Buyer beware – Employee contracts aren’t always conveyable

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Abstract: When companies are sold, the seller’s contracts usually transfer to the buyer — but not always. This article looks at an Eighth Circuit case where an acquiring company claimed that employees had violated their former employer’s noncompete and confidentiality agreements by going to work for a competitor. The employees contended that the contracts were conveyed without their consent. A sidebar discusses a similar case in a different jurisdiction. Symphony Diagnostic Services No. 1 Inc. v. Greenbaum, No. 15-2294, July 6, 2016 (8th Cir.) Roeder v. Ferrell-Duncan Clinic, Inc., 155 S.W.3d 76 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004) Hedgeye Risk Management, LLC v. Heldman, No. 16-0935, July 8, 2016 (D.C.)