Non-Compete | Non Solicitation Agreements: What Dentists need to know (Part 1)…

Non-Compete | Non-Solicit Agreements for Ontario Dentists (Part 1)

Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. If you need legal advice, contact me (Michael Carabash) or David Mayzel.

This is the first of a series of blog posts I’m writing for dentists about restrictive covenants.

Restrictive Covenants

Restrictive Covenants are terms and conditions in an agreement (such as an Associate Agreement, Partnership Agreement or Agreement of Purchase and Sale) that limit or prohibit one party‘s ability to do certain things. Typical examples include not disclosing confidential information, not competing in the same business, and not soliciting employees and patients of a party. The idea behind restrictive covenants is that a party which is privy to another party‘s sensitive information or clients should be prevented from simply leaving the relationship and competing against the other party with all those benefits.

What are Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Clauses?

A Non-Compete clause puts limits on a dentist‘s ability to compete in the same business (e.g. providing dental and ancillary services) as another party. That other party is typically an individual dentist, partnership, or dentistry professional corporation. In other words, during the term of the agreement and for a period of time thereafter and within a set geographic area, a dentist will be prevented from establishing their own business or working for others such that they offer the same services as the other party.

A Non-Solicitation clause means that a dentist will not solicit (attempt or actually provide services to) patients, employees, or referring dentists of another party. Again, that other party is typically an individual dentist, a dental partnership, or a dentistry professional corporation. This is a less drastic restrictive covenant than a Non-Compete clause.

Both non-compete and non-solicitation clauses and agreements can be found in the employment context (e.g. associate employee agreement, independent contractor agreements) and business agreement (e.g. partnership agreements, shareholder agreements, agreements of purchase and sales, etc.).

In the next blog, I’ll be discussing how these types of agreements get challenged…

 

Related posts:

1. What Ontario Dentists need to know about Associate Agreements (Part 1)
2. Associate Agreements for Dentists (Part 3): Restrictive Covenants
3. Locum Agreements for Dentists | Contract for temporary replacement (part 2)
4. Locum Agreements for Dentists | Contract for temporary replacement (part 1)
5. Ontario Dentist Associate Agreements (Part 5): terminating the Associate
6. Negotiating the lease: What Dentists need to know!
7. Dentistry Associate Agreements (Part 2): Terms and Conditions
8. Ontario Dentist Associate Agreements (Part 4): the Associate’s Responsibilities