Texas officials filed a lawsuit in San Antonio accusing an online retailer of breaking the law by selling contact lenses to consumers without prescriptions. It marks the second time in 17 months that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken action against New Jersey-based THEG Inc., which does business as Fine & Clear.
The company sells contact lenses on two websites – fineandclear.com and rainbowcomplete.com, court documents indicate.
The state has requested a hearing to get a temporary injunction to prevent THEG from selling lenses without a prescription. The state also seeks up to $1 million in damages from THEG.
Last year, the attorney general’s office found evidence that the company was selling contact lenses without requiring consumers to present a valid prescription. As a result, THEG and President Hyunyil Cho agreed in June 2017 to refrain from selling contact lenses unless they received prescriptions from physicians.
THEG agreed to provide full refunds to consumers who returned their lenses in an unopened box within 90 days of the agreement.
But on Tuesday, Paxton filed a lawsuit in state District Court in Bexar County, accusing THEG of continuing to violate the law. Cho is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
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