Can You Be Sued for Violating a Non-Compete Clause After its Term Ends

[scratchstick]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: New York

Non compete and non solicitation restrictions are for 12 months. If I'm caught violating restrictive covenants after 12 months, can previous employer still pursue?

For example, if i quit and start a business doing the same thing but previous employer doesn't find out until 15 months later.

[PayrolGuy]

Assuming the agreement is otherwise legal, yes.

[scratchstick]

They would have to prove i violated agreement somehow right? not just finding out when the company was opened?

[aaron]

They don't need proof of the violation in order to commence a lawsuit. They can file the lawsuit based upon their reasonable belief, then pursue evidence through discovery.

[eerelations]

They would have to prove i violated agreement somehow right? not just finding out when the company was opened?

If the date the competing company opened is within the 12-month non-compete timeframe, then that date, all by itself, is their proof that you violated the agreement.

[scratchstick]

Non-Compete should be okay since we are past their radius. What about non-solicitation? How will they prove that? How does discovery work? Im not too familiar with that.

[llworking]

If the date the competing company opened is within the 12-month non-compete timeframe, then that date, all by itself, is their proof that you violated the agreement.

Not really. Someone could set up an entity with the state months, maybe even a year or more, before actually starting to do business.

[eerelations]

Non-Compete should be okay since we are past their radius. What about non-solicitation? How will they prove that? How does discovery work? Im not too familiar with that.

Then why did you ask about the non-compete? Just felt like wasting our time, or what?

All they have to do to prove you solicited their customers and/or employees is to compel said customers and/or employees to describe, under oath, the process by which they became your customers and/or employees.

Remember, they don't have to have the proof at the time they file the lawsuit. If they're able to obtain the proof during the lawsuit, then they're fine.

Not really. Someone could set up an entity with the state months, maybe even a year or more, before actually starting to do business.

If that was all OP was planning to do, he wouldn't be worried about getting sued.