Easy Reach, Inc. v. Hub City Brush, Inc.

935 So. 2d 1140, 2006 WL 2256589
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 8, 2006
Docket2005-CA-00952-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 935 So. 2d 1140 (Easy Reach, Inc. v. Hub City Brush, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Easy Reach, Inc. v. Hub City Brush, Inc., 935 So. 2d 1140, 2006 WL 2256589 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

935 So.2d 1140 (2006)

EASY REACH, INC. (Formerly Easy Reach Brush, Inc.) and Brant L. Cedotal, Appellants
v.
HUB CITY BRUSH, INC., Appellee.

No. 2005-CA-00952-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 8, 2006.

*1141 R. Christopher Wood, attorney for appellants.

Lawrence Cary Gunn, Hattiesburg, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., IRVING and ROBERTS, JJ.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Brant Cedotal, owner of Easy Reach, Inc., sued on behalf of himself and Easy Reach for a declaratory judgment to void a non-competition clause that bars Easy Reach from manufacturing its own brushes. The Forrest County Chancery Court declined to find that the non-competition agreement was invalid, and entered a judgment denying relief to Easy Reach and Brant. Believing the court's decision in error, Easy Reach and Brant appeal, asserting the following issues which we repeat verbatim:

[1] The Trial Court erred when it found that the non-competition clause contained within the Stockholders' Agreement dated June 23, 1994 was valid despite the fact that the terms of the non-competition clause was [sic] perpetual.
[2] The Trial Court erred when it applied the principle of law stated in Fought v. Morris, 543 So.2d 167 (Miss. 1989).

¶ 2. We find that the trial court erred in refusing to void the Easy Reach non-competition clause, and therefore affirm in part and reverse and render in part.

FACTS

¶ 3. Brant's father and grandfather purchased Piave Broom and Mop Manufacturing Company in 1964. After several years, Piave expanded its manufacturing to produce industrial brushes. In the early 1990s, Brant incorporated Hub City Brush, Inc. and Easy Reach Brush, Inc., which eventually was renamed "Easy Reach, Inc." As the chancellor found, "[a]ll three companies [Piave, Easy Reach Brush, and Hub City] did business with each other, until problems began to develop between the family members."

¶ 4. In an attempt to resolve the conflicts that had arisen, Piave merged with Hub City, while Brant retained full ownership of Easy Reach. The family members had the following stock ownership in the new Hub City: Brant Cedotal owned 60%, Robert Cedotal owned 20%, Wayne Cedotal *1142 owned 10%, and Cecil Cedotal owned 10% of the Hub City shares. Some time thereafter, according to the chancellor: "Robert and Wayne paid Brant a total of $240,000 to convey 15% of his stock in Hub City to them." Brant continued to retain full ownership of Easy Reach, but Hub City was now owned in the following proportions: Brant owned 45%, Robert owned 30%, Wayne owned 15%, and Cecil owned 10%. Hub City currently manufactures brushes, while Easy Reach manufactures telescopic handles. Easy purchases brushes for the telescopic handles from other sources and then sells its finished product at various locations.

¶ 5. All the stockholders of Hub City (Brant, Robert, Wayne, and Cecil) entered a stockholder's agreement on June 23, 1994. This agreement contains the following language in paragraph 11.1, which is titled "Covenant Not to Compete":

As a material inducement to sign this Agreement, each Stockholder agrees that as long as he or she is a Stockholder, he or she will not Compete with HUB CITY BRUSH and, further, that he or she will not Compete with HUB CITY BRUSH during the six-month period beginning on the closing date for the sale of his or her shares of the Stock under this Agreement.

This provision applies to the individual shareholders of Hub City, including Brant. Paragraph 11.2 applies specifically to Easy Reach as a corporate entity, and reads as follows:

Section 11.1 above will not apply to EASY REACH BRUSH, INC. It is hereby agreed by and between HUB CITY BRUSH and EASY REACH BRUSH, INC. that EASY REACH BRUSH, INC. shall not manufacture any brushes except paint brushes, and that HUB CITY BRUSH shall not compete with EASY REACH BRUSH, INC. in the sale to truckstops, RV dealers and truck dealers. Furthermore, HUB CITY BRUSH shall not manufacture extension or telescopic handles but EASY REACH BRUSH, INC. may manufacture and sell extension or telescopic handles.

¶ 6. Other facts, as necessary, will be related during our discussion of the issues.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Validity of the Non-Competition Clauses

¶ 7. Brant contends that "[t]he covenants not to compete lack precisely these two necessary elements [duration of restriction and geographical limits] and should be declared void as a matter of law and public policy in accordance with Mississippi precedent."

Standard of Review

¶ 8. "When considering the enforceability of restrictive employment agreements, we review the entire record and `the evidence which supports or reasonably tends to support the findings of fact made below, together with all reasonable inferences which may be drawn therefrom and which favor the lower court's findings of fact, must be accepted.'" Kennedy v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 759 So.2d 362, 364(¶ 3) (Miss.2000) (quoting Sta-Home Health Agency, Inc. v. Umphers, 562 So.2d 1258, 1263 (Miss.1990)). "We will not disturb the findings of the lower court when they are supported by substantial evidence unless the Chancellor abused his discretion, was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or an erroneous legal standard was applied." Id. (citations omitted).

¶ 9. Non-competition clauses have generally been viewed unfavorably in Mississippi jurisprudence: "Non-competition *1143 agreements have been viewed by this Court as `restrictive contracts [which] are in restraint of trade and individual freedom and are not favorites of the law.' Only when such agreements are reasonable will they be considered valid and upheld by this Court." Id. at 364(¶ 4) (citations omitted). Specifically, "the enforceability of a non-competition agreement [is] largely predicated upon the reasonableness and specificity of its terms, primarily, the duration of the restriction and its geographic scope." Id.

¶ 10. Because 11.1 and 11.2 both relate to different entities (11.1 applies only to Brant himself, while 11.2 applies to Easy Reach), we address each separately below.

11.1: The Shareholder Non-Competition Clause

¶ 11. We find that the court was correct in finding that the terms of paragraph 11.1 are reasonable. This non-competition clause, which relates only to shareholders, is limited by both duration and location. Specifically, the clause restricts competitive activity within the first six months after a stockholder sells his interest in the company. The definition of "compete" contained in paragraph 12.5 limits the clause as to the location within five miles of any place where Hub City has a contract at the time a shareholder sells his interest in the company.[1]

¶ 12. Since the clause is reasonably limited as to duration and location, we find that there is enough evidence in the record to support the chancellor's finding that the non-competition clause contained in paragraph 11.1 is reasonable, and therefore valid.

11.2: The Easy Reach Non-Competition Clause

¶ 13. We find that this clause is not limited as to either duration or location and is therefore unreasonable and invalid. Read literally, the terms of paragraph 11.2 forever bar Easy Reach from engaging in the manufacture of brushes. Because the definition of "compete" contained in the agreement does not apply to Easy Reach, the clause is unlimited as to location as well. As stated in

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