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As many as 130,000 Massage Envy customers gained certification April 15 in a class action lawsuit challenging the chain for the withholding of prepaid massages. U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw found that the class was numerous enough, and that the alleged violation of California Unfair Competition Law was alike enough, to certify the class.
At the conclusion of the April 15 order, Judge Sabraw found that in addition to the Massage Envy class action lawsuit’s original named plaintiff, Gail Hahn, there would be two additional named plaintiffs, Chaille Duncan and Alexis Hernandez.
Massage Envy is a national chain of more 900 clinics which operates on a prepaid membership fee model; for $59 a month, members can receive one massage. Those massages which cannot be scheduled during the month in question can be redeemed later. However, if a customer has cancelled his membership or his account is in arrears, Massage Envy stores will not redeem the unused prepaid massages. According to Judge Sabraw’s order, “more than 100,000 Massage Envy members in California lost unused 26 prepaid massage services due to cancellation, and more than 30,000 members lost such services 27 because their accounts were in arrears.”
The initial Massage Envy class action lawsuit was filed by Hahn on Dec. 7, 2011, in San Diego County Superior Court. Hahn claimed she had signed a contract with a Massage Envy franchise in September 2008, and made 23 monthly payments thereafter, but had only used two massages. Hahn alleged that she attempted to cancel her membership, but was unable to until she requested that her credit card company stop making the payment, and even then the chain referred her to a collections agency. According to the sales script detailed in Judge Sabraw’s order, she was told something like, “[Y]ou have the entire term of your membership to use your member services. As long as your membership is active, your services roll over. In other words, if you can’t come in one month, you’ll have two waiting for you the next month … .” She alleged in her class action lawsuit that Massage Envy would not provide her with the 21 massages she had paid for, nor would they provide a refund for the unused services.
The case was removed to federal court in January 2012. The members of the Massage Envy class action lawsuit are seeking injunctive relief prohibiting the company from its practice of forfeiting prepaid massages, in addition to compensation for, or reinstatement of, their massages.
Hernandez claims that she signed a membership contract in October 2011 at a Chula Vista, Calif. franchise, and cancelled her membership in March 2013 with eight unused prepaid massages. Duncan signed her membership agreement in June 2009, and cancelled her membership in February 2011, with three unused prepaid massages. Both were denied their request to redeem their remaining massages based on the cancellation of their memberships.
The plaintiff is represented by Jeffrey R. Krinsk, Mark L. Knutson and William R. Restis of Finkelstein & Krinsk LLP.
The Massage Envy Class Action Lawsuit is Hahn v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC et al., Case No. 3:12-cv-00153 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
UPDATE: Class Members have until Aug. 5, 2014 to exclude themselves from the Massage Envy class action lawsuit, which is seeking refunds and reinstatement of forfeited massages for former members. If you don’t exclude yourself, you’ll be eligible for any settlement money that’s offered. Learn more.
UPDATE 2: Instructions on how to file a claim for a nationwide Massage Envy class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.MassageMemberClassAction.com for details.
UPDATE 3: On July 5, 2016, the court granted final approval of an amended settlement. Click here or visit www.MassageMemberClassAction.com for details. You may also qualify for a separate class action settlement titled Zizian v. Massage Envy.
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34 thoughts onMassage Envy Class Action Lawsuit Certified
It cost me over $1000 to get out of my contract, I had monthly payments yet didn’t go in for a massage due to my schedule. When I did go in and tried to schedule one, my credit card had expired and they still would not let me schedule a massage appointment. I had already paid for over 11 treatments yet they wouldn’t let me get a massage unless I gave them a new credit card so they could continue collecting even though I did not receive treatments already paid for, I had to threaten a law suit and they gave me a thirty day window to receive approximately 15 treatments. As an RN who works nights this was impossible. They were rude, unprofessional and dishonest.
Does anyone know if there is lawsuit in Georgia? Mine is already on my credit report, and I owe them $1,000.00. Right after I singed my contract, I lost my job and my home, no income at all, so now I am stuck with it and don’t know what to do.
Does this lawsuit carry into Texas? If so, I have 2 years worth of massages GONE!
I don’t feel this is honest business practice and is a very deceiving way to obtain money.
Hi If you know what can Texans people do. Please let me know. I am in Dallas and have the same problem.
I was in compliance with my contract. However could never get an appointment. So I cancelled membership. They never closed the account and locked my membership, I have several paid massages I never received, and they are now trying to charge me for the months my membership was supposedly closed before I can use my PAID massages!
I want to be part of he class action. How do I make that happen?
YOU ALL SHOULD LEARN TO READ, BEFORE YOU SIGN!
Iread your a moron and you should get a life
I heard about this lawsuit from my mother who received a postcard in the mail. I had the same issue with the company, losing 11 months of massages when I canceled my membership. I’m writing this because I did not get a postcard informing me of the lawsuit and I think it is because I have moved since the time I had my membership. I defiantly want to be part of this. I lost a lot of money and they refused to give any of it back and they were very rude during the whole process of trying to get answers. Is there any thing I need to do on my end since I have a different address now?
Thank you,
Bethany
I had the same problem! I had 6 months worth of massages paid for and lost about $300 because I moved and was over 100 miles away from the nearest massage envy. I canceled my account and was told I had 30 days to use the $300 but that’s hard to do when you are over 100 miles away from the nearest massage envy location!
UPDATE: Class Members have until Aug. 5, 2014 to exclude themselves from the Massage Envy class action lawsuit, which is seeking refunds and reinstatement of forfeited massages for former members. If you don’t exclude yourself, you’ll be eligible for any settlement money that’s offered. Learn more.
during the time i paid for the whole year for my wife and i , her father was terminally ill. so she wasn’t doing her massages on a monthly basis. so, they told her, she lost the massages,and could not give them to a family member.
I to am having the same problem with the Massage Envy in Round Rock, Texas I did not make the last two payments due to the loss of my job which actually accrued in August of 2013 but continued to make payments until January and February of 2014 because I had medical expenses come into play as I have lupus I took them paperwork showing I filed for disability, and a doctors statement but they still continue to call and harass me about the last two payments as well as my daughter whom I also purchased a membership for we had at least four months or maybe more worth of unused visit that we were not aloud to use. The constant badgering as if I didn’t make ever effort to comply has caused me extra stress that me as a lupus patient doesnt need please help