Christopher Terry/Carne Co. Ltd- Peter and Deidre Coyne (Fat Freddy's) [1997] IECA 486 (12th June, 1997)

Christopher Terry/Carne Co. Ltd- Peter and Deidre Coyne (Fat Freddy's) [1997] IECA 486 (12th June, 1997)

The non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, as originally drafted, exceeded what was necessary to protect the goodwill of the business and thus offended Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 1991. However, the purchasers' waiver limiting both restrictions to two years from 6 March 1996 brought the agreement into compliance with the Act.

Citation
[1997] IECA 486
Parties
Vendor: Christopher Terry; Vendor: Carne Co. Ltd.; Purchaser: Peter Coyne; Purchaser: Deirdre Coyne
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Procedural Posture
Competition Authority Decision / Final Decision
Outcome
certificate issued; agreement as amended does not offend Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 1991
Legal Topics
Non Compete Clause, Non Solicitation Clause, Business Sale Agreement, Section 4 Competition Act 1991
Competition Law Non Compete Clause Non Solicitation Clause Business Sale Agreement Section 4 Competition Act 1991

Case Brief

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Parties

Christopher Terry

Vendor

Carne Co. Ltd.

Vendor

Peter Coyne

Purchaser

Deirdre Coyne

Purchaser

Procedural Posture

Competition Authority Decision / Final Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the non-compete and non-solicitation clauses in the business sale agreement offend against Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 1991.

Ratio Decidendi

The non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, as originally drafted, exceeded what was necessary to protect the goodwill of the business and thus offended Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 1991. However, the purchasers' waiver limiting both restrictions to two years from 6 March 1996 brought the agreement into compliance with the Act.

Court Disposition

certificate issued; agreement as amended does not offend Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 1991

Orders

  • The Competition Authority certifies that the business sale agreement dated 29 March 1996, as amended by the waiver dated 20 March 1997, does not offend against Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 1991.