Fourth Circuit issues opinion on collateral orders and state action antitrust immunity

In SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF DENTISTRY v. FTC, the Fourth circuit considered whether the denial of "state action antitrust" immunity falls within the narrow class of "collateral orders" that may be appealed notwithstanding their lack of finality. The panel held that the denial of this immunity is not a collateral order. The panel concluded that because the requisite analysis under Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341 (1943) is neither "completely separate from the merits" nor "effectively unreviewable" after trial, immediate appeal was inappropriate.