If my husband signed a compensation agreement with a company but the
company is now pulling out of contract on, can we sue?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If my husband signed a compensation agreement with a company but the
company is now pulling out of contract on, can we sue?
Can it be fought legally? If in the contract is a non-compete but the company already broke contract is that non-compete now void?
Asked on March 29, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Generally, if the other side breaches or violates a contract, that frees you from performing under it: a breach by one party allows the other party to treat the contract as terminated. The breach must be a "material" or important one; in the context of employment contracts generally, that typically means a breach in terms of compensation, benefits, location, seniority or title (if such were specified in the contract), but not something like specific duties done (since employers have a great deal of control over that, and the work you do can change without affecting the value of the job). In terms of non-competition agreements more specifically, unless the employee received some "consideration" (payment of some kind: stock, options, bonus, etc.) for signing the agreement, if the employer terminates his employment (i.e. he is fired, and does not quit or resign), that generally terminates the non-competition agreement, since employment was what the employer was giving him in exchange for his promise to not compete. Thus, without a separate payment for signing the agreement, if "all" the employee got was a job, taking away that job can be seen as both the employer breaching its obligations and as taking away the consideration which bound the contract.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.