Whelan Security Co. v. Kennebrew Update: Noncompetes in Missouri
In this 2013 post, I blogged about Whelan Security Co. v Kennebrew, an important Missouri case involving an employee noncompetition agreement. In that case, the Missouri Supreme Court enforced a...
View ArticleDrafting Clearer Contracts 2017
Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to attend Ken Adams’s Drafting Clearer Contracts seminar, when he brought his world tour to St. Louis. I’ve known Ken from the blogosphere and Twitter for...
View ArticleCourt Holds Panera Bread to Its Bonus Program
The 8th Circuit held yesterday that Panera Bread breached contractual obligations owed to its general managers when the company unilaterally placed a cap on their bonuses. The case is unusually...
View ArticleAttorney Fees in Contracts
I’ve advised clients on whether to sue for breach of contract many times over the past several years. In most cases the other side had clearly breached the contract, and my clients would have a solid...
View ArticleOnline Terms … Ugh!!
Do you have an uneasy feeling when you “agree” to legal terms on websites, your iPhone, apps, and the like? You feel like you should be reading the terms before you accept them, but you don’t have...
View ArticleLiquidated Damages in Missouri
Liquidated damages clauses stipulate in advance the amount of damages a party will have to pay if it breaches a contract. Because a breach of contract action requires proof of damages, liquidated...
View ArticleAssignment of Noncompetition Agreements in an Asset Purchase
The 8th Circuit held, in Symphony Diagnostic Services No. 1 Inc. v. Greenbaum, that certain noncompetition and confidentiality agreements were assignable without consent in the context of a business...
View ArticleMy New Blog Project
I started theContractsGuy in January 2011, and it’s been one of the most interesting projects of my legal career. I’ve made friends, written about interesting stuff, and simply enjoyed writing and...
View ArticleSimple Nondisclosure Agreement Form
As I announced in my recent post My New Blog Project, I’m in the process of automating some of my contract templates. The first step in contract automation is to get your basic templates in decent...
View ArticleIs “Managing Member” Really a Thing?
Quick question for contracts aficionados: is “managing member” really a thing? I’m constantly seeing “managing member” as the title for people signing contracts for limited liability companies. In...
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