On April 28, 2023, a judge from the US District Court for the District of Connecticut dismissed the criminal non-solicitation case brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) against six employees of the aerospace industry. The case, known as U.S. v. Patel, et al., ended with the acquittal of all defendants.
The court’s decision was significant as it stated that the case did not “involve a market allocation under the per se rule” as a matter of law. The trial court based its decision on several arguments, themes and rulings made by the defense in the 2022 U.S. v. DaVita, Inc. and Kent Thiry criminal non-solicitation trial. In that trial, McDermott, who represented DaVita’s former CEO, secured an acquittal on all counts.
