COURT DENIES ABO MOTION TO DISMISS THE LAWSUIT FILED BY THE AOS

COURT DENIES ABO MOTION TO DISMISS THE LAWSUIT FILED BY THE AOS

Court Finds that the American Optometric Society Has Stated a Plausible Claim for Customer Confusion Resulting From the ABO’s Use of the Phrases “Board Certified” and “Board Certification”

AGOURA HILLS, CA, October 14, 2011 – The Court today, in the American Optometric Society, Inc. (AOS) vs. American Board of Optometry, Inc. (ABO) lawsuit now pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, issued a key ruling denying the ABO’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

In its lawsuit the AOS claims that the ABO’s use of the phrases “board certified” and “board certification” misleads and confuses the public. Earlier in the case the Court issued an order permanently barring the ABO from making certain statements suggesting that ABO certification demonstrates competence beyond that required for licensure. The AOS now seeks an order permanently barring the ABO from referring to its program as one of “board certification” and its doctors as “board certified.”

The Court, in denying the ABO’s motion, concluded that, “[The AOS] has alleged facts that make it plausible that [the ABO’s] statements are confusing. Specifically, [the AOS] points out that for decades physicians have used this phrase as a term of art to denote special or beyond-entry-level qualifications. If Defendant’s optometrists begin to use the term ‘board certified’ it is plausible that a reasonable customer might think that, as is the case with ‘board certified’ physicians, these optometrists have received special training or education that distinguishes them from other optometrists. For exactly this reason, at least three state optometry boards consider the term ‘board certified’ to be confusing when used by an optometrist.”

“I am happy that the Court understands the issue and realizes that, when a health care practitioner says he or she is ‘board certified,’ that is supposed to mean something. The AOS can now proceed to address the real question, is the ABO misleading or confusing the public by calling its program one of board certification?” said AOS attorney Craig Steinberg, O.D., J.D. According to Steinberg, the case will now proceed to the discovery phase as the AOS seeks to acquire the evidence needed to prove its case.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size	Last modified
Press Release-Denial of Motion to Dismiss.pdf		35 Kb	10/17/11 08:33
Ruling Denying Motion to Dismiss.pdf		17 Kb	10/17/11 08:33