Court Opinion

ID: 9529872
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:55:00.875433+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:56.617306
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE GREIMAN, specially concurring: Although I agree that our case law dictates the result reached by the majority, I write separately to express my displeasure with the law as it stands on this issue in Illinois. In my view, doctors, dentists and lawyers are no different from other business people. They are part of the stream of commerce and are engaged in the sale of services. Moreover, the plain language of the Act provides that it applies to those involved in trade or commerce and does not specifically except from its ambit the medical, dental and legal professions. The fact that the legal and medical professions are controlled to a degree by state regulations is of little significance. For example, a plumber, who must be accredited by the state, in order to increase her profits, could conceivably be held liable under the Act if she were to advise a client that certain plumbing work was necessary when in fact it was not. Much like that plumber, here defendants, in order to increase their profits, allegedly advised plaintiff to have unnecessary dental work performed and performed that unnecessary dental work. As the Gadson court points out, “[ujnlike Illinois caselaw (Frahm and Feldstein) which recognize an exception to the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act for the practice of law or medicine, the [Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Trade Commission Act] regulate[ ] both professions.” Gadson, 807 E Supp. at 1418. I believe this is the better approach.