Legoland Sued For Not Refunding Customers During COVID-19 Closure

CARLSBAD, CA — A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Legoland and its parent company for allegedly not providing refunds after the Carlsbad theme park was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suit was filed Monday in San Diego federal court on behalf of Los Angeles County resident Joyce Case against Merlin Entertainments Limited, which operates Legoland, Tussauds Hollywood, Tussauds San Francisco, the San Francisco Dungeon and Legoland Florida.

The suit alleges Case purchased tickets to Legoland for a March 21 trip and ended up "one of the many consumers stuck with tickets to a cancelled event who has been unable to obtain a refund," according to the complaint.

Legoland representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

The suit seeks refunds for all customers who paid for tickets, memberships and vacation packages that have since been canceled due to COVID- 19, and damages to compensate customers "for the loss of use of their money during a time when cash is at a premium for the many families targeted by Defendants that are struggling to get by."

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The complaint states that the terms and conditions of agreements to purchase tickets to Legoland and other Merlin Entertainments Parks hold that if events are canceled, refunds must be paid.

"Closing of these venues, and cancellation of these events, should have meant that ticketholders were promptly refunded their money — money that in many cases was very much needed for other purposes," the complaint states. "But that did not happen for customers, who bought tickets, memberships, and vacation packages for Defendants' attractions. Instead, Defendants failed to honor and perform their duties, responsibilities, and obligations under their uniform standardized agreements with their customers, thereby breaching their contracts, but nonetheless pocketed their customers' money and converted it for their own use."

A similar class-action lawsuit was filed against SeaWorld last month in San Diego federal court. In that suit, SeaWorld is accused of continuing to charge monthly membership fees to customers during the park's closure.

Also see:

• California Coronavirus: Latest Updates On Cases, Orders, Closures
• Coronavirus In San Diego County: Latest News
• Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 300 In San Diego County
• Bars, Gyms, Hotels Can Reopen Friday In San Diego County
• San Diego County Prepares Backup Plan For Second Coronavirus Wave
• San Diego County Asks State To Allow More Facilities To Reopen
• County Supervisors Extend Moratorium On Evictions Amid Pandemic

— City News Service