SeaWorld Faces Class Action Over Auto-Renewal Policy

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On Wednesday, a class action lawsuit was filed against SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc. alleging that the amusement park automatically renewed yearlong passes without consent and charged the plaintiff and other park attendees for EZpasses after payment in full after a year.

Lead plaintiff Jason Herman alleges in his class action lawsuit that he bought two one-year passes to SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens in Florida in March of last year. He alleges that SeaWorld continued to charge him after a full year of monthly charges to his credit card.

Herman further alleges that the contract SeaWorld sent regarding his annual pass specified that it would only automatically renew and continue charging for yearly passes that aren’t paid in full in less than a year. “Because Plaintiff paid for his passes in less than 12 months, [SeaWorld] did not possess the contractual right to renew the contract nor was [SeaWorld] authorized to charge Plaintiff’s credit card after Feb. 18, 2014,” the class action lawsuit alleges.

“Despite receiving the full payment called for in the ‘order details,’” the SeaWorld class action lawsuit continues, “[SeaWorld] continued to charge Plaintiff’s credit card each month, with the last charge taken on Sept. 28, 2014.”

Herman also alleges that he contacted a SeaWorld representative and explained the situation. He further contends that he requested a refund for charges made after the first year he had the passes, but the representative refused to issue a refund directing him to a contract that included an automatic renewal.

“Plaintiff asked where the contract language could be found, and [the SeaWorld representative] advised that it was in the initial email receipt from the ticket purchase,” the SeaWorld class action lawsuit alleges. However, “Plaintiff searched his email while on the phone with [the representative] and found no such contract language,” according to the SeaWorld class action lawsuit.

Herman alleges that he could not locate the contract on the receipt, the emailed tickets or the physical pass either. According to the class action lawsuit, SeaWorld told him the contact specifies that “except for any passes paid in less than 12 months, this contract will renew automatically on a month-to-month basis following the payment period until I terminate it.” Herman alleges he was only able to locate a contract after an extensive search of the SeaWorld website.

“Upon information and belief, it is [SeaWorld’s] policy and practice to charge its customers in advance for its one-year passes such that all one-year passes are paid in full within only 11 months,” the SeaWorld class action lawsuit says.

Herman proposes a Class of SeaWorld customers from Florida, Texas, Virginia and California who continued to be charged for their EZpay passes after fully paying them in under a year.

Herman is 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 Mar. 25, 2016, SeaWorld season passholders who filed a lawsuit alleging the theme park automatically renews annual memberships without customer consent, have asked a federal court to certify the class action.

UPDATE 2: On Apr. 11, 2016, SeaWorld defended its experts who testified that the proposed Class is too complicated to ascertain.

UPDATE 3: On July 13, 2016, a Florida federal judge denied SeaWorld’s motion to compel production of contractual documents it says are necessary to their defense in a consumer class action lawsuit over the theme park’s EZpay annual passes, calling it a “fishing expedition.”

UPDATE 4: On Sept. 6, 2016, SeaWorld 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.

UPDATE 5: 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 6: 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 7: March 2019, the SeaWorld EZ pay class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 8: 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!