May 2014

As the debate continues in Massachusetts as to whether or not to ban noncompetition agreements, a related question remains: Is there really any value in having employees sign noncompetition provisions?  As a recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston Scientific Corp. v. Dongchul Lee confirms, if an employer has valuable trade secrets and wishes to prevent employees from potentially sharing them with a competitor, the answer is a resounding “yes!”

In Boston Scientific, the defendant, Dongchul Lee, was a former Boston Scientific employee who had worked on a number of its projects, including Mechanism of Action (“MOA”) research related to spinal cord stimulation (“SCS”).  While Dr. Lee had signed an employment agreement containing a non-disclosure provision and requiring him to return all Boston Scientific property upon termination of his employment, the agreement did not include a noncompetition provision (presumably because Dr. Lee worked in Boston Scientific’s Valencia, California office and noncompetition provisions are unlawful in California).

In November 2013, Dr. Lee resigned from Boston Scientific and went to work for Nevro, a competitor of Boston Scientific.  Further, Dr. Lee’s work for Nevro included engaging in MOA research related to SCS that was extremely similar … Keep reading

Earlier this month Gov. Deval Patrick called for the elimination of noncompete agreements and formally proposed this as part of a bill called An Act to Promote Growth and Opportunity.  The Governor’s proposal, and the rallying cry of its various supporters, are firmly based on the premise that noncompete agreements have a negative impact on Massachusetts workers and the Commonwealth’s economy.  However, the notion that outlawing noncompete agreements is likely to have any appreciable, positive impact on the Massachusetts economy, as a whole, simply is not justified.  In fact, changing the law could well have a negative effect on the Commonwealth.… Keep reading

It is not unusual for a plaintiff to have the ability to choose from at least two states when deciding the venue of a litigation. In such situations, many automatically choose to file suit in their home state, without giving much thought to potential advantages or disadvantages beyond having a home field advantage and/or forcing their adversary to travel long-distance.  While the substantive law applicable to an underlying dispute often is the same no matter where suit is brought (although even this is far from a hard and fast rule), below are three reasons why Massachusetts might be an attractive choice for your next lawsuit.… Keep reading