Litigation
Previously used only by select business concerns, the entrepreneurial boom has made non-compete covenants, as well as other restrictive covenants, pervasive in commerce. And, the law governing such covenants has changed with the times. Once only enforced cautiously and narrowly in most states, non-compete covenants are now enforced more readily and expansively in several, although still not all, states. Florida, for example, has a statute that is generally supportive of non-compete covenants as long as they meet certain criteria, while California remains reluctant to enforce non-compete covenants no matter how limited in scope and duration. In some instances, a non-compete covenant may be deemed a legitimate, even essential, means of guarding a business' protectable interests, such as its goodwill, customer relationships, confidential information and trade secrets. In other instances, a non-compete covenant may be deemed an improper, and thus unenforceable, naked restraint of trade.
Whatever the outcome of a non-compete case, it often happens near the outset, in preliminary injunction litigation. Whether a client is pursuing or defending a non-compete case, the client needs an attorney who can hit the ground running. Law Office of Gregg H. Metzger does just that on behalf of its entrepreneurial and individual clients in non-compete litigation.