N   O   N      C   O   M   P   E   T   E   S   :
The Court denied an employee’s motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin enforcement of a non compete, but made its views plain in doing so.

Kauzens v. Diamond Diagnostics, Inc., 19 Mass. L. Rep. 401, 2005 Mass. Super.
LEXIS 285  (June 2, 2005) (van Gestel, J.).

Diamond Diagnostics, Inc. (“Diamond”) repairs, refurbishes and resells used clinical laboratory and medical instruments. Plaintiff Jeffrey Kauzens worked for the company for several years and was a talented and valued employee. He was subject to a non compete agreement that forbade him from working for a direct or indirect competitor for a period of three years after leaving the company.

In April 2005, Kauzens gave Diamond notice that he was terminating his employment. Kauzens was scheduled to start work in May 2005 for Beckman Coulter, Inc., a company that manufactures new clinical laboratory and medical instruments. Diamond threatened

to enforce its non compete, which caused Beckman Coulter to hold off on hiring Kauzens. Kauzens then brought a declaratory judgment action against Diamond, asking the Court to enjoin Diamond from asserting its non compete to prevent him from working at Beckman Coulter.

The Court declined to enter an injunction against Diamond, where it had only threatened to enforce its non compete, but wrote at some length to signal that it did not believe Diamond had any basis to prevent Kauzens from working for Beckman Coulter. “The real concerns of Diamond seem not so much with Kauzens working for Beckman Coulter than with his leaving Diamond.”