The Florida financial planning couple who opened up a national debate over which financial firms can call themselves fee-only are considering appealing a court decision that threw out their lawsuit on the issue.

Jeffrey and Kimberly Camarda, the owners of Camarda Financial Planning in Fleming Island, Fla., say they need to review a court opinion about their case against the CFP Board of Standards before deciding whether to appeal.

The Camarda’s filed suit in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., after the CFP Board threatened to issue a letter of admonition against them for describing their business as fee-only. The Camardas also own an insurance company that works on a commission basis, which the board said disqualified them from using the fee-only designation for their financial planning business.

The judge last week threw out the lawsuit but sealed the opinion for 14 days.

“We have not seen the court's opinion as it has been filed under seal and will remain so until submissions are made to the court on what should be unsealed and a decision by the court [is made] on those submissions. We therefore cannot fully comment in detail until we are able to review the opinion and we know what we can comment upon and what we cannot,” the Camarda’s said in a statement.

“That said, we are clearly disappointed in the decision and do not think it is correct if it rules that the CFP Board—being a private organization—has the prerogative to treat its licensees any way it wishes without any meaningful legal recourse to the judicial system available to certificants. At this time, we are considering an appeal but need to review the court's actual opinion before making that call.”

The couple added, “We have remained largely silent due to the pending litigation, but are eager to share as much of our story as we can, and that time may be drawing near.”

The CFP Board also largely withheld comment about the case, pending the release of the opinion. “This ruling affirms CFP Board's authority to set and enforce its standards of professional conduct, which serve as critical consumer protections,” Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis, managing director of public policy and communications for the CFP Board, said when the decision was announced.

Charging clients fees rather than commissions is seen by some as being a better way to do business and is one of the designations a planner can include in his or her description on the CFP Board website.