Federal Court Requires Foreign Resident To Litigate Non-Compete Dispute in Missouri Based Upon Forum Selection Clause

It’s 8,242.7 miles or a 17 hour flight between the Philippines and Missouri.  Nobody would dispute that this is a significant distance, but as far the Eastern District of Missouri is concerned, forcing a defendant who lives in the Philippines to participate in litigation occurring in Missouri does not constitute an unfair or unreasonable burden. Emerson Electric Co. v. Yeo, Case No. 4:12CV1578 JAR (E.D.M.O. 12/28/2012).

On August 30, 2012, Emerson Electric sued Peter Ramos Yeo, a former employee of its subsidiary Astec International, Ltd., in St. Louis County Circuit Court for violating the non-compete clause that was included with a Stock Option Agreement that Yeo signed in 2011.  The case was removed to federal court, at which point Yeo brought a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim and Lack of Personal Jurisdiction.  Yeo’s sought to invalidate his non-compete on three fronts – 1) that the Stock Option Agreement containing the non-compete was an illusory promise, 2) that the non-compete was unenforceable due to lack of adequate consideration, and 3) that the forum selection clause within the non-compete was unenforceable. 

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