Despite California’s general hostility towards post-termination restrictive covenants, the California Court of Appeal, in a recently published opinion, Blue Mountain Enters., LLC v. Owen, 74 Cal.App.5th 537 (1st Dist. Jan. 10, 2022), affirmed that a post-termination customer non-solicitation agreement was enforceable under California Business & Professions Code § 16601.
Under most circumstances, contractual provisions that prevent a person from engaging in a profession, trade, or business, including customer non-solicitation agreements, are void in California. However, section 16601 of the California Business and Professions Code carves out a statutory exception to the rule for individuals selling all of their interest, including goodwill, in a business.
In Blue Mountain, Owen transferred his ownership interest in several real estate and construction-related firms to Blue Mountain Enterprises, LLC, as part of a joint venture with Acolyte Limited. Owen became Blue Mountain’s CEO as part of the transfer. The three year post-termination non-solicitation provision was included only in Owen’s employment contract, but the joint venture, which included Owen’s transfer of his ownership interests, was carried out through four interrelated agreements entered into over the course of several days.
After Owen’s employment was terminated for cause, Owen established a competing construction services company and sent a letter to Blue Mountain customers stating, among other things,...
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