Adore Me Class Action Says Subscriptions Violate California Law

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A woman from California accuses lingerie retailer Adore Me of roping consumers into automatically renewing purchase agreements without complying with legally mandated notice requirements.

Plaintiff Kathy Lira says Adore Me signs customers up for a subscription of ongoing purchases without properly disclosing the terms of that arrangement and without getting the customers’ express consent to charge their payment method on a recurring basis.

Adore Me also fails to disclose how consumers can cancel their subscription, Lira alleges.

Lira’s Adore Me class action lawsuit falls under a provision of the California Business and Professions Code that places strict notice requirements on sales arrangements designed to charge consumers on a recurring basis.

For such arrangements that automatically renew, California law requires the business to present the automatic renewal or continuous service terms in a clear and conspicuous manner.

The business may not charge the consumer’s credit or debit card without first obtaining their affirmative consent to the agreement.

Consumers who do expressly agree to such arrangements are entitled to an acknowledgement that lays out the automatic renewal or continuous service offer terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel.

If the business fails to satisfy these requirements, any goods it sends to the consumer are deemed unconditional gifts that the consumer can do whatever they want with under no obligation to the business who sent them, according to Lira.

Lira says the Adore Me subscription fails to satisfy these requirements. She claims the Adore Me terms and conditions fail to clearly state that the subscription will continue until the consumer cancels, and that they fail to set out the retailer’s cancellation policy.

The Adore Me class action lawsuit shows an image of an Adore Me webpage that invites a consumer to complete a purchase without presenting the automatic renewal terms.

The page doesn’t explicitly say how to cancel a membership but says only that consumers who purchase a VIP membership may skip months, according to the lawsuit.

Lira also shows an image of the email she received confirming her VIP membership. The email also did not tell her how to cancel her subscription, she alleges.

Plaintiff’s counsel put Adore Me on notice of these alleged violations in a July 2016 letter. Lira says Adore Me has since addressed the alleged violations by changing some of the language on its website. But the company has yet to refund any subscription money to Lira or any Class Member, she says.

Lira is proposing to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all persons who within the applicable statute of limitations period purchased any product or service under “automatic renewal” terms from AdoreMe.com Inc. or its associated businesses.

She seeks an award of damages and restitution of the subscription payments she and all proposed Class Members paid, as well as reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs of the litigation.

The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Scott J. Ferrell and Victoria C. Knowles of Pacific Trial Attorneys APC.

The Adore Me Automatic Renewal Class Action Lawsuit is Lira v. AdoreMe Inc., Case No. 8:16-cv-1858, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.