Dr Tepper (Employee), a veterinarian licensed in Texas, enters into an Employment contract with Dr Meng Also, a licensed veterinarian, Dr Meng (Employer) owns and operates the Barking Pet Clinic in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area Dr Meng hires Dr Tepper to manage and provide veterinary services at the Barking Pet Clinic At the time Dr Tepper is hired, the Barking Clinic has been in operation for 15 years and it has a large and stable customer base Dr Tepper has moved from Amarillowhere his own practice had not been terribly successfulto take the job The employment contract provides Dr Tepper with a base salary, plus a bonus based on the profitability of the Barking Pet Clinic The contract provides that either party may terminate the agreement upon 120 days' notice to the other party The written employment contract also contains the following provisions Voluntary Termination Employee agrees that upon his voluntary termination of the Employee Employer relationship, Employee will not practice veterinary medicine in Arlington, Texas, or within a ten (10) mile radius of the Barking Pet Clinic in Arlington for a period of three (3) years Employee agrees not to advertise within the City of Arlington his departure from the Barking Pet Clinic or send any written or digital announcements of any sort (including email or internet posting) notifying Barking Pet Clinic clients that Employee is leaving the practice of veterinary medicine at the Barking Pet Clinic Employee further agrees that he will not notify present or past clients of the Barking Pet Clinic of a new location where Employee subsequently works within three (3) years after his voluntary termination Each year the contract is renewed with a change in the compensation scheme, increasing Dr Tepper's salary and adding a provision giving him a percentage of the profits Otherwise, each new contract is identical to the first, particularly with regard to the Noncompete Clause After practicing at Barking Pet Clinic in Arlington for five years and becoming popular with Barking Pet Clinic customers, Dr Tepper voluntarily resigns to work for more money at Barking Pet Clinic's major competitor, Furry Friends Animal Care Furry Friends is approximately two (2) miles from Barking Pet Clinic Dr Tepper immediately sends notice of his new position to all of his Barking Pet Clinic clients, and Furry Friends advertises online, announcing Dr Tepper's new position with Furry Friends Dr Meng sues to enforce the Noncompete Clause of the Employment Contract What would be the best result using contract defenses, and why

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Posted on Apr 27, 2024

Dr. Tepper (Employee), a veterinarian licensed in Texas, enters into an Employment contract with Dr. Meng.
Also, a licensed veterinarian, Dr. Meng (Employer) owns and operates the Barking Pet Clinic in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area.
Dr. Meng hires Dr. Tepper to manage and provide veterinary services at the Barking Pet Clinic.
At the time Dr. Tepper is hired, the Barking Clinic has been in operation for 15 years and it has a large and stable customer base.
Dr. Tepper has moved from Amarillowhere his own practice had not been terribly successfulto take the job.
The employment contract provides Dr. Tepper with a base salary, plus a bonus based on the profitability of the Barking Pet Clinic.
The contract provides that either party may terminate the agreement upon 120 days' notice to the other party.
The written employment contract also contains the following provisions:

Voluntary Termination

1. 1. Employee agrees that upon his voluntary termination of the Employee-Employer relationship, Employee will not practice veterinary medicine in Arlington, Texas, or within a ten (10) mile radius of the Barking Pet Clinic in Arlington for a period of three (3) years.
  2. Employee agrees not to advertise within the City of Arlington his departure from the Barking Pet Clinic or send any written or digital announcements of any sort (including email or internet posting) notifying Barking Pet Clinic clients that Employee is leaving the practice of veterinary medicine at the Barking Pet Clinic.
  3. Employee further agrees that he will not notify present or past clients of the Barking Pet Clinic of a new location where Employee subsequently works within three (3) years after his voluntary termination.

Each year the contract is renewed with a change in the compensation scheme, increasing Dr. Tepper's salary and adding a provision giving him a percentage of the profits.
Otherwise, each new contract is identical to the first, particularly with regard to the Noncompete Clause.
After practicing at Barking Pet Clinic in Arlington for five years and becoming popular with Barking Pet Clinic customers, Dr. Tepper voluntarily resigns to work for more money at Barking Pet Clinic's major competitor, Furry Friends Animal Care.
Furry Friends is approximately two (2) miles from Barking Pet Clinic.
Dr. Tepper immediately sends notice of his new position to all of his Barking Pet Clinic clients, and Furry Friends advertises online, announcing Dr. Tepper's new position with Furry Friends.
Dr. Meng sues to enforce the Noncompete Clause of the Employment Contract.

What would be the best result using contract defenses, and why?