Lieff Cabraser and Elliot Morgan Parsonage Announce Class Certification in Duke/UNC “No-Hire” Agreement Lawsuit

February 1, 2018, GREENSBORO–(BUSINESSWIRE)–The law firms of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and Elliot Morgan Parsonage, P.A., announce that U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles has certified a faculty class in an antitrust class action lawsuit against Duke University and Duke University Health System over an alleged agreement between Duke and the University of North Carolina not to hire each other’s medical faculty.

The action was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on behalf of Dr. Danielle Seaman and a proposed class of similarly-situated employees of Duke and UNC. The defendants included Duke University and Duke University Health System (Duke), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, the University of North Carolina Health Care System, and Dr. William L. Roper, in his official capacity as Dean and Vice-Chancellor of Medical Affairs for the UNC School of Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of the UNC Health Care System (UNC ).

UNC settled earlier in the case, and the Court granted final approval to the class settlement with UNC on January 4, 2018. The lawsuit continues against Duke. Medical faculty of both Duke and UNC are included in the certified class.

The certified class is defined as:

All natural persons employed by Defendants and their co-conspirators in the United States during the period from January 1, 2012 through the present (the “Class Period”) as a faculty member with an academic appointment at the Duke or UNC Schools of Medicine. Excluded from the Class are: members of the boards of directors and boards of trustees, boards of governors, and senior executives of Defendants and their co-conspirators who entered into the illicit agreements alleged herein; and any and all judges and justices, and chambers’ staff, assigned to hear or adjudicate any aspect of this litigation.

The Court also appointed Dr. Seaman as class representative, and appointed Lieff Cabraser and Elliot Morgan Parsonage, P.A., as class counsel.

The certified class includes approximately 5,469 medical faculty at Duke and UNC. The lawsuit seeks damages as well as injunctive relief to prevent any future unlawful restraints on competition among the defendants’ current or prospective employees.

“We are honored to be appointed class counsel, and we look forward to proving the class’s claims at trial,” said Dean Harvey, partner at Lieff Cabraser.

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a 70-attorney firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Nashville. Lieff Cabraser represents plaintiffs in a wide variety of individual and class action litigation. More information on the case can be found here.

About Elliot Morgan Parsonage

Elliot Morgan Parsonage, P.A. has offices in Winston-Salem and Charlotte. Elliot Morgan Parsonage represents litigants in employment, civil rights, personal injury, and commercial litigation. More information on the firm can be found at http://www.emplawfirm.com/.