VANCOUVER - Coastal Contacts Inc. (TSX:COA), which sells contact lenses over the Internet, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the College of Opticians of British Columbia alleging it has made "false, malicious" statements that economically harm the company and "wrongfully maintain the monopoly enjoyed by its members."
The move comes after the Supreme Court of British Columbia dismissed in April an injunction put forward by the college to prevent Coastal Contacts and its Clearly Contacts affiliate from selling contact lenses to customers in B.C.
In May, the college responded to the decision with a statement on its website saying it was disappointed, and warned the public of "dangers it perceives from filling or refilling their contact lens prescription over the Internet."
Coastal Contacts demanded a retraction from the organization in June, but so far its request has been ignored.
As a result, the company filed a lawsuit seeking damages and the removal of the statement from the college's website.
"The defendant intentionally seeks to interfere with the plaintiff's economic prospects and to wrongfully maintain the monopoly enjoyed by its members ...," states the lawsuit filed Thursday.
"The main issue is that the opticians are sort of propagating this kind of fear-mongering mentality that it's dangerous to buy contact lenses from alternative suppliers," Roger Hardy, president and CEO of Coastal Contacts, said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"We're just trying to make sure that accurate information is disseminated."
Hardy also said that Coastal Contacts employs opticians.
A court date hasn't been scheduled for the defamation claims, but Hardy said he expects a court case will happen early next year.
"Coastal Contacts strongly believes in the fundamental right of Canadian consumers to choose where to buy their replacement contact lenses and will vigorously defend such consumer rights," Hardy added in a statement released early Friday.
The Vancouver-based company said it has delivered more than 200 million pairs of replacement contact lenses to customers worldwide and not received a report of any health issues.
It also said no regulatory or professional body has ever identified any health or safety issues, which are alleged by the B.C. opticians organization.
In a news release announcing its petition to the B.C. court last September, the college said "prescription contact lenses may only be fitted, dispensed and otherwise furnished to members of the public by a qualified eye care professional."
The college says that under guidelines requiring a prescription for contact lenses and an optician who is a certified contact lens fitter, "the public is assured that a professional will determine a person's suitability for the particular contact lenses by fitting them and then dispensing them and providing any necessary advice and follow-up."
"Prescription contact lenses are under no circumstances to be supplied to members of the public as if they were merely equivalent to an 'over the counter' device."
The college also noted that "poorly fitted and maintained contact lenses can cause abrasions, ulcerations, infections and potential loss of eye sight."
Nick Atkinson, registrar at the College of Opticians of British Columbia, said the policy is set by the provincial government.
"The bottom line is that the college is in the business of ensuring a standard of care, and we believe that's what we're doing I think it'd be better just to leave it at that," Atkinson said in an interview Friday.
"Although we respect the judgment of the lower court judge, we believe (the judge) had some errors in her judgment."
Coastal Contacts is one of the world's largest sellers of prescription contact lenses to the public and takes orders via telephone, fax or the Internet for later delivery.
The company has a growing list of 1.5 million active customers and is seeking further expansion into the eyeglasses sector.
In its last financial report, Coastal Contacts posted a small net loss of $692,000 because of restructuring charges for businesses acquired in Europe and Singapore. It also reported record revenues of $28.6 million, up 16 per cent from last year.
Coastal Contacts shares were trading down two cents, or 2.22 per cent, at 88 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday afternoon.
-With files from David Friend in Toronto
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