Blog Post
Feb 7, 2014
Illinois Federal Court Finds Only 15 Months’ Employment Sufficient Consideration For Non-Compete Agreement
In a ruling announced a few days ago, Chief Judge Ruben Castillo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois adjudicated the validity of a non-compete clause in an employment agreement where the employee had worked for only 15 months and then resigned and began competing. Notwithstanding the latest word from the Illinois Appellate Court — “Illinois courts have repeatedly held that there must be two years or more of continued employment to constitute adequate consideration in support of a restrictive covenant” (Fifield, 993 N.E.2d 938 (2013)) — Judge Castillo declined to invalidate the covenant for lack of consideration. However, he did dismiss the breach of contract count, finding that the provision’s geographical and activity restrictions were excessive. Montel Aetnastak, Inc. v. Miessen, Case No. 13 C 3801 (N.D. Ill., Jan. 28, 2014) (Castillo, J.).