Partner, Nick Dale and Senior Associate, Sean Greenwood, recently led the successful defence of a group of former employees of a major real estate franchise who left to join a competitor
Their former employer sought interlocutory injunctions restraining our clients from working in their new jobs. The decision is highly significant because it interprets aspects of industry standard employment contracts for real estate agents, and reinforces an earlier decision from 2020 involving the same contractual clauses. The decision also reiterates that it may be more difficult to enforce non-compete clauses where employees are terminated for reasons beyond their own control, and that restraints must be reasonable if they are to be enforced.
The case involved complex issues about non-solicitation of the former employer's clients and confidential information, as well as employment law issues surrounding redundancy. Our clients had a convincing win, with the interlocutory applications against them being dismissed with costs at the first available opportunity.
A link to the case is here
Nick and Sean instructed Bernard Lloyd of Counsel, thank him for all of his skillful work and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of Esther Koo-Senior Associate , Daniel Miller-Associate, Suzi Stojanovski-Senior Associate and Catherine Aird-Legal Secretary to the outcome.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
