Connecticut Federal Judge Allows Antitrust Claims Against Hartford HealthCare to Proceed

Margaret Webb authored an article for the California Lawyers Association discussing U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala declining to throw out Saint Francis Hospital’s lawsuit accusing competitor Hartford HealthCare of monopolizing healthcare services in Hartford County.

“In a lengthy opinion, the court held that Saint Francis had sufficiently pled its first theory of liability based on Hartford HealthCare’s recruitment of physicians and control over referrals,” Margaret wrote. “In its motion to dismiss, Hartford HealthCare argued that hiring a competitor’s employees does not constitute an antitrust violation. But Judge Nagala said the complaint plausibly alleged that Hartford HealthCare engaged in vertical acquisitions of physician practices ‘for the purpose of concentrating [its] market power,’ though she acknowledged that this was ‘a close question.’ The court distinguished the allegations from the mere ‘hiring of rival talent,’ which would be insufficient to state an antitrust claim. In fact, no-poach agreements violate the antitrust laws, so the court was likely keen to draw this distinction, particularly given the government enforcement agencies’ heightened scrutiny of antitrust conduct in labor markets over the past few years.”

Read the full article (linked under the E-Briefs section).