Roberts v. Weight Watchers International, Inc.

217 F. Supp. 3d 742, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157022, 2016 WL 6678526
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 12, 2016
Docket16-cv-913 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 217 F. Supp. 3d 742 (Roberts v. Weight Watchers International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roberts v. Weight Watchers International, Inc., 217 F. Supp. 3d 742, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157022, 2016 WL 6678526 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

This dispute arises out of the allegedly shoddy online website and mobile phone application that the defendant, Weight Watchers International, Inc., provided its paying subscribers as part of its fee-based subscription service, “OnlinePte.” The plaintiff, Raymond M. Roberts, brings this purported class action for breach of contract on behalf of himself and all others who subscribed to OnlinePfe from November 26, 2015 through the present.1 The defendant has moved to dismiss the claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The plaintiff initially brought this action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. The defendant subsequently removed the action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(d)(2), 1441, 1446, and 1453.

For following reasons, the defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted and the Amended Complaint is dismissed with prejudice.

I.

In deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the allegations in the complaint are accepted as true, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in the plaintiffs favor. McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 191 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court’s function on a motion to dismiss is “not to weigh the evidence that might be presented at a trial but merely to determine whether the complaint itself is legally sufficient.” Goldman v. Belden, 754 F.2d 1059, 1067 (2d Cir. 1985). The Court should not dismiss the complaint if the plaintiff has stated “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. [746]*7461955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

While the Court should construe the factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Id.; see also Springer v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, No. 15-cv-1107 (JGK), 2015 WL 9462083, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2015). When presented with a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court may consider documents that are referenced in the complaint, documents that the plaintiff relied on in bringing suit and that are either in the plaintiffs possession or that the plaintiff knew of when bringing suit, or matters of which judicial notice may be taken. Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc., 282 F.3d 147, 153 (2d Cir. 2002); see also Springer, 2015 WL 9462083, at *1.

II.

The allegations in the Amended Complaint are accepted as true for the purposes of this motion to dismiss.

The defendant is a leading provider of weight management services. Am. Compl. ¶3. The defendant offers, among other things, the fee-based OnlinePfes subscription service that is designed to help any subscriber manage the subscriber’s weight. Am. Compl. ¶ 1. As part of the OnlinePfes subscription, paying subscribers gain access to an online website and the Weight Watchers Mobile App (the “Mobile App”), both of which purport to offer a bevy of features to facilitate weight management, including the ability to “chat” with a “Weight Watchers Coach” at any time for “motivation and advice,” and online data storage that enables users to track recipes, food intake, and physical activity. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 8.

Subscribers to the defendant’s “Fee-Based Products,” which includes Online-Plus, must agree to the Terms and Conditions set forth in a 25-page subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) that was operative throughout the proposed class period. Subscription Agreement (available at Dkt. 29-1) at 1; see also Subscription Agreement §§ 1-2; Am. Compl. ¶ 7. The Subscription Agreement granted a subscriber the “right to access, use and display” OnlinePfes, including through the website and Mobile App.2 Subscription Agreement § 2; see also Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 8.

The Subscription Agreement provided for the broad disclaimer of any warranties and representations related to the use of OnlinePlus in the section entitled “Disclaimers of Warranties”:

[747]*747THE PRODUCTS, OFFERINGS, CONTENT AND MATERIALS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE FEE-BASED PRODUCTS) ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. we Disclaim all warranties, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ... FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE [and] COMPATIBILITY .... NEITHER [the defendant or any related entities] WARRANT THAT THIS WEBSITE OR ANY FUNCTION CONTAINED IN THIS WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, [or] THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED .... YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH PRODUCT, OFFERING, CONTENT OR MATERIAL (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE FEEBASED PRODUCTS). NEITHER [the defendant or any related entities] WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE PRODUCTS, OFFERINGS, CONTENT AND MATERIALS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE FEE-BASED PRODUCTS) IN THIS WEBSITE IN TERMS OF THEIR ... RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. Subscription Agreement § 17 (emphasis in original).

In addition, the Subscription Agreement limited a subscriber’s recourse against the defendant, providing that a subscriber’s “only right with respect to any dissatisfaction with any modification or discontinuar tion of service made by us pursuant to this provision or this Agreement, or any policies or practices by us- in providing this Website or our Fee-Based Products, ... is to cancel or terminate your subscription or registered user account_” Subscription Agreement § 2 (emphasis added). The Subscription Agreement reiterated the point several times. In the section entitled “Cancellation of Subscription,” the Subscription Agreement provided:

You understand and agree that the cancellation or termination of your subscription is your sole right and remedy with respect to any dispute with us including, without limitation, any dispute related to, or arising out of: ... (iii) the content available through this Website or any change in content provided through the Website or on or through a Fee-Based Product; [or] (iv) your ability to access and/or use our Website or any Fee-Based Product _ Subscription Agreement § 4 (emphasis added).

Likewise, the section entitled “Limitation of Liability” provided:

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Bluebook (online)
217 F. Supp. 3d 742, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157022, 2016 WL 6678526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberts-v-weight-watchers-international-inc-nysd-2016.