North Dakota Contracts in Restraint of Business

At the end of today's class we discussed the possibility of a non-compete clause in North Dakota. Below is the entire statute.

North Dakota Century Code 9-08-06. In restraint of business void - Exceptions.

Every contract by which anyone is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void, except:

1. One who sells the goodwill of a business may agree with the buyer to refrain from carrying on a similar business within a specified county, city, or a part of either, so long as the buyer or any person deriving title to the goodwill from the buyer carries on a like business therein.

2. Partners, upon or in anticipation of a dissolution of the partnership, may agree that all or any number of them will not carry on a similar business within the same city where the partnership business has been transacted, or within a specified part
thereof.

For Thursday, consider what this would mean for our client (Reily) if he were doing business in North Dakota. What might this mean for potential employers looking to locate their business in North Dakota? Do you think this means virtually no employers use non-compete clauses in the state? Why or why not?