Legal Question in Employment Law in Maryland
Hello. My previous employer had me sign a noncompete agreement preventing solicitation of clients. I am now employed by a competitor in our industry who is questioning the document. In the agreement, my previous company is listed as: "ABC Company." The legal entity is actually "Company Name, LLC." Is this a legally binding agreement -- in other words, did my previous employer draw up the agreement properly? If I signed the agreement with the d/b/a instead of the legal entity does my previous employer have any standing?
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
This is the same question you posted on AVVO. Many companies register trade names. If this is a registered trade name of the LLC, then you made a contract with that LLC. We recently helped a client where that was not the case, and we got her out of the non-compete. There are also other issues with a non-compete that could make it unenforceable, or more restricted than written.