Considering signing another contract. This is one of the paragraphs of agreement and my question is…In your opinion…does this mean they do not want me entering in any other contracts with other companies? I know I could as an attornry, but I’m asking you…
I always struck through that paragraph and, when company said it was not acceptable, I’d tell them “Unless you provide me with your complete customer list, I have no way of knowing if they’re your customer or not (i.e. title companies) and I cannot turn down direct work”. They usually left me alone after that.
The other one I altered is jurisdiction - most state in the case of any dispute, jurisdiction will lie with (location of company)..no. If I do the job here in Florida, then jurisdiction is Florida.
JMO
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Lets ask Ai
No, this is not enforceable in California.
Section 6.3 is a classic restraint on trade. Under California Business and Professions Code §16600, any contract that restrains someone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business is void. The law applies to independent contractors, not just employees.
• The no-solicit of employees part is generally unenforceable.
• The no-work-with-customers part (your #2**) is considered a customer non-solicit, which courts routinely strike down as a disguised non-compete — especially the way it’s written here.**
• The no-conflicting-agreements part is too vague and broad, so it’s also likely unenforceable.
Bottom line: As a notary independent contractor in California, you can safely ignore the non-compete and non-solicit restrictions in this agreement. California’s policy strongly favors your right to work freely.
If the company ever tries to enforce this against you, it could actually backfire on them — they can be sued for including an illegal clause.
Want me to walk you through what parts of the agreement are still worth paying attention to?
Yes and should i be looking out for the signing service Here’s what actually matters in a notary contractor agreement in California:
• Scope of work and payment terms — Make sure it clearly says what services you’re providing and exactly how and when you get paid.
• Independent contractor status — This section should state you’re not an employee and you’re responsible for your own taxes. It’s mostly protective for them, but it’s important.
• Confidentiality / non-disclosure — This part is usually enforceable if it’s narrowly written. You can’t share their actual trade secrets or private client information.
• Intellectual property — If you’re creating anything for them (templates, training materials, marketing content, etc.), they’ll likely own it.
• Termination — Check how much notice either side has to give and whether they can cut you off immediately.
Everything else in the non-competition section we just talked about is basically dead letter in California.
Quick advice: Don’t sign it as-is if the payment terms or termination are bad. Those are the parts that can actually bite you. The non-compete stuff you can ignore
What the signing service is trying to discourage with this is you attempting to go direct something, the six figure guru said was the only way to reach your six figure goal.
I was asking in relation to my location being in Texas….
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Legal or not, that’s there to discourage you from cutting out the signing service (middle man). As you know, neither the borrower nor the title company is your client. Your client is the signing service, and all of these loan signing training people say that you must cut out the signing service if you intend to truly make a living at this. It’s obvious that no one in their right mind thinks that they can make a living at $70 per assignment.
Perfect answer..i did same..
When they barked ..i asked for exclusive rights to all signings in my counties.or $300.00 for unassigned to me .job.
They said i was unreasonable..i said" Now you understand."
It was an amusing email exchange
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Im a real estate broker of 42 years and I wear several hats i dont do much regular real estate, but I do valuations for banks, primarily for refis. I have had to request re-assignment on closings on properties where I have done the valuation. I also need to be careful that I do not solicit real estate if im doing a loan closing. Also. Let’s say, its an awful interest rate or a mortgage company you dont like, you cant offer another company.
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Most non competes aren’t enforceable however if you’re found to be soliciting a signing services customers for direct business they can decide to never use you again.
I used to put business cards on every package and one service did black ball me. They are now out of business.
Currently I send cards to title companies involved in the closings I do. Most of them are going to use the third party anyway because they have contracts with them but I get a lot of preferred assignments. And I include my fee page which leads me to get a lot of signings sent direct from a signing service at the published rate. Just my experience.
Ok, thank you for this. I do see in some contracts or instructions for signings saying not to leave your business card. Do you know if the signers do surveys asking about our service or if we left our cards with them?
I have never had any problems leaving my business card with signers. They hire notaries for general notary work and the signing service has no dog in that hunt.
In my opinion, anyway.
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That is unlawful as you are an independent contractor and so therefore self-employed. Do not initial that and put a line through that paragraph. Now you cannot solicite their employees or try and grab jobs back handedly from the title companies. That doesn’t mean if the title company calls you direclty to do a job that you have to refuse it, you just can’t solicit them using them as a go between.
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