Duvall family life cycle

Having concluded Nebraska law applies, we now turn to whether the

noncompete agreements are valid under Nebraska law. Pursuant to Nebraska law, a

noncompete agreement is valid if it is (1) “not injurious to the public,” (2) “not greater than is reasonably necessary to protect the employer in some legitimate interest,” and (3) “not unduly harsh and oppressive on the employee.

“An employer has a legitimate business interest in protection against a former employee’s competition by improper and unfair means, but is not entitled to protection against ordinary competition from a former employee.” Id. at 185. A noncompete agreement “may be valid only if it restricts the former employee from working for or soliciting the former employer’s clients or accounts with whom the former employee actually did business and has personal contact.

We conclude the district court properly held the noncompete agreements were

overbroad and unenforceable. The district court recognized the noncompete

agreements prohibit the former employees from, directly or indirectly, being

concerned in any manner with any company in competition with DCS, and from

providing contract cleaning services within one hundred miles of any entity or

enterprise “having business dealings” with DCS, including attorneys, accountants,

delivery services and the like. The breadth of the noncompete agreements effectively put the former employees out of the cleaning business within an extensive region. We hold the district court did not err in concluding Nebraska courts would not enforce such overly broad noncompete agreements.

Therefore, we affirm the well reasoned judgment of the district court.