Boston Scientific Corporation v. Mabey, et al, No. 10-4201 (10th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseBoston Scientific Corporation and Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation (Boston Scientific) filed suit to enforce a non-compete agreement against Mikelle Mabey, a former employee, and St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division (St. Jude), her new employer. The district court held in favor of Mabey and St. Jude, and Boston Scientific appealed. In 2009, after Mabey had worked for Boston Scientific for three years, the company asked her to sign a non-compete agreement. If she signed, she would remain eligible for a quarterly bonus that had been offered the year before. If she did not sign, Boston Scientific would reduce her bonus eligibility by $1,000 for each of the final three quarters of 2009; however, she would remain employed at-will and would continue to receive the same base salary. Mabey signed the agreement in March. As a result, she earned $3,000 more in bonus pay than if she had not signed the agreement. In May 2010, Mabey left Boston Scientific to work for its competitor, St.Jude. Boston Scientific filed suit in Utah federal district court to enforce the non-compete agreement. Both sides moved for summary judgment. The district court concluded that the non-compete was unenforceable due to a lack of consideration because Boston Scientific "merely kept Mabey’s compensation the same" in exchange for her signing the agreement, and that "no more constituted a 'clear additional benefit' than continuing a person’s employment does in an at-will employment situation." Upon review, the Tenth Circuit was unpersuaded by Mabey's "failure of consideration" argument: in exchange for signing the non-compete, Mabey received a benefit to which, as an at-will employee, she had no legal right. This was sufficient to form a valid agreement. The Court reversed the district court's judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings.
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