The US Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a spa owner from Phoenix against the decision by Arizona’s Court of Appeals that said pedicures delivered by garra rufa fish – which nibble dead skin off clients’ feet – is an unsafe practice according to state regulations for consumer protection.

Cindy Vong, owner of LaVie Nails & Spa salon, originally remodeled her spa and salon to accommodate the fish treatment in 2008. In 2009, Vong was forced to close the fish spa part of her salon and Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Cosmetology on her behalf – stating that the ban exceeded the board’s statutory authority.

After failing to win at the Arizona Court of Appeal in November 2014, the US Supreme Court has now found that the board did not violate Vong’s constitutional rights to due process, equal protection and the privileges and immunities afforded to everyone to make a living.

The justices in the Supreme Court made no comment, but agreed with the lower state court that the board acted within its powers and the ban did not put Vong out of business because she could perform other procedures at the salon.