No Competition Agreements for commercial lease negotiating? Landlord stole my biz idea

**geograv** · 11-15-2009 08:58 AM

Hello,

I'm starting a new business in my area and I'm having a minor issue.. About a month ago, I contacted a Rrealtor about a commercial unit available for lease. He asked what type of business I was starting so I told him, then I asked him a few questions which he relayed to the landlord...

About a month later I call him back to find out the Landlord is now putting in a business (exactly like mine) in the exact location I was asking about..

Do I have any recourse here or am I just screwed? Are NDAs and Non-competition agreements standard for commercial lease inquires?

Thanks in advance,

Greg

**Mega B** · 11-15-2009 09:54 AM

I would personally say you cannot do anything about it.

**Lambo** · 11-15-2009 12:24 PM

yeah he took action before you and you need to prove that your biz existed before his....if not i think you may have talked too much.....must have been a crazy good biz idea.

**geograv** · 11-15-2009 12:47 PM

I could easily prove that I had the idea first, since I filed papers with the state about one month before him (if he has, yet). But I'm not sure that matters, or if it could help me.

Anyway, I'm already into lease negotiations with another location just a block away from his. I could possibly use that, somehow, to discourage him from moving forward with the idea, or as leverage to form a partnership with him.

**DerekS** · 11-16-2009 07:30 AM

If you had hired the realtor to represent you, you could at least argue that he violated the fiduciary duty of loyalty to you. This would require a signed agency agreement.

It sounds like you contacted the landlord's agent, however, who owes those fiduciary duties not to you, but to the landlord.

Not really much you can do, except do your original idea better than the LL will and compete for market share.

**CalebHQ** · 11-16-2009 08:13 AM

Go into the realtors office and call him out in front of all his collegues...no one wants to work in an office with some one like that. Word of mouth is powerfulll you could easily destroy the guys future quite honestly. It sounds harsh but Im sure your not the first person this has happened too. People like that need to be put out of business...

**CalebHQ** · 11-16-2009 08:15 AM

Its people like that, that put the idea in Liberals heads about taxing the rich...

**geograv** · 11-16-2009 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by CalebHQ

Go into the realtors office and call him out in front of all his collegues...no one wants to work in an office with some one like that. Word of mouth is powerfulll you could easily destroy the guys future quite honestly. It sounds harsh but Im sure your not the first person this has happened too. People like that need to be put out of business...

Well, if I wanted to be a prick, I could put a big sign in the back of my truck to picket the landlords actions, then park it right in front of his shopping center (with about 2/3 of his units still unoccupied).

**CalebHQ** · 11-16-2009 10:28 AM

I dont see it as you being a prick at all. A farmer plants corn knowing more corn will grow. If this guy wants to plant negative and bad business practices he should know what type of harvest to expect.

**DerekS** · 11-16-2009 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by CalebHQ

Go into the realtors office and call him out in front of all his collegues...no one wants to work in an office with some one like that. Word of mouth is powerfulll you could easily destroy the guys future quite honestly. It sounds harsh but Im sure your not the first person this has happened too. People like that need to be put out of business...

On the contrary- he was doing exactly what an AGENT does for the person who hired him. He was keeping the landlord's best interests in mind. People WANT to work with an agent who has the foresight to mention something like that. Its a tough world out there. One day you might have the chance to snake someone out on an idea. At that point you can decide whether or not you want to make a play. This is just a learning experience.

**geograv** · 11-16-2009 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by DerekS

On the contrary- he was doing exactly what an AGENT does for the person who hired him. He was keeping the landlord's best interests in mind. People WANT to work with an agent who has the foresight to mention something like that. Its a tough world out there. One day you might have the chance to snake someone out on an idea. At that point you can decide whether or not you want to make a play. This is just a learning experience.

Well, it's not really that big of a deal to me, I'm pretty confident I know this particular business/market more than the landlord, so I'm not worried about his competition. But It might also turn into an opportunity for a partnership. Why would someone want to start a business doing the same exact thing on the opposite side of a shopping center? Wouldn't it be in his best interested to partner up on the business idea (probably in a silent partner type situation). I would rather play with someone else's money anyway, to start.

**paul2145r** · 11-16-2009 05:53 PM

Odds are that the realtor or agent of the landlord is acting of his own volition. He stole your idea, pitched it to the landlord, and will probably get dividends or some share of the business if it works.

If we had a better idea about what kind of business you were wanting to do, we might have some better suggestions. Overall, as soon as you told him your idea, you gave him every chance and opportunity to take over. Do you think that McDonalds owners picketed every other fast-food business that opened up around them? It's an open market, and everyone has the opportunity to succeed (be it honestly or not).

I've had this happen to me twice in two different ventures. I learned pretty quickly from those experiences to keep my mouth shut until everything is ready to go. There's a million snakes in the bushes.. eventually you learn to bring along a machete for the trip.

As far as partnering with the landlord -- do you really want to do business with someone that is that willing to screw someone over? All that is going to happen is you'll end up getting put into a worse situation down the road. Focus on your end of the business, figure out ways to beat down the competition, and eventually you can outsmart them at their own game. Smear campaigns just end up dirtying the reputation of the one making the accusations, not the other way around.

Then again, you can talk to other businesses and individuals in the area to dig up some dirt on the Landlord or realtor. There's a good chance that this isn't the first dirty thing they've done. Put together a convincing case, then contact a local/regional reporter. Give them the 'sob story' about what happened, and how unfair this scenario is. "David vs Goliath" .. so on and so forth. This will end up getting you more positive press than you could pay for!

**bizdev** · 11-18-2009 10:20 PM

It is pretty unlikely that the landlord stole your idea. It takes time and money to start a new business. It takes planning. It may have been a coincidence.

In either case, you can't avoid telling a potential landlord or a realtor your business idea. You have to divulge your business. A landlord has the right to reject a business that they may not want to lease to. Maybe your business is something they don't want to promote. Maybe your business is not compatible with that particular location. Maybe that location is geared towards family type businesses and you want to bring in an adult lifestyle shop.

Competition could be a healthy thing. It will force you to work that much harder to do better than the other guy.

**Fadzuli** · 11-18-2009 10:29 PM

You should not be too worried about it. Its a big world out there and there are millions of opportunities. You should be figuring out some form of ideas to perhaps collaborate with that business right.