Opinion ID: 1226082
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: second claim

Text: In the plaintiff's second claim for relief it alleges that the defendant breached the covenant not to compete contained in his own terminable at will employment contract with the plaintiff. Pertinent allegations of the complaint are: 22. That pursuant to the terms of said contract between plaintiff, Peoples Security Life Insurance Company, and the defendant, Milton S. Hooks, Hooks agreed that upon termination he would, for a period of one year, refrain from solicitation or servicing of policyholders of the Company ... or in any way interfering with existing policies. 23. That the defendant, Milton S. Hooks, has interfered with plaintiff's business in violation of his contract by hiring 15 of plaintiff's insurance agents, 4 of its sales managers and the District Marketing Specialist thereby inducing them to terminate their employment with the plaintiff and leaving plaintiff without adequate means of servicing its policyholders and collecting its premiums. The complaint does not allege that the defendant solicited or serviced policyholders of Peoples Life. Neither does the complaint allege that the defendant directly interfered with existing policies. Rather, it alleges that because the defendant induced certain of the plaintiff's employees to change employers, he generally interfered with plaintiff's business. We conclude that the mere fact that the plaintiff may have been inconvenienced because the defendant hired its employees does not give rise to a legally recognizable claim against the defendant for breaching his covenant not to solicit or service the plaintiff's policyholders or interfere with its existing policies. We hold that the second claim in the complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. We do not address the defendant's contention that the covenant not to compete in his employment contract with the plaintiff is unenforceable, since we need not answer that question in resolving the issues before us. We hold that the Court of Appeals did not err in affirming the trial court's dismissal of the plaintiff's claims under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed. AFFIRMED.