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BOSTON (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's (HPQ.N) plans to hire a top executive away from rival EMC Corp (EMC.N) hit a legal snag on Monday when a Massachusetts court issued an order temporarily barring him from starting his new job.

The court ruled former EMC storage division president David Donatelli could not proceed with plans to start a job on Tuesday as head of HP's storage, server and networking groups, until the two companies resolve a legal dispute over the terms of a non-compete clause he signed with EMC.

EMC filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts last week and sought the preliminary injunction to bar Donatelli from taking the job. The suit cited a non-compete clause in his employment agreement.

Donatelli filed suit in California, which generally does not recognize non-compete clauses, seeking to dissolve that agreement.

"The court concludes that the covenant which Donatelli signed is an enforceable contract, is not unreasonably broad (at least on its face) and serves legitimate business interests of EMC," Stephen Neel, Justice of Massachusetts Suffolk County Superior Court, said in the order issued on Monday.

"Donatelli's intention to work for HP in California, which has a statutory prohibition on covenants not to compete, does not warrant denial of EMC's request for injunctive relief."