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A California consumer is suing Legoland and its parent company for failing to refund her family’s tickets and hotel reservations after the governor instituted a stay-at-home COVID-19 order.
Jessica Bautista’s class action lawsuit names Legoland California and Merlin Entertainments Group as defendants. Both are part of a multibillion-dollar corporation that owns, manages and operates theme parks and related facilities throughout the United States and beyond.
Bautista reports that in early March, she planned a spring trip to Legoland. She purchased a two-night stay for her family at the Legoland Castle Hotel, from May 15 to 17. Those rooms came with four three-day passes to Legoland’s California theme park, sea life and water park. She added on a Legoland Castle Hotel Birthday Package to be delivered at check-in. In total, she reportedly paid nearly $1,900 for the reservations.
Days after she booked the trip, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order as a precaution against the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Not wanting to risk her family’s health, according to the Legoland class action lawsuit, Bautista called to cancel their reservations and ask for her money back. But Legoland representatives responded that they would not issue a refund.
The company later offered to reschedule the family’s trip instead. However, given the ever-changing situation with the pandemic, Bautista declined and once again requested a refund. And again, Legoland’s operators said no.
It’s worth noting that Legoland California and all of its related operations closed not long after the stay-at-home order was issued. This means even if Bautista had decided to go ahead with her family trip in May, the hotel and theme parks would have been closed, the Legoland class action lawsuit argues.
Because of these closures, ticket holders and hotel customers should have received all of their money back — “money that in many cases was needed by consumers to pay for food, rent, health care costs, and other basic necessities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the plaintiff maintains.
“Defendants exploited Ms. Bautista and similarly situated customers during a global health crisis simply to enrich themselves,” the lawsuit claims.
Bautista is not alone. Her case is one of many filed by consumers who were not provided refunds after closure of the theme park and related services.
In a similar case filed earlier this month, Merlin is charged with breach of contract for failing to refund consumers for tickets and season passes that could not be used because of coronavirus closures.
The plaintiff in that case cites the terms and conditions of Merlin’s visitor contracts at Legoland and its other entertainment venues.
They state that if the company cancels or is unable to perform its obligations, it must “accept customer cancellations and refund all monies paid by the customers.”
In addition, that plaintiff notes Merlin is financially capable of offering refunds, but chooses not to in the interest of its own profits.
In Bautista’s lawsuit, she requests certification of a national Class, defining potential members as individuals who paid in advance for “hotel reservations, vacation packages or related goods or services” through any of the defendants’ U.S. attractions for dates during the time they have been closed. She also is looking to establish a California Class, which would apply only to purchases involving Merlin’s properties in that state.
The Legoland class action is claiming violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law, as well as unjust enrichment.
“Defendants’ retention of any benefit collected from plaintiff’s and Class Members’ payments to defendants, either directly or indirectly, violated principles of justice, equity, and good conscience,” the Legoland class action states.
In addition to an injunction stopping the defendants’ alleged illegal activities, she is seeking restitution, actual and punitive damages and court costs. As part of this, she is asking the court to require the establishment of a “constructive trust” for the alleged “ill-gotten gains” to be held and disbursed to the proposed Class Members as restitution.
If you were charged for a service or event that was canceled or changed because of the coronavirus, click here to participate in an investigation.
The plaintiff is represented by Abbas Kazerounian, Pamela E. Prescott and Jason A. Ibey of Kazerouni Law Group APC; and by Todd M. Friedman and Thomas E. Wheeler of the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman PC.
The Legoland Class Action Lawsuit is Jessica Bautista, et al. v. Merlin Entertainments Group U.S. Holdings Inc. and Legoland California LLC, Case No. 3:20-cv-01128, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Southern California.
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