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Articles Posted in Non-Compete Agreements

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In the absence of a non-compete agreement, Florida law prohibits tortious interference with certain business relationships.  The Supreme Court of Florida, in Tamiami Trail Tours, Inc. v. Cotton, 463 So.2d 1126 (Fla. 1985), explained that the elements of a claim for tortious interference with a business relationship are “(1) the existence of a business relationship…(2) knowledge of the relationship on the part of the defendant; (3) an intentional and unjustified interference with the relationship by the defendant; and (4) damage to the plaintiff as a result of the breach of the relationship.”  A protected business relationship need not be evidenced by an enforceable contract.  In Landry v. Hornstein, 462 So.2d 844 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal explained in pertinent part: “An action for intentional interference is appropriate even though it is predicated on an unenforceable agreement, if the jury finds that an understanding between the parties would have been completed had the defendant not interfered…A mere offer to sell, however, does not, by itself, give rise to sufficient legal rights to support a claim of intentional interference with a business relationship.”  In other words, “an action for intentional interference with a business relationship will lie if the parties’ understanding would have been completed if the defendant had not interfered.”  Charles Wallace Co. v. Alternative Copier Concepts, Inc., 583 So.2d 396 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991).  Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm  Beach. The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

Important precedent from the Supreme Court of Florida, in Ethan Allen, Inc. v. Georgetown Manor, Inc., 647 So.2d 812 (Fla. 1995), held that “a plaintiff may properly bring a cause of action alleging tortious interference  with present or prospective customers but no cause of action exists for tortious interference with a business’s relationship to the community at large…As a general rule, an action for tortious interference with a business relationship requires a business relationship evidenced by an actual and identifiable understanding or agreement which in all probability would have been completed if the defendant had not interfered.”  In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court found the Landry decision persuasive.  In Landry, a pharmacist who rented premises for his drugstore entered into negotiations, with his landlord’s permission, with a prospective purchaser to sell the pharmacist’s business and to assign the pharmacy lease.  However, when the landlord told the prospective buyer that the landlord was “going to get rid of” the pharmacist and that the landlord would rent the premises directly to the buyer, the negotiations stopped between the pharmacist and the prospective buyer.  Thereafter, the prospective buyer leased the drugstore from the landlord. The pharmacist then sued the landlord for tortious interference with a business relationship.  The appellate court in Landry found a business relationship existed between the pharmacist and the prospective buyer, explaining: “[T]he negotiations had progressed beyond the stage of a mere offer, to an understanding between [the pharmacist and the prospective buyer] for the sale of the business and assignment of the lease, transactions which would have been consummated had [the landlord] not interfered.  Evidence disclose that [the landlord]…had undertaken their own negotiations with [they buyer] regarding the rental of the drugstore premises while [the buyer and the pharmacist] were still involved in negotiations.”  In Ethan Allen, the Supreme Court explained that the plaintiff, Georgetown, was entitled to damages reasonably flowing from Ethan Allen’s interference with existing relationships.  Ethan Allen also qualified its decision, stating that Georgetown’s “relationship with its past customers was not one upon which a claim for tortious interference could be based.  Georgetown had no identifiable agreement with its past customers that they would return to Georgetown to purchase furniture in the future.   The mere hope that some of its pas customers may choose to buy again cannot be the basis for a tortious interference claim.”  The Supreme Court recognized, however, that there are situations where a plaintiff may have valid tortious interference claim based on the plaintiff’s reasonable expectation of future business from a recurring practice of performing work for certain clients.  Such a scenario would be distinguishable from a situation of a retail furniture dealer, like Georgetown, with tens of thousands of past customers who may or not return for future furniture purchases.

Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation lawyer, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm Beach. This article does not serve as a substitute for legal advice tailored to a particular situation.

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Florida law protects employers and similarly situated persons from unlawful competition. But every competitive act does not qualify as an unlawful competitive act. White v. Mederi Caretenders Visiting Services of Se. Florida, LLC, 226 So. 3d 774 (Fla. 2017) (“Section 542.335 does not protect covenants ‘whose sole purpose is to prevent competition per se’ because those contracts are void against public policy.”). There “must be special facts present over and above ordinary competition” to be protected by Florida’s non-compete laws. Passalacqua v. Naviant, Inc., 844 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). “These special facts must be such that without the covenant not to compete the employee would gain an unfair advantage in future competition with the employer.” Id (emphasis removed). Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale business litigation attorney.  The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment law, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

Florida’s legislature created a list of special facts constituting unlawful competition. They are called legitimate business interests and are as follows:

1: Use of another’s trade secrets;

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We previously wrote about two potential laws that might limit enforceability of non-compete agreements. The first law is a proposed Florida statute that would constrain or prohibit restrictive covenants for certain medical professionals. The second law is a Federal Trade Commission rule that would ban most non-compete agreements as unfair competition. Congress is proposing a similar law that would ban most non-compete agreements, called the Workforce Mobility Act (the Act). The relevant wording of the Act, in its present form, is as follows: “…No person shall enter into, enforce, or attempt to enforce a noncompete agreement with any individual who is employed by, or performs work under contract with, such person with respect to the activities of such person in or affecting commerce.  S. 220, 118th Cong. § 3 (2023-2024). Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm  Beach. The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

Public agencies and private citizens can enforce the Act. If passed, the Act would make any violation an unlawful unfair and deceptive act or practice under 15 USC § 57a. Id. The Federal Trade Commission, the United States Department of Labor, and the States of the United States would each have authority to enforce the law. Id. Individuals will also have a private cause of action to enforce the Act. Id. They can sue to recover damages (if any) along with attorney’s fees if they are the prevailing party. Id.

The sweeping nature of the Act’s wording will likely have broad effect throughout interstate commerce. However, the Act does not ban all non-compete agreements outright because the definition of “non-compete agreements” is somewhat narrow. Congress defined non-compete agreements as:

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Nationwide, the body of law regulating non-compete agreements (including non-solicitation covenants, non-circumvention covenants, covenants barring poaching of employees) has been mainly regulated by state statutes as well as court decisions in state and federal courts.  Federal law has generally stayed out of the regulation of restrictive covenants.  About a year ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a federal agency regulating commerce and competition law, issued a proposed rule that would ban most non-compete agreements as unfair competition.  If promulgated, such a rule would have a significant impact on many businesses and their employees.  At this point, the proposed rule is not the law and awaits a final decision.  The wording of the proposed draft of the rule is as follows: “It is an unfair method of competition for an employer to enter into or attempt to enter into a non-compete clause with a worker; maintain with a worker a non-compete clause; or represent to a worker that the worker is subject to a non-compete clause where the employer has no good faith basis to believe that the worker is subject to an enforceable non-compete clause. To comply with paragraph (a) of this section,… an employer that entered into a non-compete clause with a worker prior to the compliance date must rescind the non-compete clause no later than the compliance date.  Proposed CFR § 910.2. The FTC accepted comment concerning the proposed rule through April 2023, and is expected to make a final decision about the proposed rule sometime in April 2024.  Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm  Beach. The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

The effects of the FTC’s proposed rule are probably far reaching based on the FTC’s definition of “noncompete clause.” The FTC defines a noncomplete clause to mean “a contractual term between an employer and a worker that prevents the worker from seeking or accepting employment with a person, or operating a business, after the conclusion of the worker’s employment with the employer.”  Proposed CFR § 910.1. This definition includes de facto clauses prohibiting workers from obtaining employment or operating a business after the conclusion of the worker’s employment with an employer. Id. One example of a de facto clause is an overly broad non-disclosure agreement that precludes a former employee from working in the same field as the former employer.

The FTC similarly defined worker broadly. Worker encompasses any natural person who works for an employer. Id. It does not matter whether the worker was paid or unpaid. Id. It does not matter whether the worker was classified as an employee or independent contractor. Id. Any worker qualifies under the proposed rule. Therefore, most, if not all, employment related relationships will fall within the ambit of “worker” for purposes of the proposed rule.

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Plaintiffs often assert the common law cause of action of tortious interference in conjunction with other claims associated with unlawful competition. This is because the elements needed to prove the common law tort frequently use the same or substantially similar facts as those needed to establish breach of a restrictive covenant and other claims of unfair competition. For example, a plaintiff asserting a tortious interference claim must prove the existence of a business relationship between itself and a third person, the defendant’s knowledge about the relationship, the defendant’s intentional and unjustified interference with the relationship that induces the third person not to perform, and damage. Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Times Pub. Co., Inc., 780 So. 2d 310 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). And a plaintiff asserting breach of a non-compete agreement must similarly prove the defendant breached the non-compete agreement by conducting business with the plaintiff’s customer and damages resulting from business loss. See Fla. Stat. 542.335 (requiring the plaintiff to plead and prove one or more legitimate business interests including the existence of present or prospective customers).  The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment law, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

A subtle difference lies with the tortious interference claim that can make it more difficult to establish than other, similar claims. A tortious interference claim requires proof that the defendant  induced cessation of business between the plaintiff and a third party. See Mortgage Now, Inc. v. Guaranteed Home Mortg. Co., Inc., 545 Fed. Appx. 809, 811 (11th Cir. 2013) (“No liability will attach unless it is established that the defendant intended to procure a breach.”). However, other claims typically require the plaintiff to merely establish damages resulting from the severed relationship. See, e.g., Vela v. Kendall, 905 So. 2d 1033, 1035 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (awarding “damages for the violation of the restrictive covenant during the two-year period of its viability.”)

The inducement element forces the plaintiff to provide evidence demonstrating the third party would not have severed its relationship with the plaintiff but for the defendant’s conduct. Cedar Hills Properties Corp. v. E. Fed. Corp., 575 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (To “maintain an action for tortious interference… with contractual rights, a plaintiff must prove that a third party interfered with a contract by ‘influencing, inducing or coercing one of the parties to … breach the contract, thereby causing injury to the other party.’”). Providing inducement evidence can be challenging when the third-party was predisposed to terminating its relationship with the plaintiff.

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The Florida restrictive covenant statute allows employers to restrain employees from working for a competitor so long as the non-competition agreement is supported by a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, area, and line of business. Fla. Stat. 542.335. Employees that enter contracts containing non-compete agreements can be prohibited from working for a similar business within a competitive geographic area. For example, doctors that sign employment agreements with the hospitals they work for, can be prohibited from treating their patients after leaving that hospital. See, e.g.,  Ansaarie v. First Coast Cardiovascular Inst., P.A., 252 So. 3d 287 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) (enjoining a doctor from seeing his former patients associated with the hospital he used to work for). This is true even when patients request treatment from the departing doctor. Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm  Beach. The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

Florida’s Legislature recognized that the state’s strong non-compete laws can prevent patient access to medical treatment about five years ago in 2019. This is especially true in rural areas where choice of medical care providers is limited. Therefore, Florida’s legislature invalided non-compete contracts in certain circumstances relating to licensed physicians. The statute provides that a “restrictive covenant entered into with a physician… who practices a medical specialty in a county wherein one entity employs or contracts with,… all physicians who practice such specialty in that county is” invalid. Fla. Stat. 542.336. The Legislature’s invalidation is however limited to (1) certain physicians (2) possessing a specialty and (3) who are employed by a single employer in a single county. Id. Therefore, many Florida doctors are still prohibited from treating patients even when the patient wants treatment from that particular doctor.

It seems Florida’s Legislature understands that the limitations of its 2019 modification are insufficient to enable adequate medical staffing in Florida because the Legislature may be preparing to expand non-compete invalidation. Florida’s House and Senate introduced similar bills that would expand the prohibition on non-competes in the medical space to physicians practicing medicine within any geographic area for any period of time. The proposed language of the new statute from the House is as follows:

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Some employers have confronted the situation where employees have taken corporate trade secrets to use in competition against their former employer, but the employees had not signed a non-compete agreement.  Under Florida law, however, the fact that the former employees did not sign a non-compete agreement is not dispositive concerning whether the business may enforce its trade secrets in court against the former employees and the competing business.  Important precedent from Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal in Unistar Corp. v. Child, 415 So.2d 733 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), held that “[t]he law will import into every contract of employment a prohibition against the use of a trade secret by the employee for his own benefit, to the detriment of his employer, if the secret was acquired by the employee in the course of his employment.”  Florida’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act, at Florida Statutes Section 688.003(1), states in pertinent part that, “[a]ctual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined.”  In this vein, All Leisure Holidays Ltd. v. Novello, 202 WL 5832365 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 27, 2012), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida held that a non-compete agreement was not necessary to enter a temporary restraining order against a former  employee for misappropriation of trade secrets.  The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment law, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

Florida law defines the terms “trade secret” to mean information that “derive[s] economic value from not being readily ascertainable by others and [is] the subject of reasonable efforts to protect its secrecy.”  American Red Cross v. Palm Beach Blood Bank, 143 F.3d 1407 (11th Cir. 1998).  This definition includes as trade secrets a “list of customers,” so long as the “owner thereof takes measures to prevent it from becoming available to persons other than those selected by the owner….” Florida Statutes Section 812.081.  The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith v. Hagerty, 808 F.Supp. 1555 (S.D. Fla. 1992, explained that “[r]egardless of who compiled the customer list, however, it is clearly protected under [Florida law].”

In unfair competition cases, one significant source of litigation has emanated from employee theft of pricing information to use in competition against the former employer.  Documents containing pricing information have been held to constitute trade secrets under Florida law.  For example, in Sethcot Collection, Inc. v. Drbul, 669 So.2d 1076 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996), the appellate court determined that a confidential active customer list, containing a detailed purchasing history for each entity, qualified as a trade secret entitled to protection by means of an injunction.

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Under Florida law, courts evaluate the enforceability of non-compete agreements based on Florida Statutes Section 542.335 as well as case law interpreting this statute.  Under Section 542.335(1)(b), Florida Statutes, to establish that the contract restricting competition is itself lawful and enforceable, a party must simply “plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests justifying the restrictive covenant.”  Once the party, which is typically a business, has established that the restraint is reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate business interest, the burden shifts to party opposing enforcement of the contract to establish that it is overbroad or otherwise not reasonably necessary.  Balasco v. Gulf Auto Holding, Inc., 707 So.2d 858 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998).   Florida law accords substantially more deference to the scope and duration of a non-compete agreement in the context of sale of a business or its asserts, as distinct from a non-compete agreement solely concerning an employment relationship.  The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment law, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

For example, in Avalon Legal Information Services, Inc. v. Keating, 110 So.3d 75 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013), Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal decided the proper scope of a non-compete/non-solicitation covenant arising from the purchase of a civil service of process consulting business from a paralegal that sold the business.  The seller of the business (the paralegal) argued to the court that the non-compete/non-solicitation agreement did not protect legitimate business interests in “substantial relationships with existing and prospective clients” and “client goodwill.”  The seller argued there were no “substantial relationships” as part of the business sale because the seller “enjoyed long-standing relationships” with the buyer’s clients.  The appellate court was unpersuaded and ruled against the seller of the business, stating in pertinent part that the seller’s “argument ignores the fact that Keating paid Schneider $200,000 for the consulting business, which included Schneider’s client relationships and goodwill.  Because the purchaser of the assets and goodwill of a business has a legitimate business interest in preventing the seller from servicing former clients, the trial court did not err in finding the non-compete/non-solicitation covenant was supported by a legitimate business interest.”

Although the Avalon decision determined the restrictive covenant was enforceable, the appellate court also determined that the trial court’s injunction was overbroad.  “[T]he restrictive covenant prohibits Avalon from competing for and soliciting Keating’s clients.  The court’s order is overly broad to the extent it enjoined Avalon and Schneider from competing for ‘any sheriffs in Florida’ in the area of civil service consulting, irrespective of whether they were a client of Keating.  The trial court should modify the injunction allow Avalon and Schneider to compete for the remaining sheriffs’ offices with which Keating shares no substantial relationship.”

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Florida’s non-compete statute, Section 542.335, Florida Statutes, accords broad protection in favor of a business seeking to prevent former employees from competing with the business via goodwill with customers with whom the former employee dealt during his employment.  In this regard, section 542.335(1)(b)(3) expressly considers a “legitimate business interest” to include “[s]ubstantial relationships with specific prospective or existing customers, patients, or clients.”  Under Florida law, however, in the absence of a non-soliciation agreement or non-compete agreement, a former employee cannot be precluded from using contacts and expertise he gained from employment with his former employer.   Businesses have sometimes tried to bar former employees from competing for customers when the employee never even signed a non-compete or non-soliciation agreement.  In such cases, businesses have argued that the customers are part of a “trade secret” and are confidential.  Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, in Templeton v. Creative Loafing Tampa, Inc., 552 So.2d 288 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989), held in pertinent part that: “The only arguably secret information on the advertiser list was the contact person.  However, the testimony shows that appellant knows all of these persons on a first name basis as a result of his experience working for Music and that he did not need a secret list to enable him to ascertain their identity.  Appellant cannot be precluded from utilizing contacts and expertise gained during his former employment.”  Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm  Beach. The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

Florida appellate courts distinguish between customer lists that are the product of great expense and effort, that are distillations of larger lists, or include information that is not available from public sources.  Under appropriate circumstances, such customer lists can qualify as trade secrets.  However, an employee’s mental knowledge of customer relationships, as per prior employment, generally will not qualify for protection as a trade secret.  Precedent from the Supreme Court of Florida, in Pure Foods, Inc. v. Sir Sirloin, Inc., 84 So.2d 51 (Fla. 1956), stated in pertinent part: “We do not think the circumstances in this case justify further exploration of the law on that subject or a condemnation of appellee’s erstwhile employees because they undertook to sell to customers whom they had come to know during their former employment.  Both corporations were wholesalers and their products were sold to retailers of food such as restaurants and ‘drive-ins.’  Certainly, the names of such concerns were easily obtainable from classified telephone directories and like sources, and surely the employees of appellee who became owners of an interest in the appellant-corporation could not be precluded from attempting to sell all customers whom they had known in their former positions.”  Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal, in Fish v. Adams 401 So.2d 843 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), has taken these legal principles a step further, explaining that “an employee may take with him a customer list he himself has developed.”  How broadly courts will interpret this wording from Fish v. Adams will likely depend on the factual details, including how intricate and valuable was the customer list the employee took and used after leaving his employment with the business.  It is important to emphasize that when the employer-employee relationship does not include a restrictive covenant barring competition or solicitation, it can be an uphill battle to bar an employee’s dealing with his former employer’s customers.

Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation lawyer, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Palm Beach. This article does not serve as a substitute for legal advice tailored to a particular situation.

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The plain terms of a contract control the parties’ course of conduct for all matters subject to that contract’s terms. See Maher v. Schumacher, 605 So.2d 481 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992) (holding that the plain meaning of the contractual language used by the parties controls). The Court is prohibited from rewriting contract terms. Pol v. Pol, 705 So. 2d 51, 53 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (“It is well established that a court cannot rewrite the clear and unambiguous terms of a voluntary contract.”). However, non-complete law contains a powerful exception allowing courts to disregard the well- pronounced prohibition against rewriting contracts. Courts can “blue-pencil” (i.e., Judicially modify) provisions of non-compete agreements when they do not conform to the requirements of Florida’s restrictive covenant statute, Section 542.335, Florida Statutes. In doing so, blue pencil laws breathe life into an otherwise invalid contractual provision. The blue pencil exception can be an important tool for those attempting to obtain relief under a contractual provision that violates the restrictive covenant statute.  The Mavrick Law Firm represents businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment law, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

A court’s ability to “blue-pencil” a restrictive covenant is limited to modifying the scope of the provision to bring it within the ambit of non-compete law. See White v. Mederi Caretenders Visiting Services of Se. Florida, LLC, 226 So. 3d 774 (Fla. 2017) (Courts are commanded to “modify, or blue pencil, a non-competition agreement that is overbroad, overlong, or otherwise not reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate business interest.”). The court can only narrow a restrictive covenant to the extent needed to protect the plaintiff’s established legitimate business interests. Id. (noting that courts can modify overbroad restrictive covenants to “grant only the relief reasonably necessary to protect such interest”). Courts can shorten a restrictive covenant that is too long in duration, may curtail the geographical scope to a more limited area, or may constrain the subject matter to particular legitimate business interests. Id.

Blue penciling laws can create perverse incentives for employers and similarly situated parties to draft overbroad provisions they know have little chance of being enforceable. Employers may force their employees to agree to overbroad restrictive covenants to intimidate employees and make them believe they cannot compete in any respect. Employers may believe there is little risk in drafting an overbroad restrictive provision because a court will probably blue-pencil the provision if enforcement is necessary. Therefore, employers could face little risk in purposefully drafting an onerous overbroad restrictive covenant.

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