Creative effort at class action for gym initiation fees fails in New Jersey.

The plaintiff, an individual who signed up for a fitness membership, brought a class action suit under the Retail Installment Sales Act (RISA), N.J.S.A. 17:16C-1 to -61, against the defendant gym. The plaintiff argued the gym’s initiation fee violated RISA. The defendant argued RISA did not apply to gym contracts. The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiff, reasoning that RISA applied to service contracts based on a plain reading of the statute, leaving the trial court to determine whether the contract violated RISA.

_{Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2020 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2020 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}