Lincoln Memorial University, the operator of the largest U.S. veterinary college by class size, is accusing the American Veterinary Medical Association of anticompetitive practices that restrict access to veterinary education and contribute to higher pet care costs.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Tennessee says the AVMA and its accrediting arm, the Council on Education, unlawfully wield monopoly power and suppress competition by imposing what LMU calls arbitrary and exclusionary accreditation requirements.
LMU contends that the AVMA’s recent accreditation actions — placing LMU’s Tennessee-based College of Veterinary Medicine on probation and signaling the likely denial of a planned Florida campus — are part of a broader strategy to restrict the number of veterinarian graduates and limit market supply. The university argues that the actions financially benefit AVMA members at the expense of aspiring veterinarians and pet owners.
“These insurmountable barriers to entry for new veterinary schools limit the number of available veterinary schools, which limits the number of graduates, which limits the veterinary options for pet owners in America,” LMU President Dr. Jason McConnell said in a news release. “This is the essence of an antitrust violation. One economically interested group controlling the market to the detriment of consumers.”
Instead of seeking monetary damages, LMU is requesting injunctive relief to halt the AVMA’s current accreditation approach and is calling for a structural separation of the AVMA from its accrediting body, arguing that the dual role poses a conflict of interest.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on this pending litigation at this time,” AVMA spokesperson Lisa Howard said.
In a time of rising veterinary care costs and veterinary workforce shortages in many parts of the United States, the outcome of the case could reshape how the profession regulates its educational pipeline and who can enter the field.