English Language & Usage Asked on January 9, 2021
Please consider this sentence "I will not engage in or undertake any other employment, occupation, consulting relationship, or commitment that is directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved."
Does the that … clause modify the commitment? Or does it modify the employment, occupation, consulting relationship, or commitment?
i.e. Should the English grammar parse the sentence as:
I will not engage in or undertake ((any other employment, occupation, consulting relationship, or commitment) that is directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved).
or
I will not engage in or undertake (any other employment, occupation, consulting relationship, or (commitment that is directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved).
The comma after relationship is confusing and wrong – it should be omitted.
The clause is a restrictive covenant or non-compete clause.
As there is no conjunction between occupation and consulting in employment, occupation, consulting relationship then it should not be understood as
"I will not engage in or undertake any other
(i) employment, occupation, consulting relationship, or
(ii) commitment that is directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved."
It should be understood as a whole: "I will not engage in or undertake any other {employment, occupation, consulting relationship or commitment} that is directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved," in which each noun/noun phrase is qualified by “that is directly related to the business in which the Company is now involved,"
Answered by Greybeard on January 9, 2021
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