Question about a non-compete that changed my whole business plan in 6 months

I signed a non-compete for a coffee shop in Austin that said I couldn't work within 5 miles, but after they closed down last spring I started a pop-up 3 miles away and nobody cared. Now a lawyer friend told me the old clause might still be enforceable because of some wording about 'business type' and 'geographic scope.' Has anyone actually been sued over an old non-compete from a business that's already dead?

2 comments

2 Comments

josephbailey3d ago

Actually I read this really interesting piece in the Austin Chronicle a few months back about a guy who got sued by a dead restaurant chain over his old non-compete and the judge basically laughed it out of court. The whole point of those clauses is to protect a business's legitimate interests, but if the business is gone then what's left to protect? Your lawyer friend probably knows the law but sometimes lawyers get paranoid about contracts like they're carved in stone. From what I've seen around town, judges are pretty practical about this stuff and don't waste time on ghosts.

olivia_white933d ago

Wait, wait wait. You mean to tell me the shop is already closed and they could still come after you? That is absolutely wild to me. I mean, who enforces a contract for a business that doesn't even exist anymore? It sounds like that lawyer friend is just making you paranoid, honestly. Like, what's the point of a non-compete if the business itself is dead and buried? I'd be shocked if any judge actually cared enough to uphold that thing. Seems like a waste of everyone's time and money.

-1