Philadelphia, PA: A class action has been filed on behalf of: (1) former members of L.A. Fitness International, LLC ("LA Fitness") who have incurred at least one additional monthly billing charge after they attempted to cancel their Monthly Dues Membership Agreements; and (2) current members of LA Fitness who entered into Monthly Dues contracts which contain egregious cancellation provisions and who will be forced to pay dues for one or more months after they attempt to cancel their memberships.
LA Fitness operates health and fitness clubs throughout the United States. The complaint alleges that LA Fitness breached its Monthly Dues contract and violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by representing that its Monthly Dues contract was a "monthly"contract that could be terminated (along with monthly dues billing) simply by following the contract' cancellation procedures. This representation was deceptive because, in actuality, due to LA Fitness' unfair practices, it was and is virtually impossible to cancel the contract without being charged at least one or two months of additional dues, even when members follow the contract' cancellation procedures.
The Complaint further alleges that LA Fitness breaches its Monthly Dues contract and violates Florida' consumer protect laws by: (1) refusing to act on properly submitted cancellation requests in order to continue automatic billing of dues from members' bank accounts or credit cards; (2) failing to disclose that the contract cannot be cancelled by giving 30 days notice (or 20 days for newer contracts), when in actuality members must mail cancellations at least 61 days before their desired termination date (or 51 days for newer contracts); (3) using prepaid last month' dues to extend contracts beyond members' usage, despite LA Fitness' representation in the contract that "no further billing will occur"after timely mailing of a cancellation notice; and (4) failing to inform members that they can only cancel by using a particular cancellation form, obtainable only in-person at an LA Fitness club, when the contract states that any "written notice"will suffice.
