On December 1, 2011, the Supreme Court of Illinois issued its opinion in Reliable Fire Equipment Company v. Arrendondo, Case No. 2011 IL 111871, addressing and clarifying several issues relating to the enforceability of noncompetition agreements in Illinois and setting forth a standard that may result in employers facing a lighter burden to enforce such agreements against former employees.
In Reliable Fire, the employer brought suit against two former employees for breaching noncompetition agreements, which prohibited them from competing against their former employer for one year and from engaging in solicitation of customers or employees of their former employer.
The two former employees brought a counterclaim seeking a declaration that the covenants were unenforceable, and the trial court found in favor of the former employees, concluding that the employer failed to prove the existence of a legitimate business interest.
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