A judge has ruled in favor of a physician who sued his former employer over a noncompete clause in his employment contract, WFYI Indianapolis reported Nov. 20.
The ruling affirmed that the noncompete clause in the contract between David Lankord, MD, a pediatric intensivist, and his former employer, Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Physicians, is unenforceable and that he is possibly entitled to monetary damages from Lutheran.
The noncompete clause attempted to restrict Dr. Lankford from practicing medicine within a 30-mile radius of any Lutheran facilities for up to a year after his employment ends. According to the report, the judge ruled that Lutheran breached Dr. Lankord's contract after changing his job duties and that the noncompete was overly broad.
During his first four years of employment at Lutheran, Dr. Lankoford worked in pediatric intensive care units. In October 2022, Lutheran eliminated several pediatric hospitalist positions and shifted their workload to intensivists, like Dr. Lankford.
Overburdened by a heavier case load, Dr. Lankford quit his position with Lutheran and tried to get out of his noncompete. In February, Lutheran sued Dr. Lankford and his new employer, Parkview Health, also in Fort Wayne. A judge dismissed those cases.
The judge's ruling said that the noncompete was overly broad in its geographic restrictions, which would have forced Dr. Lankford to travel an hour to the nearest hospital for work. The amount of financial damages he is entitled to will be determined at trial.
Lutheran Health Physicians did not immediately respond to Becker's request for comment but this article will be updated if any more information becomes available.