Designing Women Get Lawyers

Messing with interior designers is a bad idea. The reason people pay them is to be opinionated and decisive. But what happens when interior designers go up against other interior designers? And what if the American judicial system gets involved? Well, sometimes this:

But in a more modern case: Up-and-coming, non-fictional interior designers are taking on old entrenched interior designers with the help of the economic liberty litigation superheroes at the Institute for Justice.

The Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit today on behalf of three Connecticut women who would like to advertise their services as interior designers, but fear the $500 fine or one year in jail that state law calls for. In order to be qualified in the eyes of the state, the women would have to pass the exam of the National Council for Interior Design Qualification. To be eligible to sit for the  exam, an applicant must have six years of higher education and "interior design experience."

That's a bunch of hooey, of course. Under Connecticut law, women (and men) banned from using the words "interior designer" can still perform all of the same functions as certified designers. Which means the licensing gambit isn't about safety. It's pure cartelism.

The lobbying wing of the interior design cartel is has pushed 70 bills in 20 states over the last few years, for a total of about 6 million dollars, with mercifully limited success, mostly because IJ has been roughing people up and leaving (figurative) horse heads on their Laura Ashley sheets.

Best of luck to the designing women and the lawyers in shining lawsuits. Stay tuned for updates on IJ's Design Freedom Month, even if there probably won't be a guest appearance by big-haired beauties Mary Jo, Charlene, Suzanne, or Julia.