she didn't sign any contract or application. but she started her business during the time she was still working for me. she doesn't work for me anymore and I just found out about it.
2007-03-20 10:25:19 · 21 answers · asked by jennifromtheblock 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Jenni ... Sit down with a lawyer. This situation might be covered by the laws that prohibit theft of proprietary information. The kinds of contracts that other answers are referring to probably are of the type that apply to an employee AFTER they've left your firm. I think these are called post-employment non-disclosure agreements or restrictions on competition using inside/proprietary info.
But, what in hell do I know? I'm no lawyer. Please go see one and good luck.
2007-03-20 10:38:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In your situation you most likely do not have a claim for damages. Without a contract that forbids this from happening you are out of luck. (A non-competitive clause.)
Even if you did have a contract it would have to have a time limit clause (most often 6 to 12 months for small businesses.) Then even with that (assuming it is a legal contract) the courts will nearly always rule that a person has a right to earn a living and may disallow for damages. The one time you can enforce this type of contract is in cases where a former employee steals customers from your business by using your customer lists.
2007-03-20 10:33:37 · answer #2 · answered by my_iq_135 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, you cannot sue an employee or anyone else for that matter because they want to start a business exactly like yours. Even the big chains can't do this. If they could the McDonalds next door to the Burger King, close to where I live,would have already done so.
2007-03-20 10:30:50 · answer #3 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can sue anyone for anything at any time. The outcome is determined by a judge or jury's interpretation of the evidence.
And if she didn't sign a contract, you might as well forget it. The contracts are hard to enforce anyway. In the future it might be smart to get contracts signed.
2007-03-20 10:29:48 · answer #4 · answered by imbrngnsexybak 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you have her sign a contract stating that she "will not work for or operate any competing company" when she started? When I started my job with a homebuilder, I had to sign a contract stating that I would not work for any competing homebuilder while employed here or up to 30 days after being employed here, if there was no contract though, you can still try, but it will be that much harder to make your case.
2007-03-20 10:30:50 · answer #5 · answered by Fluffington Cuddlebutts 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there is no Non-Compete letter signed by you and her which was certified by a law firm then you do not have the case. You still can file a law suit (anybody can sue anybody nowadays!!!) but you will only waste your time and money for nothing.
Forget it. Concentrate on your business to make it better to compete with hers. Competition is the name of the game. Don't you know?
2007-03-20 12:00:29 · answer #6 · answered by shshht 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since there's no contract or application, no. There is nothing to say she couldn't start her own business while working for you. If that was the case, there probably be a lot more lawsuits nowadays.
2007-03-20 10:31:32 · answer #7 · answered by contently_random 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not. Unless you hold some type of patents or trademarks. Once you start a business the idea is generally public domain. You now have competition.
2007-03-20 10:29:43 · answer #8 · answered by Water Monkey 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can prove that she's stolen business practices from you then yes because technically those practices are YOUR property.
Unless she signed a contract you're otherwise just going to have to deal with it, sorry.
2007-03-20 10:28:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not unless you made her sign something or you have a patent on the idea. Otherwise she is clear. Think of Starbucks and Caribou and a million other examples of the same type of company.
2007-03-20 10:29:15 · answer #10 · answered by Smarty06 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋