Learning the Hard Way: Non-Competes and Subsequent Agreements

The Georgia Court of Appeals handed down a tough lesson for an employer in Mapei Corporation v. Prosser, A14A0368 (Ga. Ct. App. July 9, 2014). The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for an employee on the claim he breached his non-compete with his prior employer. The Court found a subsequent confidentiality agreement signed by the former employee omitted the non-compete covenant that the prior confidentiality agreement contained. The Court found the subsequent agreement replaced the earlier-entered agreement containing the non-compete covenant because the subsequent confidentiality agreement covered the same subject matter and contained a superseding-agreement clause stating the agreement “totally replaces all prior contract agreements or understandings… about confidential information or any other subject matter contained herein.”