Trouble in New Mexico for a Company and Its Officer lexology.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lexology.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Monday, December 21, 2020
In a decision with several important takeaways, the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Robert Mestas against CHW Group Inc. and one of its corporate officers, Victor Mandalawi.
See Mestas v. Chw Grp., No. 19-CV-792 MV/CG, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 236357 (D.N.M. Dec. 16, 2020). According to Plaintiff, CHW Group sells home warranty programs through telemarketing calls, and its officer, Mr. Mandalawi, “directly or indirectly controlled the persons who actually initiated those calls.”
Plaintiff alleged that CHW Group called him multiple times using an ATDS and despite his number being listed on the National Do-Not-Call Registry. For each call, Plaintiff alleged that CHW had used an ATDS because Mr. Mestas heard “dead air” or “strange clicking sounds before a live human telemarketer came on the line.”
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Employment Law and Patent Law Collide: Federal Circuit Rules that California’s Non-Compete Restrictions Also Limit the Scope of Patent and Invention Assignment Clauses Tuesday, December 15, 2020
California is well known for its broad restrictions relating to non-competition clauses applicable to workers. After a recent decision by the Federal Circuit, such notoriety may extend to the patent realm. Employers should beware to not fall into this employment agreement trap.
In what it characterized as an issue not previously addressed by California’s appellate courts, in
Whitewater West Industries v. Alleshouse, No. 2019-1852 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 19, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that that California state law not only restricts non-competition provisions in employment agreements, but also prohibits certain provisions related to invention assignment. Specifically, employment agreement provisions requiring the assignment of invention