Peloton must face U.S. lawsuit over availability of fitness classes
2022.08.12 01:14
A stationary bicycle inside of a Peloton store is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Thursday said Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) Inc must face a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the bike and treadmill maker of misleading customers about the “ever-growing” size of its library of on-demand fitness classes.
The lawsuit stemmed from Peloton’s March 2019 decision to purge more than half of its estimated 12,000 on-demand classes, after music publishers sued the company for using copyrighted songs in its workout videos without proper licensing.
Customers said the New York-based company knew this could happen, yet kept charging full price for bicycles and monthly subscriptions that included infringing songs from Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z and others.
In a 40-page decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said Peloton customers could try to prove that they overpaid because of the company’s failing to disclose the “imminent” removal of much of its on-demand library.
Peloton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for the customers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
