Non compete Agreements: Getting Out Because of Employer's Breach

I realize my writings here on covenants not to compete emphasize having a well written non-compete agreement. This post concerns how a non compete can fail regardless of how well written.

On April 13, 2007, the Indiana Court of Appeals made the point that a non-competition agreement is a contract and contracts have duties and obligations for both sides of the agreement. In MILLSAP v. OHIO VALLEY HEARTCARE, INC. (PDF format), the employer breached its contract with employee and with its breach negated employee's obligations under the non competition agreement.

This article is somewhat of a follow to my earlier article about non-compete agreements and doctors, Non-compete Agreements - The Medical Field. You might want to check out that post. If you are interested in more than how Indiana treats noncompete agreements, you might want to read Medical Economics article When a noncompete isn't ironclad. The article puts Millsap in a larger context.