Chicago, IL commercial litigation attorney Patrick D. Austermuehle talks about a memorable case involving a doctor who cheated out of ownership interest in medical practice.  He explains that a medical doctor, shortly after completing medical school, had agreed to be employed at a certain medical practice. As part of his employment agreement, he was supposed to be granted a membership interest—an ownership interest—in the practice after a specified number of years.

However, just before that period elapsed, the controlling members of the business froze him out and informed him that they would not honor the terms of the contract or make him a part of the business. At the same time, they filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that he had breached his covenant not to compete, which was also part of the employment agreement.

Both parties asserted claims, and the case proceeded to trial. In the end, the court ruled in his favor on all claims, awarding substantial damages and issuing a judgment that he had not breached the covenant not to compete, as the employer had, in fact, breached the employment agreement first.

It was a complex trial that involved hiring an expert to evaluate the business interest he was supposed to receive. Ultimately, the case was won, and he was very satisfied with the outcome.