Kennedy v. Shave Barber Co. Court of Appeals of Georgia, 822 SE2d 606 (2018) Facts Patricia Kennedy worked as a master barber for The Shave, a barbershop in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. Under the terms of her employment contract, Kennedy agreed that, after leaving her employment, she would not work in the men's groom- ing industry "within a three (3) mile radius of any SHAVE location" for two years and would not solicit customers of The Shave for one year. Less than a month after quitting her position, Kennedy opened a new salon, "PK Does Hair," two miles from The Shave. She solicited customers through social media accounts on which she posted photos originally posted on social media by The Shave. The Shave filed a suit in a Georgia state court against Kennedy, alleging a breach of the noncompete provision of her employment contract. Kennedy argued that the geographic restriction in the noncompete provision was "unreasonable and uncertain." The court limited the geographic scope of the provision to a three-mile radius of The Shave's current location and issued an injunction in The Shave's favor. Kennedy appealed Reason The Shave had a legitimate business interest in protect- ing itself from the risk that Kennedy might appropriate customers by taking advantage of the contacts developed while she worked at The Shave. The Shave had expended considerable resources in developing its name recognition and customer base. Most of The Shave's cus- tomers lived and worked within three miles of the Virginia-Highland location. The Shave had previously lost customers when two former employees opened competing barbershops within three miles. Based on the harm to The Shave's business if the noncompete provision was not enforced, the appellate court found the trial court's refor mation of the provision's geographic scope to be reasonable. The appellate court also concluded that the trial court had eliminated any uncertainty by limiting the scope to three miles from The Shave's current location. The appellate court also ruled, despite Kennedy's assertion to the contrary, that her social media posts of pictures of The Shave's cus- Issue Was the court's reformation of the geographic scope of the tomers constituted solicitation in further violation of the noncompete noncompete provision reasonable? Decision Yes. A state intermediate appellate court affirmed the lower court's order in favor of The Shave. "Kennedy is in violation of ...the restrictive covenants which where specifically designed to protect The Shave from competition from its former employees and loss of its client base. Therefore, the trial court did not err in finding the non-compete enforceable against Kennedy and in granting lan injunction] on this ground." provision Critical Thinking Legal What "legitimate business interests" justify the enforcement of a noncompete provision? Economic What sort of harm, particularly in Kennedy's situation, would support a court's refusal to enforce an employment contract's noncompete provision?