Labor & Employment Law

Texas Law Noncompete Agreements: Right to Work Myth

Posted on February 11, 2011
Texas courts continue to confirm the enforceability of some noncompete agreements here.  I routinely here from people that "Texas is a right to work state, and noncompete agreements are not enforceable here."  Five years ago, Texas courts were extremely unsympathetic to noncompete agreements...

Temporary Injunction Denied in Texas Noncompete Case

Posted on November 09, 2010
A recent case from the Beaumont Court of Appeals highlighted the difficulty that employers sometimes face in enforcing noncompete agreements in Texas.  In this case, a physician practice group sued one of its former physicians for violating a noncompete agreement...

No Attorneys' Fees in Texas Noncompete Cases

Posted on November 09, 2010
According to the Houston Court of Appeals, a successful employer in a lawsuit brought to enforce a noncompete agreement in Texas may not recover attorneys' fees.  Texas law generally permits the prevailing plaintiff in a breach of contract case to recover its attorneys' fees...

Scope of Noncompete Agreements. Texas Noncompete Lawyer

Posted on November 08, 2010
The Fort Worth Court of Appeals recently issued a very interesting opinion on the geographic scope of noncompete agreements in Texas.  In this case, a publishing company did business in Johnson County, Texas.  The company hired the defendant to sell advertising for it...

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Labor Lawyer Dallas Texas. Tortious Interference and Prior Restraint.

Posted on August 19, 2010
In Texas, when can a court enjoin speech in order to prevent tortious interference from occurring?  There is no easy answer to this question.  However, courts generaly disfavor "prior restraint"--i.e., forbidding speech even before it occurs...

Texas Trial Court Abused Discretion By Denying Temporary Injunction

Posted on May 18, 2010
In a recent case in Houston, a state trial court's denial of an application for a temporary injunction was overturned.  In denying the requested temporary injunction, the court had failed to receive any testimony that might have supported the issuing of an injunction...

Does Constructive Discharge Affect Enforceability of Texas Noncompete Agreement?

Posted on May 18, 2010
In a recent case in a federal district court in Texas, the defendants--individuals who had signed non-compete agreements with their previous employer--contended that their agreements should not be enforceable because they were "constructively discharged" (i...

Enforceability of Clawback Provisions in Texas

Posted on April 16, 2010
What happens when an employer gives an employee stock in exchange for a non-compete agreement, but the non-compete agreement is held to be unenforceable.  Does the employee still get to keep the stock?  This question was raised in a case in which the employer gave a ten percent ownership interest in the company to one of its employees...

Texas Customer Solicitation Restrictions. Unfair Competition Law in Texas.

Posted on April 16, 2010
Texas noncompete agreements routinely contain a provision prohibiting an employee from soliciting, or doing business with, her employer's customers (except on her employer's behalf).  Not infrequently, these provisions preclude the employee from soliciting any of her employer's customers...

Scope of Noncompete Agreements in Texas

Posted on April 16, 2010
Assuming a non-compete agreement in Texas is worded properly and supported by adequate consideration, the next question is whether the restrictions contained in the agreement are reasonable.  Texas courts have routinely held that the scope of the restrictions should bear some relationship to the activities that the employee performed for his former employer...

Ancillary to Otherwise Enforceable Agreement Requirement

Posted on April 16, 2010
For a non-compete agreement to be enforceable in Texas, the consideration given by the employer to the employee must 'give rise' to its interest in restraining competition.  In other words, the employer should be able to go into court and say, 'Because we gave our former employee x, he should be precluded from competing against us...

Texas Employment Lawyer. Texas Noncompete Agreements Enforceable.

Posted on April 16, 2010
Texas non-compete agreements can be enforceable in the context of at-will employment.  However, if the only promise made by the employer in the agreement is to hire the employee on at at-will basis, the agreement will fail for lack of consideration...

Denton Texas Employment Attorney. Noncompete Agreements Enforceable.

Posted on April 16, 2010
For several years in Texas, non-compete agreements that arose in the context of at-will employment were invalidated by Texas courts because there was a gap in time between when the employee signed the non-compete agreement and when he received the consideration (i...

Denton Texas Lawyer. Texas Noncompete Agreements Attorney.

Posted on April 16, 2010
To be enforceable in Texas, non-compete agreements must be supported by adequate consideration.  In the employment context, the only kind of consideration that the courts have consistently held to be adequate is the employer's providing of confidential information to the employee...

Right to Work Texas. Texas Noncompete Agreements Enforceable

Posted on April 16, 2010
 'Texas is a right to work state--non-compete agreements are unenforceable here.' You've heard that 100 times, right?  I know I have. And it is dead wrong.  The fact that Texas is a 'right to work' state means that Texas employees can't be forced to join a union...

Stock Options in Texas Noncompete Agreements

Posted on April 16, 2010
A recurring issue in Texas law is whether financial compensation can constitute sufficient consideration for a non-compete agreement.  This issue came up recently in a case from the Dallas Court of Appeals. In that case, a company that provided insurance brokerage services granted some stock options to one of its managing directors...

Sale of Business Noncompete Agreements in Texas

Posted on April 16, 2010
In Texas, non-compete agreements that arise from the sale of a business are relatively more enforceable than those that are contained in an employment agreement.  For example, Texas courts have held that covenants not to compete may be significantly broader in scope if they arise from the sale of a business...

Noncompete Agreements Texas Attorney: What Constitutes Confidential Information in Texas?

Posted on April 16, 2010
 Texas courts have long held that an employer's providing of confidential information can constitute sufficient consideration for a non-compete agreement.  But it can be difficult to apply this widely accepted premise, as was demonstrated in a recent case...

Texas Non-Compete Lawyer: Relationship Between Trade Secrets and Confidential Information

Posted on April 16, 2010
In determining whether a non-compete agreement is enforceable, a Texas court will assess whether the consideration given by the employer justifies the non-compete agreement.  Texas courts have held on multiple occasions that an employer's providing of confidential information is sufficient consideration for a non-compete agreement...

Texas Noncompete Agreements Attorney: Permissible Scope of Nonsolicitation Agreements in Texas

Posted on April 16, 2010
Not infrequently, non-solicitation agreements that employers require their employees to sign are extremely broad. These provisions often preclude the employee from soliciting all of her former employer's customers. Sometimes, the provisions also preclude the employee from soliciting her former employer's potential customers...

Texas Non-Compete Law. Enforcement of Non-Solicitation Agreements in Texas

Posted on April 16, 2010
A recent appellate case from Houston demonstrates that, in determining whether non-solicitation agreements are enforceable, Texas courts treat them as non-compete agreements. In the case, an insurance broker was bound by an employment agreement that contained the following provision: Accordingly, the Executive understands and agrees that for a period of two (2) years following the termination of his employment for any reason whatsoever, he will not, directly or indirectly, solicit, place, market, accept, aid, counsel or consult in the renewal, discontinuance or replacement of any insurance (including self-insurance) by, or handle self-insurance programs, insurance claims, risk management services or other insurance administrative or service functions for, any AJG or Corporation account for which he performed any of the foregoing functions during the two-year period immediately preceding such termination...

Physician Employment Agreements. Texas Employment Attorney.

Posted on April 16, 2010
In our practice, we see many disputes between doctors and their employers from both sides of the fence.  Quite often these disputes are between practices or institutions and doctors who are just 'hitting their stride,' developing loyal patients and looking at their practice options for the future...

Right to Work Texas. Non-compete Agreements Can Be Enforceable in Texas.

Posted on April 16, 2010
For a non-compete agreement to be enforceable in Texas, the consideration given by the employer to the employee must 'give rise' to its interest in restraining competition.  In other words, the employer should be able to go into court and say, 'Because we gave our former employee x, he should be precluded from competing against us...

Collin County Texas Employment Attorney. Noncompete Agreements Enforceable.

Posted on April 16, 2010
For several years in Texas, non-compete agreements that arose in the context of at-will employment were invalidated by Texas courts because there was a gap in time between when the employee signed the non-compete agreement and when he received the consideration (i...

Collin County Texas Lawyer. Texas Noncompete Agreements Attorney.

Posted on April 16, 2010
To be enforceable in Texas, non-compete agreements must be supported by adequate consideration.  In the employment context, the only kind of consideration that the courts have consistently held to be adequate is the employer's providing of confidential information to the employee...

Dallas Noncompete Attorney: Texas Supreme Court Makes Agreements Easier to Enforce

Posted on May 16, 2009
  The Texas Supreme Court recently made it even easier to enforce noncompete agreements.  Ever since the court's opinion in the Sheshunoff case, it has been an open question whether, to be enforceable, a noncompete agreement must contain an explicit promise by the employer to provide confidential information to the employee...

Texas Supreme Court Makes Agreements Easier to Enforce

Posted on May 16, 2009
The Texas Supreme Court recently made it even easier to enforce noncompete agreements.  Ever since the court's opinion in the Sheshunoff case, it has been an open question whether, to be enforceable, a noncompete agreement must contain an explicit promise by the employer to provide confidential information to the employee...

Is Texas a Right to Work State? Texas Supreme Court Makes Noncompete Agreements Easier to Enforce.

Posted on May 16, 2009
The Texas Supreme Court recently made it even easier to enforce noncompete agreements.  Ever since the court's opinion in the Sheshunoff case, it has been an open question whether, to be enforceable, a noncompete agreement must contain an explicit promise by the employer to provide confidential information to the employee...

Non-solicitation provisions must bear relation to employees' activities

Posted on March 23, 2009
  A recurring issue in employee mobility cases is the extent to which a non-solicitation provision in an employment contract is enforceable. Typically, an employment agreement will contain a provision prohibiting post-employment competition, provisions prohibiting post-employment solicitation of customers and/or employees, or both...

Non-solicitation provisions must bear relation to employees' activities

Posted on March 23, 2009
 A recurring issue in employee mobility cases is the extent to which a non-solicitation provision in an employment contract is enforceable. Typically, an employment agreement will contain a provision prohibiting post-employment competition, provisions prohibiting post-employment solicitation of customers and/or employees, or both...

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