Foster & Co., Inc. v. Snodgrass
| Citation | 333 So.2d 521 |
| Decision Date | 18 June 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 75--466,75--466 |
| Parties | 1976-1 Trade Cases P 60,963 FOSTER AND COMPANY, INC., Appellant, v. Jack SNODGRESS, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Thomas D. Masterson, of Masterson & Rogers, St. Petersburg, for appellant.
E. Paul Dietrich, of Bennett & Dietrich, St. Petersburg, for appellee.
Appellant/plaintiff contends the trial court erred in failing to grant injunctive relief under a noncompetitive agreement between it and appellee/defendant. We agree and reverse.
In March 1972, the plaintiff company and defendant entered into a contract whereby the defendant Snodgrass became an independent agent for the sale of the plaintiff's industrial hardware and chemical products. The agreement included a noncompetitive covenant in which Snodgrass agreed that for a period of two years following termination of the agreement he would not compete with the plaintiff (a) within the State of Florida; or (b) within any territory to which he had been assigned during the twelve months immediately preceding his termination; or (c) with any individual account assigned to or serviced by him while he was an independent agent of the plaintiff.
In February 1974, Snodgrass terminated his association with the plaintiff company. He and other former company salesmen established their own business to sell similar products to the trade, in course of which Snodgrass solicited business from his old customers. Plaintiff sought an injunction to prevent the defendant from violating the covenants outlined in (b) and (c) above. Concluding that the defendant Snodgrass was, when employed, an experienced salesman; that he received only nominal material, advice, and assistance, from the company's supervisors; that he received no customer lists or route sheets, but rather, only a price list of limited value, the trial court denied the request for an injunction and this appeal by the plaintiff ensued.
Fla.Stat. § 542.12(2), enacted in 1953, provides in pertinent part:
Where noncompetitive agreements have been shown to be reasonable, they have been consistently upheld by the Florida courts. Miller Mechanical, Inc. v. Ruth, Fla.1974, 300 So.2d 11; McQuown v. Lakeland Window Cleaning Co., Fla.App.2d 1962, 136 So.2d 370; Atlas Travel Service v. Morelly, Fla.App.1st 1957, 98 So.2d 816. See also, Maimone v. Wackenhut Corp., Fla.App.3d 1976, 329 So.2d 332. There the defendant who...
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