A federal trial court in Tennessee refused to dismiss an action brought against two healthcare corporations alleging they conspired to artificially depress nurses’ wages at their hospitals in the Memphis area.
Plaintiffs Suzanne Clark and Conise Dillard sued Baptist Memorial Healthcare Corporation and Methodist Healthcare (defendants) alleging they violated the Sherman Act § 1 by conspiring to keep nurses’ wages artificially low and by exchanging compensation information.
Plaintiffs contended that the alleged conspiracy has forced RNs to work harder for longer hours, affecting the availability of healthcare personnel and reducing patient quality of care.
Defendants moved to dismiss, arguing plaintiffs failed to allege a plausible product market and failed to plead facts sufficient to provide them with fair notice of the grounds on which relief should be granted.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee denied the motion.
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