Judge Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against AVMA Over Veterinary School Accreditation

A federal judge in Tennessee has dismissed a closely watched antitrust lawsuit brought by Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) against the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), delivering a procedural win for the profession's largest accrediting body, though the underlying dispute over veterinarian supply and accreditation power is far from settled.

What the Lawsuit Claimed

LMU filed suit in 2025, arguing that the AVMA's Council on Education used its accreditation authority in an anticompetitive way — specifically, by placing LMU's veterinary program on probationary status. The school claimed the designation limited its ability to grow enrollment and damaged its reputation, and it asked the court to restrict how the AVMA applies its accreditation standards going forward.

The case struck a nerve well beyond one school's accreditation status. It tapped into a long-simmering debate in veterinary medicine: whether accreditation gatekeeping — intentionally or not — has constrained the pipeline of new veterinarians at a time when access to veterinary care is a growing concern for pet owners nationwide.

The Justice Department Weighed In

Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in the case last year, siding in principle with LMU's underlying theory. The DOJ's position was that professional accrediting bodies cannot use their gatekeeping authority to reduce the number of practitioners entering a field simply to protect existing members from competition.

Why the Judge Dismissed It Anyway

Despite the DOJ's support for the broader theory, U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan ruled that LMU's specific claim was premature. Because the AVMA has not yet issued a final decision on LMU's accreditation status, including for its newer Florida campus, the judge found that any harm to LMU remained speculative rather than concrete. In other words, the court didn't rule on whether the AVMA's conduct is anticompetitive; it ruled that LMU can't sue over an injury that hasn't actually happened yet.

Reactions

LMU framed the outcome as a delay rather than a defeat, emphasizing that the dismissal did not address the merits of its claims and that it intends to pursue the matter further once its Florida program's accreditation status is finalized. The AVMA, for its part, characterized the ruling as confirmation that veterinary schools have a full and fair opportunity to make their case within the existing accreditation process.

“LMU is pleased that the Court has not ruled on the merits of its antitrust claims against the AVMA which were supported by the Department of Justice after consultation with the Department of Education,” said Tom Thagard, attorney representing LMU with Maynard Nexsen, “We are proud of our new veterinary program in Florida which opened this summer and served as a major issue in our legal action.  LMU remains poised to vindicate its claims in the future as necessary.” 

Why It Matters for the Profession

This case sits directly on top of one of veterinary medicine's most pressing structural questions: how do we grow the supply of veterinarians fast enough to meet demand for care, without compromising training standards? New and expanding veterinary programs, including LMU's Florida campus, have been part of the industry's response to workforce shortages. If a future version of this case reaches the merits, it could shape how much latitude accreditors have in approving new and expanding programs.

For now, the dismissal keeps the status quo in place. But with the DOJ on record and LMU signaling it will refile once it has a concrete injury to point to, this is unlikely to be the last word on accreditation and competition in veterinary education.

Case: Lincoln Memorial University v. American Veterinary Medical Association, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, No. 3:25-CV-00282-TAV-CRW.