Lawsuit: Duke, UNC agreed to not hire each other’s doctors

RALEIGH, N.C. – Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are legendary sports rivals, but a federal antitrust complaint says there’s one area where the elite institutions have agreed not to compete: The market for highly skilled medical workers.

A former Duke radiology professor has alleged there’s a conspiracy between the two universities’ medical schools and hospital systems, an agreement not to poach professors, and this limits or even eliminates the ability of these workers to earn higher pay.

Lawyers for Dr. Danielle Seaman are asking a federal judge in Greensboro on Thursday to make her case a class-action, representing thousands of faculty, doctors and nurses.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles also will consider a proposed settlement with UNC that will enable Seaman’s lawyers to focus their litigation against Duke.