June 2004

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."