Dark side of bright-line noncompete pacts

Lawyers' Forum

By Christopher C. Kendall

Christopher C. Kendall is the principal at The Law Office of Christopher C. Kendall P.C., focusing on commercial litigation and shareholder disputes in close corporations. He graduated summa cum laude from The John Marshall Law School in 1992. Kendall can reached at ckendall@ckendall.com.

Posted July 14, 2015 2:42 PM

Two years or not two years, that is the question. But should it be?Since the Illinois Appellate Court’s 2013 decision in Fifield v. Premier Dealer Services Inc., there’s been a debate as to whether it is a prerequisite to enforceability of a post-termination restrictive covenant that the employee have worked for at least two years after signing the noncompete agreement.In Fifield, the employer sought to enforce a noncompete against an employee who resigned just three months after signing the noncompete. The …

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