Dowell

Plaintiffs and appellants St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc. (SC), and Pacesetter, Inc. (Pacesetter) (collectively, St. Jude), along with employees Deana Dowell, Steven Chapman and Claudio Plaza, sued defendant and cross-complainant Biosense Webster, Inc. (Biosense), to enjoin it from enforcing noncompete and nonsolicitation clauses in employment agreements used in California, including agreements it had with the individual plaintiffs. The trial court summarily adjudicated that the clauses were facially void under Business and Professions Code section 16600 and that their use violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) (§ 17200 et seq.). The trial court also summarily adjudicated that Biosense’s unclean hands defense and its cross-complaint for unfair competition failed as a matter of law. The court determined that there was no “prevailing party” and ordered the parties to bear their own costs.

On appeal, St. Jude contends that the trial court’s ruling “did not go far enough” because the court failed to issue a permanent injunction against Biosense’s use of such restrictive clauses in all agreements with California employees. Plaintiffs also contend that they are…