Enforced non-compete and non-solicit agreement and obtained order against former tech salesman, prohibiting salesman from working in tech industry for two-year period.

Issue: Non-Compete | Non-Solicitation | Preventive Strategies

Court: Oakland County

Industry: Technology

Judge: Judge Alexander

Case Description

I represented a technology company specializing in managed services and hardware.

One my client’s lead salesman was terminated for a variety of reasons. The upset salesman than proceeded to solicit a number of the technology company’s customers and leads–despite having an employment contract that prevented him from doing so. The salesman also joined a new technology company in violation of his employment agreement’s non-solicitation clause.

My client found a smoking gun–the salesman had signed his name on one of my client’s customer’s sign-in sheets, along with a representative from the new technology company.

My client retained me and I swiftly filed a complaint and a motion asking the court to stop this misconduct.

The Court ordered the former technology salesman from soliciting any of my client’s customer, prospect, or lead.

After further litigation, the technology salesman consented to a court order (injunction) that prohibited him from working within the tech industry for a two-year period. This is an important lesson: courts will often reset the non-compete or non-solicit clause in order to prevent the employee from having a “grace” period during which the employee solicits or competes in violation of his contract.

The tech salesman and his new employer also consented to an injunction that prohibited them from soliciting any of the tech company’s customers, prospects, or leads.

By suing both the tech salesman and his new employer, my client sent a strong message to both employees and competitors that my client would not permit unfair competition and the raiding of its customer base.