Berlin v. Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center

688 N.E.2d 106 (1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D is a nonprofit corporation duly licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act (210 ILCS 85/1 et seq.) to operate a hospital. P and D entered into a written agreement of employment for P to practice medicine for D for five years. P could terminate for any reason prior to the end of the five-year term by furnishing D with 180 days advance written notice. A restrictive covenant prohibited P from competing with D by providing health services within a 50-mile radius of the D for two years after the end of the employment agreement. P resigned effective February 7, 1994, and accepting employment with the Carle Clinic Association just 1 mile from D. P immediately began working at a Carle. D sought a preliminary injunction to enforce the restrictive covenant. The circuit court enjoined P. The appellate court reversed and remanded the action to the circuit court for further proceedings. P filed a complaint for a declaratory judgment seeking to have the restrictive covenant declared unenforceable. The court found the entire employment agreement unenforceable. The court determined that by hiring P to practice medicine as its employee, D violated the prohibition against corporations practicing medicine. A divided appellate court affirmed. D appealed.