Judge Orders Costs of Injunction against Solicitation “In the Cause”

The dirty secret of contract law is that a contract is only as good as a party’s ability to enforce it. Typically, this blog focuses on the legal ability of an employer to enforce certain elements of an employment contract; whether that element be termination provisions, about which I write frequently, or restrictive covenants, such as non-solicitation or non-competition agreements, about which I write much less frequently.

Putting legal considerations aside for a moment, there are also practical considerations in attempting to enforce contractual provisions, not the least of which is the element of cost.

In his reasons for decision in Accreditation Canada International v Guerra, 2016 ONSC 6184, the Honourable Justice Patrick Smith of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sitting at Ottawa, highlights one of the main practical impediments to an employer attempting to enforce restrictive covenants: the cost.

Agreement “Not to Accept Business” Actually a Non-Competition Agreement: ONCA

When is a non-solicitation provision in an employment contract actually a non-competition agreement? The answer is, when it prevents the employee from “accepting business from” any former corporate accounts or customers.

In a short endorsement, Donaldson Travel Inc. v. Murphy, 2016 ONCA 649, the Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed an earlier decision of the Honourable Justice David A. Broad of the Superior Court of Justice, dismissing the plaintiff employer’s claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of confidential information, inducing breach of contract and interference with contractual relations against its former employee travel agent and her new travel agency employer.

No Changes Without Consideration

Can an employer simply change the terms of an employee's working conditions or contract whenever and however it chooses?

In a decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Honourable Justice Mary Sanderson confirmed that Ontario courts will not enforce changes to an employee’s employment contract unless employers provide the employee with either: (a) notice of the changes; or (b) "consideration".