Graham v. Cirocco
Kansas Court of Appeals
69 P.3d 194 (2003)
Colorectal surgeon Cirocco (defendant) signed an employment contract with fellow colorectal surgeon Graham (plaintiff) containing a two-year non-competition covenant restricting solicitation of Graham's patients within 150 miles and barring Cirocco from opening a nearby office or working at listed hospitals within 25 miles; after resigning, Cirocco opened a competing practice next door to Graham, prompting Graham to sue for an injunction. Evidence showed Graham's own practice remained fully booked with weeks-long wait times despite Cirocco's competition, and that enforcing the covenant would leave northeastern Kansas with only one colorectal surgeon for roughly 700,000 people, with general surgeons performing colorectal procedures having notably higher mortality rates than specialists; the trial court found the covenant reasonable and enforced it, and Cirocco appealed.
Whether non-competition covenants are unenforceable as a matter of public policy if their enforcement would result in shortages of physicians in medically necessary specialties.