From the category archives:

Noncompete Agreements

What Happens When California and Massachusetts Law on the Enforceability of Non-Compete Agreements Clash in Massachusetts Superior Court? Read on ….

May 5, 2009

David Donatelli was an EMC Executive VP. He left EMC, and went to work for Hewlett Packard in California. EMC filed suit to enforce Donatelli’s one year non-compete agreement. Donatelli argued that the Massachusetts court should defer enforcement to California law, which is hostile to non-compete agreements. Judge Stephen Neel, in Suffolk Superior Court in

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An Oral Agreement is Only as Good as the Paper It's Written On

February 2, 2009

You’ve got to wonder what Steelcraft was thinking when it decided to file a lawsuit against its former employee, James Hensel. It’s hard enough to enforce a written noncompete agreement, much less an oral agreement, but that’s what Steelcraft tried to do in this case. The absence of a written agreement didn’t deter Steelcraft, which

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The Bill That Would Make Noncompete Agreements Unenforceable in Massachusetts

January 13, 2009

Here is the full text of a bill filed last week that would make noncompete agreements unenforceable in Massachusetts, at least as to employees (as contrasted with noncompete covenants entered into in connection with the sale of a business, the other major category of noncompete covenants): AN ACT TO PROHIBIT RESTRICTIVE EMPLOYMENT COVENANTS Section 1.

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How to Attract Patent Litigation

November 27, 2008

If you’re a federal district court, that is. The answer? You need something not every federal district has. The Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas have them. The Northern District of California has them. The Districts of Pennsylvania (Western), Georgia (Northern) and Illinois (Northern) have them. In fact, so many U.S. District Courts have them

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Are Apple and IBM Competitors?

November 8, 2008

Many people knowledgeable about these two companies may be surprised to learn that IBM has persuaded a U.S. District Court judge in New York that indeed, they are competitors.  The judge has enjoined Mark Papermaster, a 25-plus year employee of IBM, from working for Apple Computer.  While at IBM Mr. Papermaster was a product development

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Behind The Scenes at Bear Stearns

April 23, 2008

I recently wrote about the Bear Stearns v. Sharon case. (See here and here). Here is a link to a Business Week article, “Bailing out of Bear,” that tells the gruesome story behind the Bear Stearns financial debacle and Bears’ suit against Doug Sharon, the star broker at Bear Stearns who left for Morgan Stanley.

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Decision in Bear Stearns v. Sharon – Motion Denied

April 7, 2008

Here is Judge Gorton’s decision in Bear Stearns v. Sharon, which I discussed last week. Bear Stearns’ motion for a preliminary injunction was denied. Thanks to Michael Boudett (who represented Sharon) at Foley Hoag for providing me with this decision. Share This:TwitterFacebookStumbleUponDiggDelicious

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Bear Not Entirely Without Tooth and Claw

March 31, 2008

Recognizing that the Massachusetts Suffolk Business Litigation Session (BLS) is an unreceptive venue for securities firms attempting to enforce restrictive coveneants against former employees, Bear Stearns has sued the former Executive Director of its Private Client Services Group in Federal District Court in Boston. The employee, a 20 year veteran of Bear Stearns, fled to

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But on the other hand ….

March 12, 2008

In contast to the Suffolk Business Litigation noncompete cases discussed below, in National Engineering v. Grogan Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Maureen B. Hogan, sitting in Middlesex County, enforced a six month noncompete provision between a recruiting and staffing firm, and its former employee, Travis Grogan. The heart of Judge Hogan’s decision is as follows: Other

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