Insurer VSP must face eye care provider’s antitrust lawsuit
21/02/2024 16:39
By Mike Scarcella
Feb 21 (Reuters) - National vision insurer VSP has lost
a bid to dismiss most of a lawsuit in California federal court
accusing it of unlawfully trying to dominate optometry markets.
Eye care provider Total Vision can move ahead with its
antitrust claims against VSP, the country's largest vision
insurer, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney in Santa Ana said in
a ruling on Tuesday.
VSP and its attorneys at law firm Baker Botts did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
A lawyer for Total Vision, Adam Wolfson of Quinn Emanuel
Urquhart & Sullivan, said they were pleased with the ruling and
“look forward to proving the full extent of VSP’s
anticompetitive acts.”
San Diego, California-based Total Vision sued VSP and a
group of its subsidiaries in September.
The lawsuit accused them of using restrictive contractual
terms and other anticompetitive practices to curb Total Vison’s
future success in the independent optometry market.
Total Vision said it and VSP "have gone head-to-head in
bidding for independent optometry practices in California."
VSP, based in Rancho Cordova, California, abused its
"enormous leverage" in trying to limit Total Vision's ability to
grow, the lawsuit said. It said VSP controls about 65% of the
nationwide and California vision insurance markets.
The complaint said VSP sought to use its monopoly power to
buy Total Vision at "a fire-sale price.” Total Vision said the
acquisition offer “was ludicrously low.”
VSP, in seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, told the court in
January that Total Vision had agreed to end its relationship
with the company in late 2023 “peacefully and without
litigation.”
In that settlement, VSP said, Total Vision could remain in
VSP's provider network for a specified transitional period.
In a court filing, VSP called Total Vision’s claims “flawed”
and said the lawsuit ignores a “fundamental principle that
people and businesses are free to decide with whom they do
business and on what terms.”
The case is Total Vision LLC et al v. Vision Service Plan et
al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No.
8:23-cv-01805.
For plaintiff: Adam Wolfson and William Sears of Quinn
Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
For defendant: Theodore Chandler and Cheryl Cauley of Baker
Botts; and Scott Hansen and Laura Brenner of Reinhart Boerner
Van Deuren
Read more:
Vision insurer VSP accused of market power 'abuse' in
optometrists' lawsuit
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))