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Gym in Wiesbaden (symbolic image): »The purpose is regular physical activity«
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
Many fitness studios make a living from the fact that their customers register, but then only rarely come to train.
A current decision by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) should therefore be particularly painful for them.
The BGH ruled that anyone who was unable to use their gym during the Corona lockdown is entitled to the membership fees paid during this time.
The court had a model case from Lower Saxony in which the customer had demanded that a studio pay him back the amounts collected by direct debit.
Even if the studio cannot do anything about the corona closure, the customer has a right to it, the judges of the seventh Senate have now decided.
"The purpose of a gym contract is regular exercise," says a statement from the top civil judges in Karlsruhe.
With a closure of several weeks, it was impossible to provide this service.
Collected 29.90 euros per month
The plaintiff in the lawsuit had entered into a two-year contract that began to run in December 2019.
After the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the studio had to close from March 16 to June 4, 2020.
The operator nevertheless continued to collect the monthly contributions of EUR 29.90.
The customer had initially unsuccessfully asked his studio to pay back and finally asked for a voucher for the amount.
However, the studio only offered him a “credit for training time” – which the customer declined.
Before the BGH, the man was right in the last instance.
In the case of a gym contract with a fixed term of several months, "the regular and year-round opening and usability of the studio is of crucial importance," the judges decided.
In the lockdown, this contractual purpose could not be achieved.
According to the verdict, the studio also has no right to add the weeks of closure due to disruption to the business basis to the contract period, as some lower-instance courts had thought possible.
The BGH judges also justify this with the voucher solution that the legislator introduced in spring 2020 to prevent mass insolvencies through reclaims.
The regulation stipulated that organizers and institutions can also reimburse admission tickets and »rights of use« with a voucher.
The BGH ruled that a final regulation had thus been made.
A contract adjustment does not take place in addition.
File number: XII ZR 64/21
apr/dpa
