Supreme Court Denies Antitrust Shield For NC Dental Board

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015, the Supreme Court released a 6-3 decision in North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, a case with potentially broad implications for regulation by dental and medical boards across the country. The case asked whether the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners ("NC Dental Board") could be treated as a "private" actor for federal antitrust law purposes because the board's members are also market participants (elected by other market participants) who took action to restrain trade against non-dentists. Here are our initial thoughts on the decision:

Key Facts

1. The central issues in this case were: (i) how are state professional boards (like dental and medical boards) constituted, (ii) what are the limits of their powers, and (iii) what forms of state supervision are necessary over their decisions.