Borgata Casino Faces Parking Voucher Class Action Lawsuit

A proposed parking vouchers class action lawsuit has been filed in New Jersey federal court against Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, alleging the casino violated New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act by giving hotel reward members false parking vouchers.

Plaintiffs Ravi Motwani and Barry Cassell, residents of Jew Jersey, filed this parking voucher class action lawsuit on Jan. 12, claiming that the “Unlimited Free Parking” voucher available is falsely advertised, since the casino won’t allow Borgata loyalty program members to redeem the voucher more than one time within a single month. According to the Borgata class action lawsuit, “The voucher is therefore ‘limited’ and not ‘unlimited’ as it claims,” because of the restrictions applied by Borgata.

The Borgata parking vouchers class action lawsuit further alleges that in addition to the “Unlimited Free Parking Vouchers,” the casino also deceived consumers by providing them with a single sheet with two “Free Parking One Time Per Month” vouchers that were separated by perforation. However, the use of one of these “Free Parking” vouchers automatically voids the other, meaning the Borgata will not allow hotel, casino, and spa patrons to use both of the freely provided vouchers.

The plaintiffs claim that the casino knew or should have reasonably known that the representation of the vouchers would lead members to believe that they would be permitted to park for free at Borgata. The plaintiffs and other potential Class Members were allegedly injured monetarily by the parking voucher misrepresentation because they choose to drive to Atlantic City to visit Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa “rather than any of the many other casino resorts based upon the Borgata’s claim that they could come and go as they pleased” without paying for parking.

“[T]he Borgata has distributed these and other like false, misleading and deceptive parking vouchers to hundreds or thousands of its ‘reward members’ on a monthly basis” the parking voucher class action lawsuit alleges. “Consequently, patrons of the Borgata and routinely and uniformly have been injured and continue to be injured by Borgata’s fraudulent and unlawful trade practices.”

Motwani and Cassell seek to represent themselves in this Borgata parking vouchers class action lawsuit, as well as a Class of “All individuals who received parking vouchers from the Borgata within the past six years who at any time sought to utilize such vouchers.” The Borgata vouchers included in this class action lawsuit include language indicating “Unlimited Free Parking” or “Free Parking One Time Per Month.”

The plaintiffs bring several claims against the casino in this parking vouchers class action lawsuit, including: violation of New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, violation of Truth in Consumer Contract Warranty and Notice Act, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and promissory estoppel.  In terms of relief, Cassell and Motwani are seeking certification of the proposed Class, compensatory and consequential damages, statutory damages, payment of attorneys’ fees, and any other forms of relief deemed fit by the court.

Plaintiffs Motwani and Cassell are represented by Bruce H. Nagel of Nagel Rice LLP.

The Borgata Parking Vouchers Class Action Lawsuit is Motwani, et al. v. Marina District Development Company LLC d/b/a Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Case No. L-276-15, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County.