A Maricopa County Superior Court judge is expected to rule within two months whether a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of a Gilbert salon owner against the Arizona Board of Cosmetology should be dismissed. The board wants to ban the spa owner from providing fish pedicures.
Judge Bethany Hicks on Monday heard the state board’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute in November on behalf of Cindy Vong, owner of La Vie Nails and Spa. But Hicks determined that she needed more time to consider the matter.
In April 2008, the board of cosmetology ordered Vong to stop providing pedicures using Garra rufa fish. The fish eat the dead skin off peoples’ feet. The board argues the procedure is unhealthy and unsanitary.
