In Federal Trade Commission v. Phoebe Putney Health Systems inc. et al., the Eleventh Circuit granted Federal Trade Commission’s motion to remand its challenge of Phoebe Putney Health System Inc.’s $195 million acquisition of a nearby rival, back to the district court, to decide whether to stop the hospitals from further integrating their operations.
In this case, FTC sought to block Phoebe Putney from acquiring Palmyra Park Hospital Inc. because the transaction would harm competition. The district court dismissed FTC’s original complaint on the ground that the state action doctrine renders the deal immune from antitrust challenge. The doctrine states that state entities are immune from antitrust challenge so long as normal competition rules are replaced by a clearly articulated state policy that provides for regulation and supervision of the challenge behavior. After the Eleventh Circuit affirmed this decision, FTC lodged a U.S. Supreme Court petition. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and held that the state action doctrine did not shield the hospital acquisition from federal antitrust law.
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision, FTC filed an amended complaint in district court, along with bids for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent Phoebe Putney and Palmyra Park from continuing to integrate until the end of an FTC administrative proceeding. But the district court informed the two sides that it did not have jurisdiction because the matter was pending at the Eleventh Circuit. This prompted FTC to file a motion requesting a swift remand of the case to the district court. The Eleventh Circuit granted FTC’s motion, holding that due to the ongoing consumer harm at issue, and the pending time-sensitive motions, it will issue its remand order swiftly, thereby facilitating needed proceedings in the district court.