Peak Fitness Sues Vagaro Over Data Transfer Dispute and Alleged Retaliation
TL;DR
Peak Fitness's lawsuit against Vagaro reveals how businesses can protect their customer data rights and avoid vendor lock-in tactics that hinder growth.
Peak Fitness alleges Vagaro advertised data portability but blocked encrypted payment token transfers to Square, violating its own policies and industry standards.
This case supports small business rights to truthful reviews and data control, promoting transparency and fair treatment in the digital marketplace.
A California gym sued Vagaro after the software company blocked customer data exports despite advertising portability and sent a cease-and-desist over a review.
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Peak Fitness Group LLC has filed a lawsuit against Vagaro, Inc. in California Superior Court, alleging false advertising, fraud, and retaliatory conduct. The complaint centers on Vagaro's refusal to allow Peak Fitness to transfer encrypted customer payment tokens to Square, a PCI DSS Level 1–compliant processor, despite Vagaro advertising the ability to import customer credit card information as part of its Premium Import Service.
According to the legal filing, Peak Fitness adopted Vagaro's software based on representations about data portability, but when the company later sought to migrate to another platform, Vagaro refused the request. The situation escalated when one of Peak Fitness's owners shared a review of his experience on his private X account, prompting Vagaro's Vice President of Legal, Adam Zachs, to send a cease-and-desist letter containing what the complaint describes as false statements intended to intimidate and silence the business.
Just days after sending the cease-and-desist letter, Vagaro publicly posted on social media that businesses own their client data and can export it at any time, directly contradicting the company's prior written statements to Peak Fitness. The lawsuit includes causes of action for fraud and deceit, breach of contract, unfair business practices, retaliation and abuse of process, and intentional interference with business relations.
Peak Fitness seeks damages exceeding $450,000, injunctive relief compelling Vagaro to allow lawful data transfers, and punitive damages in the millions for intentional misconduct in preventing their expansion efforts. The complaint also requests a judicial declaration affirming that small business owners have the right to share truthful information about software vendors without fear of retaliation or legal threats.
The case, Peak Fitness Group LLC v. Vagaro, Inc., is proceeding before Judge Craig van Rooyen in the Superior Court of California, County of San Luis Obispo. This legal action highlights growing concerns about data portability rights and the ability of small businesses to freely share honest reviews about service providers without facing retaliatory legal threats.
Curated from 24-7 Press Release
