Legal Question in Business Law in New York

It appears what you signed is a noncompetition agreement. To be enforceable it must be reasonable in time (20 years is likely too long), geographic scope and prohibited activity. Even if it's over, you still may be subject to not taking their existing clients. Consult with a good business attorney in your area to review the document and for specific advice.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney

Kevin is correct.

It is also important to remember that while courts are mindful of business needs, they typically scrutinize non-compete agreements because such agreements restrain a person's ability to earn a living. In addition to the substantive issues, often times agreements entered into by small businesses have significant structural flows that may invalidate them altogether. I suspect that with an agreement that has a 20 year clause in it a good attorney would find other issues beneficial to you.

Keep in mind that to enforce a non-compete the hair-salon would have to expend significant resources in hiring an attorney and commencing a law suit which may prove to be a barrier to pursuing the matter. Finally, hair-salons typically have a high turnover and you can look at the salon's past behavior with former occupants as a possible clue to their action in your case.

I again concur with Kevin in that you should consult with a business attorney.

Roman Fichman Esq.

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