Labor & Employment — Breach of Contract – Covenant Not to Compete & Non-Solicitation Agreement – Assignment – Scope

Investors Trust Co. v. Whitlock (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-15-0429, 14 pp.) (James Gale, C.J.) 2015 NCBC 43

Holding: Even though defendant’s covenant not to compete said the covenant could be assigned if defendant were given written notice, this was not necessarily the only way in which the covenant could be assigned to plaintiff – the original employer’s successor.

Defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied.

While defendant’s non-solicitation agreement is troubling, in that it encompasses the employer’s potential customers, it is too early in the litigation to dismiss plaintiff’s claim that defendant breached the non-solicitation agreement.