Contract Breaches and Ignored Non-compete Agreements Cost a Houston Hospital Millions
Jun 16, 2011
Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) June 15, 2011 – The University General Hospital in Houston and its affiliated companies – Ascension Physician Solutions and Luxxus Health Systems – are under scrutiny after a jury slammed a hefty verdict against them in Houston’s 270th State District Court. Prexus Health LLC was awarded $7.86 million in the complex lawsuit.
Austin Business Litigation Lawyer and Employment Attorney, Gregory D. Jordan
Luxxus was found to have interfered with confidentiality and noncompete agreements by employing past Prexus executives and workers to perform similar jobs at the Houston hospital. University General Hospital was found to have wrongfully terminated and breached contractual agreements with Prexus.
The contractual agreements involved management and administrative services at the hospital. The 72-bed specialty hospital is part of Houston’s massive Texas Medical Center. University General Hospital is no stranger to lawsuits. Over the last couple of years, it has settled disputes involving alleged contract breaches, unpaid equipment leases and rents, and other matters, according to its March 28, 2011 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Businesses must be diligent about meeting their contractual obligations or they potentially face stiff consequences,” said Austin business litigation attorney and Austin non-compete attorney Gregory D. Jordan. “Texas law on non-compete agreements has changed dramatically in the last five years. Expert legal counsel is often advisable when a business faces questions regarding its hiring policies and non-compete agreements or wants to hire workers from inside an industry.”
Non-compete agreements may be critical to businesses seeking to protect their trade secrets, confidential business information, client and vendor lists, as well as sales and marketing strategies. “You see many types of non-compete agreements,” said Jordan, who has extensive experience representing employers and employees in disputes involving these types of agreements. “Some of them are enforceable and some are not. It usually pays to have a knowledgeable attorney review a non-compete agreement as it can have a long-term impact on both the business and the employee.”
The movement of employees between businesses can provide fertile grounds for disputes. Sometimes the disputes are warranted and sometimes they are not. The issue with the University General Hospital in Houston was obviously a dispute where the jury found inappropriate conduct had occurred. To learn more, please contact Austin non-compete attorney, Austin business litigation lawyer and Austin business attorney Gregory D. Jordan at http://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call (512) 419-0684.
To learn more, contact Austin employment attorney and Austin business attorney, Gregory D. Jordan or visit http://www.theaustintriallawyer.com.
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Call: 512-419-0684
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