The Court of Appeals in the US state of Georgia has
ruled that the courts cannot extend a non-compete provision beyond
its contractual terms.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That adage
is apparent in Georgia's non-compete law, which had a major
overhaul in May 2011, when Georgia's Restrictive Covenant Act
(RCA) became effective.
The RCA applies to restrictive covenant agreements entered into
after May 2011, whereas Georgia's well-developed common law
applies to agreements entered into prior to that date.
Nevertheless, prior common law themes play out time and again in
Georgia courts' interpretation of the RCA. One such theme is
that a court is not allowed to extend a non-compete provision
beyond the terms drafted in the agreement. Recently, in
Daneshgari v. Patriot Towing Services, the Court of
Appeals addressed a court's extension of a non-compete
provision.
