Employer verbally waived their non-compete at a meeting with several attendie and is now retracting.

I am a nurse who brought several patients to my now former employer. During a meeting several nurses called due to having bounced paychecks and wondering if the company was in danger, we asked if we could be excluded from the non-compete if we decided to leave and work for ONLY the patients WE brought to them, we were told by both owners "yes, we will allow that." Now I resigned and am working for two patients that I brought to the company and my former employor verbally told me they are going to enforce the non-compete. (Could be a bluff) I know I should have gotten this is writing, but I and the other nurses believed their word. With the NSF payroll checks,and many other payroll issues (wrong amount of checks, or unsigned checks, recalling checks only to have to wait for another one to be issued) I could not continue to work there. PS The patients will state that I brought them to the company in the first place. I also have three additional nurses as witnesses to the owners meeting who agree to state we were released from the non compete on the patients we brought to the company. Do I have a case?