Non Competition Non Solicitation and Confidentiality As a condition to the receipt of this Award, you must agree to the Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A by executing that Agreement. Failure to execute and return the Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreement within 120 days of the Grant Date shall constitute your decision to decline to accept this Award.
Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Employee agrees, as a condition to Employee’s employment with the Company, to execute the Company’s standard form of Employee Non-Disclosure, Invention Release and Non-Competition Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Non-Competition; Non-Solicitation; Confidentiality (a) For a period from the Closing Date until the fifth (5th) anniversary of the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall, directly or indirectly, own, manage, operate, control or participate in the ownership, management, operation or control of any business, whether in corporate, proprietorship or partnership form or otherwise, engaged in the Business or that otherwise competes with the Business (a “Restricted Business”). The parties hereto specifically acknowledge and agree that the remedy at law for any breach of the foregoing will be inadequate and that Newco, in addition to any other relief available to it, shall be entitled to temporary and permanent injunctive relief without the necessity of proving actual damage or posting any bond whatsoever.
(b) For a period from the Closing Date to the fifth (5th) anniversary of the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall: (i) cause, solicit, induce or encourage any Employees of the Company to leave such employment or hire, employ or otherwise engage any such individual; or (ii) cause, induce or encourage any material actual or prospective client, customer, supplier or licensor of the Business (including any existing or former customer of the Company and any Person that becomes a client or customer of the Business after the Closing) or any other Person who has a material business relationship with the Business, to terminate or modify any such actual or prospective relationship.
(c) The covenants and undertakings contained in this Section 6.7 relate to matters which are of a special, unique and extraordinary character and a violation of any of the terms of this Section 6.7 will cause irreparable injury to Newco, the amount of which will be impossible to estimate or determine and which cannot be adequately compensated. Accordingly, the remedy at law for any breach of this Section 6.7 will be inadequate. Therefore, Newco will be entitled to an injunction, restraining order or other equitable relief from any court of competent jurisdiction in the event of any breach of this Section 6.7. The rights and remedies provided by this Section 6.7 are cumulative and in addition to any other rights and remedies which Newco may have hereunder or at law or in equity.
(d) The parties hereto agree that, if any court of competent jurisdiction in a final nonappealable judgment determines that a specified time period, a specified geographical area, a specified business limitation or any other relevant feature of this Section 6.7 is unreasonable, arbitrary or against public policy, then a lesser time period, geographical area, business limitation or other relevant feature which is determined by such court to be reasonable, not arbitrary and not against public policy may be enforced against the applicable party.
(e) The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the agreement of the Subsidiaries of the Company to the provisions of this Section 6.7 in form and content reasonably satisfactory to Newco.
Non Competition and Confidentiality (a) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary set forth elsewhere herein, the RSUs, the shares of common stock of the Company underlying the RSUs, or any proceeds received by the Key Person upon the sale of shares of common stock of the Company underlying the RSUs shall be forfeited by the Key Person to the Company without any consideration therefore, if the Key Person is not in compliance, at any time during the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and ending nine months following the termination of the Key Person’s affiliation with the Company and/or its subsidiaries, with all applicable provisions of the Plan and with the following conditions:
(i) the Key Person shall not directly or indirectly (1) be employed by, engage or have any interest in any business which is or becomes competitive with the Company or its subsidiaries or is or becomes otherwise prejudicial to or in conflict with the interests of the Company or its subsidiaries, (2) induce any customer of the Company or its subsidiaries to patronize such competitive business or otherwise request or advise any such customer to withdraw, curtail or cancel any of its business with the Company or its subsidiaries, or (3) solicit for employment any person employed by the Company or its subsidiaries; provided, however, that this restriction shall not prevent the Key Person from acquiring and holding up to two percent of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any corporation which is or becomes competitive with the Company or is or becomes otherwise prejudicial to or in conflict with the interests of the Company if such shares are available to the general public on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market; and
(ii) the Key Person shall not use or disclose, except for the sole benefit of or with the written consent of the Company, any confidential information relating to the business, processes or products of the Company.
(b) The Company shall notify in writing the Key Person of any violation by the Key Person of this Section 16. The forfeiture shall be effective as of the date of the occurrence of any of the activities set forth in (a) above. If the shares of common stock of the Company underlying the RSUs have been sold, the Key Person shall promptly pay to the Company the amount of the proceeds from such sale. The Key Person hereby consents to a deduction from any amounts owed by the Company to the Key Person from time to time (including amounts owed as wages or other compensation, fringe benefits or vacation pay) to the extent of the amounts owed by the Key Person to the Company under this Section 16. Whether or not the Company elects to make any set-off in whole or in part, the Key Person agrees to timely pay any amounts due under this Section 16. In addition, the Company shall be entitled to injunctive relief for any violation by the Key Person of subsection (a)(ii) of this Section 16.
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Covenants a. The Executive acknowledges that i) he will be employed as a high-level employee in an executive and managerial capacity; ii) his employment with the Company gives him access to confidential and proprietary information concerning the Company; iii) his prior employment with South West gave him access to confidential and proprietary information concerning South West; iv) the agreements and covenants contained in this Section 6 (the "Covenants") are essential to protect the business of the Company and to protect the Company's investment in South West; and v) the Executive is to receive consideration pursuant to this Agreement and the Merger Agreement.
b. During the period of the Executive's employment, the Executive agrees that he will not, on behalf of anyone other than the Company, engage in any managerial, executive, sales, or marketing activities related to any business in which the Company is or becomes engaged during the Executive's employment. The Executive acknowledges the competitive nature of the business and the extensive geographic markets served by the Company. The Executive acknowledges that because of his position with the Company his duties will require him to perform, supervise, or assist in performing work throughout the markets served by the Company. The Executive further acknowledges that because of his position with the Company and the broad scope of his duties, he will be in a position to cause substantial harm to the Company were he to compete in the business of the Company or any other business in which the Company is or becomes engaged during Executive's employment in the Company's markets. Given the broad scope of Executive's duties, he acknowledges that the geographic scope of the covenants in this paragraph shall be limited to the continental United States.
c. Should the Executive (i) be terminated with or without cause following the first 90 days of this Agreement, or (ii) resign from his employment or otherwise terminate this Agreement at any time, he agrees that for a twelve (12) month period following the termination of his employment with the Company, the Executive shall not hire or solicit any employee of the Company employed at the time of his termination, or encourage any such employee to leave such employment.
d. If the Executive commits a material breach of, the Covenants, the Company shall have the rights and remedy (in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other rights and remedies available to the Company at law or in equity) to seek injunctive relief, including permanent injunctions; (ii) to have the Covenants specifically enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction (it being agreed that any breach or threatened breach of the Covenants would cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages would not provide an adequate remedy to the Company; and (iii) to cease any severance payments or benefits which the Executive or his eligible dependents may otherwise be due.
e. The Executive agrees that the Covenants are necessary for the reasonable and proper protection of the Company and that the Covenants are reasonable in respect of subject matter, length of time, and geographic scope. The Executive further acknowledges that the Covenants will not unreasonably restrict him from earning a livelihood following the termination of his employment with the Company.
f. If any court of competent jurisdiction determines that the Covenants, or any part thereof, are invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the Covenants shall not thereby be affected and shall be given full effect, without regard to the invalid portions. In such event, the court shall have the power (and the parties hereto request the court) to reduce or modify the duration or scope, or any other unenforceable aspect of such provision, as the case may be, and, in its reduced or modified form, enforce such provision to the maximum extent permissible.
g. The provisions of this Section 6 so far as they relate to the period after the end of the term of this Agreement shall continue to have effect and shall operate as a separate agreement between the Company and the Executive; provided, however, that the provisions of Section 6 (b) shall terminate.
Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Non-Disparagement (a) During the Term, the Executive shall not (1) provide any services, directly or indirectly, to any other business or commercial entity without the consent of the Board or (2) participate in the formation of any business or commercial entity without the consent of the Board; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Section 5(a) shall be deemed to prohibit the Executive from acquiring, solely as an investment, shares of capital stock (or other interests) of any corporation (or other entity) not exceeding two percent (2%) of such corporation’s (or other entity’s) then-outstanding shares of capital stock (or other interests).
(b) If this Agreement is terminated by the Company for Cause (as defined in Section 6(c)) or if the Executive terminates this Agreement other than in accordance with Section 7 or 8 hereof, or if the Executive is receiving Severance Payments in accordance with Section 9(c) or payments under Section 9(d), then for a period of one (1) year following the date of termination the Executive shall not (1) provide any services, directly or indirectly, to any other business or commercial entity in the Company’s Field of Interest (as defined in Section 12), (2) solicit any customers or suppliers of the Company, (3) attempt to persuade or encourage customers or suppliers of the Company not to do business with the Company and/or to do business with a competitor of the Company, (4) participate in the formation of any business or commercial entity engaged primarily in the Company’s Field of Interest, or (5) directly or indirectly employ, or seek to employ or secure the services in any capacity of, any person employed at that time by the Company or any of its Affiliates, or otherwise encourage or entice any such person to leave such employment; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Section 5(b) shall be deemed to prohibit the Executive from acquiring, solely as an investment, shares of capital stock (or other interests) of any corporation (or other entity) in the Company’s Field of Interest not exceeding two percent (2%) of such corporation’s (or other entity’s) then outstanding shares of capital stock (or other interests). This Section 5(b) shall be subject to written waivers, which may be obtained by the Executive from the Company.
(c) At no time during the Term of this Agreement or thereafter will the Executive knowingly make any written or oral untrue statement or any statement that disparages the Company or its Affiliates or will the Company knowingly make any written or oral untrue statement or any statement that disparages the Executive.
(d) If the Executive commits a breach, or threatens to commit a breach, of any of the provisions of this Section 5, the Company shall have the right and remedy to have the provisions of this Agreement, as the case may be, specifically enforced by any court having equity jurisdiction, it being acknowledged and agreed that any such breach or threatened breach will cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages will not provide an adequate remedy to the Company.
(e) If any of the covenants contained in this Section 5 or any part hereof or thereof, is hereafter construed to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable by a court or regulatory agency or tribunal of competent jurisdiction, such court, agency or tribunal shall have the power, and hereby is directed, to substitute for or limit such provision(s) in order as closely as possible to effectuate the original intent of the parties with respect to such invalid, illegal or unenforceable covenant(s) generally and so to enforce such substituted covenant(s). Subject to the foregoing, the invalidity, illegality or unenforceability of any one or more of the covenants contained in this Section 5 shall not affect the validity of any other provision hereof, which shall be given full effect without regard to the invalid portions.
(f) If any of the covenants contained in this Section 5, or any part hereof or thereof, is held to be unenforceable because of the duration of such provision, the area covered thereby or the extent thereof, the parties agree that the tribunal making such determination shall have the power, and hereby is directed, to reduce the duration, area and/or extent of such provision and, in its reduced form, such provision shall then be enforceable.
(g) Anything else contained in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, the parties hereto intend to and hereby do confer jurisdiction to enforce the covenants contained in this Section 5 A upon the courts of any state within the geographical scope of such covenants. In the event that the courts of any one or more of such states shall hold any such covenant wholly unenforceable by reason of the breadth of such scope or otherwise, it is the intention of the parties hereto that such determination not bar or in any way affect the Company’s right to the relief provided above in the courts of any other state within the geographical scope of such other covenants, as to breaches of such covenants in such other jurisdictions, the above covenants as they relate to each state being, for this purpose, severable into diverse and independent covenants.
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreement Without the prior written consent of the Company, Employee shall not, during the term of this Agreement, or for a two (2) year period of time following the date of termination of this Agreement or the termination of Employee's employment with the Company:
a. Solicit business from, attempt to do business with, or do business with any customer of the Company which either: (1) Employee initially called on, initially serviced, initially did business with or had initial contact with during his/her employment at the Company; or (2) Employee became initially acquainted with or received Confidential Information regarding as a result of his/her employment at the Company. This restriction applies only to businesses that are within the scope of services or products provided by the Company.
b. Induce, solicit or attempt to solicit or induce any employee of the Company (or any affiliate of the Company) to leave their employment with the Company and/or accept employment elsewhere.
Noncompetition and Confidentiality (a) The parties recognize that the employment of Executive with the Company has been and will continue to be special, unique and of an extraordinary character, and in connection with such employment Executive has and will continue to acquire special skill and training. The parties also recognize that the covenants of Executive contained in this Section 9 are an essential part of Executive’s engagement by the Company and that, but for the agreement of the Executive to comply with such covenants, the Company would not have entered into this Agreement. Executive accordingly agrees that, during the Term, (i) Executive shall not act or serve, directly or indirectly, as a principal, agent, independent contractor, consultant, director, officer, executive, employee or advisor or in any other position or capacity with or for, or acquire a direct or indirect ownership interest in or otherwise conduct (whether as stockholder, partner, investor, joint venturer, or as owner of any other type of interest), any Competing Business (defined below); provided, however, that this clause shall not prohibit the Executive from being the owner of (A) up to 5% of any class of outstanding securities of any entity if such class of securities is publicly traded or (B) any other securities owned by Executive on the date of this Agreement, and (ii) Executive shall not, in connection with or for the benefit of any person or entity engaged in the non-hazardous solid waste business, solicit, induce, divert or take away, any officer, employee or consultant of the Company.
(b) From the date hereof, Executive shall hold in secrecy for the Company all trade secrets and other confidential information relating to the business and affairs of the Company that have come or may have come to his attention during his employment with the Company, including information concerning costs, profits, markets, sales, business development plans, lists of clients or customers, lists of acquisition targets and other information about such acquisition targets and other information of a similar nature (such categories of information being referred to herein as “Confidential Information”). Executive shall not use for his own benefit or disclose to any person any Confidential Information other than in the ordinary course of the Company’s business or in response to a court order, unless such use or disclosure has the prior written authorization of the Company. Executive shall deliver to the Company, upon request, all correspondence, memoranda, notes, records, plans, customer lists, product compositions and other documents and all copies thereof, whether in hard copy form or electronically or magnetically stored, made, composed, or received by the Executive, solely or jointly with others, that are in the Executive’s possession, custody or control and that are related in any manner to the past, present or anticipated business of the Company.
(c) For the purposes of this Section 9, “Competing Business” shall mean an individual, business, corporation, association, firm, undertaking, partnership, joint venture, organization or other entity that operates non-hazardous solid waste landfills, non-hazardous solid waste collection businesses or similar facilities or businesses within a 50-mile radius of any of the landfills or similar facilities of the Company, Guarantor or any affiliate thereof.
(d) Should any portion of this Section 9 be deemed unenforceable because of the scope, duration or territory encompassed by the undertakings of the Executive hereunder, and only in such event, then the Executive and the Company consent and agree to such limitation on scope, duration or territory as may be finally adjudicated as enforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction after the exhaustion of all appeals.
(e) The covenants in this Section 9 shall be construed as an agreement ancillary to the other provisions of this Agreement, and the existence of any claim or cause of action of the Executive against the Company, whether predicated on this Agreement or otherwise, other than a claim or cause of action based on the Company’s failure to pay Executive amounts payable to Executive hereunder, shall not constitute a defense to the enforcement by the Company of this covenant.
(f) It is expressly recognized and agreed that the covenants set forth in this Section 9 are for the purpose of restricting the activities of the Executive only to the extent necessary for the protection of the legitimate business interests of the Company, and the Company and the Executive agree that said covenants are reasonable for that purpose and that such covenants do not and will not preclude Executive from engaging in activities sufficient for the purpose of earning a living.
Confidentiality and Non-Competition To the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer, key employee or consultant of the Company is subject to any confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer that could reasonably be expected to materially affect his ability to be and act in his respective capacity of the Company or be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
Non-Solicitation and Non-Competition Executive and the Company agree that the Company would suffer irreparable harm and incur substantial damage if Executive were to enter into Competition (as defined herein) with the Company. Therefore, in order for the Company to protect its legitimate business interests, Executive agrees as follows:
(i) Without the prior written consent of the Company, Executive shall not, during the period of employment with the Company, directly or indirectly, invest or engage in any business that is Competitive (as defined herein) with the Business of the Company or accept employment or render services to a Competitor (as defined herein) of the Company as a director, officer, agent, employee or consultant or solicit or attempt to solicit or accept business that is Competitive with the Business of the Company, except that Executive may own up to five percent (5%) of any outstanding class of securities of any company registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; provided, however, the Company acknowledges that Executive currently engages in a number of activities set forth on Exhibit B as long as such permitted activities do not have a material adverse effect on the Executive’s performance or this Agreement.
(ii) Without the prior written consent of the Company and upon any termination of Executive’s employment with the Company and for a period of twelve (12) months thereafter, Executive shall not, either directly or indirectly, (x) invest or engage in any business that is Competitive (as defined herein) with the Business of the Company, except that Executive may own up to five percent (5%) of any outstanding class of securities of any company registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (y) accept employment with or render services to a Competitor of the Company as a director, officer, agent, employee or consultant unless he is serving in a capacity that has no relationship to that portion of the Competitor’s business that is Competitive with the Business of the Company, or (z) solicit, attempt to solicit or accept business Competitive with the Business of the Company from any of the customers of the Company at the time of his termination or within twelve (12) months prior thereto or from any person or entity whose business the Company was soliciting at such time.
(iii) Upon termination of his employment with the Company, and for a period of twelve (12) months thereafter, Executive shall not, either directly or indirectly, engage, hire, employ or solicit in any manner whatsoever the employment of an employee of the Company.
(iv) For purposes of this Agreement, a business or activity is in “Competition” or “Competitive” with the Business of the Company if it involves, and a person or entity is a “Competitor”, if that person or entity is engaged in, or about to become engaged in, the research, development, design, manufacturing, marketing or selling of a specific product or technology that resembles, competes, or is designed to compete, with, or has applications similar to any product or technology for which the Company has obtained or applied for a patent or made disclosures, or any product or technology involving any other proprietary research or development engaged in or conducted by the Company during the Term of Executive’s employment with the Company.
