By Emma Cueto

Law360 (June 2, 2020, 4:53 PM EDT) -- Town Sports International, which operates Boston Sports Clubs and other gym chains, has moved to dismiss a proposed class action over its continued collection of membership fees during the COVID-19 epidemic, and said several frivolous filings in the case warranted sanctions.

The company said in two filings Monday that the claims against it were baseless, and that the attorneys representing the gym members had made inappropriate comments to the media and repeatedly failed to follow the rules for filings, including in an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction that has since been dropped, driving up TSI's legal bills.

"Throughout this litigation, the plaintiffs have resorted to inappropriate extrajudicial statements and frivolous pleadings to extort a settlement payment from TSI," the motion for sanctions said. "TSI respectfully requests that this court issue an award of sanctions in order to reimburse TSI for the preventable costs and fees incurred in responding to the plaintiffs' frivolous pleadings."

The company also argued that even if the complaint had any merits, it duplicated allegations in a similar suit in New York, where TSI operates New York Sports Clubs, and that the New York case should be the one to proceed since it was filed first.

The gym members filed suit against TSI on April 5, just days after the company charged its members on April 1 for the month's membership fees. The members called the move "a deplorable display of corporate avarice," saying the company should never have charged for services that it knew it would not be able to provide due to the state's decision to close nonessential businesses in response to COVID-19.

Attorneys for the gym members also made comments to the media saying the company "basically stole" its members' money.

TSI argued Monday that its decision to charge members was in accordance with the membership agreement that required at least 30 days' notice before canceling a membership, and that it had offered members perks, such as free membership upgrades or a free membership extension.

This plan, the company said, was endorsed by the state attorney general.

TSI also argued the members should be required to pay sanctions for making frivolous filings.

The plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint April 9, along with a preliminary injunction, both of which TSI spent time responding to, the company said. TSI also informed the gym members they had failed to provide proper notice before filing the complaint, the motion for sanctions said.

Later, the gym members again ignored the notice requirements when asking for leave to file a second amended complaint in May, according to TSI's motion. The members eventually withdrew the motion for a preliminary injunction voluntarily. Their attorneys knew the motion "lacked any good faith legal basis" and only wanted to force TSI to spend time and money responding, the company alleged.

"The plaintiffs either knew or should have known that their request was frivolous and that they lacked any legal foundation to freeze TSI's liquid assets," the motion said. "Nevertheless, the plaintiffs pursued this bad-faith 'emergency' request."

Counsel for both parties did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

The gym members are represented by Leonard H. Kesten, Samuel Perkins and Michael Stefanilo Jr. of Brody Hardoon Perkins & Kesten.

TSI is represented by Jesse J. Blyth and Stephen J. Orlando of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukani.

The case is Alanna Cardillo et al. v. Town Sports International LLC et al., case number 1:20-cv-10666, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

--Editing by Marygrace Murphy.

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