SHERMAN – A Florida man seeks declaration from the court regarding noncompetition agreements from his former employer.
Burt McCormick filed a complaint on Oct. 14 in the Sherman District of the Eastern District of Texas against Quadrant Urethane Technologies Corp. and Accella Polyurethane Systems LLC seeking declaratory judgment regarding a noncompetition agreement.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was hired by Quadrant in 2011 as a salesman and signed an employment agreement stating he would not work for a competitor for one year after the end of his employment. The suit states the plaintiff's employment ended in April and that he signed a six-month release agreement that included a noncompetition provision and that this agreement voided the previous one he signed.
When Quadrant sold its assets to defendant Accella in March, the plaintiff's employment was not included in their transaction, the suit states. He alleges he remained employed by defendant Quadrant and was never been employed by defendant Accella, but Accella has recently informed him the one-year noncompetition section still stands.
He alleges that he will suffer damages if required to comply with the non-compete agreement as will lose his current job with a competitor and will be injured in an amount in excess of $75,000 over the next six months.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks declaration that the release agreement voided the employment agreement, that the employment agreement and the release agreement were not legally assigned to defendant Accella, that he is not bound to any noncompete agreement, award for all costs for this suit and all other relief he may be entitled. He is represented by Robert J. Wood Jr. and T. Blake Edwards of Lindquist Wood Edwards LLP in Dallas.
Sherman District of the Eastern District of Texas Case number 4:16-cv-00791