Van Vels v. Premier Athletic Center of Plainfield, Inc.

182 F.R.D. 500, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14897, 1998 WL 650943
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedSeptember 17, 1998
DocketNo. 1:97 CV 665
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 182 F.R.D. 500 (Van Vels v. Premier Athletic Center of Plainfield, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Van Vels v. Premier Athletic Center of Plainfield, Inc., 182 F.R.D. 500, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14897, 1998 WL 650943 (W.D. Mich. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

ENSLEN, Chief Judge..

This matter is before the Court on the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification and Motion for Leave to File First Amended Class Action Complaint (“Motion for Leave”). For the reasons which follow, the motions will be granted.

BACKGROUND

This action was first brought under the Truth-in-Lending Act (“TILA”, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (“MCPA,” Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.901 et seq.) to recover for statutory violations relating to hidden finance charges allegedly charged by the various fitness center Defendants on consumer contracts for fitness services. The Plaintiffs further sought recovery due to the closure of the several fitness centers in May 1997 on the grounds of fraud, breach of contract, and violation of the MCPA. Plaintiffs have further sued the assignees of the contracts (the financing companies Defendants) on the above-noted claims by virtue of the assignments. This Court has previously reviewed and decided several motions filed in this matter. Most notably, on June 9, 1998, this Court decided Defendants Denb-A-Med, [504]*504Inc., Merchants Funding, Inc., and Sales Finance, Inc.’s motions to dismiss the complaint. At that time, the Court dismissed the TILA claims against those Defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 because of the statutory treatment under TILA, 15 U.S.C. § 1641, of assignees as to disclosure violations which are not evident from the face of the financing disclosure. (See Dkt. No. 86.) The Court did not dismiss TILA claims against the other Defendants and likewise retained non-TILA claims against the assign-ee Defendants.

This action was originally filed on August 6, 1997. A Case Management Order was entered on January 3, 1998 establishing a schedule for the litigation. The schedule was most recently amended by stipulation of the parties, which set a new motion filing deadline of August 29, 1998 and a new discovery deadline of September 12, 1998. (See Dkt. No. 114.) Plaintiffs filed on May 21, 1998 their Motion for Class Certification (Dkt. No. 84). Plaintiffs then filed on July 23, 1998 their Motion for Leave (Dkt. No. 108). The Motion for Leave proposes to add three additional Defendants. The proposed First Amended Class Action Complaint (the “Amended Complaint”) names approximately twenty Plaintiffs and approximately thirty Defendants. The Amended Complaint would also add a state law claim under the Michigan Retail Installment Sales Act (“MRISA”), Mich. Comp. Laws Section 445.851 et seq. The MRISA allegations are proposed in order to seek statutory damages under MRISA against the assignee Defendants for the financing disclosure violations.

These motions and the attendant briefing as well as the Amended Complaint explain sufficiently the scope of this lawsuit, the nature of the class claims, and the identity and particular grievances of the class representatives. The closure of the Defendant health clubs in May 1997 resulted in a cascade of calls and written complaints to the Better Business Bureau of Western Michigan and the State of Michigan Attorney General’s office. (Dkt. No. 84, Exhibits I and J.) The class representatives share in these complaints — relating to the Defendants’ failures to provide contracted services and the failure to disclose financial charges. By their affidavits, the Plaintiffs attest to an understanding of the claims asserted in this suit, the limitations on remedies attendant to class actions, and their responsibilities as class representatives. (Dkt. No. 84, Exhibit L.) The Amended Complaint filed in this matter is verified by the class representatives as to the claims asserted and attaches their financed contracts as exhibits. The Amended Complaint also notes for each of the Plaintiffs the finance company to whom the contract was assigned. The representative nature of the claims asserted by these Plaintiffs can be seen from the Appendices included in Defendant Merchant Funding, Inc.’s Exhibits. (See Dkt. No. 103.) The Appendices show that the named Plaintiffs generally financed their contracts over 36 months, that they sought services or amenities at nine of the twelve club locations, that they financed amounts between $400 and $1600 on the contracts, that they generally entered into the contracts within a year of the filing of this suit, and that they made payments on the contracts ranging from nothing to over $2000. (Id.)

Some of the briefing done by the parties as to the Motion for Class Certification is impertinent in that it departs from questions relevant under Rule 23 and seeks to provide evidence for or against the allegations made. See Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974) (stating that certification question concerns Rule 23 factors and not an assessment of the merits). Nevertheless, suffice it to say, the evidence filed generally supports a conclusion that the Defendants made contracts with class members for health club facilities and amenities, and that the similar form contracts used by the Defendants did not disclose a cash discount or the effect of a cash discount on the financing rate. Furthermore, there is evidence both disputing and supporting a conclusion that the Defendants carried out policies of not disclosing the hidden finance charge and of planning to close the clubs while continuing to sell long-term memberships.1 Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class [505]*505Certification asks the Court to define the proposed class as follows: all persons who purchased health club memberships with any of the Premier health clubs and whose memberships were financed with interest payments payable in more than four installments. The proposed time periods are: (a) one year prior to the filing of the complaint for violations of TILA; (b) six years prior to the filing of the complaint for breach of contract; (c) six years prior to the filing of the complaint for violation of MCPA; (d) three years prior to the filing of the complaint for common law fraud; and (e) six years prior to the date of the filing of the complaint for MRISA.2

STANDARD FOR AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS

Amendment of pleadings is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15. Under Rule 15, the Court is required to permit liberal amendment of the pleadings. The standard for amendment was announced by the United States Supreme Court in Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962) as follows:

In the absence of any apparent or declared reason — such as undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, futility of amendment, etc. — the leave sought should, as the rules require, be “freely given.”

Id. at 182, 83 S.Ct. 227. See also Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
182 F.R.D. 500, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14897, 1998 WL 650943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-vels-v-premier-athletic-center-of-plainfield-inc-miwd-1998.