“Litigation over agreements not to compete after the termination of employment has long been a staple of business litigation.” Michael Quinn & Andrea Levin, Post Employment Agreements Not to Compete: a Texas Odyssey, 33 Tex. J. of Bus. L. 7, 9 (Spring 1996).
In Texas, the enforceability of noncompetition agreements (“noncompetes”) has widely varied. By the end of the 1980s, noncompetes were highly disfavored by Texas courts. The Texas Legislature responded with the Texas Covenants Not to Compete Act. (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 15.50-52), which was intended to favor noncompetes.
