AMN Healthcare prevailed against antitrust claims brought by its rival healthcare staffing company Aya Healthcare Services.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling Aug. 19, rejecting Aya's claims that a "no poach" clause in a now-severed contract between the two staffing companies violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The lawsuit centers on a contract signed between the two organizations in 2010 that involved staffing hospitals and health systems with travel nurses. Aya signed an associate vendor contract with AMN in 2010 and began providing travel nurses to AMN's customers. Included in the contract was a provision prohibiting Aya from soliciting AMN's employees.
According to the lawsuit, Aya began soliciting AMN's travel nurse recruiters in May 2015, "souring" the business relationship between the two organizations and resulting in the parties ending their relationship in December 2015.
Aya initially filed a lawsuit against AMN in 2017. That lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice by a district court. Aya then amended its complaint a second time and a third time.
In the third amended complaint, the basis of the appeal, Aya claimed that it suffered "exclusionary damages" as a result of AMN’s non-solicitation provision and "retaliatory damages" as a result of AMN's move to terminate the contract.
In its third amended complaint, the district court granted summary judgement in favor of AMN Healthcare.
Aya then appealed, hoping the appeals court would revive the lawsuit against AMN.
The appeals court upheld the district court's ruling, arguing that Aya failed to demonstrate that the non-solicitation agreement had a substantial anticompetitive effect and that it suffered retaliatory damages.
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