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In a legal dispute regarding a non-compete agreement, the Indiana Court of Appeals judges disagreed as to whether the agreement could be enforced if the former employee's clients voluntarily left and contacted him to continue to be their accountant.

At issue in Craig P. Coffman and Coffman Proactive CPA Services, LLC v. Olson & Co., P.C., No. 53A04-0804-CV-190, is whether Olson & Co. had a protectable interest that could be enforced by a non-compete provision in an employment agreement and whether the trial court erred by voiding the liquidated damages provision in the agreement and calculating the damages award.

Craig Coffman worked as CPA for Olson & Co. and signed a confidential non-disclosure and client proprietary agreement that said upon termination of his employment with the company he couldn't contact or work with Olson clients for 24 months. If he did so, he would liable to Olson for two times the client's most recent 12-months billings with Olson if he informed the company of the violation of the agreement; if Coffman failed to inform Olson, he would be liable for three times the amount.