The VLW Blog

A bill that would outlaw Virginia noncompete agreements is dead in the House of Delegates. House Bill 1187, introduced by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, would have banned contracts restricting former employees from engaging in any lawful profession, trade or business. The bill spelled out exceptions for the sale of a business and for business organizers. [...]

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An employee for a pest-control company who went to work for a competitor need not worry about that noncompete he signed some time ago. Today a divided Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed dismissal of the company’s suit to enforce the noncompete. The take-away tip for lawyers drafting noncompetes: Make sure to match the activities you [...]

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A new case from Hanover County demonstrates once again what happens when companies write noncompete agreements that overreach. They get tossed out the door. In Specialty Marketing Inc. v. Lawrence (VLW 010-8-061), the employee signed a noncompete as part of a stock ownership deal. The company is a wholesaler of consumer home and auto electronics. [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia has declined to overturn an arbitration award that included resolution of a noncompete issue. In Cotton Creek Circles LLC v. San Luis Valley Water Co., the high court looked at a case involving ranches and water rights in Colorado. Three businesses entered into an LLC; one of members, Boyce, also [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia dropped the other shoe today in the second of two wrongful death cases involving charities that it heard in October. As we reported here last week, the court reinstated by unpublished order a dismissal by a judge who concluded that the plaintiff had not shown the gross negligence required to [...]

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Noncompete cases always seem to generate a great deal of interest when we feature them in the paper. This week, we got a case that has a new twist. It was decided by Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Joe Canada. The case involves three guys who partnered to start a martial arts studio. Their cooperative agreement [...]

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In the March 3 issue of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, we reported an interesting twist in a doctor’s noncompete case out of Winchester Circuit Court. The case is General Surgery Specialists v. Bowers. A judge held that a noncompete prohibiting a surgeon from practicing in Winchester and Frederick County was reasonable in its terms. But the [...]

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Last year, VLW reported a Richmond federal court decision that highlighted the difference between a noncompete in the sale of a business, versus an employment contract noncompete. In Western Insulation LP v. Moore, U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer awarded nearly $1 million in damages to a Henrico County insulation company that alleged the business [...]

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