Restrictive Covenants Archives

Current State of Restrictive Covenants (other than Non-Competes) Under New York Law

Posted on June 22, 2020May 2, 2022 by Richard Friedman

What is a Restrictive Covenant?

Our last blog article provided an update on the state of New York law concerning non-compete provisions. This article focuses on the state of New York law concerning restrictive covenant provisions other than non-competes. As our readers are almost certainly all well aware, a restrictive covenant is a contractual provision that many employers include in employment and severance agreements as well as in contracts with respect to the sale of a business. Such provisions are designed to limit the activities of a former employee or a former owner of a company for a fixed period of time following the end of the employment relationship or after the sale of a company to protect the former employer’s or buyer’s supposed legitimate business interests. In addition to employment, severance, and agreements concerning the sale of a business, these covenants can often be found in stock option agreements.

Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants

As is well known, New York courts generally disfavor restrictive covenants contained in employment contracts and will only enforce them when they are found to be reasonable and necessary to protect an employer’s legitimate business interests.¹ The test New York courts use to determine whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable was relied on recently by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Intertek Testing Servs., N.A., Inc. v. Pennisi.² The court stated: “[a] restraint is reasonable only if it: (1) is no greater than is required for the protection of a legitimate interest of the employer; (2) does not impose undue hardship of the employee; and (3) is not injurious to the public.” Applying this test, New York courts analyzing a restrictive covenant take a two-step approach:³

The court first considers whether the covenant is reasonable in scope and duration; and
If the answer to the foregoing is yes, courts consider whether the contract, as written, is necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interest.

Scope and Duration

To be enforceable, a restrictive covenant must not be more extensive, in terms of time and place, than necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the employer. A court may find a restriction to be unreasonable when it covers a geographic area where the employer does not compete, or where the provision would effectively prevent the employee from continuing to work in a particular industry.⁴ For this reason, New York courts have rarely found worldwide restrictions reasonable in any context.

Legitimate Interests

New York courts have held that legitimate interests are limited to the protection against misappropriation of the former employer’s trade secrets, confidential customer lists, or protection from competition by a former employee whose services are unique or extraordinary.⁵ Additionally, such courts have found that an employer has a legitimate interest in protecting client relationships or goodwill developed by an employee at the employer’s expense.⁶

Types of Restrictive Covenants

Although non-compete provisions are the most common type of restrictive covenants, New York courts recognize the following other types of restrictive covenants:

non-solicitation provisions with respect to clients or customers;
no-hire provisions; and
“garden leave” provisions.

1. Non-solicitation Provisions

A non-solicitation provision is a restrictive covenant that prohibits former employees or the former owner of a business, for a specific period of time after the employment relationship ceased or the sale occurred, from soliciting the former employer’s or previously owned company’s customers or providing competing services to those customers.⁷ They often also prohibit the former employee or owner from trying, directly or indirectly, to secure business from the former employer’s or previously owned company’s customers.⁸

A non-solicitation provision as applied to customers is typically easier to enforce than a non-compete provision because it only restricts the former employee or owner from soliciting and/or performing services for certain categories of customers or specifically identified customers for a designated time period.⁹ King v. Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC¹⁰ is an example of a recent case in which a New York court enforced a non-solicitation provision for customers. In King, the Court held that the employer had an undeniable interest in enforcing a non-solicitation agreement to protect its customer relationships.

Non-solicitation provisions eliminate the need for the court to evaluate the reasonableness of a geographic restriction.¹¹ Additionally, the absence of a non-compete provision also increases the likelihood that the court will find the non-solicitation clause in an employment agreement enforceable.¹²

Yet New York courts have found that a non-solicitation provision is too broad to be enforced as written if it is not necessary to protect one of the following three legitimate protectable interests:

- - the uniqueness of the employee (which is difficult to establish);
  - the protection of the employer’s trade secrets or confidential information; or
  - the competitive unfairness of allowing competition that adversely impacts the employer’s goodwill.¹³

Establishing that an employee is unique can be very difficult as demonstrated in a case before the New York Appellate Division First Department last year. In that case, Harris v. Patients Med., P.C.,¹⁴ a medical practice appealed a ruling that denied its motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining a former employee, a doctor, from breaching restrictive covenants in her employment agreement. The Appellate Division determined that the employer did not have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its claim. Specifically, the Court held the former employer had not shown that the restrictive covenants were necessary to protect its legitimate interests as it failed to establish that the doctor’s services were unique or extraordinary such that they gave the employee an unfair advantage over the employer.¹⁵ Similarly, in Vertical Sys. Analysis, Inc. v. Balzano,¹⁶ the First Department reasoned that the employee, an elevator inspector, did not provide unique or extraordinary services or have any access to trade secrets or propriety information that would require the enforcement of a non-solicitation provision.

2. No-hire Provisions

A non-solicitation clause that applies to the solicitation of employees of a former employer or a previously owned company has been referred to by many courts as a non-recruitment or a no-hire provision. Improper conduct in this regard includes identifying employees to be recruited, direct or indirect solicitation of employees, and speaking to employees concerning how they would like to be compensated by the new employer.¹⁷

This commentator is not aware of a New York Court of Appeals case adjudicating whether a covenant not to solicit employees is enforceable. However, both the Appellate Division Second Department and New York federal courts have stated that New York recognizes the enforceability of covenants not to solicit employees.¹⁸ Like other restrictive covenants, they are subject to a reasonableness analysis but are considered inherently more reasonable than a covenant not to compete. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has gone as far as to say that these types of provisions can be viewed as prima facie enforceable when they are reasonable in scope and limited in duration.¹⁹

A relatively recent case in the Southern District of New York demonstrates how courts are willing to enforce no-hire provisions. In Oliver Wyman, Inc. v. Eielson,²⁰ an employer brought an action against two former employees, alleging fraud and breach of contract in connection with the acquisition by the plaintiff of the former employees’ consulting business. The Court held that the non-recruitment clause in the employees’ employment contracts was no more restrictive than necessary to protect the former employer’s legitimate interest in protecting its client base.²¹ The Court reasoned that the no-hire clause was acceptable because of its narrow scope because it only prevented the poaching of former co-workers for actual, available employment opportunities in which the solicitor of those workers has an interest.²² Additionally, the Court held that the non-recruitment clause in the former employees’ employment contracts did not impose an undue hardship on the former employees.²³

3. “Garden Leave” Provisions

A “garden leave” provision is an extended notice provision that requires departing employees to give the company a certain period of advance notice when they intend to leave the company.²⁴ It is a variation of a notice of termination provision and can be used as an alternative to or in addition to a traditional non-compete provision to restrict competition by departing employees. Such a provision gives employers the option to pay the employee through the balance of the notice period and direct her or him not to come to work or perform services, giving the employees leave to “tend to their gardens” or pursue any other activity excluding other employment provided that the employee does not compete with her or his former employer.²⁵ Extended notice provisions may be mutual but can also require that only the employee provide notice, with no similar obligation on the employer.²⁶ Where mutual, these provisions without exception (to our knowledge) do not require such notice from employers where the employee is being terminated for cause.²⁷

Richard B. Friedman
Richard Friedman PLLC
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New York, NY 10166
TEL: 212-600-9539
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www.richardfriedmanlaw.com
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____________________

¹ Flatiron Health, Inc. v. Carson, 2020 WL 1320867, at 19 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2020).
² Intertek Testing Servs., N.A., Inc. v. Pennisi, 2020 WL 1129773, at 19 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2020).
³ Id; See also King v. Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC, 67 Misc. 3d 1203(A) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2020). KCG Holdings, Inc. v. Khandekar, 2020 WL 1189302, at 17 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2020).
⁴ Good Energy, L.P. v. Kosachuk, 49 A.D.3d 331 (1st Dep’t 2008).
⁵ Intertek Testing Servs., N.A., Inc. v. Pennisi, 2020 WL 1129773, at 21.
⁶ Id.
⁷ 4B N.Y.Prac., Com. Litig. In New York State Courts § 80:8 (4th ed.).
⁸ Id.
⁹ Contempo Communications, Inc. v. MJM Creative Services, Inc., 182 A.D.2d 351 (1st Dep’t 1992). Genesee Val. Trust Co. v. Waterford Group, LLC, 130 A.D.3d 1555, 1558 (2015).
¹⁰ King v. Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC, 67 Misc. 3d 1203(A) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2020).
¹¹ Id.
¹² Id.
¹³ Flatiron Health, Inc. v. Carson, 2020 WL 1320867, at 21 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2020).
¹⁴ Harris v. Patients Med., P.C., 93 N.Y.S.3d 299 (N.Y. App. Div. 2019).
¹⁵ Id.
¹⁶ Vertical Sys. Analysis, Inc. v. Balzano, 621, 97 N.Y.S.3d 467 (N.Y. App. Div. 2019).
¹⁷ Marsh USA Inc. v. Karasaki, 2008 Wl 4778239 (S.D.N.Y. 2008).
¹⁸ See Intertek Testing Servs., N.A., Inc. v. Pennisi, 2020 WL 1129773, at 23 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2020); General Patent Corp. v. Wi-Lan Inc., 2011 WL 5845194 (S.D.N.Y. 2011).
¹⁹ General Patent Corp. v. Wi-Lan Inc., Isd.
²⁰ Oliver Wyman, Inc. v. Eielson, 282 F. Supp. 3d 684, 695 (S.D.N.Y. 2017).
²¹ Id.
²² Id.
²³ Id.
²⁴ 4B N.Y.Prac., Com. Litig. In New York State Courts § 80:10 (4th ed.).
²⁵ Id.
²⁶ Id.
²⁷ Id.

Current State of Restrictive Covenants (Other Than Non-Competes) in New York

Posted on June 4, 2019May 2, 2022 by Richard Friedman

What is a Restrictive Covenant?

Our last blog article provided an update on the state of New York law concerning non-compete provisions. Although the subject of non-competes continues to attract a lot of media attention, and will no doubt lead to a further update by us over the next year or so, we turn now to the state of New York law concerning restrictive covenants other than non-competes. A restrictive covenant is a contractual provision that many employers include in employment and severance agreements. They are designed to limit the activities of a former employee or a former owner of a company for a fixed period of time following the end of the employment relationship or after the sale of a company to protect the former employer’s or buyer’s supposed legitimate business interests. In addition to employment and severance agreements, these covenants can often be found in such documents as:

Stock option agreements;
Long-term compensation plans; and
Agreements governing the sale of a company.

Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants

As is well known, New York courts generally disfavor restrictive covenants contained in employment contracts and will only enforce them when they are found to be reasonable and necessary to protect an employer’s legitimate business interests.¹ This is because the public policy of the state favors economic competition and individual liberty and seeks to shield employees from the superior bargaining position of employers.² The test New York courts use to determine whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable was articulated by the Court of Appeals in BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg. It stated that “[a] restraint is reasonable only if it (1) is no greater than is required for the protection of a legitimate interest of the employer; (2) does not impose undue hardship of the employee; and (3) is not injurious to the public.”³ Applying this test, courts analyzing a restrictive covenant take a two-step approach:⁴

The court first considers whether the covenant is reasonable in scope and duration; and
If so, it considers whether the contract, as written, is necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interest.

Scope and Duration

To be enforceable, a restrictive covenant must not be more extensive, in terms of time and place, than necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the employer. A court may find them to be unreasonable when the restriction covers a geographic areas where the employer does not compete, or where the provision would effectively prevent the employee from continuing to work in a particular industry.⁵ For this reason, New York courts have rarely found worldwide restrictions reasonable in any context.

Legitimate Interests

New York courts have held that legitimate interests are limited to the protection against misappropriation of the employer’s trade secrets, confidential customer lists, or protection from competition by a former employee whose services are unique or extraordinary.⁶ Additionally, an employer has a legitimate interest in protecting client relationships or goodwill developed by an employee at the employer’s expense.⁷

Types of Restrictive Covenants

While non-compete provisions discussed in our last blog article are the most common type of restrictive covenants, New York courts recognize other types of restrictive covenants such as:

non-solicitation provisions for clients or customers;
no-hire provisions;
and “garden leave” provisions.

1. Non-solicitation Provisions

A non-solicitation provision is a restrictive covenant which prohibits former employees, for a specific period of time after the employment relationship ceases, from soliciting the former employer’s customers or providing competing services to those customers.⁸ They often also prohibit the former employee from assisting the new employer in trying to secure business from the former employer’s customers.⁹

A non-solicitation provision as applied to customers is typically easier to enforce than a non-compete provision because it only restricts the former employee from soliciting and/or performing services for particular customers for a specified time period.¹⁰

Yet New York courts have held found that a non-solicitation provision is too broad to be enforced as written if it is not keyed to one of the following three legitimate protectable interests:

- - the uniqueness of the employee (which is difficult to establish);
  - the protection of the employer’s trade secrets or confidential information; or
  - the competitive unfairness of allowing competition that adversely impacts the employer’s goodwill.¹¹

Thus, a court will find a non-solicitation clause to be overbroad if it prohibits an employee from servicing clients who came to the firm for the purpose of availing themselves of the employee’s services as a result of the employee’s own recruitment efforts.¹² But, if the patronage of the client, was acquired through the expenditure of the employer’s resources, rather than the employee’s, then maintaining that client relationship would likely be deemed a legitimate interest and in such event the provision would be enforced.¹³

2. No-hire Provisions

A non-solicitation clause that applies to the solicitation of employees has been referred to by courts as a non-recruitment or a no-hire provision. Conduct that violates a clause such as this includes identifying employees who would be recruited, direct or indirect solicitation of employees, and speaking to employees concerning how they would like to be compensated by the new employer.¹⁴

The New York Court of Appeals has not considered whether a covenant not to solicit employees is enforceable. However, both the Second Department and New York federal courts have stated that New York recognizes the enforceability of covenants not to solicit employees.¹⁵ Like other restrictive covenants, they are subject to a reasonableness analysis but are considered inherently more reasonable than a covenant not to compete.¹⁶ The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has gone as far as saying that these sorts of provisions can be viewed as prima facie enforceable when they are reasonable in scope and limited in duration.¹⁷

3. “Garden Leave” Provisions

A “garden leave” provision is an extended notice provision that requires departing employees to give the company a certain period of advance notice when they intend to leave the company.¹⁸ It is a variation of a notice of termination provision and can be used as an alternative to or in addition to a traditional non-compete provision to restrict competition by departing employees. Such a provision gives employers the option to pay the employee through the balance of the notice period but direct them not to come to work or perform services, giving the employees leave to “tend to their gardens” or any other pursuit outside of the job, provided that the employees do not compete with their former employer.¹⁹ Extended notice provisions may be mutual but can also require that only the employee provide notice, with no similar obligation on the employer. Where mutual, these provisions without exception (to our knowledge) do not require such notice from employers where the employee is being terminated for cause.²⁰

¹ BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg, 93 N.Y.2d 382, 389 (1999).

² Mathias v. Jacobs, 167 F.Supp. 2d 606, 611 (S.D.N.Y. 2001).

³ 93 N.Y. 2d at 389.

⁴ Devos, Ltd v. Record, 2015 WL 9593616 (E.D.N.Y. 2015).

⁵ Good Energy, L.P. v. Kosachuk, 49 A.D.3d 331 (1st Dep’t 2008).

⁶ BDO Seidman, 93 N.Y.2d at 389.

⁷ Gundermann & Gundermann Ins. v. Brassill, 46 A.D.3d 615 (2d Dep’t 2007).

⁸ 4B N.Y.Prac., Com. Litig. In New York State Courts § 80:8 (4th ed.).

⁹ Id.

¹⁰ Contempo Communications, Inc. v. MJM Creative Services, Inc., 182 A.D.2d 351 (1st Dep’t 1992).

¹¹ GFI Brokers, LLC v. Santana, 2008 WL 3166972 (S.D.N.Y. 2008).

¹² Zinter Handling, Inc v. Britton, 46 A.D.3d 998 (3d Dep’t 2007); Pure Power Boot Camp, Inc v. Warrior Fitness Boot Camp, LLC 813 F. Supp. 2d 489 (S.D.N.Y 2011).

¹³ Marshall & Sterling, Inc v. Southard, 148 A.D.3d 1009 (2d Dep’t 2017); see also Garber Bros, Inc. v. Evlek 122 F. Supp. 2d 375, 379 (E.D.N.Y. 2000).

¹⁴ Marsh USA Inc. v. Karasaki, 2008 Wl 4778239 (S.D.N.Y. 2008).

¹⁵ Veraldi v. American Analytical Laboratories, Inc., 271 A.D.2d 599 (2d Dep’t 2000); MasterCard International Incorporated v. Nike, Inc., 164 F.Supp 3d 592 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

¹⁶ Renaissance Nutrition, Inc v. Jarrett, 2012 WWl 42171 *5 (W.D.N.Y. 2012); see also MasterCard International, 2016 WL 797576 (S.D.N.Y. 2016) (stating that “the reasonableness test set forth in BDO Seidman applies to non-recruitment provisions.”).

¹⁷ General Patent Corp. v. Wi-Lan Inc., 2011 WL 5845194 (S.D.N.Y. 2011).

¹⁸ 4B N.Y.Prac., Com. Litig. In New York State Courts § 80:10 (4th ed.).

¹⁹ Id.

²⁰ Id.

Restrictive Covenants in Franchise Agreements Under New York Law

Posted on February 2, 2018May 2, 2022 by Richard Friedman

What Are They?

Restrictive covenants are often found in agreements between franchisors and franchisees. The purpose of such covenants is to prevent franchisees—who are the owners and operators of businesses such as “chain-style” stores and restaurants—from harming franchisors by providing similar goods or services after the franchise agreement expires or is terminated. Restrictive covenants can serve to protect the good will of the franchisor after the franchise is reconveyed. See Jiffy Lube Int’l, Inc. v. Weiss Bros., 834 F. Supp. 683, 691 (D.N.J. 1993).

A typical restrictive covenant clause in a franchise agreement provides that the franchisee may not own or operate a similar or competing entity in a specified area for a specified period of time after the franchise relationship expires or is terminated.

When Are They Enforceable?

In order to be enforceable in New York, restrictive covenants in franchise agreements must be:

1. reasonable in geographical and temporal scope; and

2. necessary to protect a franchisor’s legitimate interest.

ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Servs., L.P. v. Westchester Cleaning Servs., Inc., No. 01 CIV. 2229 (JSM), 2001 WL 396520, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 19, 2001).

In determining whether to grant an injunction to enforce a restrictive covenant, New York courts weigh the harm that such an injunction would likely cause to the franchisee and to the general public. Golden Krust Patties, Inc. v. Bullock, 957 F. Supp. 2d 186, 198 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (citing BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg, 93 N.Y.2d 382, 389, 690 N.Y.S.2d 854, 712 N.E.2d 1220 (N.Y.1999).

New York courts have held franchise agreements akin to employment agreements. Am. Jur. 2d, Monopolies, Restraints of Trade, and Unfair Trade Practices §§ 511-521. Accordingly, the general rules and policies that govern restrictive covenants in employment agreements also apply in courts’ analyses of such covenants in franchise agreements. Id. We have written recently on the current state of restrictive covenants under New York law. That article can be found here.

1) Reasonable in Geographical and Temporal Scope

Under New York law, a restrictive covenant will be found enforceable where it is reasonable in geographic and temporal scope. Golden Krust Patties, Inc. at 198. Whether geographic and temporal scope is reasonable is acutely fact specific. Courts recognize franchisors’ interests in preventing ex-franchisees selling to customers of the former franchise, thereby profiting from and potentially damaging the franchisor’s good will. See ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Servs., L.P. v. Westchester Cleaning Servs., Inc., No. 01 CIV. 2229 (JSM), 2001 WL 396520, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 19, 2001); Carvel Corp. v. Eisenberg, 692 F.Supp. 182, 185–86 (S.D.N.Y.1988) (restriction against competing stores within two miles for three years was “reasonably related to Carvel’s interest in protecting its know-how and to its ability to install another franchise in the same territory”). However, courts will not enforce restrictions regarding when and where a former franchisee can compete when such restrictions are found to be overbroad and detrimental to the franchisee’s ability to earn a livelihood.

In Singas Famous Pizza Brands Corp. v. New York Advertising LLC, 468 F. App’x 43 (2d Cir. 2012), the Second Circuit held that a restrictive covenant that prohibited a former pizza store franchisee from engaging in “the Italian food service business” within ten miles of the franchisee’s former location for a two-year period was reasonable. The Court based its conclusion on evidence that it had taken four years for the former franchisee to find a suitable location for the Singas. The Court also stated that the ten-mile geographical restriction was “reasonably calculated towards furthering [the franchisor’s] legitimate interests in protecting its ‘knowledge and reputation’ as well as its ‘customer goodwill.’” See Id. at 46–47.

However, the court reached a somewhat different result in Golden Krust Patties, Inc. v. Bullock. In that matter, Golden Krust, a Caribbean fast-food chain, sought a preliminary injunction against a former franchisee whose franchise agreement was terminated after the franchisee was discovered to have been selling food products manufactured by Golden Krust’s competitors. The franchise agreement stated that, for two years after expiration or termination of the agreement, Golden Krust franchisees were restricted from opening any restaurant at or within ten miles of the franchise location, or within five miles of any other Golden Krust in operation or under construction.

The Eastern District Court ultimately granted the injunction but modified the geographic constraints of the non-compete provision to reflect “the densely populated nature of the New York Metropolitan area.” Golden Krust Patties, Inc. at 199 (E.D.N.Y. 2013). Reasoning that “most consumers in that region will not travel ten miles—or even five miles—to a fast-food establishment,” the Court determined that a four-mile restriction from the franchise location was more appropriate than the original ten-mile restriction. Id. Additionally, the Court reduced from five miles to two and a half miles the required minimum distance of restaurants that could be opened by the former franchisee from any Golden Krust location. The Court cited the close proximity between Golden Krust locations (often less than one mile apart) as evidence that a broad non-compete zone was not necessary. Id.

The Golden Krust Court distinguished the case from Singas, holding that Singas had only restricted franchisees from operating Italian food service businesses, whereas Golden Krust restricted former franchisees from operating any type of restaurant business. Id. It is reasonable to believe that the court would have been less inclined to modify the geographic scope of the non-compete had Golden Krust restricted franchisees only from serving Caribbean-style food. Thus, one major takeaway from these cases is that New York courts are more likely to find temporal and geographic restrictions to be reasonable if a franchise agreement’s non-compete clause is sufficiently narrow in other ways.

2) Legitimate Business Interests

New York courts have traditionally required that restrictive covenants in franchise agreements, in addition to being reasonable in time and scope, serve legitimate business interests. ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Servs., L.P. at *3. As already noted above, courts recognize in franchisors a legitimate interest in guarding against former franchisees’ exploitation of i) the knowledge provided by the franchisor and ii) the franchisor’s customer base. In ServiceMaster Residential, the Court held there to be “a recognized danger that former franchisees will use the knowledge that they have gained from the franchisor to serve its former customers, and that continued operation under a different name may confuse customers and thereby damage the good will of the franchisor.” ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Servs., L.P at *3 (citing Jiffy Lube Int’l, Inc. v. Weiss Bros., Inc., 834 F.Supp. 683, 691-92 (D .N.J.1993) (upholding ten-month, five-mile restriction on rapid lube operation); Economou v. Physicians Weight Loss Ctrs., 756 F.Supp. 1024, 1032 (N.D.Ohio 1991) (upholding one-year, fifty-mile restriction on diet center).

Legitimate business interests are strengthened when the franchisor has provided the franchisee with unique access to training and clientele. In finding that ServiceMaster’s restrictive covenant served a legitimate interest, the Court emphasized that the franchisor had provided the franchisee with training and confidential manuals regarding how to launch a restoration cleaning business. ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Servs., L.P at *3.

Likewise, in RESCUECOM Corp. v. Mathews, No. 5:05CV1330 (FJS/GJD), 2006 WL 1742073, at *1 (N.D.N.Y. June 20, 2006), the Court found that the franchisor-plaintiff had provided the former franchisee with “training and manuals pertaining to the best methods for operating a successful computer sales and services business . . . [and] extended to the defendant the knowledge and ability to launch and successfully operate a computer sales and services business.” The franchisor had also provided the franchisee with access to clientele, evidenced by the fact that the franchisee successfully diverted at least five of the franchisor’s former customers. Id. at *2. The Court granted a preliminary injunction against the defendant, who had opened a computer sales company in the same location as the franchise he had previously operated.

3) Weighing the Interests of the Franchisee and the Public

In determining whether to grant injunctions based upon the restrictive covenants of franchise agreements, recent cases have emphasized the balancing of the franchisor’s interests against the interests of both the public and the franchisee. See Singas Famous Pizza Brands Corp. at *12; Golden Krust Patties, Inc. at 198.

Singas and Golden Krust—two of the most recent leading New York decisions involving restrictive covenants in franchise agreements—explicitly consider the potential harm of enforcing the non-compete provisions at issue to both the former franchisees and the public interest. Both decisions ultimately found the covenants enforceable and granted injunctions (though the Golden Krust Court, as discussed above, modified the temporal and geographic scope of the provision).

In Singas, the Court acknowledged that defendants invested significant time and money into restaurants they had hoped would be Singas franchises. However, according to the Court, “any hardship caused by an injunction was caused by the defendants’ own violation of the Agreement” when they opened a restaurant location as a purported franchise without having received permission from Singas. Singas Famous Pizza Brands Corp. at *12.

In Golden Krust, the Court also found that any harm caused to defendants by an injunction would stem from their own wrongdoing, as the former franchisee had sought to pass off a competitor’s product as a Golden Krust product, and had continued to operate after termination in contravention of the franchise agreement. Golden Krust Patties, Inc, at 199–200. In addition, the Golden Krust Court found that the public would be harmed if the defendants were allowed to continue to use the franchisor’s trademarks and solicit Golden Krust customers. The Court stated as follows: “There is likely a greater harm to the public in the form of consumer confusion if defendants are not enjoined.” Golden Krust Patties, Inc. at 200.

Conclusion

The general rules and policies that govern restrictive covenants in employment agreements also apply in New York courts’ analyses of such covenants in franchise agreements. However, courts will give deference to franchisors which have provided unique access to training and other benefits to franchisees. Thus, as with such cases in the employment context, litigations involving the alleged breach of restrictive covenants in franchise agreements are very factually intensive and are best handled by counsel who regularly represent clients in such matters.

Richard B. Friedman
Richard Friedman PLLC
830 Third Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10022
TEL: 212-600-9539
[email protected]
www.richardfriedmanlaw.com
www.richardfriedmanlaw.com/blog
Connect with me on Linkedin

Current State of Restrictive Covenants Under New York Law

Posted on December 5, 2017May 2, 2022 by Richard Friedman

The Basics: What is a Restrictive Covenant?

As is well known, many employers include provisions in employment and severance agreements which are designed to limit former employees’ actions after the employment relationship has ceased. A restrictive covenant is a contractual provision restricting the activities of a former employee or agent or the former owner of a company for a fixed period after the cessation of the employment relationship or after the sale of the company in order to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests.

The following types of provisions, among others, are restrictive covenants:

•non-compete provisions;

•non-solicit provisions (employees, clients);

•no-hire provisions; and

•“garden leave” provisions.

Such covenants can be found in a variety of employment-related documents such as:

•employment contracts;

•stock option agreements;

•severance agreements;

•long-term compensation plans; and

•employee manuals.

They are also often contained in agreements governing the sale of a company.

Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants

Generally, restrictive covenants are disfavored due to “powerful considerations of public policy which militate against loss of a man’s livelihood.” Columbia Ribbon & Carbon Mfg. Co., Inc. v. A-1-A Corp., 369 N.E.2d 4, 6 (N.Y. 1977). However, such provisions will be enforced where there is a legitimate interest protected and the scope of the restrictions are narrowly tailored.

In New York, the test to determine whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable and thus whether it will be enforceable is as follows: “A restraint is reasonable only if it (1) is no greater than is required for the protection of the legitimate interest of the employer; (2) does not impose undue hardship of the employee; and (3) is not injurious to the public.” BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg, 712 N.E.2d 1220, 1227 (N.Y. 1999).

Legitimate Protectable Interests

New York courts will enforce non-compete provisions only to the extent necessary to protect an employer’s legitimate interests and where they are reasonable in time and geographic area. Such courts consider the protection of the following kinds of information to be legitimate protectable interests and thus warranting enforcement of a restrictive covenant:

•Trade secrets and other confidential information;

•Protectable Client/Customer Relationships and Information; and

•“Unique and extraordinary” services (which is rarely found to be the case).

The Scope of Restrictions

New York courts enforce such restrictions only to the extent reasonable and necessary to protect legitimate interests. To determine whether a restrictive covenant is enforceable, courts analyze their scope along three criteria:

1. Geographic scope of the restriction;

2. Duration of the restriction; and

3. The scope of the business activity impacted.

1. Geographic Scope – To determine whether a non-compete provision is reasonable in geographic scope, courts in New York examine the particular facts and circumstances of each case. For example, in Natsource LLC v. Paribello, 151 F.Supp.2d 465, 471-72 (S.D.N.Y.2001), the court was willing to enforce very broad geographic restrictions on employees where the “nature of the business requires that the restriction be unlimited in geographic scope,” so long as the duration of those restrictions was short. (Emphasis added). However, in Pure Power Boot Camp, Inc. v. Warrior Fitness Boot Camp, LLC, 813 F. Supp. 2d 489 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), the court held that the non-compete provision in a fitness center operator’s employment agreement with prior employees, which prohibited employees from working at a competitor center anywhere in the world for ten years following employment at the center, was unenforceable since it was unreasonable in terms of duration and geographic scope.

2. Duration – New York courts have repeatedly held that temporal restrictions of six months or less are reasonable. See Ticor Title Ins. Co. v. Cohen, 173 F.3d at 70 (2d Cir. 1999); Natsource LLC, 151 F.Supp.2d at 470-71 (three-month non-compete). However, courts have also enforced non-competes of three years or more, usually where the geographic restriction is limited. In Novendstern v. Mount Kisco Med. Grp., 177 A.D.2d 623, 576 N.Y.S.2d 329 (1991), for example, the court found that a covenant restricting a physician from competing with his previous employer was enforceable because the prohibition on the physicians practicing in his specialties for three years was in a limited geographic area.

3. The Scope of the Business Activity Impacted – Under New York law, assuming a covenant by an employee not to compete surmounts its first hurdles, that is, that it is reasonable in time and geographic scope, enforcement will be granted only to the extent necessary:

a. to prevent an employee’s solicitation or disclosure of trade secrets;

b. to prevent an employee’s release of confidential information regarding the employer’s customers; or

c. in those rare cases where the employee’s services to the employer are deemed special or unique. Ticor Title Ins. Co. v. Cohen, 173 F.3d 63 (2d Cir. 1999).

Factors Considered by New York Courts

New York courts have also examined whether there was sufficient consideration, whether the agreement was incidental to the sale of a business, and whether an employee was preparing to compete to determine if a non-compete was reasonable. Such courts have found that future employment constitutes sufficient consideration to support a covenant not to compete. See Poller v. BioScrip, Inc., 974 F. Supp. 2d 204 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) (holding that “the fact that a restrictive covenant agreement is a condition of future employment does not automatically render such an agreement coercive and unenforceable”). Similarly, in Ikon Office Solutions v. Leichtnam, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1469, *1, 2003 WL 251954 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 3, 2003), the court found that the non-compete covenant was enforceable because the employee was an at-will employee who received continued employment as consideration. Moreover, financial benefits and an employee’s receipt of intangibles such as knowledge, skill, or professional status are also sufficient consideration to support a non-compete provision under New York law. See Arthur Young & Co. v. Galasso, 142 Misc. 2d 738, 741 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1989).

The Future of Restrictive Covenants in New York State

In May 2017, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman arranged for legislation to be proposed in the New York legislature which would limit non-competes as follows:

•Non-competes would be void for employees with earnings of less than $75,000/year (to be increased each year for inflation);

•Non-competes must be provided to prospective employees by the earlier of a formal offer of employment or 30 days before the non-compete goes into effect;

•Non-competes would be unenforceable upon a termination without cause; and

•Employees would have a private cause of action seeking to invalidate non-competes which violate the statute.

New York City Proposes Partial Ban on Non-Compete Agreements

On July 20, 2017, the New York City Council proposed new legislation that would prohibit New York City employers from entering into a non-competition agreement with any “low-wage employee.” The proposed bill defines “low-wage employee” as any non-exempt employee, other than manual workers, railroad workers, and salespersons on commission. To be properly classified as exempt under the New York Labor Law, employees must be employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity and receive earnings in excess of $900 per week.

The proposed bill would also prohibit New York City employers from requiring any potential employees to enter into non-compete agreements unless, at the outset of the hiring process, the employer discloses in writing that the prospective employee may be subject to such an agreement. If passed by the New York City Council, the bill is expected to be signed by the Mayor and would take effect 120 days after being signed into law.