Planet Fitness. Photo: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock.com.Planet Fitness Faces Multimillion-Dollar Class Over Text Ad Offering Free Bottle of Water
It began with a text offering Palm Beach resident Jody Steward a free bottle of water, but could end as a nationwide class action to get gym operator Planet Fitness to pay more than $5 million in damages for allegedly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
January 25, 2019 at 05:15 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Daily Business Review
A Palm Beach County resident has taken a jab at nationwide gym operator Planet Fitness, bringing a putative class action lawsuit in Miami federal court, alleging the fitness company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending a marketing text offering a free bottle of water.
The plaintiff, Jody Steward, claimed in the suit that she's been registered on a national do-not-call list since 2004, but that this didn't stop the gym's unsolicited marketing message. She is seeking up to $1,500 in damages for each unwanted text the gym sent. That number is so far unknown, but according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday, total damages could surpass $5 million.
“Thank you for being a Planet Fitness member!” the message read. “Show this text at your home gym today and receive a free bottle of water after your workout!”
According to plaintiffs lawyer Andrew J. Shamis of Shamis Gentile in Miami, Steward has never been a member of Planet Fitness and doesn't know how it got her number. The attorney is handling the case with Scott Edelsberg of Edelsberg Law in Aventura.
Planet Fitness declined to comment.
Read the full complaint: [falcon-embed src="embed_1"]
Congress passed the TCPA in 1991 to restrict unwanted telemarketing, making it a violation for businesses to call or text consumers without their consent.
And it doesn't matter that the text was only about a water bottle, the way Shamis sees it.
“Privacy rights are really being infringed upon by a lot of companies,” Shamis said. “There's a reason why the TCPA was passed. You shouldn't be getting spam text messages on your cell phone, unless you've expressly agreed to receive those text messages.”
According to Shamis, the TCPA involves an ever-evolving body of law thanks to changes in communication since the pre-text message era and thousands of rulings by federal judges across the country.
“Fairly or unfairly, it's kind of turned into its own beast, its own legal animal that's become incredibly complex even though it's all based around a somewhat simple statute,” Shamis said.
Planet Fitness is still working out its defense but is expected to file an answer to the complaint in the coming weeks.
Related stories:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
An ‘Indiana Jones Moment’: Mayer Brown’s John Nadolenco and Kelly Kramer on the 10-Year Legal Saga of the Bahia Emerald
Travis Lenkner Returns to Burford Capital With an Eye on Future Growth Opportunities
Legal Speak's 'Sidebar With Saul' Part V: Strange Days of Trump Trial Culminate in Historic Verdict
1 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Customers: Developments on ‘Conquesting’ from the Ninth Circuit
- 2Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates, including two convicted of California murders
- 3Avoiding Franchisor Failures: Be Cautious and Do Your Research
- 4De-Mystifying the Ethics of the Attorney Transition Process, Part 1
- 5Alex Spiro Accuses Prosecutors of 'Unethical' Comments in Adams' Bribery Case
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
