SeaWorld Asks Judge to Trim Auto-Renewal Class Action Lawsuit

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SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc. has filed a motion for partial summary judgment asking a Florida federal judge to dismiss the breach of contract claim from a class action lawsuit that takes issue with its EZPay annual pass auto-renewal policies.

The SeaWorld class action lawsuit takes issue with the wording in the annual pass contract, which reportedly states that the annual passes will be automatically renewed unless they are fully paid “in less than 12 months.”

The plaintiffs argue that SeaWorld systematically violated this provision by continuing to collect payment each month from customers who fully paid for their annual passes in fewer than 12 months.

The dispute centers on the interpretation of this contractual provision. The plaintiffs interpreted it to plainly mean that the annual pass will only be renewed if a guest does not make the full payment within one calendar year.

SeaWorld, on the other hand, argued that the contract will be automatically renewed unless the guest pays it off in fewer than 12 monthly payments.

Plaintiff Jason Herman initially filed the SeaWorld class action lawsuit in December 2014, alleging the clear language of the annual pass contract meant that the contract would end at the one-year mark. SeaWorld contends that the contract is open-ended.

In its motion for partial summary judgment, SeaWorld argues that the plaintiffs made their first payments on the same day that they purchased their passes and then made 11 subsequent and timely installment payments, but none of the plaintiffs cancelled or terminated their EZpay contract during the calendar year.

Because they didn’t terminate their contract, and because they did not pay in full in fewer than 12 months, they were charged for a 13th payment, SeaWorld argues.

The plaintiffs claim that, because their 12th payment was charged approximately 11 months after they purchased their annual passes, they have upheld the terms of the contract by paying in full within one calendar year and therefore should not have been subject to automatic renewal—and should not have been required to cancel or terminate their contract to put an end to the automatic payments.

SeaWorld disputes the plaintiffs’ argument, contending that they did not pay for their passes in “less than 12 months.”

“Rather, Plaintiffs paid for their passes in exactly 12 months—one payment each month for 12 months,” SeaWorld argues. The company claims that under this interpretation, SeaWorld had a contractual obligation to continue charging the plaintiffs each month until they chose to cancel or terminate the contract.

Even if the judge is not persuaded by that argument, SeaWorld says the breach of contract claim should still be dismissed.

“[I]f Plaintiffs are correct, and the contract terminated at the end of the initial term, Plaintiffs cannot bring a claim for breach of contract for payments that occurred after the contract ended,” SeaWorld argues.

The plaintiffs are represented by Paul R. Fowkes and Ryan C. Hasanbasic of Disparti Law Group PA.

The SeaWorld Auto-Renewal Class Action Lawsuit is Herman v. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc., Case No. 8:14-cv-03028, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

UPDATE: On March 10, 2017, a federal judge in Florida granted Class certification in a consumer lawsuit challenging SeaWorld’s EZ Pay automatic renewal terms.

UPDATE 2: On June 29, 2018, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc. has agreed t

o pay $11.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit over allegations it automatically renewed year-long passes without consumers’ consent.

UPDATE 3: March 2019, the SeaWorld EZ pay class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 4: On Aug. 20, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started getting checks from the SeaWorld EZ Pay class action settlement worth as much as $97.47. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!