FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – More than a year and a half after an illegal lab was discovered in Reedley, the operator is suing the city of Reedley.
The City of Reedley was handed a lawsuit against them and the FDA by David He, also known as Jia Bei Zhu. However, the Reedley city manager said they are confident the city will be able to defend itself successfully.
“The lawsuit was not unexpected for us because roughly six months ago, he had filed a claim against the city that the council denied him public session, and that claim was for $50 million,” Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba said.
David He has sued the city of Reedley and the FDA.
“The lawsuit claims we violated his constitutional rights, seized his property, and destroyed his assets including his valuable mice, his diseases and his viruses, his business equipment, his business records,” Zieba said.
He was indicted in November 2023 for running an illegal lab. He was charged with distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices, like pregnancy and covid tests, – and for making false statements to the FDA. Zieba says some of He’s claims are not true.
“By the way, the business records are not destroyed. We have them under lock and key until the state makes a move on this case. So we were not surprised by it, we were not shocked by it and we intend to vigorously defend the city,” Zieba said.
Zieba says the city is taking a methodical approach to this lawsuit.
“We wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row, we did things legally. Everything we did, including inspections including destruction, we did with court warrants, court orders,” Zieba said.
As for the illegal lab in Reedley, that structure is still standing and vacant. However, there are still COVID-19 tests and other hazardous materials inside that are waiting to be destroyed.
“Right now we’re still waiting for the state to come in and destroy the embargoed test kits, the pregnancy test kits, and the COVID test kits. So right now, 850 I Street is still sealed up,” Zieba said.
Zieba also says that all of the city’s requests for warrants and court-ordered destruction are publicly filed with the Fresno Superior Court.
