Non Compete Issues

Anecdotal at best: a handful of guys at my current employer left another brokerage to start this company up. They were basically handed a list of companies they weren't allowed to contact for two years.

One of those companies reached out to my boss, and he did a load for them- they sought him out, not the other way around- but it eventually got back to the previous employer. They got served a cease and desist.

My suggestion is to consult a lawyer and make sure you understand the exact terms your non-compete spells out. The laat thing you want to do is get yourself hemmed up in the process.

 

Generally a non compete agreement can only be enforced against you soliciting their customers.
If the customer seeks you out, there is nothing they can do about it. In a free market economy the customer cannot be compelled to do business with or without a particular vendors permission.

 

If those large contracts you brought on left the company BEFORE you did, I fail to see how they would be covered under any non-compete clause, as they already chose NOT to do business with the entity allegedly being protected by it, so you aren't really competing against your former company. Just don't go after any companies CURRENTLY doing business with them on the day you leave...or make sure they've left and tried at least one or two other companies prior to their contact with you. What could potentially jam you up is if a company that was a client of the company you are leaving follows you directly over to your new company.

Non-competes are often times not worth the paper they are printed on, though, because once you leave a company they generally don't have a say in what you can or cannot do...and they cannot prevent you from earning a living...and they cannot prevent those current clients from deciding to do business with whomever they choose. You may receive an angry letter from their lawyers, and you might even get dragged into court, but with a good attorney by your side, I wouldn't worry too much...unless you were using your old call lists and actively seeking out those customers, which is different from them seeking you out.

 

Non-compete agreements are covered by state law. In some states they are not enforceable. If you are serious about doing this you should seek out legal advice.

 

Most of the noncompetes on the brokerage side have TEETH and they apply to vastly more than just not soliciting their customers. The OP probably is contractually obligated to leave the industry entirely for at least a year.

OP-- You need to talk to an attorney. This is not a forum topic question. Too much depends on the contract you signed, the state you live in, and the financial well being and general litigiousness of your previous employers.

 

A non compete clause in a broker carrier agreement which you signed will most likely never be contested since similar clauses in other business was found non valid even against the law..The only times it was viewed legal was in certain contracts where one company bought out another.But in most cases business is business and California Supreme Court ruled you are legal to solicit any business.Of the article I read most don't think that a broker or company would never try to sue over non compete clause in a broker carrier agreement because of the fear it would be found as not legal which would make the agreement illegal.I think it was overdrive magazine I read this.I only thing Ive seen personally is if the broker finds you trying to back door them they will stop giving you loads.

 

This is only ca. Most other states allow noncompetes with varying degrees of silliness.