Crunch Fitness Class Action Challenges Unwanted Texts

The operators of a Crunch Fitness gym location in California are facing accusations of sending unsolicited spam text messages in violation of federal law.

Plaintiff Maritza Castrellon claims the defendants sent her several unsolicited text messages on her cell phone advertising a Crunch Fitness gym. The messages kept coming despite her multiple requests that they stop, she claims.

Defendants Fitness Club Management LLC, Harman Fitness LLC and Van Nuys Fitness LLC allegedly operate fitness gyms under the Crunch Fitness brand – including one location in Van Nuys, Calif. about which Castrellon allegedly received unsolicited marketing text messages.

Castrellon, who says she has never had a membership at any Crunch Fitness gym, claims the defendants began sending her a string of advertising text messages in June 2017, promoting the Crunch Fitness gym location in Van Nuys and asking the message recipient to respond.

At first, Castrellon says she did not respond to the texts. She says she responded after the third message, asking the sender to stop texting her. But only three days later, Castrellon says she got yet another text.

The plaintiff says that not only has she never had a Crunch Fitness membership, but she also has never visited a Crunch Fitness gym. She says she has never given any of the defendants her authorization to use her cell phone for telemarketing purposes.

She believes the defendants have been making a practice of acquiring the cell phone numbers of persons who are not Crunch Fitness members and using automated telephone dialing equipment to send unsolicited marketing text messages en masse. The defendants allegedly do not bother to get the message recipients’ prior express consent before sending the spam text messages, she claims.

According to Castrellon’s text spam class action lawsuit, these messages were sent in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The TCPA restricts the circumstances under which advertisers can send promotional text messages to persons’ cell phones. Generally, such messages require prior written and express consent from the person receiving the message.

Persons who receive text messages that violate the TCPA can bring a civil TCPA class action lawsuit against the sender, who may end up on the hook for as much as $1,500 in statutory treble damages for each noncompliant text message.

Castrellon seeks to represent a nationwide Class covering all U.S. persons who were not members of a Crunch Fitness gym and who since Oct. 24, 2013 received at least one text message sent by or on behalf of any defendant to the Class Member’s cell phone. She also proposes a subclass that would cover Class Members who received messages pertaining to the Crunch Fitness gym in Van Nuys.

She seeks a damage award including statutory treble damages, attorneys’ fees and court costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and any other relief the court sees fit to grant.

Castrellon is represented by attorneys Michael J. Jaurigue, Abigail A. Zelenski and David Zelenski of Jaurigue Law Group, and by Joseph M. Hekmat of Hekmat Law Group.

The Crunch Fitness Text Messages Class Action Lawsuit is Castrellon v. Fitness Club Management LLC, et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-08825, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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