Articles Discussing Restrictive Covenants In Tennessee.

Williams-Sonoma is embroiled in a contentious trade secret theft case with its former executive and direct competitor. On June 18, 2015, a federal district court in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction motion to enjoin Williams-Sonoma’s former vice president and direct competitor from using confidential business information, soliciting Williams-Sonoma employees, and destroying electronic evidence. But the federal court refused to give Williams-Sonoma everything it requested.

The federal district for the Western District of Louisiana added to the growing list of decisions that have applied Louisiana’s non-compete statute to invalidate choice-of-law or forum-selection clauses. These decisions have struck down clauses that, on their faces, would have required Louisiana employees of non-Louisiana employers to litigate under the law or in the courts of some other state. The decisions should also serve as a reminder that employers should not take a one-size-fits-all approach when drafting non-competes for employees residing in multiple states.

Non-compete agreements are enforceable against former employees, according to Tennessee law, as long as the agreements are reasonable and necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interests, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee has ruled. James F. Dill Jr. et al. v. Continental Car Club, Inc. et al., No. E2013-00170-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 31, 2013). While the Tennessee court held the agreements restricting two former executives from competing throughout the United States against their former employer were enforceable, it declined to enforce the Florida choice-of-law provision in the agreements, finding the provision incompatible with Tennessee’s public policy. Such a provision identifies the state’s law which will apply if any dispute arises over the interpretation of an agreement.