A Texas judge on Tuesday denied class certification in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the three largest hospital operators in San Antonio had conspired to keep nurses’ wages artificially low.

The ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the Western District of Texas, was a clear win for defense attorneys from Norton Rose Fulbright, which had taken the lead in opposing class cert in the wage-fixing suit, which has been pending since 2006.