HP, Facing Employee Age Bias Suit, Finally Sheds No-Poach Claims

HP Inc. is free for good from claims that a “no poach” agreement prevented fired employees from finding new work with a 3D printing rival after age-related layoffs, a federal judge in San Diego ruled, dismissing those claims a second time.

The plaintiff’s “opaque allegations” are “either insufficient or independently explained by rational business decisions” rather than collusion, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel wrote Tuesday, saying the suit “fails to provide specific facts” that make its antitrust claims plausible.

The proposed class action, which landed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California after being filed in state ...