OLYMPIA — On Thurs., Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson today that his office obtained a preliminary injunction in a case against Illinois-based testing company Center for COVID Control. Under the order, the court blocked the company from providing COVID-19 testing services or collect consumer health information in Washington while the case is litigated.
In addition, as part of the court order, the company agreed to not operate in Washington again. The company shut down its Washington-based testing centers on or about Jan. 13, and has not reopened them since.
The case will now enter the discovery phase, and will continue on the merits of the legal claims.
“Calling this conduct a ‘scam’ is an understatement,” Ferguson said. “It was unethical, illegal, and jeopardized the health of thousands of Washingtonians. Our investigation put a stop to Center for COVID Control’s Washington operations.”
Last month, Ferguson filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court against Center for COVID Control for allegedly providing invalid, false and delayed COVID-19 test results to Washingtonians, or sometimes providing no results at all. The company’s alleged unlawful practices included storing tests in garbage bags for over a week rather than properly refrigerating them, and backdating sample collection dates so that stale samples would still be processed.
Ferguson’s lawsuit asserts the company violated the Consumer Protection Act “when it deliberately failed to deliver prompt, valid and accurate results.” In addition, the company also allegedly violated the Consumer Protection Act when it allegedly made deceptive promises that it could deliver results within 48 hours.
