Planet Fitness Class Action Says Injury Release Violates N.J. Law

New England Fitness South Inc. d/b/a Planet Fitness has been hit with a class action lawsuit that challenges the fitness center’s release of liability terms in its contracts.

Plaintiff Marie Gagliardi of Willingboro, N.J., claims she entered into a membership agreement with Planet Fitness in Delran, N.J., on Sept. 13, 2017.

The contract included a section titled “RELEASE OF LIABILITY INDEMNIFICATION ASSUMPTION OF RISK,” which included a provision that allowed her to “voluntarily accept full responsibility” on behalf of herself and her guests for the risk of injury they experience at the Planet Fitness facility.

Just over a week later, Gagliardi says she cancelled the dispute resolution paragraph of the Planet Fitness membership agreement by personally delivering a written cancellation notice to the facility manager.

According to the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit, the facility manager allegedly refused to sign a receipt acknowledging that she had received the cancellation notice.

However, the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit alleges that the facility manager “scanned the cancellation notice into Defendant’s system, represented that she was sending it to Defendant’s corporate office and represented that she was calling, in Plaintiff’s presence, the Defendant’s corporate office to notify them of the delivery of the cancellation notice to the Defendant’s facility.”

On Oct. 5, 2017, Gagliardi was allegedly injured while using a treadmill at Planet Fitness.

According to the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit, Planet Fitness has known since at least 2014 that New Jersey establishes a non-waivable legal right to bring a personal injury lawsuit against Planet Fitness for personal injuries that arise from the fitness center’s negligence “when such injuries are suffered in non-exercise activities.”

Further, Gagliardi alleges that Planet Fitness knows that consumers cannot waive claims for damages suffered by spouses, domestic partners, guests, relatives or heirs. Despite this knowledge, Planet Fitness includes a release of liability section in its contracts that violate the rights of consumers under New Jersey law.

Gagliardi filed the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit behalf of herself and a proposed Class of consumers who, since Jan. 1, 2015, entered into a Planet Fitness membership agreement for health club services in New Jersey with a “RELEASE OF LIABILITY INDEMNIFICATION ASSUMPTION OF RISK” clause that is identical to the membership agreement signed by Gagliardi.

The Planet Fitness class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of New Jersey’s Truth-In-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act.

“The TCCWNA was designed to prevent merchants from imposing on New Jersey consumers contract provisions whose mere inclusion in a consumer contract would violate the rights of consumers” or “deceive them into thinking such illegal provisions were valid, and thereby, they would not even try to enforce their rights,” the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit alleges.

Gagliardi seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, statutory and actual damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and other relief the court deems proper.

Gagliardi is represented by Michael A. Galpern, Andrew P. Bell and James A. Barry of Locks Law Firm LLC and by Charles N. Riley of Law Offices of Charles N. Riley LLC.

The Planet Fitness Injury Release Class Action Lawsuit is Marie Gagliardi v. New England Fitness South Inc. d/b/a Planet Fitness, Case No. 1:18-cv-01221-RBK-AMD, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.