Illinois Appellate Court Partially Reverses Broad Non-Compete Injunction Against Physicians

The First District of the Illinois Appellate Court, in the case of Northwest Podiatry Center, Ltd., et al. v. Ochwat, et al., recently found that a trial court improperly enjoined physician-defendants in a few key respects. The decision serves as a reminder of how courts will closely scrutinize restrictive covenants in Illinois.

The case was filed after two longtime physicians affiliated with plaintiff Northwest Podiatry Center, Ltd. (“NPC”) left the practice to form a competing practice. One of the physician-defendants, Dr. Ochwat, worked at NPC for over 20 years and was also a vice-president and a member of NPC’s board of directors. The other physician-defendant, Dr. Halihan, worked at NPC since 2006 and signed a restrictive covenant agreement that contained a non-compete clause (barring competitive practice for 36-months within a five mile radius of NPC); a “privileges” restriction (requiring that he surrender his clinical privileges at any hospital where he currently holds privileges, with no durational limitation); and a non-solicitation restriction (prohibiting him from soliciting business away from NPC for a 36-month period).

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