The U.S. Supreme Court rejected optical companies' challenge Tuesday to a California law, backed by optometrists, that prohibits eyeglass sellers from using their offices to conduct eye exams.
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A federal judge in Sacramento struck down the law in 2006, saying it was a protectionist measure designed to limit competition from out-of-state optical chains.
But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated the law in two rulings in 2009 and 2012 and said it had the legitimate purpose of protecting California's medically trained optometrists from takeovers by large businesses.
SF Gate, 2/19/13; [added Sacramento Bee, 2/21/13].