Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution prohibits a state from passing any law impairing the obligation of contracts. A similar prohibition is found in Article 1, Section 9 of the California Constitution. This prohibition extends to...
Will California's New Statute Invalidating Non-Compete Agreements Be Subject To Constitutional Challenge?
Posted on September 15, 2023
Newly Minted California Law Tautologically Declares Void Noncompete Agreements Unenforceable Regardless Of Where They Were Signed
Posted on September 12, 2023
Since at least 1941, California has declared, with certain limited exceptions, that every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void". Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §...
Pre-Merger Non-Solicitation Ban Yields No Antitrust Claim
Posted on July 06, 2023
It is rare that for an employer to instruct its employees not to try to lure aware a competitor's customers. It is rarer still when an employer fires an employee for doing so. These may be rare events, but apparently (or at least allegedly) they...
California Asymmetrical Approach To Non-Competes
Posted on March 31, 2023
One unintended consequence of California's voiding of many non-compete agreements is that it puts California employers at a disadvantage with respect to employee recruitment. Employers in other states are free to hire away employees in California...
Bill Would Authorize Disbarment Of Attorneys Who Enter Into Non-Competes With Their Employees
Posted on March 29, 2023
California lawyers are well aware of this state disfavors covenants not to compete. California Senator Kevin McCarty would like to increase the level of hostility by adding a provision to the Business & Professions Code prohibiting employers from ...
California Court Declines Full Faith And Credit To Utah's Compulsory Cross-Complaint Statute
Posted on March 02, 2022
In 2016, the California legislature enacted Labor Code Section 925 which prohibits an employer from requiring an employee who primarily resides and works in California, as a condition of employment, to agree to a provision that would do either of...
When An Announcement Is A Solicitation
Posted on February 02, 2022
Yesterday's post discussed the Court of Appeal's upholding of a non-solicitation agreement notwithstanding Section 16600 of the California Business & Professions Code. Blue Mt. Enters. v. Owen, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 73. The defendant also argued that...
Court Of Appeal Affirms Enforceability Of Post-Termination Solicitation Ban In Employment Agreement
Posted on February 01, 2022
California is famously hostile to covenants not to compete. In fact, Section 16600 of the California Business & Professions Code provides "Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful...
