Eight Ways to Lose a Noncompete Case

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Christopher McKinney

One of my favorite employment law bloggers, Jay Shepherd, over at the Gruntled Employees Blog had a great post this past week on the "Eight Ways to Lose a Noncompete Case."  Here are his 8 most common ways companies usually LOSE noncompete cases: 

  1. Putting too much faith in the belief that the court will enforce the language of the noncompete agreement as written.
  2. Trying to enforce a noncompete against employees who really don't possess any confidential information or customer relationships.
  3. Drafting the noncompete too broadly.
  4. Focusing only on geography, duration, and scope of the noncompete rather than on the existence of protectable interests.
  5. Waiting too long to file.
  6. Asking for an injunction before you've developed enough evidence.
  7. Filing in the wrong jurisdiction.
  8. Focusing on the law instead of on the story of the case.

For details on each of these common mistakes, head on over to Jay's blog. 

His bottom line: If your client's wearing the white hat, and your agreement is narrowly drafted, and your secrets or customer relationships are in imminent peril, then you've got a fighting chance of winning. Otherwise, wave goodbye to the former employee and get back to work."

Well said. 

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Jay Shepherd - February 12, 2009 10:08 PM

Thanks for the shout-out, Christopher. Your blog continues to be excellent. Keep up the good work.
- Jay

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