Dallas non-compete lawyer Keith Clouse notes that the Dallas Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment for a group of physicians against their employer. Greenville Surgery Center, Ltd. v. Beebe, No. 05-08-01045-CV (Tex. App.—Dallas July 9, 2010), available at http://www.5thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/as_web.exe?c05topin.ask+D+59681.
GSC owns an ophthalmology surgery center. A group of doctors invested in GSC as limited partners. The limited partnership agreement contained a covenant not to compete forbidding the doctors from competing with GSC for two years post-termination. In 2008, nine limited partners planned to open a new facility and filed suit, seeking a declaration that the covenant not to compete was unenforceable. GSC counterclaimed for breach of contract. The trial court granted summary judgment for the doctors.
Under the Texas non-compete statute, a covenant not to compete cannot be enforced against a person licensed as a physician unless it contains a buy-out provision. Here, the covenant contained no buy-out provision, and, therefore, it was unenforceable against the doctors. The Court thus affirmed the judgment of the trial court.
Keith Clouse litigates non-compete issues on behalf of physicians. To speak to Mr. Clouse about a non-compete agreement, contact the employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected].
