Court rules ex-employees violated Oxford noncompete pacts

On Aug. 8, the court ruled unanimously that the home-health agency could enforce noncompete agreements for two employees who left in 2000 to work for rival Integrity Home Care, which has offices in Springfield, Joplin, Columbia and Kansas City.

The state Supreme Court heard the case on appeal from the Missouri Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of ex-employees Pearl Copeland and LuAnn Helms.

The Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling that Copeland and Helms breached agreements barring them from working for competitors within a 100-mile radius of Joplin for at least two years after leaving Oxford.

The agreements also prohibited the former employees from diverting Oxford clients or employees during the two-year period, records show.

“Getting a unanimous decision should send a signal to those former employees that what they did was wrong,” said Oxford President Karen Thomas. “We are satisfied that this will return to the lower court so they can be held responsible for their damages.”

Oxford attorney Rick Temple said company officials will determine the amount of damages to seek during the discovery phase.

Integrity officials did not return calls, but Copeland said her Springfield attorney, Thomas Millington, has filed a motion to have the case reheard by the state Supreme Court.

Case unfolds

Oxford – a nonprofit corporation owned by CoxHealth – hired Copeland in 1979 and Helms in 1996.

Both were required to sign noncompete agreements – Copeland in 1993 and Helms in 1997 – to continue their employment with the agency, according to court records.

While still employed at Oxford, Copeland and Helms attended meetings at the home of Integrity’s co-founder, Greg Horton, and Copeland set up an office in her home for the purpose of conducting Integrity business, records show.

When Oxford sued Copeland and Helms in February 2000 for violating their noncompete agreements, the pair responded by filing suit against their former employer in federal court. The suit, which was dismissed in January 2001, asked the court to revoke Oxford’s tax-exempt status and declare the noncompete agreements invalid.

The state Supreme Court also granted Oxford’s cross-appeal and remanded the case to trial court for alleged damages the company incurred for patients lost to Integrity between Feb. 4, 2000, and July 3, 2000. Copeland lured clients away from Oxford by exploiting a certificate of provider certification training she obtained as an employee there, the court said.

Copeland said she didn’t initially recall signing a noncompete agreement and that Oxford was unable to produce a signed copy until several weeks after her resignation. She said she briefly worked with Integrity until she was served with a restraining order obtained by Oxford.

When the two-year noncompete period expired in February 2002, Integrity hired Copeland. She’s now executive director of the agency’s Joplin region. Helms left Integrity last year to work in Oklahoma, Copeland said.

Thomas said the legal dispute has not changed the way Oxford treats its employees. Management-level employees are still required to sign noncompete agreements, which she called “an important part of how we do business.”

Oxford has two offices in Springfield, one in Joplin and recently opened a fourth office in Branson. Oxford serves 26 counties in southwest Missouri.