Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
In the recent case of Cronimet Holdings, Inc. v. Keywell Metals, LLC, No. 14 C 3503, in the federal court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Court dismissed many of the employers’ claims regarding unfair competition by former employees of a company it purchased but who left before the purchase closed to take jobs at a competitor. The employees had never signed non-compete agreements with the company that purchased their former employer.
The facts of the case are as follows. After spirited bidding with Plaintiff Cronimet Holdings, Inc. (“Cronimet”), Defendant Keywell Metals, LLC (“Keywell Metals”) acquired the assets of Keywell, LLC (“Keywell”) in December 2013. Two of Keywell’s employees, Plaintiffs Edward J. Newman and John D. Joyce, decided not to join Keywell Metals, however, and instead were hired by Cronimet in May 2014, precipitating this lawsuit. Cronimet, Newman, and Joyce filed the suit seeking a declaration that Cronimet could employ Newman and Joyce regardless of a non-disclosure agreement between Cronimet and Keywell (the “Cronimet NDA”) and non-compete agreements Newman and Joyce had with Keywell. Continue reading ›