Noncompetes going to the Supreme Court?
Without Lina Khan?
Yep.
Well, maybe.
What happened?
On February 11, 2025 (though docketed yesterday, February 13), IQVIA Inc. a New Jersey-headquartered company incorporated in Delaware petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari in a matter involving a preemptive challenge to a noncompete filed in California state court by a former employee, Steven Chalfant, who is a New Jersey citizen.
According to the petition, over the course of his employment with IQVIA, Mr. Chalfant signed multiple noncompete agreements. On the day he resigned, “he joined a California-based competitor (while continuing to live and work in New Jersey) and immediately sued petitioner in California state court to invalidate his noncompete agreements.”
The question presented is:
A noncompete agreement imposes limitations on an employee’s ability to compete against his or her employer immediately after separating from the company. It is common for a former employee subject to a noncompete agreement who joins a competitor to file a preemptive action seeking a declaration that the agreement is unenforceable.
In such an action, does the Due Process Clause, as construed in Walden v. Fiore, 571 U.S. 277 (2014), permit a state court to exercise specific personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant where the plaintiff does not reside in the forum State, the noncompete agreement was formed in another State, and the employment relationship was based in another State, on the ground that enforcement of the agreement would prohibit the plaintiff from working for an employer headquartered in the forum State?
Respondents have until March 17, 2025 to file their response.
Stay tuned!
Even if the Supreme Court denies certiorari in this case, that will not be the end of the issue. There are already a handful of cases working from similar playbooks under California’s 2024 doubling down on its anti-restrictive covenant policy. So, it’s only a matter of time before one of them successfully petitions the Supreme Court.
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Firm resources:
We know how hard it is to keep up with the ever-changing laws and requirements around the country for how you can protect your trade secrets, customer goodwill, and the integrity of your workforce. To help, we have created the resources below (available for free). Each chart is regularly updated to reflect the latest developments.
 | 50-State Noncompete Law Chart, the first of its kind and regularly updated (downloadable PDF) (to be updated for the new exemptions in Illinois and Pennsylvania) 50-State and Federal Trade Secret Law Chart, providing a comparison of the trade secrets laws nationally to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (downloadable PDF) |
 | Chart of Noncompete “Low-Wage” Thresholds and Criteria (downloadable) |
 | Notice requirements summary chart, providing details for each of the 8 states (plus D.C.) that has notice requirements related to noncompetes (downloadable PDF) |
 | “Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete Laws” (dedicated blog page) now provides a current detailed summary of the changing landscape of trade secret laws and noncompete laws around the country, state by state and at the federal level
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 | Trade secret and other legitimate business interest protection plan strategy and checklist
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| Videos | Ten Minute Trade Secret Training SeriesTM and “Basics” Videos |
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| The Exit Plan: Being a Good Leaver
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The Entrance Plan: Preparing for the Cease and Desist Letter at Your New Job
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We hope you find all of these resources useful. More will be coming.
And please note, we are grateful for all of the input we’ve received over the years. We welcome any suggestions for improvements that you may be willing to share.
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*A huge thank you to Erika Hahn for all of her extraordinary help in tracking and monitoring all of the recent noncompete and trade secret caselaw developments. And thank you to Griffin Klema for alerting me to this case.