Articles Posted in Non-Compete Agreements

Courts can enforce the breach of a restrictive covenant like a non-compete agreement by enjoining the defendant from taking additional actions that violate the non-compete agreement. Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (“A court shall enforce a restrictive covenant by any appropriate and effective remedy, including, but not limited to, temporary and permanent injunctions.”). Courts can likewise…

Temporary and permanent injunctions are often a part of restrictive covenant lawsuits and trade secret lawsuits. In facts, Florida’s restrictive covenant statute expressly contemplates enforcement of a restrictive covenant through an injunction and creates a presumption in favor of granting an injunction when a restrictive covenant is breached. Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (“A court shall…

In September 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) formally withdrew its appeal in the pivotal case titled Ryan LLC v. FTC and Properties of the Villages v. FTC, which struck down the FTC’s 2024 attempt to generally ban non-compete agreements and similar restrictive covenants across the board. In Ryan, you may recall that the United…

The injunction remedy is an important facet of a trade secret lawsuit because it precludes the misappropriator from using the trade secret. Courts can grant an injunction to prevent actual or threatened misappropriation or require affirmative actions to protect the trade secret. 18 U.S.C.A. § 1836. To obtain an injunction, the movant must establish, among…

Lawsuits to prevent unlawful competition can take several forms. A lawsuit may involve the enforcement of a restrictive covenant like non-compete agreements, non-solicitation provisions, or non-disclosure agreements. These agreements are only permitted when supported by a legitimate business interest demonstrating the restrictive covenant provision is intended to prevent unlawful competition. White v. Mederi Caretenders Visiting…

Plaintiffs in trade secrets lawsuits and non-compete lawsuits often seek and obtain injunctions preventing defendants from misappropriating the trade secrets or unlawfully competing. Florida’s trade secret statute expressly allows for injunction relief. Fla. Stat. § 688.003 (“Actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined.”). Florida’s restrictive covenant statute likewise allows for injunctive relief. Fla. Stat. §…

Unclean hands is an equitable defense akin to fraud. Cong. Park Off. Condos II, LLC v. First-Citizens Bank & Tr. Co., 105 So. 3d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013). “It is a self-imposed ordinance that closes the doors of a court of equity to one tainted with inequitableness or bad faith relative to the matter…

Businesses can face challenges when trying to enforce a non-compete agreement against a former employee or other similar actor because that former employee may be receiving assistance from a third-party who did not sign the non-compete agreement. Enforcing the non-compete against the former employee who is unlawfully competing will not by itself stop the third-party…

Plaintiffs often seek injunctions against defendants to prohibit the defendants from taking some action adverse to the plaintiff. Litigants seeking an injunction must demonstrate the injunction serves the public interest among other factors. Wayne’s Aggregate & Materials, LLC v. Lopez, 391 So. 3d 633 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2024) (“A party seeking a temporary injunction…

The outcome of a lawsuit can be determined by the applicable law. Parties to a contract can choose which state’s laws apply to the execution of the contract by using a choice of law provision. Many contracts contain choice of law provisions, but few contracting parties think critically about the ramifications for selecting the application…