This is good news! A Tulsa company’s lawsuit against a former employee accused of violating a non-compete agreement has been shot down by the Oklahoma Court of Appeals. The court found the non-compete agreement to be unenforceable and in violation of antitrust law.
The ruling in Vanguard Environmental Inc. vs. Misty Lynn Curler was based upon an old Oklahoma law which provided that “every contract by which any one is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade or business of any kind … is to that extent void.” This language is quite similar to federal law enacted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against Standard Oil Co.’s abuse of monopoly power.