Supreme Court Finds Implied Promise Sufficient
September 9, 2009In Mann Frankfort v. Fielding, the Texas Supreme Court has held that an employer does not have to make an express promise to provide confidential information for a covenant not to compete to be enforceable. The Court held that if the nature of the employment for which an employee is hired will reasonably require the employer to provide confidential information to the employee to accomplish their job duties, then the employer has impliedly promised to provide confidential information making the covenant enforceable as long as the other requirements of the Covenant Not to Compete Act are satisfied.
This ruling strongly favors employers seeking to enforce non-compete clauses against former employees.