NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Lawyers who were given the go-ahead by a federal judge to sue Peloton are taking the next step in their mission to create a class action.
Attorneys at DiCello Levitt Gutzler in New York and Keller Lenkner in Chicago on Oct. 17 filed their motion for certification of a class of consumers who were allegedly cheated when the fitness company slashed its digital library, despite claims it was "ever-growing."
New York federal judge Lewis Liman ruled in August against the company's motion to dismiss the fourth complaint in the case, despite Peloton's argument new plaintiffs named on it admitted thy didn't see the claims at issue when purchasing their exercise bikes.
The proposed class would be all purchasers of Peloton hardware or memberships from April 9, 2018, to March 25, 2019, in the state of New York.
"Peloton's conduct here is ripe for class treatment of the (New York General Business Law) claims brought against it because that conduct affected tens of thusands of consumers across New York," the motion says.
"As Plaintiffs' experts' reports show, the elements of Plaintiffs' claims, including whether Peloton's promise of an 'ever-growing' and 'growing' library of classes impacted the price of its products, can be proven by class-wide common evidence making those common questions predominate over any individual issue."
Lawyers aren't asking for a nationwide class, as that avenue has already been shut down by Judge Liman. They say in a footnote that they preserve their position that a nationwide class is appropriate for an appeal later.
Peloton's terms requiring New York law resolve disputes and "extended operations" in the state should satisfy jurisdictional requirements for out-of-state consumers to seek compensation under New York law, the footnote says.
Peloton was forced to slash its library after the National Music Publishers Association sent it a cease-and-desist order regarding unlicensed music. It resulted in a $150 million lawsuit by several of the group's members.
Hooking customers with its promise of a growing library while cutting half of it violated consumer protection laws, the class action says.
Having trouble finding plaintiffs to push claims for a class of New York customers under New York law, those lawyers instituted a search that resulted in the latest plaintiffs – Eric Passman and Ishmael Alvarado – Peloton argued earlier this year.
“The operative question is whether a plaintiff suffered an injury because of a defendant’s misrepresentation; it is not whether that injury was tied to plaintiff’s reliance on the misrepresentation,” Judge Liman wrote in an order denying Peloton's motion to dismiss.
“Plaintiffs have alleged that Defendant made misrepresentations that would have misled a reasonable consumer, that those misrepresentations were consumer-facing and had broad impact, and that as a result of those widespread misrepresentations that mislead reasonable consumers, they paid higher costs.”