Business is Business: Recognizing Referral Relationships As Legitimate Business Interests Protectable by Restrictive Covenants in Florida

Your client has built a medical equipment business from scratch into a successful enterprise, based mainly upon his ability to secure the trust and confidence of a select group of physicians who refer their patients to his company for goods and related services. He secures those continuing referrals by being reliable, dependable, and responsive to those physicians and their patients, and also by carefully cultivating and developing personal relationships with each of those referral sources. The referring doctors are pleased with your client's services, as well as his wit and charm. They endorse the company to other referring doctors. His business grows to such an extent that he needs to elevate a trusted employee to help him deal directly with the referral sources. He shares with her the particular wants, needs, and pet peeves of the individual referring doctors. The trusted employee gets a raise, more responsibility, and more autonomy as the business grows.