Last week, a class action lawsuit was filed in California state court alleging that Optavia, a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells weight loss products and services, violated California's Automatic Renewal Law (ARL). The lawsuit was previously filed in federal court but was refiled in state court last week.
Plaintiffs allege that customers can enroll in Optavia's premium monthly subscription program through their interactions with Coach. Coaches are trained to learn more about consumers' weight loss and health goals. Discuss the health and weight loss benefits of the product. and instructing consumers on how to use the product (e.g., which foods to eat, timing of meals, recipes to use, etc.).
Coaches obtained consumers' payment information and trained them to use Optavia's website to place orders and enroll consumers in the Optavia Premier subscription program, which can cost up to $500 per month. It is said that he received it.
The issue, according to the plaintiffs, is that the defendants allegedly directed Coach to suggest to consumers that they place a one-time order rather than sign up for an auto-renewing subscription. is. The plaintiffs allege that Optavia trains coaches to disclose weight loss and health goals, but does not train them to comply with ARLs. Instead, according to the class action lawsuit, the company trained coaches to ensure that customers placed only their first order, when in fact the website automatically enrolled customers for recurring orders. It is said that he gave misleading suggestions that he had done so. Plaintiffs alleged that the coaches failed to disclose:
- Optavia Premier is a subscription program with automatic renewal terms
- Delivery of Optavia products and services will continue monthly until canceled
- Optavia Premier Cancellation Policy and Terms
- A recurring fee is a specific amount that is charged to the plaintiff's payment method each month.
- Monthly delivery of Products and Services with associated fees is continuous and without expiration date.
Next, the plaintiffs alleged that Optavia did not obtain customers' “affirmative consent” to the auto-renewal terms, such as on its website or when coaches enrolled customers in the program. Plaintiff asserted that the following checkboxes failed to obtain affirmative consent:
According to the complaint, the box to enroll in the Optavia Premier continuation program was pre-checked, which the plaintiffs argue is “contrary to the intended function of the affirmative consent box. “It was designed to do that, and it does.” Don't overlook the fact that it's auto-registered. ” Additionally, to unsubscribe from Optavia Premier, consumers must actively uncheck a box. In other words, according to the plaintiffs, “instead of (legally required) affirmative consent, this process requires (unlawful) affirmative opt-out.”
Finally, plaintiffs alleged that defendants failed to provide a confirmation email containing all disclosures required by California law. Optavia sent confirmation emails but did not notify consumers of Defendants' auto-renewal or cancellation policies. Most notably, according to the plaintiffs, the confirmation email “notifies consumers that they have enrolled in Optavia Premier and that it is a membership program that charges their payment method on a recurring and monthly basis. It is said that this is not the case.
