Court denies immediate review of Delta Dental class certification: 5 things to know

A federal appeals court has rejected a request for a decision that denied class certification in an ongoing antitrust case against Delta Dental, according to a Dec. 10 news release from the American Dental Association. 

Here are five things to know:

1. In September, an Illinois federal judge denied a group of dental providers class certification in the lawsuit. 
2. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2019, alleges that Delta Dental Plans and Delta Dental Plans Association reduced reimbursements through territorial restrictions, fixed prices for dental services and products, and limited competition. 
3. The plaintiffs wanted to pursue the litigation on behalf of a nationwide class of dental providers in the Delta Dental network. 
4. Without a certified class designation, individual providers must file separate lawsuits to seek recovery. The plaintiffs estimate that nearly 240,000 dental providers were harmed by the alleged antitrust violations. 
5. The statute of limitations was paused while the issue of class certification was pending. Now that it has been denied, providers who do not act promptly may lose the ability to seek recovery.