On June 3, 2004, only a day after the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, rejected a petition to rehear the case,1 the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the Virginia Chiropractic Association (VCA) announced they would petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their lawsuit against Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The petition suggests that a direct conflict exists between the Court of Appeals' decision and two prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions - the first in 1948 (U.S. v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 334 U.S. 131) and the second in 1984 (Copperweld Corp. v. Independence Tube Corp., 467 U.S. 752). The petition also suggests a direct conflict between the decision of the 4th Circuit and a 1990 decision by the 6th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Nurse Midwifery Assoc. v. Hibbett, 918 F.2d 605). According to the ACA, both of these potential conflicts are frequent cause for examination by the Supreme Court.2
On May 6, 2004, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of the 4th Circuit voted unanimously to dismiss the lawsuit against Trigon, filed by the ACA, the VCA, 11 doctors of chiropractic and 15 patients in August 2000 and first dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge James Jones on April 25, 2003, before going to trial.3,4 Following the Appeals Court's decision, the ACA immediately announced it would "vehemently appeal" by petitioning the full panel of judges on the 4th Circuit; that petition was rejected on June 2, 2004.
"The actions of the 4th Circuit were not entirely unexpected, since U.S. Courts of Appeal are reluctant to revisit decisions that have been handed down by any panel," noted Dr. George McClelland, ACA chairman of the board. "This only strengthens our resolve to continue this important legal struggle and seek justice for our patients and the profession from the highest court in the land - the U.S. Supreme Court."
As we go to press, the ACA, VCA and the other plaintiffs in the Trigon lawsuit have not yet officially petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case, although doing so seems a foregone conclusion at this point; they have 90 days from the date of the Court of Appeals' final decision (June 2).
References
- Appellate Court rules against ACA in Trigon case. Dynamic Chiropractic, June 17, 2004. www.chiroweb.com/archives/22/13/04.html.
- ACA, VCA to petition U.S. Supreme Court in Trigon case. ACA press release, June 3, 2004.
- ACA to appeal judge's decision in Trigon lawsuit. Dynamic Chiropractic, June 2, 2003. www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/12/18.html.
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. American Chiropractic Association, et al., v. Trigon Healthcare, et al. and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Case #03-1675. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Abingdon. Opinion published May 6, 2004. Available at http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/4th/031675p.pdf.
Editor's note: For an in-depth review of the Trigon lawsuit, read "Trigon and the Continuing Conspiracy Against Chiropractic" (
DC, Nov. 30, 2003), available online at
www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/25/11.html.
