OCA has won two rounds, in the cases of Wisconsin affiliate Dr. Machi
and Ohio affiliate Dr. Scotese. True to form, they've thoughtfully
posted their wins on their doctor's website <www.orthodon.com> under
their blog tab. For a number of years now, they have posted winning
legal decisions which might help keep unruly affiliates in line.
However, they neglect to post losses, such as those in Texas, Colorado,
Washington State and Illinois.

The rulings are linked to the blog posting for anyone interested in
seeing details. Unless there is a clear previous ruling of illegality
under state law, Judge Brown (the bankruptcy judge in New Orleans)
appears to be unwilling to consider that the BSA might be illegal in
other states. Nor is he cooperative in allowing new cases challenging
legality in states where no such ruling currently exist.

The Scotese case is particularly interesting. My memory is rusty at
this point. But in the case of Dr. Namay in Ohio, I believe the court
did issue a ruling of illegality. I know the issue of overcharges came
into play. Once OCA concluded they'd lost, they went out in the hall
and reached a stipulated settlement with Dr. Namay which settled the
case and struck the ruling of illegality. (Check the court records for
exact details - it's been long enough my memory is hazy.)

One thing which did catch my attention is that Scotese alleged
overcharges. However, he apparently didn't do an adequate job of
detailing them, either due to a lack of time to present the case, or
lack of financial wherewithall to put it on properly? Some key OCA
staffers claimed that OCA had "corrected" the overcharges, which to me
is like catching a bankrobber who when apprehended offers to return the
loot and expects to be set free.

I'm not a lawyer. But if I were a current affiliate who had been
subject to "corporate allocations" prior to 1991, I would put on a full
court press using the associated corporate allocations overcharges as
clear evidence of OCA having violated their breached their contract.
Under a breach of contract, the doctor can be excused from further
performance. I believe this approach was first used in the Hobson case
in Sacramento, CA, followed by similar cases in CA (Thompson,) AZ
(Cook,) OH (Namay,) and perhaps other cases in other states as well.
Other approaches have been used as well. But personally, I think this
is the one I'd use if I were trying to get free of OCA's warm, loving
embrace.

The forgoing is entirely my own, personal, non-lawyer's opinion.