Peter A. Steinmeyer, Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the firm’s Chicago office, was quoted in Law360, in “4 Noncompete Cases You Might Have Overlooked in 2014,” by Ben James. (Read the full version — subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
“We could be seeing the beginning of a trend, and it's certainly something to monitor,” said Peter Steinmeyer, co-chair of Epstein Becker Green's noncompetes, unfair competition and trade secrets practice group. …
Steinmeyer noted that two federal judges in Chicago had diverged on whether to adhere to Fifield, but the appellate court for the Third District of Illinois didn't seem to have any problem with the 2013 holding. Illinois has five appellate districts; the Fifield ruling came out of the First District.
“It's significant because there has been uncertainty as to whether the other appellate districts within the state of Illinois would follow the Fifield decision," Steinmeyer said. "We've been waiting to see what the other Illinois courts would do, and this was the first Illinois appellate court to weigh in on the issue."
It's hard to predict what courts will do in the future, but the fact that two appellate districts have aligned could be a sign of things to come, according to Steinmeyer.
