stay Appeals Challenging Non-Compete Ban

Cranfill Sumner LLP on

On March 15, 2025, the Fifth Circuit granted the FTC’s motion for a 120-day stay of the agency’s appeal of the district court decision to block its proposed ban on non-competes. The Eleventh Circuit followed suit on March 20,...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

FordHarrison

"In Any Capacity" Language Dooms Georgia Non-Compete Provision

FordHarrison on

Prior to the enactment of Georgia’s Restrictive Covenant Act (“GRCA”), Georgia courts uniformly struck down non-compete provisions that used “in any capacity language”, i.e., a non-compete that prohibited an employee from...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

Lewitt Hackman

NASAA Guidance for Franchise Non-Competes

Lewitt Hackman on

Last May, the Federal Trade Commission looked to ban non-compete agreements in most employment contracts aside from franchise agreements. Although scheduled to become effective in September, a federal court vacated the ruling...more

Blank Rome LLP

New Year, New FTC Chair, and Renewed Focus on Non-Compete Agreements

Blank Rome LLP on

It is nearly impossible to think about the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) without thinking about the chaos caused by the non-compete ban it approved last year over vociferous dissent only to have the ban vacated and set...more

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

Legal News Unwrapped? The Most Watched Employment Law Developments of 2024

It’s that time of year when apps and services unveil their highly anticipated top-5 lists. It’s a phenomenon we can’t seem to get enough of, as these viral posts offer intriguing insights into the trends we’ve embraced...more

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

Indiana Appeals Court Rejects Noncompete That Prevented Work in Any Capacity

On November 25, 2024, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a former chief operating officer (COO) at a medical fee collection company did not breach noncompete agreements and a nondisclosure provision when she took a job...more

Kerr Russell

FTC’s Ban on Covenants Not to Compete Remains on Hold

Kerr Russell on

The legal arguments advanced in these court cases mainly concern whether the FTC has the statutory authority to enact such a ban. Shortly before the September 4, 2024 effective date of FTC’s ban on covenants not to compete,...more

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

Beltway Buzz - October 2024 #4

The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more

CDF Labor Law LLP

FTC Appeals Injunction Against Final Rule Banning Non-Compete Employment Agreements

CDF Labor Law LLP on

Last Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) gave notice to appeal Judge Brown’s nationwide bar on the FTC’s final rule creating a Non-Compete Ban or enforcement of the rule in the case of Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

FTC Appeals Texas Court’s Decision to Set Aside the Noncompete Ban

Troutman Pepper Locke on

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a notice of appeal of the Northern District of Texas’s decision granting plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion and “setting aside” the agency’s rule banning nearly all employee...more

Fisher Phillips

Breaking Down the FTC Non-Compete Ban Appeals: Heading to a Circuit Split and SCOTUS Intervention?

Fisher Phillips on

The Federal Trade Commission has appealed two federal trial court decisions – one in Texas and one in Florida – that prevented the agency from enforcing its near-total ban on non-compete agreements. The Texas appeal, filed on...more

Stevens & Lee

FTC Appeals Decision in the Ryan Case: Fate of the Noncompete Rule Now Rests in the Appeals Courts

Stevens & Lee on

On Oct. 18, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expectedly filed a notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ryan LLC et.al. v. Federal Trade Commission. As has been previously reported, Judge Ada M. Brown in...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

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

FTC to Appeal Florida Court’s Preliminary Injunction of Noncompete Ban Following Texas Court’s Block

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is appealing a Florida federal court ruling temporarily blocking the FTC’s noncompete ban a month after a Texas federal judge in a separate case blocked the FTC’s ban on a nationwide basis....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Saga’s Not Over – FTC Appeals Florida Court’s Stay of Non-Compete Rule

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Just over a month ago, employers throughout the United States breathed a sigh of relief after Judge Ada Brown in the Northern District of Texas issued a summary judgment ruling in the Ryan v. FTC litigation setting aside the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Court of Appeal Rules That Partial Sale of Business Can Bind Seller-Owner to a Noncompetition Agreement

In Samuelian v. Life Generations Healthcare, LLC, — Cal. App. 5th —, 2024 WL 3878448 (Cal. App. Aug. 20, 2024), the California Court of Appeal answered two long outstanding questions of California law concerning the...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Texas Federal Judge Strikes Down FTC Non-Compete Ban

Quarles & Brady LLP on

Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Tuesday struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) pending ban on non-compete covenants, concluding that the issuance of the FTC’s Rule...more

Sullivan & Worcester

Uncertainty Heightened as Two District Courts Reach Conflicting Conclusions on FTC Non-Compete Ban’s Enforceability

Sullivan & Worcester on

Just weeks after a federal court in Texas held that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) exceeded its authority in issuing a rule banning nearly all non-compete agreement (and, therefore, the plaintiffs challenging that rule...more

81 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 4

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide