California Business & Professions Code § 16600 contains a strong public policy against non-competition agreements.  To address this prohibition, some employers have included choice of forum provisions in their employment contracts to give them the option of initiating an action in a more non-compete friendly jurisdiction and obtain leverage in the litigation.  Some federal district courts have enforced those forum selection clauses.  Marcelo v. Ivy Ventures, LLC, No. C 10-04609, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134333 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 9, 2010); Google, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 415 F. Supp. 2d 1018 (N.D. Cal. 2005); Hartstein v. Rembrandt IP Solutions…
Continue Reading California Court Of Appeal Holds That Party Seeking To Enforce Forum Selection Clause As To Unwaivable Statutory Rights Has Burden To Show Enforcement Would Not Diminish Rights