ACA vows to appeal the appeal
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has announced its intentions
to take the Trigon case to the U.S. Supreme Court, a move that could
potentially add more than a million dollars to the already staggering
legal bill being footed by the chiropractic profession.
The ACA decision surprised many chiropractic experts, who pointed out that
the original case was so weak that Trigon’s motion for a summary judgment
was granted last year. At that time, U.S. Federal Judge James P. Jones
ruled in a summary judgment that there were "no genuine issues of material
fact remaining for trial and that Trigon is entitled to judgment in its
favor." The opinion explained that summary judgment is a tool designed for
"weeding out claims and defenses that have no factual basis."
Some critics said they wouldn’t dismiss the notion that the decision was
based less on legal issues than on whether the ACA and its leaders might
directly benefit from such actions. "The ACA may be looking for a big
victory, similar to the Wilk vs. AMA case in 1976, to help it recover from
recent setbacks and negative publicity over its refusal to work
cooperatively with other organizations, and its support of a gatekeeper
provision in the VA health care system,” said World Chiropractic Alliance
President Terry A. Rondberg, DC. “Or someone may just be dreaming of
finally owning one of the feather quill pens given to all lawyers who
argue before the Court.”
