Can I get sued by my current company if I quit and then compete against them?
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Can I get sued by my current company if I quit and then compete against them?
I’m thinking of splitting off from the company that I currently work for and compete
against them with what I believe is a better business model. How do I go about
protecting myself from being sued by my current company?
Asked on March 22, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If you signed a non-competition or non-solicitation agreement, you can be held to it--don't violate the terms of the agreement.
If you didn't sign an agreement, you may freely compete SO LONG AS you don't use any information or material from the current company, including particularly customer or client lists or any confidential marketing or product information. You can never safely use the confidential or proprietary information of an employer for you own benefit (or the benefit of a new employer), but as long you don't, you can compete as long as you did not sign an agreemen not to.
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