Opinion ID: 6983255
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Literally false v. true-but-misleading or ambiguous statements.

Text: Plaintiff bases its Lanham Act claim against the ABPS on seven statements. Two of them are found in mass mailings sent in May, 1988, and October, 1992, where the ABPS wrote: Recently, the American Board of Podia-tric Surgery has received a number of inquiries from hospitals regarding podiatrists presenting credentials from organizations purporting to be certifying boards. The AMERICAN BOARD OF PODIA-TRIC SURGERY ... is the ONLY approved certifying board for podiatric surgery. The American Board of Podia-tric Surgery is approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education, which is part of the American Podiatric Medical Association (formerly the American Podiatry Association). First, plaintiff claims the word “purporting” implies that other organizations, such as plaintiff, are not certifying boards, when in fact plaintiff is a certifying board, and thus the statement is literally false. The district court reasoned that because anything “purports” to be what it says it is, the statement was true although misleading, and therefore plaintiff had to prove actual deception. 2 To the contrary, we find that when read in context, the word “purported” means nothing other than “falsely claiming to be.” “Purport” carries this connotation' on its own, and when coupled with the other sentences in the letter, there can be no doubt that anyone reading the message would believe the ABPS to be saying that these other organizations were not certifying boards. While this is true, however, the statement in context is more a statement of opinion than a statement of fact. The ABPS seems to say that only boards approved by the CPME are truly certifying boards, and only the ABPS is approved by the CPME. As noted previously, such a statement is an inactionable statement of opinion. Second, plaintiff claims that the statement that the ABPS is “the ONLY approved certifying board for podiatric surgery” is literally false. This statement is either ambiguous or true but misleading. It is wholly unclear what it means to be an “approved” board, and so plaintiff must demonstrate that the statement actually deceived consumers into believing something untrue. Alternatively, considering the statement in context, it may mean that only the ABPS is approved by the CPME, which is true. Thus, whether ambiguous or true but misleading, plaintiff must introduce evidence of actual deception to recover damages. Third, in a mailing to insurance carriers on October 1, 1992, the ABPS stated that it “is the only professionally recognized certifying board for podiatric surgery, being recognized by the” CPME. Like “approved” in the previously discussed passage, the phrase “professionally recognized” is ambiguous. To be “professionally recognized,” must the ABPS be recognized by most podiatrists? Most people in the medical profession? Some podiatrists? Taken as a whole, the sentence may mean that only boards recognized by the CPME are professionally recognized boards, which is a statement of opinion. Thus, the statement is either opinion or ambiguous, and plaintiff must introduce evidence of actual deception to survive summary judgment. Fourth, in another mailing to hospitals, the ABPS stated that “there has been a proliferation of ‘self-designated’ organizations purporting to have the authority to recognize and certify in podiatric surgery.” Plaintiff complains that the term “self-designated” is disparaging. It may be disparaging, but it is also ambiguous. At trial, evidence suggested that to those in the medical community, “self-designated” could refer to boards not recognized by the CPME, which would be all boards other than the ABPS. In context, the most reasonable interpretation of “self-designated” is “not approved by another body.” Plaintiff may or may not be approved by another body, depending upon how one looks at its relationship with the AAPPS. The AAPPS created and approved plaintiff, and being approved by the very body that created it might be considered self-designation. In any event, “self-designated” is ambiguous, and therefore plaintiff must show actual deception to prevail. Fifth, plaintiff points to the language found in the mass mailings stating that the “CPME is the accrediting agency for po-diatric medicine.... ” Plaintiff claims this is a false statement. However, the statement is too ambiguous to be literally false because it does not say what the CPME accredits. The CPME does, in fact, accredit all of the colleges of podiatric medicine, and it is the only organization that accredits these colleges. Thus, in a sense the statement is true. At worst it is misleading, and plaintiff must present evidence of actual deception. Sixth, plaintiff challenges the ABPS’s statement that “[t]he CPME is the accrediting agency for podiatric medicine, recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation.” Plaintiff interprets this passage to mean that the federal government has approved the CPME for recognizing certification boards, which is false. However, this statement does not necessarily stretch as broadly as the plaintiff would have it. The U.S. Department of Education does, in fact, recognize the CPME for the accreditation of postsecond-ary schools. Thus, the statement is, at worst, true but misleading, and plaintiff must demonstrate actual deception. Finally, plaintiff complains about the ABPS’s statement that the “APMA recognizes only the ABPS for certification in podiatric surgery.” Unfortunately, it points to no place in the record where this statement may be found. We have found instances where the ABPS has claimed that it is the only board approved by the CPME, which is a true statement. While it may be that this statement implies that there is some sort of process whereby other boards can apply for CPME approval and that the ABPS is the only board to gain such approval, the statement itself is literally true. Thus, at worst it is true yet misleading, and plaintiff must demonstrate actual deception. In considering all the above-challenged statements, we have to keep in mind that one of the key elements of a cause of action for misleading advertising under the Lanham Act is “that there is actual deception or at least a tendency to deceive a substantial portion of the intended audience.” See U.S. Healthcare, Inc. v. Blue Cross of Greater Philadelphia, 898 F.2d 914, 922 (3d Cir.1990) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). Here, the intended audience is comprised of hospital administrators, insurance companies, and managed care organizations, a sophisticated group of professionals who presumably have familiarity with the issues involved in board certification. Because we conclude that this intended audience would find all of the challenged statements to be, at worst, either ambiguous or true but misleading, the district court correctly reasoned that plaintiff had to present evidence of actual deception in order to survive the ABPS’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and collect damages.