It is fairly uncommon for a circuit court to opine on the reasonableness of a restrictive covenant. In Ag Spectrum Co. v. Elder, No. 16-3113, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14128 (8th Cir. Aug. 2, 2017), the Eighth Circuit issued a decision holding that an independent contractor’s non-compete was unreasonable and unenforceable.
Applying Iowa law, the Eighth Circuit explained that reasonableness depends on the circumstances, including consideration of several factors such as: (1) the employee’s closeness to customers; (2) the employee’s peculiar knowledge gained through employment that provides a means to pirate the customer; (3) the amount and sophistication of
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