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Topic: Ever gotten out of a noncompete?
| Author | Message |
| The phashionista | Posted – 3/16/2006 8:22:48 AM | show profile Just wondered if any of you have ever had a noncompete and gotten out of it. Has a former employer ever gone after you? What was/is in your noncompete? Thoughts, stories, rants, advice, all appreciated. |
| mkelly | Posted – 3/16/2006 8:38:26 AM | show profile I think a better way to ask the question is how often do employers actually enforce this? I know some people in television have seen these agreements go against them in court, but I can't imagine it happens all that much. Court costs can gobble up a lot of money for employer and employee alike, and I've heard of some judges invalidating them when the question comes before them. |
| worm | Posted – 3/16/2006 8:46:04 AM | show profile Not me, but I have two riends who signed non-compete clauses--different companies. One blatantly violated it, thinking the company would never know, and if they found out, would not do anything about it. She was wrong. She got sued. The company wouldn't settle, and she ended up paying a fortune in court costs. The other didn't realize he was violating it, because it didn't seem like the same industry. The company didn't see it that way. He also was sued. They ended up dropping the case, but it created lots of costs and a bad impression for the new employer. Maybe it was coincidence, but he was laid off in the next round of downsizing. I don't know how typical these cases are, but food for thought. |
| The phashionista | Posted – 3/16/2006 8:51:44 AM | show profile Worm, were your friends in publishing? |
| questoo1 | Posted – 3/16/2006 9:51:14 AM | show profile I make no claim to be a lawyer, but i've had some experience with this and it also has alot to do with what state you are talking about. Laws vary from state to state ie - ny is a very pro employee state and the laws seem to skew that way. You need to consider what an earlier poster said though, you could still be sued and ulitmately not loose the case, but you'll have to spend lots of $$ on legal fees. In my case, my former employer was a small company and they didn't have the stomach for any kind of litigation, so I essentially walked away scott free |
| worm | Posted – 3/16/2006 9:51:19 AM | show profile Both were in publishing, but different markets. |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/16/2006 11:09:44 AM | show profile non-compete's are an expensive pain in the $$$. Yes, you will probably win in court.....but at what cost? Many thousands of dollars just to come to an agreement that you could probably work out in advance. That's my suggestion with non-competes. Don't sign them! If you do, then try and work something out with your current employer before going to your new employer. Some employers will gladly fight the non-compete for you and eat the cost if it's worthwhile to them. Good Luck! I had to deal with one myself, and after watching a colleague fight hers, win, but spend about $40,000 in court costs to do so, I took a different approach, and came to an agreement with my former boss. Pam |
| westsidestory | Posted – 3/16/2006 11:10:56 AM | show profile More info? I'd need a little more info -- is this a book publishing noncompete, magazine-related, or pertaining to corporate research? Are you still with the organization or have you left? Is there a time limit on the noncomplete or is it open-ended? In some cases one can go to the organization and get a release. Every legal document can be amended, ya know. |
| The phashionista | Posted – 3/16/2006 11:44:04 AM | show profile It's in magazine publishing. I'm a little nervous to give out too many details. The noncompete is for one year. |
| westsidestory | Posted – 3/16/2006 12:12:01 PM | show profile If you give me your info, I'll be glad to email you off the board. If that's too sensitive, then: is this about a single freelanced article, or are you a staffer on the magazine? |
| The phashionista | Posted – 3/16/2006 12:21:01 PM | show profile | email poster Westside, I have enabled my e-mail. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 3/16/2006 3:11:00 PM | show profile | email poster Suki, Generally speaking, your best chances of getting out of a non compete is if it was structured in such a way that it becomes basically impossible for you to earn a living in your field until its expiration. For example, I know of a Phoenix-based PR firm that basically says you can't work for a competing shop in town for a year after you leave. If that was pushed by a departing employee, there's little chance it would stand up in court. Even though it is expensive to take such things to court, there are cheaper ways, such as an arbitrator. Like many in a professional service capacity, I was covered by a noncompete when I left my former employer to start my biz, but it basically just said I wouldn't be allowed to steal clients, which I had no interest in doing anyway since one of the reasons I left was I didn't feel their practice areas were a fit for me. If you would like to speak to a contract lawyer about your noncompete, drop me a private line and I'll refer you to a friend in NYC who I'm sure would be glad to give you a consultation and let you know what your options are. HTH, Cyrus ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| Printingman | Posted – 3/17/2006 9:48:45 AM | show profile | email poster I battled a non compete. In a nut shell I had a non compete with a company. I was there less than a year. I hated it and tried everything to get fired. Finally after not doing a thing for two weeks and not contacting anyone at the company, I was (luckily) terminated on a Friday. I began work for a compteting company the next Monday. After working there for 4 months, the original company caught wind that I had taken a position with the competing company and sued me and the company for breach of the non compete. My employer at the time did not want to fight a legal battle and had to terminate me. Bottom line is I sued the company I had the non compete with. I spent 15,000 on legal fees and finally after 2 years settled for far more than my legal fees. I made out pretty well even after paying my lawyer 30% of the settlement but it was a hard nasty battle. During this whole ordeal I ended up starting my own company which is where I stand today. e-mil me if you need any help or a great labor attorney |
| Printingman | Posted – 3/17/2006 9:57:28 AM | show profile | email poster ....also keep in mind that battling a non compete greatly depends on the state. My ordeal was happening in NJ which is not really a pro employee state. NY tends to lean heavily on the side of the employee. You also need to look at the scope and geographic area of the non compete. I would say, unless you are forced to to gain employment don;t sign one. My company had just gone out of business and it was right after 911 and I needed a job so I signed |
| Cyrus | Posted – 3/17/2006 11:01:42 AM | show profile As far as signing non-competes, in some cases you may be covered by them even if you don't technically sign one. It's very common for professional services firms to put language regarding non-competes in their employee manuals. That means in many cases, you may not see the actual language until you're already on board with the company. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| Printingman | Posted – 3/17/2006 11:18:51 AM | show profile | email poster Cyrus. Unless you actually sign a non compete or non disclosure contract. there is no legal grounds any company can use to prevent you from making a living. I have never heard of the employee manual issue. I cnsider myself an expert on the subject without have a law degree just by the shear 2 foot high stack of paper work which constitutes my case. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 3/17/2006 11:42:20 AM | show profile Printingman, The whole reason noncompetes cause a lot of legal trouble is because in many cases they are structured overly broadly in a manner that can essentially keep you from earning a living. And you can often fight those kind of noncompetes and win. But just because something is not signed doesn't mean it's not enforceable. In certain cases, accepting a job with a company that has a particular policy constitutes your willingness to abide by the policy, even if you don't sign anything in particular. Trust me on this. There is SCADS of case law on this issue ranging from employment agreements to financial terms with lenders. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| Printingman | Posted – 3/17/2006 2:16:42 PM | show profile | email poster *********Trust me on this. There is SCADS of case law on this issue ranging from employment agreements to financial terms with lenders.**** ------ As you stated, they are AGREEMENTS. Which is a document agreed to and signed by two parties. Contracts that are considered overly broad are often ''red penciled'' by a judge or arbitrator |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/18/2006 12:48:22 AM | show profile Cyrus, Unless you sign a non-compete, they cannot enforce it. They can threaten to do so, but they have absolutely no legal grounds. Pam |
| The phashionista | Posted – 3/19/2006 10:06:47 PM | show profile First, I want to thank everyone for their advice. I received some terrific e-mails and helpful information from this post. Has anyone just taken a job and not had their former employer go after them? Does it always end up in litigation? Has anyone used a pseudonym to get avoid litigation? Or what have people done while waiting out the noncompete time? Thanks again. |
