Planet Fitness Class Action Says Members Charged Regardless of COVID-19

A class action lawsuit has been waged against Planet Fitness by a customer who claims that the gym is charging membership fees despite closing because of the coronavirus.

Plaintiff Antonio Holloway says that rather than providing customer service to address the issue, the gym has redirected all inquiries regarding billing to a telephone number that just states the gym is closed. 

Holloway claims that by charging his credit card, the gym has breached its agreements with him as well as other putative Class Members, as they have suffered monetary losses in the amounts that were charged. 

The plaintiff, a resident Georgia, states that on Jan. 8, 2015, he entered into an agreement with Planet Fitness whereby he would gain access to any of their fitness centers for $19.99 per month. 

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During the first week of March 2020, the defendant closed the gym that Holloway used due to the coronavirus pandemic, the plaintiff maintains. However, on March 18, 2020, the defendant debited the $19.99 from the plaintiff’s bank account.

Holloway claims that when he attempted to contact Planet Fitness both via telephone and online chat, he did not receive help because of the automated voice message.

As part of the “Black Card” membership, which Holloway has, the defendants have promised unlimited access to their fitness centers at any franchise location, the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiff maintains that, starting in early March 2020, the defendant started closing all of its fitness centers indefinitely in response to the coronavirus, and ultimately closed all locations nationwide by the end of the month.

Holloway asserts that on the Planet Fitness website, the defendants have stated that no members would be charged membership fees for the time periods that the fitness center would be closed, but did admit that some of their members were billed before the gyms closed.

The plaintiff also alleges that many other Planet Fitness members have suffered the same post-closure charges and are facing the same obstacles as the plaintiff in their attempt to obtain a refund.

Common questions of fact and law in this case are: 1) whether the defendant engaged in the wrongful alleged conduct; 2) whether the defendant violated state laws in charging the March 2020 membership fees without permitting access to their fitness centers; 3) whether the defendant breached its contract with the plaintiff and Class Members; and 4) whether the defendant misrepresented unlimited access to their gyms while continuing to charge the plaintiffs and Class Members after closure.

The plaintiff notes that the defendant has entered into a contract with the plaintiff and Class Members to provide access to their fitness centers in exchange for the payment of membership fees.

Holloway states that Planet Fitness breached these contracts by charging and retaining the plaintiff’s membership fees even though the gyms were closed.

“In connection with the sale of their fitness center memberships, Defendants issue an express warranty that Plaintiff and Class Members would have unlimited access to all fitness center locations,” the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit claims.

This is not the first lawsuit to be filed against a gym for charging membership fees when the fitness center has been closed because of the coronavirus.

At the end of March, a class action lawsuit was filed against New York Sports Club by a customer who claims that the gym was still charging her membership fees even though the gym had been closed.

In that class action, the plaintiff was paying $69.99 per month for unlimited access to the New York Sports Club. She claims the gym charged her credit card for that amount in the beginning of March, but since the middle of the month, the gym had not been providing her with access to the gym and gym services.

She claims that she emailed the New York Sports Club asking how they were going to handle membership fees while the gym was closed and she had not heard back.

There are two prospective Classes in the Planet Fitness class action lawsuit. The first is a National Class, which includes: “All persons in the United States who were charged membership fees by Defendants after their fitness centers were closed due to the COVID-19 virus.” 

The second, the Georgia Class, includes: “All persons in Georgia who were charged membership fees by Defendants after their fitness centers were closed due to the COVID19 virus.”

The plaintiff is represented by Andrea S. Hirsch of the Hirsch Law Firm and Tina Wolfson of Ahdoot & Wilson PC.

The Planet Fitness Refund Class Action Lawsuit is Antonio Holloway v. Planet Fitness Franchising, LLC et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01868-CAP, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

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