Legal Question in Business Law in Colorado

Something seems wrong here, but is there legal grounds?

There is a local fitness center that advertises (signs and billboards) that they are a racquetball club. However, they don't have any racquetball courts and have been telling members the same story that the courts are coming in the ''next month or so'' for the last 1.5 years. There are members (including myself) that joined a long time ago because they were a racquetball club and were told the courts were coming. However, this problem continues to this day. I can understand that there can be reasons why they were delayed (funding, expertise, etc...), but it seems that continuing to advertise as a racquetball club is wrong and telling members they they are ''coming in the next month or so'' repeatedly is wrong as well. It is very aggravating as I personally would not have waited around if I knew that the courts would be delayed this entire time and I feel like I have been baited into staying a member. But even though it is aggravating, I don't know if anything has legally gone awry. Thanks for any help you can provide.


Asked on 11/06/07, 12:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joseph T. Bernstein

Re: Something seems wrong here, but is there legal grounds?

The fitness center may have committed an act of "fraudulent inducement", which means that the center induced you and others into signing up for membership based on the fraudulent promise of racquetball courts. If the fitness center management KNEW that the racquetball courts weren't coming anytime soon, and told you otherwise, then this is fraudulent inducement. You and the other members may be entitled to recover some or all of the membership fees you have paid.

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Answered on 11/15/07, 5:45 pm


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