A hearing has been set in The Villages’ lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission over a non-compete contract that has proven vital to the success of selling homes in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
The hearing will take place at 2 p.m. Aug. 14 at the U.S. Courthouse in Jacksonville.
The Villages is suing the FTC in a bid to protect its 24-month non-compete ban preventing former Properties of The Villages sales associates from selling real estate in The Villages. Earlier this year, the FTC issued a final rule to promote competition by banning non-compete agreements across the nation.
Properties of The Villages President Jennifer Parr, who went to federal court in 2021 in a battle with former sales associates who defied their non-compete agreements, said the new FTC non-compete rule would inflict “significant and irreparable” harm on The Villages.
“If the Non-Compete Rule goes into effect, I understand that the non-compete clauses of POV’s existing agreements with Sales Associates would be prohibited. Specifically, I understand that the Non-Compete Rule generally prohibits non-compete agreements absent narrow exceptions that POV’s Sales Associates would not qualify for (including a “senior executives” exception that would not apply because Sales Associates are not in “policy-making” positions). As a result, POV will no longer be able to enforce the non-compete clauses in its contracts with current Sales Associates. Additionally, I understand POV will need to notify current and former Sales Associates that the non-compete clauses in their contracts cannot be enforced, and POV will be prevented from entering into non-compete agreements with new Sales Associates,” Parr said in a declaration in the case.
