Supreme Court Examines Boundaries of Antitrust Immunity

By Theresa C. Carnegie

On October 14, 2014, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC, a Fourth Circuit decision upholding an FTC finding that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners did not qualify for antitrust immunity after excluding non-dentists from providing teeth-whitening services. The question under consideration is whether regulatory bodies comprised of market participants are considered private actors, thus requiring active state supervision before receiving antitrust immunity.  Our colleague, Dionne Lomax, has drafted an Alert that reviews the history of the state action doctrine and the arguments in this important case, which could have broad implications for the structure and operation of state professional review boards and associations.  Click here to read the full Alert.

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    Theresa C. Carnegie

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    Theresa advises clients on all aspects of the pharmaceutical supply chain, including counseling industry stakeholders on a range of business, legal, transactional, and compliance matters. She provides clients with strategic counseling and creative business modeling that considers legal restrictions and regulatory risk in light of innovation and business goals.