In Preferred Systems Solutions, Inc. v. GP Consulting, LLC, Nos. 11906, 11907 (Sept. 14, 2012), the Supreme Court of Virginia, for the first time, defined how to calculate damages for the breach of a noncompete provision where the breach resulted in the loss of an expected contract
Articles About Virginia Labor And Employment Law.
Virginia Recognizes Individual Liability for Wrongful Discharge
In VanBuren v. Grubb, No. 120348 (Nov. 1, 2012), a sharply divided Supreme Court of Virginia surprised employers by holding that a common law tort action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy may be brought against an individual manager or supervisor.
Virginia Supreme Court Rules Individuals Can Be Sued for Public Policy Wrongful Discharge
In a case of first impression, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that supervisors and managers can be held individually liable for public policy wrongful discharge under Virginia common law. In VanBuren v. Grubb, No. 120348 (Nov. 1, 2012), the Court held that a former employee of a medical practice could sue her former supervisor individually after he allegedly discharged her for refusing his sexual advances.
Virginia Court Overturns Damage Award in Trade Secrets Case for Insufficient Evidence of Lost Market Value
In a recent Virginia trade secrets case, the appellate court’s ruling illustrates that in any case for damages, the manner and measure of valuation is paramount. In 21st Century Systems, Inc. v. Perot Systems Government Services, Inc., a Virginia jury awarded Perot Systems Government Services, Inc. (Perot) $3,743,843 in damages for lost goodwill from actions by 21st Century Systems, Inc. (21CSI) and former Perot employees that Perot characterized as tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misuse of confidential information. The goodwill award was trebled to $11,228,529.
Non-Compete Agreement Barring Work for Competitor “In Any Capacity Whatsoever†Unenforceable in Virginia
Finding a non-compete provision in an employment agreement overbroad on its face and therefore unenforceable, the Supreme Court of Virginia has affirmed dismissal of an employer’s breach of contract claim against a former employee. Home Paramount Pest Control Cos., Inc. v. Shaffer, 2011 Va. LEXIS 222 (Va. Nov. 4, 2011). While acknowledging that it was invalidating a provision that was identical to one it had enforced for the same employer more than 20 years earlier, the Court said the Virginia law on non-competes has evolved since then and overruled conflicting portions of its 1989 opinion.
Virginia Supreme Court Further Narrows Non-Compete Covenant Enforceability
In Home Paramount Pest Control Cos. v. Shaffer, No. 101837, 2011 Va. LEXIS 222 (Nov. 4, 2011), the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a covenant not to compete was overbroad and unenforceable, even though it was identical to a covenant the court had upheld 22 years earlier in Paramount Termite Control Co. v. Rector, 238 Va. 171 (1989). Acknowledging this, the court expressly overruled its holding in Paramount Termite.
Virginia Supreme Court Refuses to Relax Standard for Tortious Interference with Employment Contract
An at-will employee must show a customer used “improper methods†beyond merely “actions solely motivated by spite, ill will and malice†to prove her employer’s primary customer tortiously interfered with her employment contract, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled. The Court reversed a jury verdict awarding $900,000 in damages to a doctor for tortious interference, finding the pressure inherent in her employer’s relationship with its customer and primary source of revenue cannot rise to the level of “improper methods†needed for an at-will employee to show that the third party tortiously interfered with her employment contract.
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