Dicen v. New Sesco, Inc.

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

The founders and owners of an ongoing business took in new investors and formed a successor corporation. They agreed to stay on for three years and not to compete for two years after that. We hold that such promises not to compete should be enforced on a more liberal basis than the skeptical one courts use regarding contracts between employer and employee.

Facts and Procedural History

After seven years as employees of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management ("IDEM"), Michael Dicen, David Hughes, and David Valinetz left their positions in 1996 to form their own…