A new decision by Judge John Tunheim of the Federal District Court in Minnesota in GreatAmerica Leasing v. Dolan and Grissler thoroughly analyzes some unusual and interesting issues in the context of a motion for a temporary restraining order to enforce restrictive covenants against departing employees: first, whether a written document which contains a merger [...]
The “Clash” of Non-Competes
For the hard-core non-compete geeks out there, a new article by University of Washington Law Professor Kate O’Neill entitled (cue the Clash song) “Should I Stay or Should I Go? Covenants Not to Compete in a Down Economy: A Proposal for Better Advocacy and Better Judicial Opinions” may be of interest. Hat Tip: Workplace [...]
St. Jude’s Non-compete Upheld against Medtronic
Big news this week in the world of non-compete agreements and medical technology. Judge M. Michael Monahan in Ramsey County has enjoined Joe McCullough, a former high-ranking executive of St. Jude Medical, from moving across town to rival Medtronic. The judge’s analysis of the issues is very thorough, and the opinion provides a good [...]
Raising the bar on claims of trade secret misappropriation
A new decision by a Federal District Court judge in Minneapolis indicates that it will be more difficult for employers to file lawsuits alleging trade secret misappropriation against former employees. Hot Stuff Foods claimed that one of its former executives, Dornbach, secretly entered into business relationships with its customers before he resigned from [...]
Bimbos and Non-competes
For those of you interested in the inevitable disclosure doctrine and the ability to enjoin a former employee from accepting employment with a new company under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, don’t miss the Third Circuit’s lengthy opinion in Bimbo v. Botticelli, in which it affirms the lower court’s decision to enjoin an executive [...]
Non-competes and health care professionals
Madeleine Baran at Minnesota Public Radio has an interesting story about the use of non-competes in the health care profession. (Disclosure: I was interviewed for the piece). A mother has two children with severe mental health problems. For the past year, her 8-year-old and 10-year-old daughters had been receiving services from a mental health worker who [...]
Tips on protecting customer relationships in the Blackberry age
Here is a link to a good article by two lawyers from Atlanta, Benjamin Flink and Anne Andrews, on how to protect your confidential information and customer relationships in this age of data mobility. While it mostly focuses on Georgia law, the article provides some good practical suggestions/reminders, including using confidentiality agreements with employees; [...]
Non-Compete Agreements and Trade Secrets: where there’s smoke there’s fire?
A federal Court of Appeals in Boston yesterday affirmed a jury’s decision awarding $1.1 million against an employee and his new employer for breaching a non-competition agreement and misappropriating trade secrets. The decision should serve as a reminder of the risks involved in these types of situations. First, some background. Astro-Med and Nihon Kohden are rivals [...]