is a noncompetition form valid in the state of washington if signed in idaho?

Answer 1

I am assuming you are talking about a non-competition clause in a contract.

The simple answer is that the location of the signing does not necessarily control the validity of the contract clause. However, the fact that the contract was signed in another state would raise numerous questions that might impact the enforcement of the clause.

The signing of the contract in Idaho with provisions involving activities in Washington would suggest that the courts in multiple states might have jurisdiction over the enforcement of the contract. This fact is not unusual, especially if dealing with a large business. Under those circumstances, issues of choice of law and conflict of law come into play. Conflict of laws is typically a full semester course in law school which should give you an indication of how complex those issues can be. Those issues include the freedom of the parties to negotiate a choice of law (i.e. contract language dictating for example that the law of Montana is to be used to interpret the contract), public policy considerations that might support a court in Washington ignoring such a contract provision, whether a Washington court should even hear the case (or defer to another state hearing the case), and -- in the absence of a contractual provision -- what state's law should govern the contract.

The bottom line is that the state in which a contract is signed does not determine its validity or meaning under the law of any state. However, the state in which it is signed is one fact that might influence which state's law should be used in determining the validity or meaning of the contract (or any clause within the contract).