I am from Tampa Florida, so I occassionaly keep up with the news there. This week, Tampa Tribune had an interesting article about non-compete agreements.
The author, and employment lawyer named Randall Love writes “I am periodically surprised by potential clients who believe covenants against competition, or more frequently “noncompete” agreements, are unenforceable. To the contrary, Florida courts routinely enforce covenants against competition.”
Randall – welcome to my world. I hear that all the time when clients say “I signed this, but I am pretty sure its not binding.”
One difference between Florida and Virginia law, is that in Florida, according to Mr. Love, “the prevailing party is also entitled to recover attorneys’ fees in either enforcing or defending against the covenant against competition.” That is NOT the case in Virginia, which means my clients often have to pay thousands in fees to defend lawsuits, that have little merit.
So please know, these agreements are often enforceable, and can have major impact on your life and career.