Strata Skin files complaint against LaserOptek, MLS, Pinnacle

STRATA Skin Sciences has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against LaserOptek America, Monarch Aesthetic Services, Inc. d/b/a Monarch Laser Services, MLS, and The Pinnacle Health Group, collectively referred to as the “Defendants” citing unfair competition under federal and state laws regarding the marketing and sales of competitive laser devices. In its complaint, STRATA alleges false advertising and unfair competition under the Lanham Act and related state laws with regard to the marketing and sale of the Pallas lasers in the U.S. by the Defendants. Specifically, STRATA claims that: The Defendants have intentionally misrepresented the nature, characteristics, and qualities of the solid-state Pallas lasers by falsely stating to current and potential dermatology practice customers; LaserOptek and MLS have also made knowingly false and misleading statements regarding the technological, functional, and clinical equivalence and/or superiority of the solid-state Pallas lasers; LaserOptek and MLS have relied on LaserOptek’s clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to make inherently misleading and false statements regarding the technological, functional, or clinical equivalence of the solid-state Pallas lasers as compared to STRATA’s excimer lasers; The Defendants’ conduct is causing ongoing harm to the public interest by encouraging the fraudulent use of reimbursement codes, causing purchasers and users of the Pallas lasers to experience probable denials of insurance reimbursement, and causing patients to be treated for psoriasis using Pallas lasers.