Dallas Court Strikes Physician Noncompete that Lacked Buy-Out Provision
I've previously written about the specific requirements that must be included in a covenant not to compete with a licensed physician to make the restrictive covenant enforceable. The Dallas Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trial court's decision that a noncompetition agreement between a surgical practice and several limited-partner physicians was unenforceable because the agreement lacked one of the statutorily required provisions. You can access the Court's opinion in Greenville Surgery Center Ltd. v. Beebe here. In short, the noncompete lacked the buy-out clause required by the statute. That defect alone was sufficient to render the noncompetition obligation unenforceable.
Beebe should remind Texas employers that when drafting noncompetition agreements, it is important to have a knowledgeable, Texas attorney review the agreement before having employees or partners sign it.
