Texas Wisely Concedes Economic Liberty Case

Last month, I wrote about a case challenging medical‐​licensing rules that prevented an innovative health‐​services company, Teladoc, from using advanced technology to provide care to hard‐​to‐​reach patients. The Texas Medical Board, which isn’t supervised by any branch of state government, oversaw the restrictions, which a district court threw out on antitrust grounds. After the board appealed, Cato filed a brief supporting Teladoc. And we weren’t alone; the range of briefing was impressive, particularly for a case that hadn’t yet reached the Supreme Court.


Well, today the Texas attorney general’s office filed an unopposed motion to dismiss the state’s own appeal. That should be the end of this case. Although I’m sure Teladoc and its fellow plaintiffs would’ve loved to finish litigating the appeal and get a favorable Fifth Circuit ruling, it’ll take this win all the way to the economic‐​liberty bank.


It’s always hard to know what impact an amicus brief has — even when you’re cited, it might be for a tangential point, or indeed to counter your argument — and this case illustrates that lesson: there’s not even a court ruling here, but the quality of amicus briefs certainly contributed to Texas’s decision to abandon the medical board’s appeal.


Congrats to Teladoc, its counsel, and the people of Texas!