Non-competition clause: moderation is always in good taste

A company specializing in scaffolding referred to the Superior Court to have an injunction issued against its ex-foreman who left his job to go to work for a competitor, despite the fact that he had signed a non-competition clause stating that he could not hold functions “that might be prejudicial to our company due to their commercial nature and to ensuing contacts with present or future clients” within a radius of 100 km over a period of 12 months. According to the judge, the employer did not prove that the non-competition clause is reasonable for the protection of his legitimate interests. This clause does not meet the requirement to limit the type of work forbidden to the employee, as provided by section 2089 of the Civil Code of Québec. Consequently, the motion for injunction is rejected. Échafaudage Falardeau Inc. v. Cyr, 2009 QCCS 2726, DTE 2009T-476 (C.S.) Justice Étienne Parent