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Texas Sues Contact Lens Dispensers

November 3, 2006

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Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed lawsuits against two San Antonio businesses that have dispensed contact lenses to consumers without prescriptions.

The suits request an injunction to halt their illegal practices, which, in the case of one business, New Look Cosmetics, resulted in at least one eye injury to a person, resulting in temporary vision impairment.

New Look Cosmetics and its owner, Florencio Landin Jr., and Main Optical and its owners, Yanett Salinas and Hector Salinas Gomez are named in the suits. Both operated from local flea markets illegally, and both were allegedly placing consumers at risk for eye injury by selling contact lenses without obtaining the proper prescriptions from eye doctors.

"We cannot tolerate reckless, unfettered business practices that can potentially cause harm to well-meaning consumers," said Abbott. "Dispensing contact lenses without a permit and without requiring prescriptions from eye physicians can cause real harm to consumers."

In both cases, on referral from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the defendants allegedly violated key protective elements of the Contact Lens Prescription Act.

While Main Optical possesses a valid permit to dispense contact lenses, the business was illegally dispensing them without prescriptions from their customers. Dispensing any contact lenses, even noncorrective, or "plano," lenses, which are intended solely to change the appearance of the eye, still requires a permit and a prescription from a physician or optometrist.

Main Optical also used on-premise advertising using the words "cosmetic color contacts" to lead consumers to believe prescriptions are not necessary, which also violates the law. The business has used its own staff and instruments of optometry in its main store to make eye measurements without prescriptions or without the involvement of a licensed optometrist, which also violates state law.

Landin rarely required prescriptions from consumers, yet still dispensed the contact lenses they requested. DSHS investigators not only documented sales of lenses to consumers without prescriptions, but Landin admitted doing so.

Main Optical indicates it has halted these practices, and New Look says it closed its business after exposure in recent news reports.

The suits declare violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) and Texas Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), with penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the DTPA and $25,000 per day in violation of the FDCA.

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