The ruling highlights the risks for fitness operators when consumer complaints pile up (more than 2,000 in this case) and cancellation processes break down
Boston Sports Clubs (BSC) may be history, but its billing decisions during the pandemic have come back to haunt Patrick Walsh, the former CEO of Town Sports International LLC, which formally operated BSC, New York Sports Clubs, Philadelphia Sports Clubs, Washington Sports Clubs, Lucille Roberts and others.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell secured a court victory against Walsh, with a Suffolk County Superior Court judge ordering him to pay $3,850,048 in restitution to the Commonwealth after finding he violated consumer protection laws and the Health Club Act by charging members while gyms were closed during the pandemic.
While BSC clubs were shuttered from mid-March through July 2020, the Court found Walsh still pushed through April billing, knowing services wouldn’t be delivered. Under his approval, Boston Sports Clubs sent letters promising future credits but omitted any mention of the upcoming charges. When doors to BSC gyms reopened in July, credits only appeared if members personally complained. The Court ruled the letters deceptive.
The ruling closes a years-long case that generated more than 2,000 complaints to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) from members frustrated by the April billing and failed attempts to cancel contracts for gyms they could not access. According to the AGO, members testified they tried to cancel by phone, email and social media, only to face continued charges even after submitting requests.
The Court found that Walsh “unfairly charged” BSC members in April 2020 for services he knew would not be provided, as well as made “deceptive statements” to members and violated the Health Club Act by “thwarting BSC members’ ability to cancel their memberships and failing to honor cancellation requests.”
“After years of litigation and a multi-week trial, I am incredibly proud of my team, who fought tirelessly to secure meaningful relief for Massachusetts consumers who were unfairly charged for services they could not use during the global pandemic,” Campbell said. “This victory sends a clear message that my office will continue to prioritize consumers and enforcement of our strong consumer protection laws.”
Town Sports International filed for bankruptcy and was excluded from the judgment. Once the payment is made, the Attorney General’s Office will oversee restitution to impacted members, who do not need to take any action at this time, according to the AGO’s office.
The ruling in Massachusetts follows similar fallout in New York, where in 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a resolution with Town Sports International after suing over unlawful billing and blocked cancellations at New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts that affected members during the pandemic.
Under the agreement, Town Sports International forfeited rights to a $250,000 bond, which James’ office said could be used for restitution to affected members who were charged while gyms were closed.
Following Town Sports International’s bankruptcy filing in 2020, multiple BSC locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island permanently closed. Since then, operators including Choice Fitness, Planet Fitness and the West Suburban YMCA have taken over some of the former spaces.
Representatives for Patrick Walsh didn’t immediately respond to ATN’s request for comment.
