Q: My chef quit and is opening a restaurant (same food) 3 blocks away from me. Is that legal?
The chef is the sister of the previous owner of my establishment
A: Unless there is some document that prevents it, it is legal. That would be like an employment contract with your chef, or something in the agreement when you bought the place.
A: Greetings. We would need more information to give you a worthwhile answer. If the facts are simply that the sister of the previous owner started a competing business near you, then we see no unlawful behavior. If however the competing business is engaging in anti-competitive behavior, then you may have a claim for what is called unfair competition. Anti-competitive behavior includes false labeling or advertising, misappropriation, palming off, trade name infringement, etc. Moreover, all of this behavior has to be based on bad-faith, which is difficult to prove. What you could have done is have the contract (when you purchased the business from the prior owner) state that he or anyone in his circle cannot not start a food business within a certain number of miles of your business. Perhaps your contract already does. Please speak with an attorney today to see if he or she can help you, either on the business side or legal side, implement measures for your business to succeed. It's always good to have a consulting attorney help you with your business.
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