An Illinois court has ruled that US shrimp supplier Mazzetta Company's lawsuit against a former employee it accused of breaking a non-compete agreement was too broad to enforce and dismissed the case.
On June 17 an Illinois trial court ruled an employment covenant between Mazzetta and its former employee Stephen Felsenthal prohibited "almost any activity in the seafood business anywhere in the country."
The agreement, according to the court, stated that Felsenthal not "engage" as an“employee, consultant, proprietor, partner, director or otherwise” or “have any ownership interest,” or “participate in the financing, operation, management or control” in a substantially similar business including, without limitation, any frozen seafood importing business in “any market area or any county, parish, territory, or similar division of any state in the United States or province in North America” where Mazzetta currently does business in, did any business in while Felsenthal was employed there, or has plans to do business in, for 18 months following his...
