I signed a non disclosure and noncompetition agreement in Ohio. "Agrees not to set up in business as a direct competitor of JC Express within a radius of 200 miles of JC Express in Columbus, Ohio for a period of seven (7) years following the expiration or termination of this agreement. Agrees not to make use of research or training done in the course of work, either voluntary or paid, done for JC Express while employed or as a volunteer by a competitor of JC Express."
This operation was officed at my property prior to termination and therefore JC Express does not even have a valid address in Columbus, Ohio. I also do not believe a 7 year time frame is reasonable. The CEO of JC Express has now contacted me with threats of court action, "..each signed party personally responsible for any deviation from this legal document."
Everything entailed is believed to be public domain, we are talking about on-line sales of books and other items through eBay, Amazon and other public domain websites. Certainly not unique to JC Express and trade secrets, etc. don't play a role.
Can I really be held to such an agreement if I chose to list items on-line for sale, like millions of other US residents?

Perhaps, are you willing to hire an attorney and fight it in court to find out ? There is the issue, you may win but they have the right to sue you under the contract.

If you did not intend to honor the contract why sign it?

We can agree all day that normally the contacts don't hold up and that most likely you will in the court battle.

But are you willing to do the battle,

It was signed under good faith that the compensation, work hours, and benefits promised would be forthcoming. It seems ludicrous that such an agreement would be pursued should I elect to make some on-line sales, listing items in a "fill-in the blank" database on public domain websites certainly could be construed as a trade secret, but perhaps it isn't worth the battle. Instead I will pursue Fraud charges in regard to his use of our non-profit status and name on his website, fraudulently taking in donations, wherein permission was never given to utilize the name and status to begin with. Most likely I will refrain from using the internet for fear of retaliation.

Hello K:

If HE'S cheating, and you want to VIOLATE your non compete agreement, there's a SIMPLE way to accomplish it... Write him a CERTIFIED letter, return receipt requested, and tell him, that in exchange for his promise NOT to seek his rights under the non compete, you promise NOT to snitch on him to the corporate cops.

excon

Is that legal? Would I be incriminating myself, by putting such an agreement in writing? I'm thinking to knowingly excuse his use of the non-profit name and possibly donations by deception would sort of be aiding & abetting? I do not intend to compete in book sales, I just can't believe I am now NOT permitted to utilize public domain websites for personal or Organizational gain. I am scheduled for a consult with a local attorney but I sure appreciate the input. If I can be relatively sure no Ohio Court would enforce this agreement, I'd let him waste his time and money to pursue it and do what I want as far as on-line sales.

Hello again, K:

Sure. You are NOT a cop. You don't KNOW he's cheating.. You THINK he's cheating. You're NOT obligated to snitch on him.

Look.. This is a LEGAL board. You came for LEGAL advice, and I gave you GOOD legal advice, and it's LEGAL too.

excon

If the non-compete agreement is excessive in its terms, and 7 years is indeed an excessive amount of time, then I believe a court would rule in your favor. The other points you raise are not relevant. If at the time you signed this agreement they did have a legitimate business location in Columbus (which I gather was your home) then the fact that they no longer have such a site in Columbus is not relevant. And if in fact they taught you how to "fill in the blank" on an Amazon site then they may have an argument, but it's a thin one as you can probably show that you had that skill prior to being employed. The bigger issue is whether they taught you skills in marketing and selling items on-line that you were not aware of prior to being employed. The fact that you could have learned these same things elsewhere is not germaine - did you actually learn these skills in the course of your employment?

Bottom lime - I think if you consult an attorney you will find that you can probably fight this successfully due to the 7-year period.

I don't understand the non-profit angle here. Is JC Express a non-profit organization? Or are they claiming to be affiliated with a non-Profit?

Excon,
I surely meant no disrespect and must admit I was ignorant to the fact that responders were in fact a "Legal Board" please accept my apology and lack of knowledge in all these areas. I do thank you for the advice and seemingly it is the best advise I have yet to receive. So again Thank you and if you have any further input I would appreciate hearing it.

Hello again, K:

Ok, I get carried away. People come here for advice and when they're GIVEN the advice they seek, they say, "is THAT legal".

Look. Ebaines gave you very good advice too. For the reasons cited, we don't think the non-compete is valid... I'm just trying to save you the expense of a consultation with a lawyer...

So, the bottom line, is we believe that the non-compete won't be held valid in a court of law. But, YOU don't need to be the one testing it out.. HE is, IF he feels that you're violating the agreement... So, the onus is on HIM to bring suit. I'm simply suggested a way to keep him from filing the suit in the first place, because YOU'LL have to defend it if he does.

excon

Ebaines,
Thank you and the others for the input. We are actually the "501(c)(3)"JC Express (for profit) is making the claim to be affiliated with us.

You sat "we" are a non-profit - do you mean you are working for a 501c3? I find it incredible that a for-profit company would threaten to sue an employee of a non-profit organization for violating a non-compete agreement. The non-comptere agreement you signed requires you "not set up in business as a direct competitor..." But a non-profit organization should not be considered a direct competitor of any for-profit business. So it doesn't make sense. Or is the non-profit you're referring to separate from a businss that you have set up on your own, which is in competition with JC Express? BTW, I did a search on "JC Express" and see that its business is moving freight - what does that have to do with selling items on Amazon?

Yes, I am an Admin. Of a non-profit. No I am not setting a business on my own but one in which I would like to employ the residents (alcohol/drug residential program) under the non-profit umbrella. There are a few JC Express companies, the one we are dealing with is JC Express Books.Not knowing the legality of all this I have found this input from you and the others fascinating! It is more of moral, integrity, aspect for me at this point, knowing he doesn't have a legal leg to stand on is quite a relief. It was my original desire to sever ties amicable and then I was confronted with the threat of being sued.