Update August 2011: The Eighth Circuit has denied rehearing en banc.
Update June 2011: In a divided decision, the Eighth Circuit on rehearing affirmed its decision upholding summary judgment for CR Bard on the ground that the plaintiff failed to allege sufficiently a relevant sub-market.
Update October 2010: The Eighth Circuit panel has agreed to re-hear the issue.
Update Aug. 2010: The Eighth Circuit has affirmed the decision dismissing the complaint on the ground that the plaintiff hospital suffered no antitrust injury because it was always free to purchase from other suppliers without giving up the ability to obtain discounts from the defendant.
Update Oct. 2009:The court dismissed the antitrust claims on the ground that the hospital plaintiff suffered no injury as a result of the defendant’s conduct and in any event the challenged conduct was not anticompetitive.
Update: November 2008: The Eighth Circuit has affirmed the trial court’s class certification decision. Trial is set for April 2009.
St. Frances Medical Center’s case against urological catheter manufacturer CR Bard will proceed as a class action. The case alleges that the defendant anticompetitively increased the price of catheter’s through volume requirements and the disparagement of competitors. The specifics of the class definition and the claims that will go forward are still unsettled.