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Reasonable Geographic  Restraints

The courts look at the size of the corporate “foot  print” of the business looking to enforce a  non-compete. Where the employer’s customer base  consists of the general public, it is ordinarily reasonable to devise the geographic restraint to  protect the employer’s normal market. Moore v. Dover  Veterinary Hosp., 116 N.H. 680, 367 A.2d 1044, 1048  (1976).

Limitations
There are certain natural limits to an employer’s  general claim that it does business “everywhere.” If,  for example, the employer’s shipping routes pertain to  the northeast, only, then it cannot make a  reasonable to prevent competition on the West  Coast. Further, there are legal limitations to the  scope of business. An employer must register to do business in each state where it intends to file a  lawsuit. Otherwise, many states, like Pennsylvania, will not allow the employer to commence suit in that  state unless the employer is also registered to do  business there.

Proof of Scope of Business
A court will accept as prima facie valid a covenant  related to the territory where the employee was  employed as a legitimate protection of the employer’s  investment in customer relations and good will. W. R.  Grace & Co. v. Mouyal, 262 Ga. 464, 466; 422 S.E.2d  529, 532 (1992); Howard Schultz & Assocs. v.  Broniec, 239 Ga. 181, 236 S.E.2d 265, 268 (1977).

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