The BowFlex class action lawsuit challenges the recall remedy that Johnson Health Tech is offering to roughly 3.7 million people who bought BowFlex 552 or 1090 adjustable dumbbells before April 23, 2024. Those customers are limited to a prorated store voucher worth between $20 and $95, redeemable only at BowFlex.com, while newer buyers get a full-price replacement. Multiple complaints filed in June 2025 call the older-buyer remedy “effectively worthless” given that a replacement set retails for $429 to $799.1ClassAction.org. Bowflex Class Action Lawsuit Filed After Manufacturer Recalls Over 3.8M Adjustable Dumbbells In August 2025, a New Jersey bankruptcy judge blocked the main claims, ruling they violate the terms of the 2024 sale that transferred BowFlex’s assets to Johnson Health Tech.2Bloomberg Law. Bowflex Bankruptcy Judge Blocks Proposed Dumbbell Class Action
What the Lawsuits Allege
The core claim is that the recall is structured to protect Johnson Health Tech’s finances rather than make consumers whole. The remedy depends entirely on when you bought your dumbbells. Buyers on or after April 23, 2024 — the date Johnson Health Tech’s purchase of BowFlex closed — can get a full-price voucher or replacement set, plus a one-year subscription to the JRNY fitness app, and can convert the voucher to a Visa gift card if no suitable replacement exists on BowFlex.com.3BowFlex. BowFlex Dumbbell Recalls
Everyone who bought earlier — the vast majority of affected owners — gets a prorated voucher between $20 and $95, spendable only at BowFlex.com, with no cash-out option.1ClassAction.org. Bowflex Class Action Lawsuit Filed After Manufacturer Recalls Over 3.8M Adjustable Dumbbells Most of them would still have to spend hundreds of dollars out of pocket to replace a product they were told to stop using.
The complaints also allege that BowFlex knew the dumbbells could fail. The Calderon complaint says the defendants learned about the defect through pre-release testing and more than 300 consumer complaints before announcing the recall, yet continued selling the dumbbells without warning buyers.4CaseFilingsAlert.com. Calderon v. Johnson Health Tech Complaint
The Recall Behind the Lawsuit
On June 5, 2025, Johnson Health Tech Trading announced a voluntary recall of BowFlex 552 and 1090 adjustable dumbbells in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall covers about 3.8 million units sold from 2004 through May 2025. The defect: weight plates can dislodge from the dumbbell handle during use. The CPSC has logged 337 incidents of plates coming loose and 111 injuries, including concussions, broken toes, abrasions, and contusions.5CPSC. Johnson Health Tech Trading Recalls BowFlex Adjustable Dumbbells Due to Impact Hazard
Who Filed and Where
Several proposed class actions have been filed against Johnson Health Tech entities in mid-2025.
Cosin v. Johnson Health Tech Retail, Inc. (Case No. 3:25-cv-05085) was filed June 16, 2025. It alleges violations of California’s Business and Professions Code, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, focusing on the two-tier recall and the absence of any warning about the plate-detachment risk.1ClassAction.org. Bowflex Class Action Lawsuit Filed After Manufacturer Recalls Over 3.8M Adjustable Dumbbells
Calderon v. Johnson Health Tech (Case No. 3:25-cv-00513-wmc) was filed June 17, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Plaintiff Alan Calderon bought a SelectTech 552 in July 2023 for $179. His complaint adds fraud by omission, breach of implied warranty, unjust enrichment, and Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act claims to the California UCL and CLRA claims. It seeks class certification for a nationwide class and a California subclass, along with compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement, and injunctive relief. Counsel is Brittany Scott of Smith Krivoshey PC in San Francisco.4CaseFilingsAlert.com. Calderon v. Johnson Health Tech Complaint
A third complaint, Ahearn v. Johnson Health Tech Trading (Case No. 2:25-cv-03435), names both Johnson Health Tech Trading and Johnson Health Tech Retail as defendants.6Truth in Advertising. Ahearn v. Johnson Health Tech Trading Complaint
The Bankruptcy Ruling That Blocked the Claims
BowFlex Inc. (formerly Nautilus Inc.) filed for Chapter 11 in March 2024. Johnson Health Tech Retail acquired the assets for $37.5 million, with the sale closing April 22, 2024. The purchase agreement had Johnson Health Tech Retail assume only a limited set of liabilities and expressly disclaim responsibility for BowFlex’s other prior obligations.7Johnson Health Tech. Johnson Health Tech Retail Inc. Finalizes Purchase of BowFlex A liquidation plan was confirmed August 19, 2024.8SEC. BowFlex Inc. Chapter 11 Plan Disclosure
On August 12, 2025, Judge Andrew B. Altenburg Jr. of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey ruled that the proposed class action claims were barred by the confirmed plan and the sale order’s free-and-clear provisions. The judge found that the bankruptcy released both BowFlex and the buyer from the kind of liability plaintiffs were asserting, and he ordered plaintiffs to dismiss their claims against Johnson Health Tech Trading within seven days.2Bloomberg Law. Bowflex Bankruptcy Judge Blocks Proposed Dumbbell Class Action The plaintiffs’ argument that they had not received adequate notice of those provisions was rejected.9Law360. NJ Bankruptcy Judge Nixes BowFlex Dumbbells Class Claims
The ruling does not automatically dispose of the separately filed federal cases in California and Wisconsin. Defendants in those actions can, however, invoke the same sale-order protections. Whether the plaintiffs have appealed is not yet reported.
What Owners Can Do Right Now
The recall itself is still active regardless of what happens in court. Owners of BowFlex 552 or 1090 adjustable dumbbells should stop using them and file a claim at dumbbells.jhttrecalls.com or bowflex.com/recalls.3BowFlex. BowFlex Dumbbell Recalls The process requires the serial number from the bottom of the plastic base tray along with a photo of it. Proof of purchase is required only for units bought on or after April 23, 2024; earlier buyers do not need a receipt. Once a claim is approved, BowFlex sends a prepaid label and return box for the handle and base. Weight plates are disposed of locally.
Each form covers up to two units, and you can submit up to five forms (ten units total). Johnson Health Tech can be reached at 800-209-3539 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT) or at recall@bowflex.com. Claims for the JRNY membership must be submitted by June 4, 2028.3BowFlex. BowFlex Dumbbell Recalls
For pre-April 2024 buyers, the practical result is unchanged for now: a prorated store voucher worth a small fraction of what a new set costs, with no cash option. The class actions were built to close that gap, and the bankruptcy court’s August 2025 ruling has, at least for now, closed the path they were traveling.2Bloomberg Law. Bowflex Bankruptcy Judge Blocks Proposed Dumbbell Class Action