1. The court ruled that an employee can be taken to trial for violating non-disclosure and loyalty provisions, even without a non-compete or non-solicit agreement.
2. It is unlawful for an employee to take actions that harm their employer for the benefit of a competing business, even while still employed.
3. In the healthcare industry, employees subject to restrictive covenants and the companies that hire them should anticipate lawsuits if patients or customers from the employee’s prior employer follow them to the new employer. 1. Sowersby breached his employment agreement by joining a competitor and servicing patients from Biomatrix.
2. There was a dispute over whether Sowersby directly influenced the patients to switch to Infucare or if the primary physician independently referred them.
3. The court ruled that all of Biomatrix’s claims should go to trial due to conflicting evidence and factual disputes. 1. Employees in Florida owe a duty of loyalty to their employer, which includes not competing against the employer while still employed.
2. Even at-will employees can be held to the duty of loyalty, and restrictive covenants can be enforced against them.
3. A breach of the duty of loyalty can also constitute a breach of contract if the duty is outlined in written documents, such as an employee code of conduct policy or an employee handbook.
4. Biomatrix had evidence that Sowersby breached his duty of loyalty by planning to transfer patients to another company without their knowledge.
5. The extent of the damages caused by Sowersby’s breach would need to be determined by a jury in order for Biomatrix to recover on a breach of contract claim. The court found that it could not decide if InfuCare intentionally encouraged a breach of Sowersby’s restrictive covenants. Before Sowersby started working at InfuCare, the company asked him if he would be subject to any restrictive covenant after leaving BioMatrix, and he said he would not be. The patients who moved to InfuCare did so before BioMatrix’s legal counsel informed InfuCare of Sowersby’s restrictive covenant. As a result, the court concluded that BioMatrix had not shown that InfuCare intentionally breached a contract it did not know about until after the alleged breach occurred.
The court also noted that determining the existence of a “trade secret” or whether a plaintiff took reasonable steps to protect its trade secrets is a fact-intensive issue. This, coupled with the factual dispute on damages, required the trade secret misappropriation claim to proceed to a jury.
Employees should avoid soliciting customers for a competing business before leaving their current employment. Planning and preparing for a competing business or interviewing with a competitor is usually not unlawful, but it is a breach of fiduciary duty if an employee takes actions that harm their employer in anticipation of competition while still employed. In Florida, this duty of loyalty extends to all employees. – Non-compete agreements are becoming common in the healthcare industry, even for positions like sales and marketing.
– Healthcare providers, such as physicians and nurses, are also being asked to sign non-compete agreements.
– Employers should ask potential hires if they are subject to any restrictive covenants before starting their employment.
– If a potential hire is subject to a non-compete agreement, the employer should review the agreement with legal counsel and consider structuring the new position to avoid conflicts with the agreement. – Cantrell Astbury Kranz, P.A. is a litigation boutique that focuses on non-compete, unfair competition disputes, employment law, and business disputes.
– The firm serves clients in Florida and Georgia, including cities such as St. Petersburg, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, and others.
– They handle cases related to shareholder and partnership disputes, unpaid commissions and bonuses, discrimination and harassment, and deceptive business practices. – Business disputes, including breach of contract and partnership disputes, are handled by Cantrell Astbury Kranz, P.A.
– The law firm also specializes in resolving issues between franchisors and franchisees, as well as securities and FINRA matters.
– They are experienced in addressing defamation, libel, and slander cases, as well as providing legal support for sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
– Cantrell Astbury Kranz, P.A. also handles non-compete agreements, unpaid commissions, and disputes related to the Family and Medical Leave Act.
– The firm is known for its litigation practice and recent successes in resolving various legal matters.
Even Without a Non-Compete, It May Be Unlawful to Obtain Clients from Prior Employer
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