Dowell v. Biosense Webster, Inc.: Overly Broad Restrictive Covenants And Questionable Litigation Choices Make For Difficult Outcomes

Continuing the recent flurry of decisions refining the edges of California's general prohibition against post-employment covenants not to compete, the Court of Appeal for the Second District of California issued its opinion in Dean Dowell v. Biosense Webster, Inc., 2009 Cal. App. LEXIS 1860 ("Biosense"). Without adding a great deal to the current body of California law governing post-employment restraints on trade, the opinion highlights the problems created by overly broad restrictive covenants and evidences the dangers of poor choices in trade secret litigation. The court's decision (in dicta) also undercuts the status of the so-called "common law trade secret exception" to California's prohibition on post-termination covenants not to compete.