Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 292: Listen and Learn -- The Erie Doctrine (Civ Pro)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 126: Listen and Learn -- The Erie Doctrine
The ongoing battle between DraftKings Inc. and its former executive, Michael Hermalyn, remains contentious, with the District of Massachusetts’ decision to enforce Hermalyn’s non-compete now appealed and argued to the First...more
In a recent ruling, a California appeals court found an arbitration agreement with an eyewear store employee that was presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis required an arbitrator to apply the laws of another state,...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee recently signed Senate Bill 5935 into law, amending and expanding Washington’s statute restricting the enforceability of noncompetition covenants (Revised Code of Washington 49.2). The amended...more
The 2024 Washington State Legislature passed Substitute Senate Bill (S.S.B.) 5935 in February 2024, and Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law on March 13, 2024, updating and clarifying Washington law regarding...more
It’s 4:45 p.m. on Friday. The human resources (HR) director calls and tells you that your company—or if you are outside counsel, your client—is finally expanding their sales operation to the West Coast. As part of that...more
On September 6, 2023, the Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed that Georgia courts must first determine whether a restrictive covenant is enforceable under Georgia law before applying a foreign choice-of-law provision....more
Historically, Georgia courts have declined to apply another state’s law to determine whether to enforce restrictive covenants against a Georgia employee, regardless of whether the agreement stated that another state’s law...more
It is no hidden secret that many employers use various restrictive covenants to protect their trade secrets, confidential information, goodwill, and customer relationships. For example, employers often use non-compete...more
The New Jersey legislature is currently considering legislation that would add the state to the growing list of jurisdictions that have significantly limited the scope and enforceability of non-competition agreements and...more
Our business clients tell us everyday what we are all seeing in the headlines on a regular basis: employees are hard to hire and retain. Some commentators have coined the term “the great resignation” to aptly describe the...more
Since our last blog post, some key developments have arisen in the world of non-compete agreements. Specifically, this month, New Jersey legislators introduced a bill to the New Jersey State Assembly aimed at limiting...more
DePuy Synthes Sales Inc. v. Howmedica Osteonics Corp., 28 F.4th 956 (9th Cir. 2022) - Summary: Motion to transfer venue was properly denied where forum-selection clause in employment agreement was void under California...more
In novel and important decision, DePy Synthes Sales v. Howmedica Ostionic’s, Ninth Cir. Case No. 21-55126, on March 14, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decisions to prevent a former employer...more
The landscape for restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements is changing rapidly across the country. Notice periods, compensation thresholds, and consideration requirements are increasingly common, and the days...more
Colorado law is not particularly friendly to noncompete agreements. A Colorado statute prohibits all such agreements unless they fall within one of four specific exemptions....more
Last week a California Employer secured a victory when the California Court of Appeal held that the employer’s general California choice-of-law provision in its employment agreement did not entitle the employee to pursue...more
Choice of law and choice of forum clauses in employment agreements are tricky business. Even though a Delaware LLC employer may think they have strong, iron-clad selection provisions in their employment agreements, the...more
Repetition is not always a rhetorical virtue. Delaware entities seeking to enforce non-compete provisions exclusively in Delaware courts have now been warned: Including non-compete agreements in employment contracts with...more
Employment agreements with restrictive covenants typically contain both a forum selection clause, which determines the forum where a dispute must be heard, and a choice of law clause, which determines the law that applies to...more
Paramount to obtaining an often necessary preliminary injunction pursuant to Article 63 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) is the movant’s obligation to establish a likelihood of success on the merits. A...more
As many of our blog readers will know, the enforceability of restrictive covenants often depends on which state’s law applies to the dispute. For example, California is well known for refusing to enforce employee...more
A recent Delaware Chancery Court opinion has elucidated Delaware’s approach to judicially modifying, or “blue-penciling,” overly broad noncompete agreements and deferring to parties’ choice of law provisions. The case, FP UC...more
Citing Nebraska’s fundamental public policy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently affirmed a District Court’s refusal to enforce a Delaware choice of law clause in a non-compete agreement signed by a...more
The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found that a Delaware choice of law provision in a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement with a former Massachusetts employee was sufficient to invoke Delaware law. Notably,...more
Late last spring we reported on the second published decision out of the District of Massachusetts citing the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (“MNCA”), NuVasive, Inc. v. Day....more