Salon Owner Can Fight for Fish Pedicures

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Court of Appeals says a Gilbert salon owner can continue her fight over spa fish therapy.

A civil suit was filed by a conservative watchdog group on behalf of Cindy Vong, whose clients pay to have fish eat dead skin off their feet.

A lower court dismissed the suit, but the state appeals court ruled Friday that Vong is entitled to argue that state rules against her business are unconstitutional.

The Arizona Board of Cosmetology threatened to pull Vong's license in 2009 if she didn't stop offering the pedicure service. The board alleged the fish were unsafe because they couldn't be sterilized.

The Goldwater Institute says the board lacked jurisdiction over the practice because it wasn't a cosmetic service and it violated Vong's right to run her business.