MBBP Obtains Successful Non-Compete Ruling

Last week, MBBP Employment Attorneys Chris Perry and Maura Malone successfully opposed a motion for preliminary injunction to enforce restrictive covenants against three sales executive clients based on the material change doctrine. In Akibia, Inc. v. Jeffrey Hood, Ryan Gavigan and Charles Krueger (Mass. Super. Ct. 10/9/2012), Judge Jeffrey A. Locke ruled that the non-compete agreements each former employee had signed at Akibia were likely voided by material job changes that included promotions, demotions, increases and decreases in compensation, changes in responsibilities and sales territories, and changes in the employer’s sales strategies and product offerings. As such, Judge Locke denied Akibia’s motion to prevent Hood, Gavigan and Krueger from working for their current employer, IOvations. Judge Locke did not address language in the three employees’ non-compete agreements, which stated that their obligations under the non-compete would continue regardless of any job changes, plainly implying that such language did not influence his case analysis.

Please visit our practice page to learn more about our employment group.