Successful defense before the SJC

Robert A. Murphy, with the assistance of Andrew M. Higgins and Matthew L. Lunenfeld on the brief, successfully defended the enforceability of a covenant not to compete in a franchise agreement. In a case that the Supreme Judicial Court described as one of first impression for Massachusetts, the SJC unanimously upheld the enforceability of such a covenant, concluding that the relationship between the parties was more akin to that in a sale of a business than an employment agreement, the covenant’s terms were reasonable and the plaintiff himself had benefited from the arrangement of which the covenant was a part. Mr. Murphy and Mr. Lunenfeld obtained a defense verdict at trial, which the plaintiff then appealed. Boulanger v. Dunkin’ Donuts Incorporated, Docket No. SJC 09215 (October 1, 2004).

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