Alterra Mountain Co., Ikon Pass ‘Kept All of Skiers’ Money’ Following COVID-19-Induced Resort Closures, Class Action Says [UPDATE]
Last Updated on October 12, 2022
Kramer et al. v. Alterra Mountain Company et al.
Filed: April 14, 2020 ◆§ 1:20-cv-01057
Alterra Mountain Company and Ikon Pass face a class action over their alleged failure to offer any refunds to those who purchased passes to the former's North American ski resorts.
Case Updates
October 12, 2022 – Alterra Pandemic Refund Class Action Settled for Roughly $17.6M in Ski Pass Credits
Alterra Mountain Company will provide $17.6 million in ski pass credits and lift product vouchers to settle the proposed class action detailed on this page.
The deal, which was preliminarily approved by the court on September 22, ends 12 putative class actions that alleged Ikon Pass holders were entitled to damages after Alterra ended the 2019-2020 ski season prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The settlement covers all persons in the United States and its territories who bought any form of Ikon Pass for the 2019-2020 ski season, as well as some who received an Ikon Pass as a gift, and who used their Ikon Pass for mountain access at any Ikon Resort on one or more days on or before March 15, 2020.
Through the settlement, “class members” will receive credits toward the purchase of a 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 Ikon pass without having to take any action or submit a claim. The credits, which will automatically be added to a customer’s Ikon passholder profile, range in value depending on the number of days a consumer was able to use their Ikon pass during the 2019-2020 season, meaning the fewer times a customer used their Ikon pass for the 2019-2020 season, the more money in credits they are entitled to through the settlement.
Alternatively, class members can elect to receive a lift product voucher in lieu of a pass credit. These vouchers will entitle the holder to a discount of between 20 and 50 percent, depending on the number of days they used their 2019-2020 Ikon Pass, on a single-day lift ticket to be purchased and used before July 31, 2025. To receive this benefit, you will need to submit a claim over at the official settlement website by January 2, 2023.
Benefits from the settlement will become available if and when the deal receives final approval from the court, and after all appeals have been resolved.
Any questions about the deal can be submitted to the settlement administrator using the information listed here. You can also find answers to some commonly asked questions over on the settlement website.
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August 11, 2020 – Lawsuits Consolidated
A number of proposed class action lawsuits filed against Alterra Mountain Company over its alleged refusal to issue refunds for seasonal ski passes unusable due to COVID-19-related resort closures have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings, a legal mechanism utilized for convenience.
The order containing the docket numbers for each consolidated lawsuit can be found here.
July 10, 2020 – Another Case Filed
Alterra Mountain Company and Ikon Pass Inc. have been hit with another proposed class action in Colorado over their apparent refusal to issue ski pass refunds after cutting the season short in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit alleges that although purchasers of the defendants’ Ikon Pass and Ikon Base Pass were promised “unlimited” skiing and snowboarding for the 2019-20 season, Alterra’s closure of its North American ski resorts in mid-March deprived them of the use of their passes for nearly one-third of the season.
According to the case, Alterra and Ikon have refused to issue refunds to pass holders, instead offering to double the “renewal discount” for those who purchase passes for the 2020-21 season. Thus, rather than receiving a proper refund, skiers and snowboarders “must spend more money to renew a Pass that they may neither want nor use.”
“Meanwhile,” the complaint reads, “during a time of historic economic uncertainty and record unemployment, Defendants refuse to refund Plaintiff and Class Members any portion of their overpayment for the Passes. Instead, Defendants unlawfully continue to retain the entire purchase price paid by Plaintiff and Class Members for the Passes.”
May 13, 2020 – Alterra Mountain Company Facing Multiple Class Actions Over Refund Refusals
Alterra Mountain Company is the defendant in at least one other proposed class action lawsuit over its apparent refusal to issue refunds for Ikon Passes and Ikon Base Passes despite the indefinite closure of the company’s 40 mountain resorts due to the COVID-19 crisis.
In place of full refunds for the 2019/2020 season, Alterra Mountain Company has doubled the renewal discount on Ikon Pass products for the 2020/2021 season, the case says. Alterra has allegedly retained the full price of customers’ Ikon Passes while offering none of the services for which consumers have already paid.
“Defendant has not refunded any consumers for their lost mountain resort access,” the suit reads. “Accordingly, customers who did not have a chance to use all of their purchased Ikon Pass Products get zero consideration or compensation for their inability to use those unused, purchased days, even if they wanted to.”
Initially filed on April 16 in California, the case has been transferred to Colorado federal court. The complaint can be read here.
Denver’s Alterra Mountain Company and subsidiary Ikon Pass Inc. have been hit with a proposed class action after allegedly declining to offer thousands of skiers refunds, or even partial refunds, after resorts covered by the companies’ access passes were closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Instead,” the 14-page complaint alleges, “[the] Defendants kept all of skiers’ money.”
The Ikon pass offered by the defendants entitles a skier to either unlimited or limited access, via either the “Ikon Pass” or “Ikon Base Pass,” to certain ski resorts throughout North America for the duration of the ski season, the lawsuit says. According to the case, the 2019-2020 price of an Ikon Base Pass was $649, while a full-access Ikon Pass fell just short of $1000.
The plaintiff, a Villa Park, California resident, claims he purchased an Ikon Base Pass in April 2019 yet was unable to utilize the offering for the entirety of the ski season given Alterra closed its North American resorts on March 14, 2020. Though the resorts were shuttered “well before” the end of the ski season, which typically runs into late April or May or even into the summer, the defendants “have not offered to return, and have not returned, any portion of season pass fees,” the case claims.
The lawsuit, which alleges breach of contract, breach of express warranty, unfair dealing and unjust enrichment, can be read below.
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