STLBBB
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The following is from Missouri Lawyers Media, which has a paywall. I figured some on this board might be interested in this.
Judge sides with couple ‘duped’ into club membership
By: David Baugher February 28, 2020
An Idaho woman will receive about $29,500 in damages after signing up for a vacation club that failed to rescind her contract with a competitor.
“She realized after she bought [it] that she had been duped,” plaintiffs’ attorney Russ Schenewerk of Schenewerk & Finkenbinder said of his client, Carolyn Younger. “She makes a number of requests to have them honor their word or let her out. They do neither.”
Younger and her now-deceased spouse Jack signed up with travel club VSA Holdings after attending a 2013 sales presentation. She alleged that, during the presentation, VSA claimed it could rescind the couple’s membership in a similar club called Forever Grand for which they’d recently signed up.
“Employees at VSA Holdings actually packaged up her stuff and typed up a letter, had her and her husband sign it and sent it to Forever Grand saying, ‘I’m rescinding my membership,’” said Schenewerk.
The attorney said he introduced the letter in court to illustrate the representations VSA made.
However, the Youngers were not within the allowed period for terminating the agreement with regards to the Forever Grand commitment.
Saddled with two memberships, the Youngers sued VSA under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
Schenewerk said the company claimed it did not guarantee that it could nullify the Forever Grand membership.
Taney County Circuit Judge Tiffany Yarnell ruled for the plaintiffs, refunding the $3,000 membership fee with VSA and awarding $10,000 in punitive damages as well as more than $15,000 in attorneys’ fees.
Yarnell harshly criticized the company in her ruling, noting that it showed “reckless indifference” and “bad faith” in its actions toward Schenewerk’s clients and proceeded despite having access to the Forever Grand documentation which would have governed any rescission.
“It is of little importance or concern to the Court whether or not Defendant truly believed that plaintiff could legally rescind the previous contract” with Forever Grand, she wrote. “Defendant’s business and sales practices clearly display that they didn’t care if she could rescind.”
Defense attorneys J. Taylor White and Michael Textor of Kutak Rock did not respond to a request for comment.
Judge sides with couple ‘duped’ into club membership
By: David Baugher February 28, 2020
An Idaho woman will receive about $29,500 in damages after signing up for a vacation club that failed to rescind her contract with a competitor.
“She realized after she bought [it] that she had been duped,” plaintiffs’ attorney Russ Schenewerk of Schenewerk & Finkenbinder said of his client, Carolyn Younger. “She makes a number of requests to have them honor their word or let her out. They do neither.”
Younger and her now-deceased spouse Jack signed up with travel club VSA Holdings after attending a 2013 sales presentation. She alleged that, during the presentation, VSA claimed it could rescind the couple’s membership in a similar club called Forever Grand for which they’d recently signed up.
“Employees at VSA Holdings actually packaged up her stuff and typed up a letter, had her and her husband sign it and sent it to Forever Grand saying, ‘I’m rescinding my membership,’” said Schenewerk.
The attorney said he introduced the letter in court to illustrate the representations VSA made.
However, the Youngers were not within the allowed period for terminating the agreement with regards to the Forever Grand commitment.
Saddled with two memberships, the Youngers sued VSA under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
Schenewerk said the company claimed it did not guarantee that it could nullify the Forever Grand membership.
Taney County Circuit Judge Tiffany Yarnell ruled for the plaintiffs, refunding the $3,000 membership fee with VSA and awarding $10,000 in punitive damages as well as more than $15,000 in attorneys’ fees.
Yarnell harshly criticized the company in her ruling, noting that it showed “reckless indifference” and “bad faith” in its actions toward Schenewerk’s clients and proceeded despite having access to the Forever Grand documentation which would have governed any rescission.
“It is of little importance or concern to the Court whether or not Defendant truly believed that plaintiff could legally rescind the previous contract” with Forever Grand, she wrote. “Defendant’s business and sales practices clearly display that they didn’t care if she could rescind.”
Defense attorneys J. Taylor White and Michael Textor of Kutak Rock did not respond to a request for comment.
