Heraeus Medical brought Zimmer Biomet to court again recently to refute an initial decision over non-compete issues between the former partners and an employee, according to The Indiana Lawyer.
Five things to know:
1. The companies were formerly partners, with Zimmer Biomet having exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the Palacos bone cements manufactured by Heraeus. However, Heraeus decided to establish direct sales in the U.S. for the product and tapped a former Zimmer Biomet employee to join the sales team.
2. The former Zimmer Biomet employee, Robert Kolbe, had signed a noncompete and nonsolicitation agreement with Zimmer Biomet, which the Kosciusko Superior Court found he violated when leaving the company for Heraeus Medical; multiple other Zimmer Biomet employees followed his lead.
3. The Kosciusko Superior Court in Warsaw, Ind., ordered Heraeus not to posses or use confidential information or employ former Zimmer Biomet employees in violation of the non-competes, or a preliminary injunction. Heraeus and Mr. Kolbe appealed the decision, saying the non-compete was against the law and some of the preliminary injunction was "unreasonable."
4. The most recent appellate court decision found that the noncompete and nonsolicitation agreement was "not unenforceable" as a result of undefined geographic scope, and that the non-solicitation of customers wasn't overbroad.
5. The appellate court did find the agreement between Kolbe and Zimmer Biomet not to solicit Zimmer Biomet employees was overbroad and instructed that the parties narrow the scope.