Taking the Fight to the Bullies: Tortious Interference Liability for Both Employer and Attorney on Baseless Restrictive Covenants, Part I

If a lawyer hears the words tortious interference, they will likely think of an ex-employee being sued for taking their former employer’s customers or for breaking a non-compete agreement. But in Florida, employees can also sue their former employer if the employer unfairly causes them to lose their new job by threatening legal action over a non-enforceable agreement. This is allowed under Florida law, which limits when non-compete and non-solicitation agreements can be enforced against employees. Section 542.335 sets the rules for whether a company can enforce a contract that restricts an employee from working for a competitor. To be enforceable, the contract must protect a legitimate business interest, like trade secrets or customer relationships. It also must be reasonable in length, usually less than six months to two years. If an employee breaks the contract, the company can ask a court for an order to stop them from working for a competitor. The company doesn’t have to give the employee a warning before going to court. Basically, when an employee leaves a job and starts working for a new company, the old employer might try to stop them by saying they broke a contract. But sometimes, the old employer is in the wrong and the employee can fight back. This happened in a case in Missouri, where a worker quit and went to work for a new company. The old employer threatened to sue both the worker and the new company, but the worker’s lawyer said the old employer didn’t follow the rules, so the contract wasn’t valid. The old employer still wouldn’t back down, and the new company ended up firing the worker to avoid getting sued. Luketich sued Goedecke to stop him from enforcing a contract, and said that Goedecke had messed up Luketich’s business with Patent. The court ruled in Luketich’s favor on the business interference claim, but said Goedecke could keep trying to make Luketich follow the contract as long as he thought it was valid. Overall, Luketich’s case helped establish that a person can sue for business interference if the other person should have known their contract couldn’t be enforced. In Voorhees v. Guyan Machinery Co., a salesman named Voorhes had to sign a noncompete agreement with his employer Guyan. When he went to work for a competing company, Guyan threatened to enforce the agreement, and Voorhes was forced to leave his new job. He sued Guyan for interfering with his employment, and the court found in his favor, saying that Guyan’s actions were malicious. This case shows that employers can’t unfairly interfere with their employees’ new jobs. Henry sued his former employer for interfering with his new job. The court agreed with Henry and awarded him $350,000. The employer argued that their actions were protected because they were related to a legal dispute, but the court disagreed because the agreement in question had already expired. This case shows that an employee can sue their former employer if they unfairly cost them their new job. It also raises the possibility that the employer’s lawyer could also be held responsible. The North Star Capital Acquisitions case involved debtors claiming that a debt collection agency and its attorney violated the law by threatening to sue them. The court ruled that the threat of litigation didn’t protect the attorney from liability under state law. This case is similar to the SCI case, even though they seem different at first. Both cases involve attorneys making threats of legal action, and in both cases, the courts didn’t protect the attorneys from liability. So, it’s not surprising that a judge might see a similarity between attorneys threatening debtors and attorneys threatening a former employee’s new boss based on a non-compete agreement. Non-compete agreements in Florida are generally enforceable, but they must meet certain legal requirements. Lawyers and accountants have a duty to their clients and can be held liable for their actions. In California, non-compete agreements are not recognized. Old non-compete agreements in Florida may have different rules. If a lawyer helps a client enforce an unenforceable non-compete agreement, they could be sued for interfering with the former employee’s new job. This is a citation for a court case where a financial company sued someone. It also introduces a lawyer who specializes in labor and employment law. The lawyer was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2005. The column is from the Labor and Employment Law Section, and it’s about improving the justice system.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/taking-the-fight-to-the-bullies-tortious-interference-liability-for-both-employer-and-attorney-on-baseless-restrictive-covenants-part-i/