[Opticians] National news

[Tim Alden]

This was an interesting ruling in California regarding doctor's offices
being able to dispense:

Optical Chains Win in 'One-Stop Shopping' Case as Judge Deems Calif. Law
Unconstitutional

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--A federal judge ruled here yesterday that California
laws barring national 
optical chains from offering both eyewear sales and eye examinations at
the same location violate 
the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause.
    The ruling was a victory for LensCrafters and Eye Care Centers of
America, which along 
with the National Association of Optometrists and Opticians had mounted
a legal challenge to the 
state's regulations.
    In his opinion, U. S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton said ODs and
ophthalmologists based 
in California are permitted to sell glasses in their offices and to
advertise as "one-stop-shops," while 
national optical chains are "forbidden from competing for the same
customers in the same way." 
Karlton concluded that California's regulatory structure substantially
affects and discriminates 
against interstate commerce.
    "The challenged regulations prohibit all interstate firms from
competing with in-state 
optometrists on the same terms," Karlton said.
    Evidence submitted in the case indicated that more than 90 percent
of California's 
private-practice ODs sell eyewear, with those ODs holding a 60 percent
share of eyewear sales 
in the state.
    A spokesman for California attorney general Bill Lockyer, who had
strongly pursued the 
case, said his office is reviewing the ruling to decide whether to
appeal

Mark Bennett, CAE
Executive Director
Opticians Association of Ohio
Phone: 740-452-4541 x3187
Fax: 614-501-1101
E-mail: mbennett at offinger.com
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