Kaitlyn Downs is an Associate in Holland &
Knight's
Orlando office
In SCPH Legacy Corp. v. Palmetto Health, 724 F.
App'x 275, 276 (4th Cir. 2018), the court of appeals affirmed a
motion to dismiss filed by Palmetto Health (Palmetto). Providence
Hospital (Providence) alleged that Palmetto conspired to eliminate
competition by hiring Providence's orthopedic surgeons secretly
and "en masse." As a result, Providence suffered a $50
million loss in value (as calculated by the reduction in price that
another company was willing to pay to acquire Providence). The
court found that Providence failed to state a claim on which relief
could be granted. The court explained that no matter what entity
bought the orthopedic practice, Providence would have suffered the
same loss. Although Palmetto's hiring of the surgeons decreased
competition and adversely affected Providence, the acquisition did
not necessarily result in anticompetitive effects. Furthermore, the
court ruled that
