June 2003

Judge rules against ACA in Trigon case

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) lost an important round in its ongoing court battle against insurance giant Trigon when 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."

 The ACA filed the suit against Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield and the national Blue Cross Blue Shield (BC/BS) association on August 18, 2000, alleging racketeering, extortion, mail fraud and antitrust violations and other state and federal law violations.

The case was funded by donations from the profession to the ACA's National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF), which also has been used to pay for the ACA Medicare lawsuit, filed in 1998. So far, an estimated $5 million has been spent on the two lawsuits.

Immediately after Jones' decision was announced, the ACA pledged to appeal the ruling.

"Prior to the judge's decision, the Chiropractic Coalition, founded by the ICA, WCA, and FSCO, issued a resolution favoring legislation rather than litigation to address the issues relating to unfair dealings with the chiropractic profession and the patients it serves.".

For the complete text of Judge Jones' opinion may see www.vawd.uscourts.gov/opinions/jones/1‑00cv00113‑sumju dg.pdf