Santa Monica Business Ordered To Stop Selling Purported Coronavirus Home Testing Kit
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — City Attorney Mike Feuer says he has obtained a stipulated judgment against a Santa Monica-based company that was selling a $249 home kit they claimed could test for coronavirus.
RootMD, Inc. claimed it's in-home exposure and immunity test kits were approved by the FDA. The FDA has approved an in-home test kit in the past week, but obtaining one requires authorization from a doctor and results administered by a lab.
The court-approved stipulation orders RootMD to stop advertising and selling the kit, pay civil penalties and give restitution to customers who purchased it. Feuer said the case against RootMD was filed just last week.
"It's so important to everyone in our community that we have the facts and legitimate products that actually protect us," Feuer said.
This is the second settlement Feuer's office has obtained against a company claiming to sell a product that can test for coronavirus.
The city attorney says he has filed 21 more cases against non-essential businesses for staying open during the stay-at-home order, bringing the total of criminal cases against non-essential businesses in Los Angeles to 49. Of the 21 new cases, 19 sold tobacco, he said.
Feuer also said his office successfully defended another challenge of the city's stay-at-home order from a Reseda gun shop called Turner Operations, which is seeking to be exempt from the order.
The financial implications of remaining closed for so long is understandable, Feuer said.
"But we'll get back to work sooner and get back to our routine sooner if everyone complies with the mayor's safer-at-home order int he first place," he said.
