Non competes and Howie Carr

[Robert S Chase]

Joe, I understand what you mean about the contractual provisions regarding 
distribution but what about the Mass Non Compete Statute For Broadcast 
Industry
vis:

Chapter 149: Section 186. Broadcasting industry; non-compete agreements


Section 186. Any contract or agreement which creates or establishes the 
terms of employment for an employee or individual in the broadcasting 
industry, including, television stations, television networks, radio 
stations, radio networks, or any entities affiliated with the foregoing, and 
which restricts the right of such employee or individual to obtain 
employment in a specified geographic area for a specified period of time 
after termination of employment of the employee by the employer or by 
termination of the employment relationship by mutual agreement of the 
employer and the employee or by termination of the employment relationship 
by the expiration of the contract or agreement, shall be void and 
unenforceable with respect to such provision. Whoever violates the 
provisions of this section shall be liable for reasonable attorneys' fees 
and costs associated with litigation of an affected employee or individual.

I believe this statute was passed after the Jerry Williams situation and 
directly as a result of all of the legislative leaders getting jobs at RKO, 
etc.

By the way, the only other industry that has that type of clause is nursing 
and maybe doctors but I've not looked that up..

However Brownbacker and the other business interests in the legislature are 
trying to get revised non-compete legislation passed that would allow the 
screw job by employers to be resumed and I expect would repeal . See H&F's 
site on same http://www.massachusettsnoncompetelaw.com/ I expect that 
legislation would repeal explicitly or implicitly the broadcast non-compete 
clause voiding.

> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:11:09 -0400
> From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross.com>
> To: revdoug1@myfairpoint.net
> Cc: bri@bostonradio.org
> Subject: Re: [Boston_Progressive_Talk] Carr Suspended for a week
> Message-ID: <4BCBF3FD.13478.A4861A@joe.attorneyross.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
> On 18 Apr 2010 at 7:07, revdoug1@myfairpoint.net wrote:
>
>> Side question:  When Howie was preparing to leave 'RKO for WTKK, wsn't
>> there some concern that he wouldn't be able to continue broadcasting
>> on his regional "network"?   I'm not sure where "Entercom entity" ends
>> and "intellectual property" begins here.  I would think that if he
>> were to leave, he could establish contracts with his former "network"
>> stations and set the whole thing up all over again.  Am I wrong?
>
> Depends entirely on what it says in Carr's contract with the station
> and the contractual arrangements for the distribution of his show to
> the regional net.