A Pennsylvania federal judge’s ruling—denying a preliminary injunction in a suit challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on employment noncompete clauses—is most notable for how different it is from the position a Texas federal judge, who was hearing a similar case, took in a July 3 ruling.

Observers said the contrasting rulings on the noncompete issue could generate a circuit split, which could send the case right to the U.S. Supreme Court.