The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) is poised to appeal the recent injunction granted to Life University.1 Although the council has not yet filed official court documentation as of press time, a CCE representative has informed Dynamic Chiropractic that "The CCE has decided to seek a stay of injunction and pursue an appeal."
The injunction granted by federal Judge Charles Moye Jr., on Monday, Feb. 10, 2003, restored Life University's CCE accreditation retroactively, back to the date its chiropractic program first lost its accreditation (June 7, 2002). The preliminary injunction was a primary goal of the lawsuit filed by Life against CCE on Jan. 2, 2003.2
In an emotional message to students on Feb. 11, the day after the injunction was granted, college President Dr. Ben DeSpain expressed confidence in Life's future: "CCE may file an appeal and quite possibly could ask for a stay of this decision. Life is prepared to continue the legal debate, and we are very comfortable we will find similar success in future rulings."
Dr. DeSpain's enthusiasm may be short-lived: If the court grants the CCE's request for a stay, it will effectively void the injunction, as if it had never been granted, and Life University's accreditation will again be stripped.
Although the official CCE appeal of Judge Moye Jr.'s Feb. 10 decision is pending, the council issued the following statement on its Web site:
On Monday, February 10, 2003, a federal district court in Atlanta, Georgia, issued a preliminary, i.e. temporary, injunction ordering the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) to return the Life University Doctor of Chiropractic program to the accreditation status it held prior to the CCE Commission on Accreditation (COA) June 2002 decision to deny Life reaffirmation of accreditation. As a result of this court order, Life's status again is that of an accredited program on probation, with a COA decision still to be made on whether its accreditation should be reaffirmed.
The court's order was issued in response to a motion for a preliminary injunction by Life in a lawsuit it had filed to challenge the decision to deny Life reaffirmation of accreditation. A preliminary injunction does not represent a final decision by the court that the accreditation decision was unlawful; the lawsuit remains pending. Contrary to some reports in the media, no dates have been set for trial or even for steps necessary for preparation for trial. In addition, media reports that the court has directed or encouraged settlement discussions are incorrect; the court has said nothing about settlement.
CCE strongly opposed Life's motion for the preliminary injunction. As CCE explained to the court, the COA had concluded, after a careful and lengthy review, that Life had violated several key standards of educational quality. These concerned Life's clinical training of students to competently diagnose patients' problems and to determine appropriate treatments, the adequacy of Life's faculty, and Life's own internal assessment and planning for the future.
In deciding to issue the injunction, the court failed to take proper account of the basis for the COA decision not to continue the accredited status of the Life chiropractic program. Because of this and the court's reliance on other irrelevant and unsupported matters, CCE believes that the court's decision to issue the preliminary injunction was legally and factually erroneous. Accordingly, CCE has directed its attorneys to appeal the court's order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and to seek a stay of the preliminary injunction order from the Court of Appeals as soon as possible.
CCE's principal concern has been, and remains, the proper education and training of students to become competent Doctors of Chiropractic and the protection of health care consumers. CCE is committed to maintaining standards of educational quality in the programs it accredits, and this emphasis on quality will continue to be its focus. Neither students who seek to become Doctors of Chiropractic nor the public will be properly served if these standards are not upheld.
Finally, CCE notes that a number of media reports have appeared and that representatives of Life have made statements to the media about these matters. CCE believes that issues concerning Life's non-compliance with accreditation standards and its challenge to the COA determination that Life had failed to meet these standards should be resolved within the CCE accreditation process and, as now necessary, the judicial system. Therefore, CCE and its representatives will make no comment beyond this public statement.
References
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