B. Reasonableness requirements The court will likely find the duration and geographic scope of the non-compete agreement to be reasonable. Both the duration and the geographic scope must be reasonable for the non-compete to be enforced. Nat'l Graphics Co. v. Dilley, 681 P.2d 546 (Colo. App. 1984). Five year non-competes have been enforced by the courts regularly. Despite the fact 150-mile restriction is outside the 100-mile default range typically enforced by the courts, Betty Crockette is a unique business that operates statewide so it serves a legitimate business purpose.
1. Duration Restriction The duration restriction of five years for a non-compete agreement is reasonable. The general rule is that duration restrictions of up to five years are reasonable Harrison, 577 P.2d at 231. However, Reed Mill & Lumber Co. v. Jensen, 165 P.3d 733 (Colo. App. 2006) creates an exception. Distinguished from the …show more content…
For companies engaging in business over large territories, geographic scopes over 100 miles have been upheld. Zeff, Farrington & Associates, Inc. v. Farrington, 449 P.2d 813 (1969) and Doubleclick Inc. v. Paikin, 402 F. Supp. 2d 1251, 1258 (D. Colo. 2005) provide illustrations of this point. In Zeff the court held that the geographic restriction of 200 miles in a non-compete for a soil engineer was reasonable due to the rarity of the business within the state. In Doubleclick, the court held a non-compete for a former manager at multi-national corporation was reasonable, despite lacking a geographic restriction, based on the fact nation-wide restrictions have been upheld in Colorado and the reasonableness of the duration period. Here, Betty Crockette does not operate in a single city but provides casserole delivery services throughout the state of Colorado. Therefore, the court is likely to hold that a 150-mile restriction is