PHILADELPHIA — Medical doctors have filed a class action lawsuit against a board of internal medicine, citing alleged unlawful monopolization and unfair competition.
Gerald Kenney, Alexa Joshua, Glen Dela Cruz Manalo and Katherine Murray Leisure filed a complaint on Dec. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the American Board of Internal Medicine, citing alleged illegal monopolization and monopoly maintenance in violation of the Sherman Act.
According to the complaint, beginning in 1990 all internists such as plaintiffs purchasing initial ABIM certifications have been required to purchase Maintenance of Certification (MOC) or have their certification terminated by ABIM.
Plaintiffs claim defendant controlled the market for initial certification of internists in the United States and despite their desire to obtain maintenance of certification from providers other than ABIM but have been almost entirely unsuccessful as a result of ABIM's alleged illegal tying and the unlawful and exclusionary use of its monopoly power.
The plaintiffs hold American Board of Internal Medicine responsible for alleged unlawful creation and maintainance of monopoly power in the market by requiring internists to purchase MOC or lose their ABIM certification.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment for illegal monopolization, award of damages, pre and post-judgment interest, costs of suit and such other and further relief as the case may require and the Court may deem just and proper. They are represented by C. Philip Curley, Alan Curley, Cynthia Hyndman and Samuel Royko of Robinson Curley PC in Chicago.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case No. is 2:18-cv-05260-RK.