You must be hearing a lot about the recent Invisalign Class Action Lawsuit, and you must be thinking that you should abandon the idea of buying these aligners, right? But nah, the actual case does not have anything to do with the effectiveness of aligners or Invisalign, instead it is more about the business tactics of some brands out there. That’s all.
Is This a Huge Deal or Just Another Legal Story?
Honestly? It’s kind of both. Sure, it is actually all about a giant, famous corporation by the name Align Technology, the company behind Invisalign, and yet another big brand, SmileDirectClub. And yes, they’ve agreed to a settlement of a little over $31 million. That’s a lot of money and can help out those who were impacted in all this legal mess.
The real question is, if you have used Invisalign or SmileDirectClub aligners, should you be worried? Absolutely not! Nah!! It is not like that, actually, see, the lawsuit does not focus on your treatment being unsafe. That’s not how it is. If you haven’t read anything about this case yet, see, it only raises questions if these two companies collaborated illegally to keep the prices of aligners artificially high. Therefore, if you purchased SmileDirectClub aligners anytime during the years 2017-2022, you might, in fact, be entitled to some money, not be charged with anything. Plain and simple!
So Why Did This Lawsuit Start in the First Place?
To understand it really well, we first need to backtrack things a bit here. So, Align Technology manufactures Invisalign, you know, the clear plastic trays that can straighten your teeth without the need for braces. And just like that, or in a very similar sense, SmileDirectClub offers a somewhat similar service but sells its aligners directly to customers online, you know, somehow bypassing the traditional dentist visit model. That’s pretty much the thing that a lot of people like about these two brands.
And the important detail that not a lot of people out there truly have a good idea of is that Align was actually a financial backer of SmileDirectClub. But yeah, that thing right there didn’t quite work out for both of these parties, and that ended. Like, later down the line, when the breakdown happened, there was a peculiar observation: the prices of clear aligners were higher than people anticipated.
Later, when some people noticed this, no doubt, they were raising these questions, and when getting no answers from anyone, sure enough, they went down the legal route and this class action lawsuit is a result of just that. To be precise here for a moment, see the case, which was named Snow v. Align Technology Inc., is being heard in the Northern District of California. Their claims, in legal terms, might sound a bit too much, but here’s what the plaintiffs are saying: Align and SmileDirectClub, two major players in the industry, had entered into an anticompetitive agreement, essentially teaming up to shut out competitors and control prices in the direct-to-consumer aligner market.
So yes, overall, the main aim or issue of this lawsuit doesn’t have anything to do with how effective those aligners are, nah, instead it is all about the prices.
What Exactly Did the Case Accuse Them Of?
Basically, the lawsuit alleged that Align and SmileDirectClub violated antitrust laws, in particular the Sherman Antitrust Act. And? For those who don’t even know a thing or two about it yet, see, it is a U.S. law that aims to maintain market competition and prevent companies from colluding in secret to inflate prices.
The allegation was that Align and SmileDirectClub had a pact that restrained the other companies’ freedom in selling clear aligners directly to customers. And if you’re thinking that might be legal in some sense, but it is just NOT!
