Limits on Restrictive Covenants – Case Comment: MEDlchair LP v. DME Medequip Inc.

On January 29, 2016, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued reasons for judgment in Northwest Waste Solutions v. Accili, 2016 BCSC 115. The case provides important guidance to litigants in multi-party litigation where a plaintiff has agreed to cap or limit a defendant's liability, but the defendant remains a party to the action while the plaintiff focuses its efforts on the other defendants. These types of arrangements, often called "Mary Carter-type" agreements, have been the subject of much judicial commentary in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada.

In this case, the plaintiff had commenced legal proceedings against Super Save Disposal Inc. ("Super Save") and several individual defendants, all of whom were former employees of the plaintiff. The plaintiff alleged that Super Save had induced the employees to breach their employment contracts with the plaintiff. After the litigation was commenced, one of the individual defendants, Michael Lamb, commenced