760
Opinion of the Court
of commerce, real-estate boards, [and] boards of trade," although it has for-profit subsidiaries that give its members advantageous access to various sorts of insurance, including liability coverage, and to financing for their real estate, equipment, cars, and patients' bills. The CDA lobbies and litigates in its members' interests, and conducts marketing and public relations campaigns for their benefit. 128 F. 3d 720, 723 (CA9 1997).
The dentists who belong to the CDA through these associations agree to abide by a Code of Ethics (Code) including the following § 10:
"Although any dentist may advertise, no dentist shall advertise or solicit patients in any form of communication in a manner that is false or misleading in any material respect. In order to properly serve the public, dentists should represent themselves in a manner that contributes to the esteem of the public. Dentists should not misrepresent their training and competence in any way that would be false or misleading in any material respect." App. 33.
The CDA has issued a number of advisory opinions interpreting this section,1 and through separate advertising
1 The advisory opinions, which substantially mirror parts of the California Business and Professions Code, see Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Ann. §§ 651, 1680 (West 1999), include the following propositions:
"A statement or claim is false or misleading in any material respect when it:
"a. contains a misrepresentation of fact;
"b. is likely to mislead or deceive because in context it makes only a partial disclosure of relevant facts;
"c. is intended or is likely to create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results and/or costs;
"d. relates to fees for specific types of services without fully and specifically disclosing all variables and other relevant factors;
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007