The Fort Worth Court of Appeals recently upheld an injunction enforcing an 18-month, 50-mile non-compete against a veterinarian, who accepted a job with a competing veterinary clinic within the 50-mile radius of her former employer.
In Bellefuille v. Equine Sports Medicine & Surgery, Weatherford Division, PLLC (ESMS), the veterinary resident signed a non-compete and non-disclosure agreement with ESMS, which prohibited her from competing with the company within a 50-mile radius within 18 months after her residence ended. The agreement also prohibited her from using or disclosing ESMS’s confidential information.
When Bellefuille was told by ESMS that she would not get a job offer after her residency ended, she accepted a job offer with ESMS’s biggest competitor within the non-compete’s geographic area. There, she proceeded to treat some of the same animals she had previously treated at ESMS.
After accepting the new job, the vet filed a lawsuit asking a court to declare her non-compete with ESMS unenforceable and/or that her new employment did not violate that non-compete. ESMS counterclaimed and applied for a temporary injunction order, which the trial court granted and ordered Bellefuille not to compete with ESMS or use its confidential information. The vet appealed, arguing that the injunction was overbroad, but the Fort Worth Court of Appeals found that the trial court’s injunction was proper after striking some language as being too overbroad and vague because it did not trace the language used in the non-compete agreement.
Takeaway: There is no magic formula for enforcement of non-competes in Texas. The statute simply says that the restraints must be “reasonable” and no greater than is necessary to protect a legitimate business interest. However, what is a reasonable term or a geographic area for a non-compete varies from case to case and depends on many factors, including, but not limited to, the nature of the business, the industry in which the business operates, the type of job performed by the individual subject to the non-compete, whether other employees have non-compete agreements, and many other factors. In this case, the length of the vet’s employment and the specific language of the restrictions played an important role in the court’s decision to enforce the agreement.
Leiza litigates non-compete and trade secrets lawsuits on behalf of COMPANIES and EMPLOYEES in a variety of industries, and has advised hundreds of clients regarding non-compete and trade secret issues. If you need assistance with a non-compete or a trade secret misappropriation situation, contact Leiza for a confidential consultation at LDolghih@GodwinLaw.com or (214) 939-4458.
