Reliable Fire Equipment Co. v. Arredondo

Former employees of fire equipment company, who formed their own company, sought declaratory judgment that noncompetition restrictive covenant they had signed was unenforceable. Three-part test for reasonableness of restrictive covenants includes legitimate business interest of employer as an element. Whether legitimate business interest exists is based on totality of facts and circumstances of individual case, and includes factors of near-permanence of customer relationships, employee's acquisition of confidential information through employment, and time and place restrictions. (KILBRIDE, THOMAS, GARMAN, KARMEIER, BURKE, and THEIS, concurring.)