Facts
[X. AG] (Appellant) sued [A.] (Respondent) for violation of a non-compete clause. The Respondent entered the service of the Appellant on 1 July 2004 and contractually committed himself not to engage in any competing activity for three years after termination of the employment relationship. The employment relationship ended on 31 May 2008, after which the Respondent started working as a field sales representative for the company [Y. GmbH] on 1 January 2009. The Appellant sued the Respondent at the Labour Court of Baden for payment of a contractual penalty of CHF 100,000.-- and any further damages due to the violation of the non-compete clause.Considerations
The High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed the claim. It affirmed the validity of the agreed non-compete clause, as the Respondent had gained insight into the customer base he had been responsible for. However, it limited the non-compete clause to six months, as it assumed a shorter durability of customer bases than of trade secrets. Accordingly, the non-compete clause had already expired when the Respondent took up his activity at [Y. GmbH] on 1 January 2009, so no contractual penalty was owed. The DFC upheld the decision of the High Court. It stated that the lower court had not wrongly exercised its discretion in determining the duration of the non-compete clause.…