The class action case was filed in federal district court in San Francisco in September 2012 and alleges that Sutter Health restricted competition in the health care market. The district court dismissed the 3rd amended complaint in June 2014. However, on July 15, 2016, a three-judge panel ruled in favor of the plaintiffs/appellants in their Ninth Circuit appeal of the dismissal of the putative class action. The Ninth Circuit heard arguments on July 8, 2016 and issued an unpublished opinion a week later. A Fourth Amended Complaint was filed and granted September 2017, changing the class definition in two ways: adding two representative employer-plaintiffs that pay premiums for their employees and adding subscribers of two additional commercial health plans. Class certification in the case was granted in July 2020 and the court denied summary judgment for Sutter in March 2021, setting the stage for a trial on the merits. (See The Source case brief for details).

A jury trial before Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler took place in February 2022. After nearly ten years of litigation and a month-long trial, a nine-person jury delivered a unanimous verdict finding that Sutter Health did not engage in anticompetitive conduct and did not cause consumers to pay higher prices or premiums as alleged by the class plaintiffs. The jury answered no on two key questions to plaintiffs’ case, that 1) Sutter Health did not use tying practices in its insurer contracts; and 2) Sutter did not force insurers into contracts that would prevent health plans from steering patients to lower cost hospitals.

The case had been appealed to the 9th Circuit due to alleged errors in the lower court’s jury instructions and pre-trial rulings regarding exclusion of evidence. Oral arguments took place in August 2023.  On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Sutter Health’s win, saying that the jury that found in favor of Sutter in 2022 was given improper jury instructions, and that the plaintiffs were improperly prevented from presenting relevant evidence.

The court’s decision reverses the district court’s 2022 judgment and remands the case for a new trial.

On March 2, 2025, the parties filed a notice in the US District Court for the Northern District of California stating that the parties have reached an agreement in principle to settle all individual and class claims.  The final terms of the settlement were announced in April 2025, and included Sutter agreeing to pay $228.5 million, which will be spread across the over 3 million parties to the class action suit.

Court Documents:

9/26/2025: Notice of Motion and Motion for Final Approval of Class Settlement
5/22/2025: Settlement Agreement
3/2/2025: Notice of Settlement
6/4/2024: 9th Circuit Court Opinion Remanding Case Back to Trial Court
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from The Source on Healthcare Price & Competition and UC Berkeley’s Petris Center
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from 13 Scholars of Healthcare Economics
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR)
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH)
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from Consumer Action and U.S. PIRG
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from California Health Care Coalition (CHCC)
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from American Antitrust Institute (AAI) and the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws (COSAL)
10/10/2022: 9th Circuit Amicus Brief from Attorneys General from California, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and District of Columbia
10/3/2022: Plaintiffs-Appellants Opening Brief to the 9th Circuit
3/9/2021: Order Granting Sutter’s Motion for Summary Judgment for 2008 to 2010 and for the § 2 Claims and Otherwise Denying the Motion
7/30/2020: District Court Order Granting Motion to Certify Class Under Rule 23(B)(3) and Denying Motion for Sanctions
7/15/2016: 9th Circuit Opinion and Order Reversing Dismissal of Class Action Complaint
7/8/2016: 9th Circuit Oral Arguments Video Recording
12/19/2014: Plaintiffs’ Opening Brief in 9th Circuit Appeal
6/20/2014: District Court Order granting Sutter’s Motion to Dismiss 3rd Amended Complaint

Case Watch Related Articles:
6/5/2024: Verdict in Sidibe v. Sutter Health Overturned by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
9/15/2023: California District Court’s Exclusion of Evidence under Scrutiny as Ninth Circuit Hears Oral Arguments in the Appeal of Sidibe v. Sutter Health Class Action
11/15/2022: The Source and Various Stakeholders File Amicus Briefs Urging 9th Circuit to Reverse Jury Verdict of Sidibe v. Sutter Health on Appeal
5/16/2022: Sidibe v. Sutter Health Class Action Headed to Appeal
3/11/2022: Sutter Wins After Federal Jury Trial in Sidibe Class Action
3/4/2022: Jury Trial in Federal Class Action Against Sutter Health Provides Sneak Peek at Alleged Anticompetitive Contracting Practices
1/18/2021: Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – January 2022
5/17/2021: [Case Brief] Sidibe v. Sutter Health: The Oldest Chapter in the Sutter Antitrust Saga Sees New Light for Class Plaintiffs
7/30/2020: Northern District of California Certifies Previously Denied Indirect Purchaser Damages Class in Sutter Health Antitrust Litigation
7/18/2016: Sutter Plaintiffs Win 9th Circuit Appeal of 2014 Case Dismissal
6/8/2015: Update on 9th Circuit Appeal of Antitrust Case Against Sutter
7/1/2014: The Source Looks at Federal Court’s Dismissal of Antitrust Class Action Against Sutter