On October 30, 2017, partner Laurie J. Rust and associate Surbhi Garg secured summary disposition in an arbitration regarding a covenant not to compete on behalf of a government contractor. The respondent had been hired as the contractor’s international director of business development and signed a covenant not to compete anywhere in the world for a period of two years. He resigned a month later and insisted that the covenant was not enforceable. After an international deposition and extensive motions practice, the Gordon & Rees team argued that the restrictive covenant fell into one of four statutory exceptions to Colorado’s general prohibition against restraints on trade. The arbitrator agreed and held that the restrictive covenant was enforceable as a matter of law.
The next day, October 31, 2017, Rust, Garg, and Of Counsel Jack Mann secured summary judgment in an FLSA retaliation action pending in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of a road construction company. The plaintiff argued that he had been fired in retaliation for making complaints regarding his classification and improper deductions from the overtime he claimed. The Gordon & Rees team argued that the plaintiff had been fired after receiving multiple warnings to follow the company’s overtime rules. Judge Christine Arguello agreed. She held that the plaintiff had engaged in protected activity followed shortly by an adverse employment action, but there was no evidence of pretext and summary judgment was appropriate as a matter of law.