A federal jury in Colorado has acquitted kidney dialysis provider DaVita of conspiring with other firms -- including national radiology practice Radiology Partners -- of colluding to not hire each other's executives, according to an article in the Denver Post.
The trial was the result of a grand jury indictment of DaVita and its former chair and CEO Kent Thiry, who were charged with conspiring with Radiology Partners, Surgical Care Associates, and Hazel Health to not hire executives from each other for seven years, from 2012 to 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice charged that the companies were violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
But after two days of deliberation, a jury on April 15 acquitted DaVita and Thiry on all accounts in what the Denver Post called a "resounding defeat" for federal prosecutors. The newspaper called the case an "unprecedented" application of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in a criminal conspiracy case, and it predicted that the verdict would have "significant repercussions" on how the law would be used to regulate free trade in the U.S.
