Upholding earlier California Court of Appeal decisions and disagreeing with the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court has ruled in “Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP”, ___ Cal. 4th ___ , 2008 Cal. LEXIS 9618 (Cal. Aug. 7, 2008) (No. S147190), that non-competition agreements in California are invalid under California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 (“Section 16600”), even if narrowly drawn, unless they fall within an express statutory exception.
