Microsoft and Google Spar Over Hiring of Former Microsoft Executive

Microsoft and Google are fighting in Santa Clara Superior Court over Google's hiring of a former Microsoft executive. Microsoft Sues Over Google's Hiring of a Former Executive - New York Times. In response to Microsoft's lawsuit, Google has asked that the non-compete clauses of Microsoft's contract be invalidated under California law. (See the zdnet article here).

Google's response relies upon a California statute prohibiting contracts in restraint of trade, Business & Professions Code section 16600, and case law holding that a California court may in certain circumstances refuse to apply the law of a state that allows employee covenants not to compete. See, e.g., Application Group, Inc. v. Hunter Group, Inc. (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 881 , 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 73.