My old boss is threatening to sue under non compete clause . What can I do ?

Question

I used to work for a online deal site (something like pricegrabber.com) and they made me sign a non compete agreement 3 weeks after I had already started working on my own deal site. I had to sign it at that time else he would make me quit so I kept hush about it. I since then got a new job last week. Being the paranoid jerk that he is, he hacked into my work computer and using a password recovery form was able to log into all my emails and private sites. That let him know that I had my own deal site. My old boss is threatening to sue me because I was developing something that would compete with him. What are my chances in court and will it be expensive? I am in Texas. Thanks and God bless

He used the work computer to log illegally into my email and my sites to find out details.

Answer 1

You're retarded. First off, no one can MAKE you quit. That's called being fired. Secondly, if he hacked into your new work computer, that in itself is illegal and you could press charges.

Personally I think you are either A. paranoid.

or

B. You made all of this up because you are psycho and need to feel important, even if it is to people on the net that you don't even know.

PS
It sounds like he is saying that his OLD boss hacked his computer at his NEW job. Then that would be entirely ILLEGAL.

Answer 2

1. I doubt that it was illegal for him to access your email. Most courts have continually found that your employer has full access to anything you do on your work computer. If you entered your passwords on your work computer, then your former employer probably did not break the law in investigating your computer activity.

2. Unless there is a problem in the contract construction, it sounds like the non-compete contract that you signed will probably be found binding in a court of law. There are exceptions to this. Non-competes are sometimes not enforced when there is a public-policy reason not to enforce them. For instance, it's rare to enforce a non-compete against doctors because courts find that it is in the interest of public policy for doctors to be able to continue to serve patients, even if they move practices. Courts don't like to enforce non-competes against their own kind, either--lawyers.
Based on the fact that you seem to be in marketing/retail, it seems unlikely that public policy would serve to invalidate your contract. If you have to go to Court, your best arguments will probably be something along the lines of asserting that the non-compete is overreaching and will not allow you earn an income if it is enforced.
Based on what you have said, your chances in Court do not look good unless there is a major flaw in your contract. And defending this case will be expensive. An attorney in this field will probably bill $150-200 an hour. Try to get a free consultation with an employment attorney and see if the attorney has any ideas about how to beat this. Take a copy of the contract you signed with you to the meeting.

Answer 3

So, if I parse this properly, you were already competing with the old company when they had you sign a non-compete clause? If you were their employee, then anything you created within the scope of your employment still belongs to them, as you were never the legal "author" (works made for hire). Not only could you get sued for breach of contract, but also copyright infringement, if you use any websites, graphics, systems, etc that you created at your old job, as well as misappropriation of any trade secrets they might be able to claim, and so forth. You would probably be better off dealing with it immediately (settle) to avoid running up huge court and legal costs that won't save you.

Answer 4

THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, do not rely on this for any purpose.

Generally, non-compete clauses in employment contracts are valid so long as your services are unique and the terms of the non-compete clause are reasonable in duration and geographic scope.

Also, Artman is not entirely correct. A number of US Court of Appeals, including the 9th Circuit, have held that an employee may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in employer owned computers under certain circumstances.

Answer 5

Non-compete clauses are usually valid as long as they are reasonable in time and place. If it's only been a week, then it is completely reasonable. Since it's your work computer, he has a right to see what you are doing on it under most circumstances. I would say your chances in court are next to zero and yes, an attorney will be expensive.

Sorry to sound so pessimistic.

Answer 6

Since you signed a contract and you let a ton of evidence your chances seems very close to zero and yes it will be expensive.

By the way the first poster is wrong, you have no expectancy of privacy on a computer that belongs to the company (it's theirs not yours); besides it seems your were using it for your personal profit, that will not look good to the judge.

Your only way out is to close your site in exchange for not having to go to court.

Answer 7

From the facts you give, your chances are fairly poor at prevailing....

Non-compete clauses are generally valid, as long as they are reasonably limited -- direct competition at the same time pretty much sets the standard for what the clause is intended to prevent.

You should speak to an attorney licensed in Texas, because laws vary by state.

Answer 8

How could he hack into your work computer? If he is your employer and its a work computer then technically its his computer and all files on it belong to him.