Non-Solicitation; Non-Disparagement Executive shall not for a period of one (1) year following Executive’s termination of employment for any reason, either on Executive’s own account or jointly with or as a manager, agent, officer, employee, consultant, partner, joint venturer, owner or shareholder or otherwise on behalf of any other person, firm or corporation, directly or indirectly solicit or attempt to solicit away from the Company any of its officers or employees or offer employment to any person who is an officer or employee of the Company; provided, however, that a general advertisement to which an employee of the Company responds shall in no event be deemed to result in a breach of this Section 11(b). Executive also agrees not to harass or disparage the Company or its employees, clients, directors or agents.
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.
