BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg
Court of Appeals of New York
690 N.Y.S.2d 854 (1999)
Hirshberg (defendant) worked at BDO Seidman's (plaintiff) Buffalo accounting office from 1984 to 1993 and, upon his 1989 promotion to manager, signed a 'Manager's Agreement' barring him from serving any former client of the Buffalo office for eighteen months after leaving. After Hirshberg resigned in 1993, BDO sued in 1995, presenting a list of BDO clients Hirshberg had allegedly taken in violation of the covenant. The trial court granted Hirshberg summary judgment, finding the covenant unreasonable and unenforceable, and the appellate division affirmed; BDO appealed.
Whether a restrictive covenant in a contract is only subject to specific enforcement to the extent that it is reasonable in time and area, necessary to protect the employer's legitimate interests in preventing unfair competition, not harmful to the general public, and not unreasonably burdensome to the employee.