Contempo Communications, Inc., Respondent, v. MJM Creative Services, Inc., et al., Appellants., 182 A.D.2d 351

Summary

The employees were hired by the employer, a producer of multimedia shows for businesses. The employer required the employees to sign restrictive employment covenants barring them from soliciting accounts on which they had actively worked. The employees did so, but after they left the employer, they formed a company to compete with the employer. The company worked with the businesses with which the employees had formerly worked. The employer brought an action to enforce the covenants and to obtain damages. The trial court granted summary judgment for the employer as to liability, and the court affirmed. The restrictive covenant was reasonable and necessary to protect the employer in view of the special relationship which had developed between the employees and the client businesses. Because the restrictive covenants were effective for only two years and did not restrict the employees from working in any geographical region, they were reasonable as to time and scope.