Former WISH-TV chief meteorologist Ashley Brown Elliott won her non-compete lawsuit against Circle City Broadcasting on September 5, 2025, when a Marion County judge ruled the one-year clause barring her from working at any competing Indianapolis media outlet was unenforceable under Indiana law.1IndyStar. Non-Compete Clause at Center of Ashley Brown Elliott’s Lawsuit Blocked The court found the restriction reached far beyond her actual job as a meteorologist, sweeping in any role at any radio or television operation in the market.
What the Non-Compete Said
Brown Elliott renewed her employment agreement with WISH-TV in November 2022, covering early December 2022 through early December 2026. The contract prohibited her from accepting employment “involving the rendering of any services (including electronic media) whether or not for compensation, live or recorded, over the facilities of any radio or commercial television station” in the Indianapolis market for one year after leaving the station for any reason.2The Indiana Lawyer. Former WISH-TV Chief Meteorologist Sues Broadcasting Company Over Noncompete Agreement
Her employment ended the week of February 17, 2025, with her last on-air appearance on February 19.3IndyStar. WISH-TV Meteorologist Ashley Brown Says She Was Fired Under the clause, she could not take any job at a competing Indianapolis station until roughly February 2026.
Why She Sued
Brown Elliott’s attorneys, Scott Morrisson and Marsha Jean-Baptiste of Krieg DeVault, first tried to resolve the matter privately. On June 27, 2025, they asked Circle City Broadcasting to release her from the agreement. Company owner DuJuan McCoy refused, calling it “a standard industry non-compete.” According to the later filing, his response also included personal grievances about Brown Elliott.4IndyStar. Ex-WISH-TV Meteorologist Ashley Brown Elliot Sues Circle City Broadcasting Over Non-Compete Termination
On July 9, 2025, she filed Ashley M. Brown v. Circle City Broadcasting I, LLC (Case No. 49D01-2507-CE-032544) in Marion Superior Court, seeking a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the clause. The suit argued the provision was “overly broad as a matter of state law” because it barred her from taking any role at any competing station, including non-on-air positions like research or writing. She also had a pending job opportunity in the Indianapolis market that the clause was blocking.2The Indiana Lawyer. Former WISH-TV Chief Meteorologist Sues Broadcasting Company Over Noncompete Agreement
Her filing pointed to a recent ruling involving a different former WISH-TV employee, in which Circle City Broadcasting had sought a temporary restraining order to enforce an identical clause. The court denied that request, finding the “broad restrictions” in the agreement “go too far” and that the company had not shown a likelihood of success at trial.4IndyStar. Ex-WISH-TV Meteorologist Ashley Brown Elliot Sues Circle City Broadcasting Over Non-Compete Termination
The Arbitration Fight
Circle City Broadcasting first tried to move the dispute out of open court and into private arbitration. The Marion County judge denied that request. The company then asked to appeal the arbitration issue to the Indiana Court of Appeals and to pause the trial court case while the appeal proceeded. On September 4, 2025, the trial court denied the stay, and the Court of Appeals denied the arbitration request.5IndyStar. Judge Blocks WISH-TV Circle City Broadcasting Forced Arbitration With Ex-Meteorologist Ashley Brown
The Ruling
The next day, September 5, 2025, the Marion County trial court ruled the non-compete unenforceable. The court wrote that “restricting work that ‘involves’ the rendering of live or recorded media goes well beyond restricting the performance of the same type of work Ms. Brown was previously doing at CCB,” pointing out that the clause could bar her from taking behind-the-scenes roles entirely unrelated to meteorology.1IndyStar. Non-Compete Clause at Center of Ashley Brown Elliott’s Lawsuit Blocked
The Discrimination Allegations Behind the Firing
Brown Elliott had joined WISH-TV in late 2018 and served as chief meteorologist for more than six years, becoming the first Black woman to hold that role at an Indianapolis television station.6Yahoo News. WISH-TV Meteorologist Says She Was Fired She said she was fired after questioning the station’s treatment of Black women employees. Her specific claims included being told to stop wearing certain colors on air, other Black employees being pressured to remove dreadlocks or criticized for being “too curvy,” and the firing of eight Black women over the prior two years.7Adweek. WISH Denies Discrimination After Black Meteorologist Said She Was Fired for Questioning Treatment
McCoy said Brown Elliott “chose to end her employment” and called her claims “utterly false and defamatory.” He said WISH-TV has “one of the most diverse newsrooms in America.”8Yahoo News. WISH Denies Discrimination After Black Meteorologist Said She Was Fired
The Wider Newsroom Fallout
Brown Elliott’s case did not stand alone. In the same period, more than 20 WISH-TV staff members were fired or quit after refusing to sign a contract addendum that expanded the station’s non-compete language to cover news websites, podcasts, and social media channels. Employees had until September 3, 2025, to sign. Those who declined included on-air talent, producers, photographers, assignments managers, digital content creators, graphic designers, and sales and promotions staff.9Indiana Economic Digest. WISH-TV News Director Among More Than 20 Cuts at Indianapolis Station
What the Ruling Means in Indiana
Indiana has no blanket ban on non-competes for workers outside healthcare. Enforceability depends on whether a court finds the restrictions reasonable in scope, which is the analysis the Marion County court applied here. The state has moved incrementally on the issue, expanding a primary-care non-compete ban to cover all physicians as of July 1, 2025, but leaving other industries to the reasonableness test. Employees often cannot know whether their non-compete will hold up without violating it and risking suit, which is the position Brown Elliott was in before filing for a declaratory judgment.10Indiana Capital Chronicle. FTC Noncompetes Rule Ripples Out Into Indiana
Her win, combined with the earlier ruling against Circle City Broadcasting on identical contract language, suggests that the specific wording WISH-TV used will not survive an Indiana court’s scrutiny. It does not, on its own, invalidate other broadcast-industry non-competes written differently.