I love it when another court strikes down a non-compete agreement as being overly broad and therefore unreasonable.
I just love it!
A friend and fellow member of the Virginia bar just sent me an article on a Virginia Beach case.
According to Virginia Lawyers Weekly writer Alan Cooper
“A Virginia Beach Circuit judge has struck a non compete agreement after a medical company sought to enforce the covenant against a family nurse practitioner who sought to start another medical business.”
GREAT NEWS VIRGINIA EMPLOYEES. ANOTHER CONTRACT BITES THE DUST.
According to Cooper, “The key phrase that caused the agreement to fail: The document prohibited her from competing as a “shareholder.” That covenant would bar a former worker from owning stock in a publicly traded company and was “inherently over broad,” Judge Frederick B. Lowe said.
Apparently, there are even more goodies in this opinion.
VaLawyers Weekly reports:
“The agreement “is unlimited as to location or function,” Lowe wrote. “Patient First lacks a legitimate interest for preventing a prior employee from soliciting or hiring employees internationally and for any occupation whatsoever.””
So in sum, the non-compete is over broad because it prohibits her from being a shareholder in any company that provides these services..
And the non-solicitation is over broad because there is no legit interest in preventing employee from recruiting old employees for any kind of work.
Love it.
Will be getting that opinion today and adding it to my list of great non-compete cases for Virginia employees.
Patient First v. Blanco