Scher Non-Compete Lifted

Veteran promoter John Scher won a big round in court in his ongoing battle with Clear Channel Entertainment when a judge lifted all restrictions on his ability to compete with the concert giant.

Clear Channel asked U.S. District Judge Dickinson Debevoise to extend the four-year non-compete agreement Scher made in 2001 with now-bankrupt Covanta Energy, which bought his Metropolitan Entertainment business before selling its assets to rival promoter Mitch Slater. Slater’s business was eventually acquired by Clear Channel, including Scher’s non-compete.

The conglomerate argued that the non-compete should be extended another four years, claiming Scher had violated its provisions by actively promoting concerts, citing his work with Metropolitan Talent Presents , a company that is reportedly wholly owned by former A&M Records exec Al Cafaro.

The jury is still out on that question, but the judge ruled it was in the public interest to let the non-compete expire as scheduled on March 15th.

“New Jersey policy strongly favors competition,” Debevoise wrote in his order, quoted by the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger. “Both performing artists and the general public would benefit from the competition that would develop if Scher were to re-enter the promotion field.”