A $1.5 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit filed against SeaWorld over alleged failures to adequately notify customers that their annual passes to the park would be automatically renewed.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed on behalf of San Diego residents Daniel Blanco and Christopher Lomeli, both of whom bought annual passes through SeaWorld’s website, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleged SeaWorld’s website did not disclose that passes would automatically renew after one year, nor were Blanco or Lomeli reminded as the one-year mark neared that they would be charged for the auto-renewed pass. They also alleged that SeaWorld made it difficult to cancel their passes.
The settlement — which includes no admissions of wrongdoing from SeaWorld — still requires final approval from a judge. A hearing on the settlement approval has been set for August in San Diego Superior Court.
Others within the settlement class could also receive compensation.
Those included in the settlement class are people who have a California home or billing address on file with the park and who purchased annual passes on or after Feb. 28, 2019.
Class members also must have had their annual passes automatically renewed on or before Feb. 28, 2025, but must not have received refunds for the first auto-renewal charge.
More information on the settlement and how to be included is available here.
