Plaintiff, ADM, moved for a preliminary injunction against its former employee, on the theory that his new consulting business inevitably would lead to his use of ADM's trade secrets. ADM failed to show a likelihood of success on the ultimate merits of the case. ADM does not allege that when retiring from ADM after 18 years of employment, Defendant took with him anything other than his unaided memory. The identity of buyers is not a trade secret, if their identity can be ascertained from public sources of information. The desirability of one customer over another is not a trade secret, if their desirability depends on information that the customer could tell you. Litigation appears to be an attempt to re-write the parties' employment agreement under the rubric of inevitable disclosure. (KNECHT and TURNER, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Injunctions