PHOTO: Plastic Surgery

OLYMPIA, Wash.-A federal judge ruled that a Seattle plastic surgeon illegally restricted patients from submitting negative reviews by making them sign non-disclosure agreements.

On April 14, a U.S. District Judge ruling found that Allure Esthetic and Dr. Davad Sajan's pre-procedure non-disclosure agreements were in violation of federal consumer rights law.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson's Office filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Allure and Sajan alleging the plastic surgeon required more than 10,000 patients to sign illegal non-disclosure agreements before any procedures were performed.

“Online reviews are often the first stop when consumers are determining who to trust,” said Attorney General Ferguson. “That’s especially critical when those services deal with a patient’s health and safety."

According to the Attorney General's Office, under the non-disclosure agreements, signed between 2017 and 2019, patients were required to contact Allure directly with any concerns, rather than post a negative review. 

Many of the patients reportedly found out they had to sign the agreements only after they had already paid $100 consultation fees.

The lawsuit further alleged that Allure intimidated and bribed patients to remove negative reviews, ordered employees to post fake positive ones and that the company altered “before and after” photos to misrepresent the actual results of procedures, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The penalty assessed against Allure will be determined through a trial scheduled for September.