AMN Healthcare Wins Antitrust Appeal Over Rival’s No-Poach Claim

AMN Healthcare Inc. secured its win Thursday against antitrust claims brought by rival Aya Healthcare Services Inc., persuading a federal appeals court in San Francisco to reject Aya’s challenge to an employee “no poach” clause in a contract between the two medical staffing agencies.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a decision by Judge Michael M. Anello, who granted summary judgment for AMN last year in a ruling for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Judge Milan D. Smith Jr., writing for the appeals court, said the nonsolicitation provision wasn’t a “naked” ...