M.D. Non-Competes in Texas

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Rob Radcliff

As discussed here previously, Texas non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are alive and well and the Texas Supreme Court has made them easier to enforce. Doctors are frequently the targets of non-competes and they are legal in the state of Texas. 

The Texas Legislature has gone out of its way to set forth provisions necessary to make a non-compete enforceable against a doctor in  Section 15.50 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code. The highlights:

Patient Records/Care:  The non-compete must: (1) not deny the physician access to a list of his/her patients upon departure;  (2) provide the physician access to their patients' medical records when authorized by the patient; and (3) the physician must not be prevented from providing treatment to an acutely ill patient.

Buy-Out Provision: The statute also requires that the non-compete provide for a buy-out of the non-compete at a reasonable price or as determined by a mutually agreed arbitrator or one chosen by the court. 

 

In sum - read the statute to make sure your non-compete complies with the statute, don't play games with patient records or care, and provide a buy-out provision.

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Employers in the Crosshairs

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Rob Radcliff

                                      

As discusssed here before, a former employee with an non-compete agreement usually has two choices in terms of challenging a non-compete.  The first is to "compete" and then see what the former employer does.  This could mean a lawsuit with an application for a temporary restraining order that puts the former employee out of work.  The wait-and-see approach essentially removes the employee from any control until the former employer decides to act.  This is the most common and cheapest approach.

The second approach is to sue the employer and challenge the validity of the non-compete.  The reality is most former employees simply don't have the money to fund such an endeavor.  In a recent lawsuit in the Houston area, a group of doctors filed suit against the Sadler Clinic.  Those doctors are challenging the enforceability of a non-compete agreement that prohibits them from practicing medicine within a 22-mile radius of Sadler's Conroe, Texas location.  Interestingly, the employment agreements contain a buyout provision that would relieve the doctors of their non-compete allegations.

This is not the first suit involving a Sadler non-compete.  Sadler filed a lawsuit against a departing physician in August 2009.  Apparently, the doctors are seeking to intervene or join in this lawsuit since the same non-compete is at issue.

 

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