Independent Contractor- Restrictive Covenants

[jezy3]

I am an independent contractor with a company that has placed me in a public school system. I do not wish to renew my contract w/this company next year, and want to contract directly w/the school sys. I do not have a non-compete clause, but there is a restrictive covenant that states: Confidential info constitutes a valuable trade secret of the Co., and Contractor agrees that for a period of 24 months no confidential or trade secret of the Co. will be disclosed, divulged or used for any purpose, indirectly or directly...which Confidential info includes but is not limited to Co. manner of doing business,names and addresses of customers and prospective customers,and names and addresses of Co. solicited by the Co. Confidential info shall not include any info (i)known by Contractor prior to execution of any agreement with Co., or (ii) lawfully obtained by Contractor from some source other than the Co., and Customer of the Co. of any Contractor employed by the Co.
What would the ramifications be if I contracted with the school system on my own? And if I started my own company, could I contract though that without getting sued, or violating anything?

Thank you for your help!!

 

[seniorjudge]

Nothing will keep you from getting sued.

 

[jezy3]

So you are saying, in regards to this matter, I would (likely) be sued for contracting with the school system on my own?

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: So you are saying, in regards to this matter, I would (likely) be sued for contracting with the school system on my own?


A: No, of course not. I am saying in regards to this matter: Nothing will keep you from getting sued.

 

[calalily]

To CYA consult a lawyer about the language of the contract that way you won't be guessing and like Seniorjudge says nothing will stop you from being sued but at least you'll know ahead of time if they have a case or not.

 

[jezy3]

Do you think they would have a case?

 

[calalily]

What don't you understand about the suggestion on getting a consult with a lawyer on the contract? If you want to start your own business and you're an independent contractor you need to understand contracts and the langauge they contain. If you won't consult a lawyer then you just want to be told it's all right to do what you want to do. I doubt any one here will tell you whether they have a case for certain or not but the contract states according to you "Contractor agrees that for a period of 24 months no confidential or trade secret of the Co. will be disclosed, divulged or used for any purpose, indirectly or directly..." SO using the information about a client to obtain independent employment might be indirectly using trade secrets. BUT a lawyer who specializes in contract law can advise you absolutly so see one.

 

[jezy3]

I am not asking anyone to tell me it's alright to do ANYTHING. I AM consulting a lawyer, I just posted my question here to get more OPINIONS. EXCUSE ME for cutting into your busy day. If you don't like the questions posted DON'T RESPOND.

 

[calalily]

Sorry for being rude in last post. What Seniorjudge was saying is that no matter whether someone has a case or not they may still sue you. You didn't sign a no compete clause but they have imbedded in the language of the contract that makes it sound like everything is a trade secret including who they have contracts with and how they got them. It is too difficult to say if they have a case because of the twisty turvy language but one could be made if they wanted to pursue it. So the question is do you think they would pursue it? And if they did would you want to fight it?