Court denies class action status for Delta Dental case

Plaintiffs allege Delta violated antitrust laws

A federal district court ruled Sept. 22 that it’s denying a group of dentists’ motion to certify an antitrust case against Delta Dental as a class action.

The case is still proceeding, and the plaintiffs have the option to ask the court of appeals for permission to immediately appeal the ruling by filing a petition before Oct. 6.

In 2019, the ADA filed a class action lawsuit , alleging that Delta Dental Plans and the Delta Dental Plans Association violated the antitrust laws by agreeing to reduce reimbursements to participating dentists through territorial restrictions, fix prices for specific dental goods and services and restrict competition from other competitors. The plaintiffs are seeking appropriate money damages to be awarded to class members as well as an injunction making Delta change its practices.

Numerous individual dentists also filed class action complaints against Delta, and the allegations in the various complaints were later combined into a single consolidated complaint.

Plaintiffs estimate that around 240,000 dental providers have been harmed by the alleged conspiracy and asked the trial court to allow the case to proceed on behalf of a nationwide class of Delta providers. In the court’s ruling, it stated that because Delta Dental admitted that its member companies were parties to an agreement that plaintiffs allege was anti-competitive, the primary issue in deciding class certification was whether all dental providers nationwide were impacted by Delta Dental’s conduct. The court found that because patients generally chose dental services where they live and work, and because Delta Dental’s market share varies significantly across states, there was insufficient evidence to show that substantially all dental providers were impacted nationwide.

“The plaintiffs strongly disagree with the court’s analysis,” said Scott Fowkes, J.D., ADA general counsel.

Gustavo E. Bamberger, Ph.D., an economics expert witness for the plaintiffs who created an economic model to determine how class members were affected and whose expert testimony was considered by the court, estimated that “nearly every class member was impacted, with over 99% of the class suffering gross impact and over 98% suffering net impact,” according to the ruling. They suffered damages in the form of lower reimbursement because of Delta Dental’s anticompetitive conspiracy, regardless of any state-specific differences, Dr. Bamberger testified.

If the appellate court grants the plaintiffs permission to appeal the ruling, the case will proceed in the trial court while the appeal is pending unless either the appellate court or the district court issue a stay. The interim class certification decision does not immediately impact any dental provider’s ultimate right to recovery.