Arguments Over Fish Pedicures Head to Arizona Court

The Arizona Court of Appeals has decided to hear arguments Wednesday on a civil suit involving a Gilbert spa owner whose clients paid to have fish eat dead skin off their feet.

The suit was filed by the Goldwater Institute on behalf of LaVie spa owner Cindy Vong.

A lower court had earlier dismissed the suit.

In 2009, the Arizona Board of Cosmetology threatened to revoke Vong's license if she didn't stop offering the pedicure service. The board alleged the fish were unsafe because they could not be sterilized.

Vong says the board's ruling hurt her financially.

The Institute sued in December 2009, alleging the board lacked jurisdiction over the practice because it was not a cosmetic service and that it violated Vong's right to run her business.

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In 2008, Cindy Vong was on FOX 10 Arizona Morning explaining the fish pedicure: