Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

Re: Non Compete Clauses

As long as the non-compete clause is reasonable (scope, duration, geography, etc.), it is fully enforceable in Virginia.

Re: Non Compete Clauses

In every State, non-compete clauses are enforceable (binding) but "disfavored" and therefore sharply limited in their reach.

What this means is that on the one hand, yes, non compete clauses are binding. However, on the other hand, the courts will only enforce a non-compete agreement if it is reasonable (reasonably necessary to a legitimate business purpose), limited in geographic scope, limited in time, and limited in subject matter.

A non-compete that is too broad will NOT be enforced (because it is excessive and over-broad).

The Courts balance the legitimate reasons for non-competes with the need for people to make a living. That is why courts take a negative view toward non-competes. The more a non-compete clause acts to completely prevent a person from working at all, the more likely a court is to INVALIDATE it.

However, obviously these factors are hard to predict. You could be caught violating a valid non-compete agreement. Or it could be invalid. So you really should get some detailed legal advice.

Very, very loosely speaking if you can show that a non-compete clause prevents you from getting ANY job, there is a good chance of getting a court to overturn it (although this is NOT exactly how I would present it in court, but just a rule of thumb). If a non-compete simply forces you to work in a different, nearby city or have a job not quite as good, but you can still work profitably, the non-compete might be enforced... but only for a limited time and only in a limited territory.

NOTE: One of the main reasons for allowing a non-compete clause is the idea that a former employee will take with him customer lists or confidential business information of the former employer. You are MOST likely to get in trouble by using confidential information from your former employer -- or letting people THINK you might have.