Woman Sues LA Fitness because of "inappropriate exercises"

A Dallas woman has sued a national fitness company, alleging two employees sexually harassed her during personal training sessions.
Jamie Johnson filed a lawsuit against Fitness International LLC, which does business under the name LA Fitness, after the company denied her requests for a full refund after she told them she had been subjected to sexually explicit comments by two personal trainers.
Johnson joined the gym at the end of 2011, and paid for additional personal training sessions. Her attorney, Chase Laws, said her first trainer was great, but things quickly went wrong with her second trainer.
"He started by making inappropriate comments to her," Laws told ABC News. "Not exactly offensive language directed at her, but inappropriate things about his lifestyle, sexual activities, things like that."
At one point, the trainer had Johnson perform certain exercises so he "could 'watch her boobs,'" according to the lawsuit filed in Dallas County Court last month. He told Johnson that he could tell when she'd had a "good workout" because "her nipples would get hard," according to the court filing.
Johnson didn't return to the gym, located in Plano, for a while after that, but when she eventually went back, after receiving psychological counseling, she requested a different trainer. She didn't report the trainer's comments to his supervisor, because she knew the two men were friends, and she didn't feel comfortable speaking about it with him, said Laws. The session with the new trainer, who was randomly assigned to her, subjected her to additional harassing behavior, according to the lawsuit, with this trainer telling her stories of his sexual escapades with his girlfriend.
"Then he asked her to do the same exercise the last guy asked her to do, but she refused, telling him she was uncomfortable doing it," Laws said. "She eventually told him why, and he laughed hysterically about it, so she left again."
The next morning, the lawsuit alleges, Johnson received a text message from the last trainer, asking if she "suffers from hard nipple syndrome."
Shortly after receiving the text, Johnson told the gym administrators about what had happened with the two trainers, and requested a refund of her membership, personal training sessions and extra expenses such as child care, for a total of nearly $2,800. She said her gym gave her a number to call for corporate membership.
"She called the 800-number they gave her, and they told her no, and offered her $400, and that was it," Laws said.
Johnson began taking steps to leave the gym in June 2012, and her membership was eventually canceled on July 15, although she was not given the full refund she requested, so she contacted Laws.
LA Fitness has not responded to requests for comment from ABC News.
The complaint she filed against Fitness International and the two trainers claims the company engaged in deceptive trade practices, and was negligent in hiring and supervising staff, which, Laws said, constituted breach of contract.
Johnson's lawsuit claims she and her husband suffered damages, including loss of out-of-pocket expenses and expenses for psychiatric and psychological care, as well as mental anguish.
"She wants to show employers, specifically LA Fitness, that employees can't treat customers like this, and that if you run a business, you better supervise your employees properly," Laws told ABC. "We haven't gotten any response yet, but she wants to make sure nobody, man, woman, anybody, has to go through what she went through."

Some ppl.

Us ladies need to watch out because this can happen anywhere.. Im proud of this woman for stepping up! I hope she gets the money she deserves..

Umm, because men can not be sexually harassed?

Countdown to "Well, if she didn't want to get those comments, maybe she shouldn't have been wearing tight clothes!"

If the manager and the trainer were friends, why didn't she just go over their heads call the corporate office in the first place instead of returning multiple times? They were out of line, no doubt about that, I'm just confused as to why she kept going... ?

I hope she kept that text message. If, so, this will not end well for LA Fitness.

she probably kept going because she paid alot for a membership.. these gyms can be soo expensive... maybe she felt like he wouldnt be there or something... this situation sucks i hope she wins..

EDITED! why is this even a topic?? its not funny or to "joke" about... what is this world coming to....men can get harrassed as well but usually men like it.... to boost their egos lol... woman take it as a threat because obviously men can over power us easier...

Who is joking about it?

You come off very childish.

Yup confused...not sure if your referring to it being a joke to the trainers or that this is in the chit chat 'fun' section.

If the lady kept the text that trainer atleast is going to be toast. Idiots

Wow some ppl are *kitten*! I am shocked!

If the trainers actually behaved inappropriately - the company should have refunded her money at the very least. If the company didn't respond or even look into the matter, the woman had no other option. I was a member of LA Fitness years ago. I worked with a trainer who was quite professional but that doesn't mean they all are. After the hassle of trying to cancel my membership I would never rejoin their club.

this isnt something to laugh about. this type of stuff happens ALL THE TIME! i even had a MFP friend complaine of her personal trainer doing this.... its not a joke. Im just happy that this woman had the courage to go through with the harrassment. GOOD FOR HER!

Us ladies need to watch out because this can happen anywhere.. Im proud of this woman for stepping up! I hope she gets the money she deserves..

EDITED! why is this even a topic?? its not funny or to "joke" about... what is this world coming to....men can get harrassed as well but usually men like it.... to boost their egos lol... woman take it as a threat because obviously men can over power us easier...

"usually men like it.... to boost their egos..." What??

It's sexist and highly inappropriate to suggest in a topic that is obviously against sexual harassment that some people like it.

If what these people did is true, it's shocking and incredibly inappropriate. What I don't get is why she just didn't tell them off or report them right when it happened? It's not like this happened in the workplace where there could be a "quid pro quo" environment or punitive action that could be taken against her. They act like *kitten*, she tells them off, she leaves. End of story.

it's in the right place. it's chit chat.

i get why she didn't just leave, go over their heads or whatnot. some people depending on their finances feel very bound to their gym memberships. like they don't just walk away from things easy. others don't make a fuss easy. especially if she were young i get it, but even if not i still get it. i know people like this, heck i think i used to be people like this. workplaces can get very lax i noticed when i worked and flitted around different companies. i remember thinking sometimes...man the people from that company would never believe the things that go on at that other company. corporate cultures can vary so much, and management really does play a big part in the trickling down of attitudes and tolerance for certain hijinx.

this couldnt have come at a worse time for me since i was just about to tell hubby my plans to get a trainer and the results of my gym shopping to help me pare down on a choice. (hope he's not aware of this story)....

[crosses LA fitness off the list of options---they weren't really on the short list anyway for other reasons, rif-raff, insufficient woo-ing, unimpressive amenities, lack of clear answers regarding trainer's credentials/specializations, etc.]

ha.... wow