Dr. Forfeits $25,000 Investment After Breaching Non-Compete Agreement

Lest anyone think that violating the terms of a noncompete agreement is harmless, consider this recent case out of Pennsylvania, where a physician was held to have forfeited his $25,000 investment in a medical practice for trying to withdraw from the medical practice and compete in that same geographical area.

And that's not even the scary part.

The doctor hadn't competed yet; he was held in violation of his non-compete even though just in the process of setting up an office. 

In rendering its decision, the court stated as follows:

“We are not to ascribe a meaning to the Operating Agreement that would be contrary to the clear intent of the parties,” the appeals judges wrote. “The parties clearly intended that the non-compete provision use the forfeiture of the $25,000 investment as its enforcement mechanism."