Aug. 26--A Los Angeles County resident sued indoor cycling company SoulCycle, accusing it of setting unreasonable expiration dates on its exercise class passes.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, alleges that SoulCycle makes illegal profits off selling "Series Certificates," which can be redeemed for class sessions.
According to the documents, classes can be purchased only with Series Certificates, which have expiration dates much shorter than allowed under federal and state laws.
In the suit, prosecutors argue that Series Certificates should be considered gift certificates under law. Federal rules mandate that gift certificates cannot expire in fewer than five years, and California law says they can never expire.
The lawsuit alleges that the $30 Series Certificate purchased by plaintiff Rachel Cody expired in 30 days, after which it was voided and she lost her money. The lawsuit said customers are not warned about the expiration date, and that Series Certificates simply vanish from the user's account.
The expiration date is exacerbated by the popularity of classes, which the lawsuit alleges are frequently overbooked.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, states than more than 300,000 people have purchased Series Certificates.
"SoulCycle shouldn't be able to profit from selling exercise classes that it knows will expire before a customer has a chance to redeem them," Dorian Berger, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said in a statement.
SoulCycle, which is based in New York, said it does not comment on pending litigation.
