When a Former Employee Violates a Non-Compete Agreement
Non-compete agreements exist to protect the client relationships, processes, and competitive advantage a business spends years building. When a former employee who signed one lands at a direct competitor, or launches a competing business of their own, that protection is exactly what is on the line.
While this goes on, you keep losing clients, revenue, and relationships that took years to build. A Temporary Restraining Order can stop the violation immediately, before the damage becomes permanent.
We handle non-compete TROs in Dallas and throughout Texas. We represent employers seeking to stop violations and employees who have been hit with TROs they believe are invalid.
Why Injunctive Relief Is the Right Tool
A lawsuit for money damages alone almost never works in a non-compete case, for a simple reason.
By the time a breach-of-contract case gets to trial, which can take a year or more in Texas courts, the former employee has already been calling on your clients, using your methods, and establishing themselves as a competitor. The relationships they have taken are entrenched by then, and the clients they have converted are gone.
Courts recognize this. The loss of customer relationships and competitive advantage, built with the former employer’s resources and confidential information, can be the kind of irreparable harm that money cannot adequately fix, because you often cannot calculate with any precision what you would have earned from those clients over the coming years.
Texas courts do not presume that harm. It has to be proved with specific facts, and courts have denied relief where the losses could be calculated. Establishing that the loss cannot be measured is a large part of what we do in these cases.
What Makes a Non-Compete Enforceable in Texas
Not every non-compete agreement is enforceable in Texas. Texas law has specific requirements, and if the agreement does not meet them, a court will not issue a TRO to enforce it.
The Agreement Must Be Connected to Something of Value
A non-compete must be connected to an otherwise valid agreement in which the employer gave the employee something of real value beyond ordinary wages. This usually means the non-compete was part of an agreement that came with confidential information, specialized training, stock or equity, a signing bonus, or other meaningful consideration.
A non-compete that stands alone, not tied to anything specific the employer provided, is difficult to enforce.
The Restrictions Must Be Reasonable
Texas courts will enforce a non-compete only if the time period, geographic area, and scope of restricted activity are reasonable and no greater than necessary to protect legitimate business interests.
What counts as reasonable depends on the industry, the employee’s role, the geographic scope of the employer’s business, and the nature of the competitive threat. A non-compete that prohibits any work in any field anywhere for ten years will not be enforced.
Texas Courts Reform Overly Broad Agreements
Many employers are surprised to learn that if a Texas court finds a non-compete too broad, whether it covers too long a period, too large a geographic area, or too wide a scope of activity, the court does not simply refuse to enforce it. Texas law specifically allows the court to reform the agreement to reasonable limits and then enforce the trimmed-down version.
This means an imperfect non-compete is not necessarily worthless. Courts can fix it. Do not assume that because your agreement has some overreach it cannot be enforced at all.
What We Do When You Call Us
When a client calls about a non-compete violation, we move quickly.
Reviewing the Agreement
We assess immediately whether the non-compete meets the legal requirements for enforcement and whether a court is likely to grant a TRO. We also look at whether the restrictive provisions are narrow enough to be enforced as written, or whether we need to prepare for a reformation argument.
Pinning Down What the Employee Is Doing
What is the former employee doing, specifically? Where are they working? Are they contacting your clients by name? Did they take any confidential information? The answers shape both the application and the proposed TRO order.
Preparing and Filing Fast
We move on the petition, the affidavit, the proposed order, and the bond as fast as the situation requires. If the employee is actively contacting your clients right now, we seek an ex parte TRO to stop the violation today. If the situation allows for notice, we file on a schedule that puts us in the strongest position.
Preparing for the Temporary Injunction Hearing
A TRO that does not convert to a temporary injunction lasts only 14 days. We use that window to build the evidence and prepare the witnesses we need to make the injunction stick at the hearing.
What If Your Non-Compete Has Problems?
We hear a version of this often. “I think our non-compete might not be perfect. Is it worth trying?”
Usually the answer is yes, for two reasons.
First, as noted above, Texas courts can reform an overly broad agreement and enforce the narrowed version. An imperfect agreement is not automatically unenforceable.
Second, even if the non-compete has significant problems, you may have an independent claim for trade secret misappropriation that does not depend on the non-compete at all. If the employee took confidential information, that is a separate claim. See our Trade Secret Injunctions page.
We Also Defend Non-Compete TROs
Not every non-compete is valid, and not every TRO seeking to enforce one should be granted. We represent executives and employees who have been served with non-compete TROs that are overbroad, based on agreements that do not meet the legal requirements, or being used to stifle legitimate competition rather than protect a real business interest.
The temporary injunction hearing is the key moment. The employer has to prove every element, including that the agreement is enforceable and that the harm is genuinely irreparable, and we put every one of those elements to the test.
Frequently Asked Questions About Non-Compete Injunctions
How fast can we get a TRO for a non-compete violation?
In an active violation with strong facts, a TRO can be obtained the same day you call us. The key is a specific, fact-based affidavit showing what the employee is doing, what confidential information or relationships they are using, and why the harm cannot wait.
What if the employee moved to a different state?
Texas courts have jurisdiction over employees who signed non-competes with Texas employers if the contracts are governed by Texas law. However, enforcement across state lines involves additional procedural considerations. Call us and describe the specifics.
Can we get the employee fired from the new job?
A TRO or injunction restrains the former employee's conduct. It does not directly compel the new employer to take any action. However, an injunction prohibiting certain conduct effectively makes it impossible for the employee to do certain parts of their new job, which may have practical consequences.
What if we do not have a written non-compete?
Enforceability in Texas does not turn on a writing by itself. Under Section 15.50 of the Business and Commerce Code, a non-compete is enforceable if it is ancillary to or part of an otherwise enforceable agreement at the time it is made, and its limits on time, geographic area, and scope of activity are reasonable and no broader than necessary to protect a legitimate business interest. In practice that underlying agreement is almost always written. If you have nothing in writing, other claims, such as trade secret misappropriation, breach of the duty of loyalty, or tortious interference, may still be available depending on the facts.
What makes a non-compete enforceable in Texas?
Two requirements matter most. The non-compete must be connected to an otherwise valid agreement in which the employer gave the employee something of real value beyond ordinary wages, such as confidential information, specialized training, equity, or a signing bonus. The restrictions on time, geographic area, and scope of activity must also be reasonable and no greater than necessary to protect a legitimate business interest. A non-compete that stands alone, or that prohibits any work in any field anywhere for years, will not be enforced as written.
Our non-compete is probably too broad. Is it still worth trying to enforce?
Usually yes. Texas law allows a court that finds a non-compete too broad to reform the agreement to reasonable limits and then enforce the trimmed-down version, rather than refusing to enforce it at all. An imperfect agreement is not automatically worthless. When we review your agreement, we assess both whether the restrictions are narrow enough to enforce as written and whether we should prepare a reformation argument.
Why can we not just sue for money damages instead of seeking an injunction?
Because by the time a breach-of-contract case reaches trial, which can take a year or more, the former employee has already called on your clients, used your methods, and entrenched themselves as a competitor, and the clients they converted are gone. The loss of customer relationships and competitive advantage built with your resources and confidential information is the kind of irreparable harm money cannot adequately fix, because you cannot calculate with any precision what those clients would have earned you over the coming years. That inability to calculate the loss is what qualifies it for injunctive relief.