Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Re: Restrictive Covenant Agreement

Yours would be a very unusual agreement if it really says that you "can not solicit their customers within one year after termination and with in one mile".

Much more common would be an agreement that says you cannot solicit their customers within one year after termination OR work within one mile of the current location for a period of time. The first prohibition would keep you from actively soliciting the customers no matter where you end up and the second would prohibit you from working in close proximity to the existing business where you might easily pick off customers without directly soliciting them.

The way you have quoted the language arguably could be interpreted to say that as long as you worked even slightly more than one mile from your current location, you could freely solicit the customers of your current employer. That, as I said, would be very unusual.

I suggest that if you are contemplating entering into competition with your employer, and particularly if you plan to EITHER solicit customers or work within one mile of the employer, you should have an attorney review the language for you. Spending a few dollars now may save you from making a mistake that could cost you thousands of dollars of legal expenses and possibly even being on the losing end of a lawsuit for damages or one that enjoins you from your new activities.

David K. Staub, an Illinois business attorney