An Ohio appellate court affirmed a ruling earlier this year that a provision of a physician's noncompete contract was "partially unreasonable," JDSupra reported April 21.
In the suit, a Metrohealth burn center recruited a burn surgeon who was later promoted to the director of the facility. The employment contract included a noncompete clause that prohibited the physician from any similar medical career within 35 miles of the center for two years after terminating employment.
The physician eventually resigned and accepted the position as the director of another burn center within 35 miles of the center. His former employer sued to enforce the noncompete.
The trial court ruling, which was affirmed by the appellate court, said that the physician could work as a burn surgeon but could not assume the position of director for one year after leaving Cleveland-based Metrohealth.