The end of the year is an opportune time for employers to make sure their noncompete and arbitration agreements are still valid. A recent Missouri federal court decision underscores how difficult it can be to enforce those...more
A business dispute in Michigan may provide insight into the consideration required to support a noncompete contract restricting future employment. Innovation Ventures, LLC v. Liquid Manufacturing, LLC, No. 150591, Michigan...more
As many of our readers may recall, the Illinois Appellate Court in the First District dramatically changed (in our view) the law two years ago in its infamous Fifield decision, by holding that if employment (or continuing...more
Three very recent decisions reflect the irreconcilable division of judicial authority regarding the adequacy of at-will employment as the sole consideration for an otherwise valid non-compete. Compare (a) Standard Register...more
On April 30, 2015, the Wisconsin Supreme Court took a stand on a hot-button for employers by holding that continued at-will employment is legal consideration that will support a reasonably drafted restrictive covenant signed...more
In the last issue of The Fast Laner, we reported that the Illinois Court of Appeals, Third District, followed Fifield v. Premier Dealer Servs. and held that, in the absence of other consideration, continued at-will employment...more
On February 6, 2015, the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago rejected the bright-line rule, created by the Illinois Appellate Court in the often maligned Fifield v. Premier Dealer Servs.,...more
In 2013, the Illinois Appellate Court issued a decision, Fifield v. Premier Dealer Servs., Inc., which held that the promise of at-will employment was insufficient consideration to support an otherwise enforceable non-compete...more
Still looking for a New Year’s resolution? The Missouri Court of Appeals rang in 2015 by refusing to enforce an arbitration agreement between an employer and an employee. The decision continues the robust trend in Missouri of...more
Continued at-will employment is no longer sufficient consideration to enforce arbitration provisions in Missouri. In Baker v. Bristol Care, a recent decision of the Missouri Supreme Court, a slim majority of the Court struck...more
Last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted the Court of Appeals’ certification in Runzheimer Int’l, Ltd. v. Friedlen, No. 13AP1392 (Apr. 15, 2014). The intermediate appellate court had certified the following question:...more
The enforceability of post-employment restrictive covenants in Illinois suffered a set back on October 14, 2013, when the Illinois Supreme Court refused to review an appellate decision that held that two years of employment...more