On February 22, 2022, United States Magistrate Judge Karen L. Litkovitz granted preliminary approval of a class action settlement in Bechtel v. Fitness Equipment Services, LLC dba SOLE Fitness, No. 1:19-cv-00726 (S.D. Ohio). The lawsuit alleged that SOLE misrepresented its treadmills’ continuous horsepower capabilities while in household use, causing consumers to pay more for their treadmills. The class action settlement provides certain SOLE treadmill purchasers with the ability to receive a cash payment from the $3.65 million common fund and a $100 gift card toward the purchase of any product on SOLE’s website. A copy of the preliminary approval order may be reviewed here.
The class action settlement was reached in this case after the Court granted class certification for certain of Plaintiffs’ claims including breach of express warranty under state law, breach of express warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act for Ohio treadmill purchasers, and breach of implied contract for Minnesota purchasers. The Court approved Nate Prosser of Hellmuth & Johnson, Bill Markovits and Terry Coates of Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC as Class Counsel for the plaintiffs and class.