Lawsuits against Massage Envy fall into two main tracks: sexual assault suits brought by clients against the national franchisor and its independently owned spas, and consumer class actions over membership billing. The assault litigation, which exploded after a 2017 BuzzFeed News investigation documented more than 180 reports of misconduct, continues to produce new filings and settlements, while the billing side has generated a nationwide fee-increase class action that reached the Ninth Circuit and a pending suit over blocked cancellations. Beneath all of it sits an unresolved legal question about how much responsibility Massage Envy Franchising, LLC bears for what happens inside its franchisees’ doors.
Sexual Assault Suits and What Plaintiffs Allege
The 2017 BuzzFeed News investigation identified more than 180 people who had filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports, or licensing board complaints against Massage Envy spas, employees, or the national company. More than 100 involved therapists groping clients’ genitals or breasts or committing other explicit violations.1BuzzFeed News. More Than 180 Women Have Reported Sexual Assaults at Massage Envy At the time, the chain operated roughly 1,200 spas with 1.6 million members and 20,000 therapists.2NBC News. Report: Dozens Accuse Massage Therapists at Large Franchise of Sexual Misconduct
Plaintiffs’ complaints share a set of allegations. Franchisees skipped or botched background checks, sometimes hiring therapists with prior criminal records. Managers handled complaints internally rather than reporting them to police or state licensing boards. Accused therapists were retrained and put back on the schedule, or transferred to other locations, where new assaults followed.3CBS News. Massage Envy Sexual Assault Allegations Internal documents surfaced by BuzzFeed showed the company’s crisis management framework identified only one “critical” question: whether an incident “could negatively impact Massage Envy’s Spa Brand.” Franchisees were not required to report allegations to police unless local law demanded it.1BuzzFeed News. More Than 180 Women Have Reported Sexual Assaults at Massage Envy
Two early cases illustrated the pattern. James Deiter, a therapist near Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated indecent assault and six counts of indecent assault involving nine women; his employer had earlier deemed complaints against him “not credible” because victims would not discuss them in person. In Washington, D.C., Habtamu Gebreslassie assaulted another client three weeks after the franchise responded to an initial report by giving him additional training and letting him keep working. He pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse of a patient and related counts and was sentenced to five years in prison with lifetime sex offender registration.4U.S. Department of Justice. Former Massage Therapist Sentenced to Prison for Series of Sex Offenses Involving Clients A $25 million civil suit was filed against Massage Envy in connection with his case.5WJLA. Massage Envy Worker Accused of Sexual Assault Pleads Guilty
Can You Sue the Corporate Franchisor
Whether Massage Envy Franchising, LLC can be held liable for an assault at an independently owned spa is the single biggest question in this litigation. The company argues that franchisees are independent business owners who hire, supervise, and pay their own staff. Customer intake forms at each spa state that therapists are employees of the franchisee, not the national company, and try to waive claims against the franchisor.6Justia. Doe v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC
Plaintiffs answer that the franchisor exercises enough operational control to be treated as more than a distant licensor. They cite mandatory codes of conduct, required reporting policies, inspection and “mystery shopping” rights, and the power to terminate franchisees for noncompliance. In a 2024 Delaware Superior Court ruling in Doe v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC, the court partially denied the franchisor’s motion to dismiss and allowed some claims to proceed.6Justia. Doe v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC The broader question has not been settled at the appellate level.
The Arbitration Clause Courts Have Rejected
Massage Envy’s Terms and Conditions include a binding arbitration provision and a class action waiver, delivered through a clickable hyperlink on the electronic tablet a customer signs at check-in. Courts in California and New Jersey have refused to enforce it in assault cases. In a 2022 California appeals decision, Doe v. Massage Envy Franchising LLC, the court held the arbitration agreement invalid because the hyperlink was “inconspicuous” and a reasonable customer would not have understood they were entering a binding contract with the national franchisor by checking in for a massage.7FindLaw. Doe v. Massage Envy Franchising LLC A New Jersey court called the consent form “self-serving, unhelpful, outright unclear, and arguably misleading.”8New Jersey Courts. C.D. v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC Those rulings mean that at least in some jurisdictions, an assault claim against Massage Envy can be filed in court rather than pushed into private arbitration.
Recent Assault Settlements and Filings
New assault suits have kept surfacing since the 2017 investigation. A Conroe, Texas franchise paid the $1 million limit of its insurance policy to settle claims by two women, identified as T.G. and M.D., who said therapist Jose Barajas Franco assaulted them in July 2022. Franco was arrested by Conroe police and charged with felony sexual assault; the civil case was filed in Harris County District Court.9ABC13. Massage Envy Sexual Assault Settlement10Fox 26 Houston. Houston-Area Massage Envy Pays $1 Million in Sexual Assault Lawsuit
In November 2022, Christine Schirtzinger, a 51-year-old triathlete from Geneva, Illinois, filed a 37-count suit against Massage Envy, the franchise owner and manager, and therapist James “Rob” Garrett, alleging he assaulted her during a December 2020 massage at the Geneva Commons spa. Her attorneys said the company failed to properly check Garrett’s background, which included a prior felony guilty plea for theft and a 2006 record involving allegations of sexually abusing a minor.11Chicago Tribune. Kane County Triathlete Sues Massage Envy After Sexual Assault Complaint Garrett was charged with felony criminal sexual assault and pleaded guilty in early 2022 to a reduced charge of attempted criminal sexual abuse, receiving two years’ probation and sex offender registration. His Illinois license was not revoked until November 2022, eight months after his conviction.12CBS News Chicago. Geneva Massage Envy Sexual Assault Lawsuit
A cluster of newer suits targets the Park Ridge, Illinois location. Lisa Plourde sued in October 2025 over a March 2025 massage by therapist Johnny Campbell, and two more women filed suits against the same spa. Campbell was convicted of misdemeanor battery in March 2026. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a chaperone order in January 2026 and later suspended his license after he failed to submit a compliance plan.13CBS News Chicago. Massage Envy Lawsuits Park Ridge Sexual Assault
The financial pressure has reached some franchise operators directly. In July 2024, a company running Massage Envy franchises in California and Texas filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware, reporting nearly $32 million in debt tied in part to assault lawsuits.14Law360. Massage Franchise Operator Files Ch. 7 With $32M Debt
The Membership Fee Class Action
On the billing side, the biggest case is McKinney-Drobnis v. Massage Envy Franchising LLC, a nationwide class action alleging the company unilaterally raised monthly membership fees starting in 2013 in violation of membership agreements. The parties settled before class certification, offering vouchers for Massage Envy products and services valued between $36 and $181, with a $10 million floor and up to $3.3 million in attorneys’ fees.
In October 2021, the Ninth Circuit vacated the settlement’s approval. The court held that the vouchers were “coupons” under the Class Action Fairness Act because they could only be redeemed at Massage Envy and could not buy a core massage without extra spending, meaning attorneys’ fees had to be tied to vouchers actually redeemed rather than the theoretical $10 million pool. The court also found the district judge had failed to apply the heightened scrutiny required for pre-certification settlements, citing warning signs of possible collusion, including a clear-sailing fee provision and a clause returning unused fee money to Massage Envy instead of the class.15United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. McKinney-Drobnis v. Massage Envy Franchising LLC, No. 20-15539
On remand, the parties modified the deal in March 2022 to drop the clear-sailing clause and cap fee requests. The district court gave final approval in May 2022 and awarded roughly $938,000 in fees, far below the original $3.3 million ask. Class members ultimately redeemed about $2.88 million in vouchers. When plaintiffs’ counsel sought additional fees, the district court refused, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that denial in July 2025, effectively ending the case after nearly a decade.16HLLI. Massage Envy
The Cancellation Class Action
A newer billing case is pending. In early 2023, Illinois consumer Alexandria Stockman filed Stockman v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC, a proposed class action alleging that Massage Envy makes it unreasonably difficult to cancel recurring memberships and keeps withdrawing monthly fees after receiving written cancellation requests. Stockman says she canceled online in December 2021 and got a voicemail confirming termination, but the company still withdrew $75 from her account the following February. The suit claims violations of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and as of early 2026 it was still pending.17ClassAction.org. Class Action Claims Massage Envy Blocks Members From Canceling, Continues Charging Them
Company Reforms After the 2017 Investigation
Under pressure after the BuzzFeed story, Massage Envy announced a “Commitment to Safety” plan in December 2017 and partnered with RAINN to review its policies for reporting and investigating assault allegations.18NBC News. Massage Envy Partners With Anti-Sexual Violence Group After Misconduct Allegations The reforms the company describes include:
- Required background checks for all therapists, estheticians, and stretch providers on hiring and annually, tracked by a third-party automated system.19Massage Envy. Commitment to Safety
- An incident protocol requiring franchisees to remove the accused therapist from the schedule, offer the client a private room, and provide contact information for local police, the state licensing board, and RAINN’s hotline.19Massage Envy. Commitment to Safety
- Use of licensed, trauma-informed third-party investigators rather than internal reviews.
- Nationwide ineligibility for rehire at any Massage Envy location if an offense is confirmed.19Massage Envy. Commitment to Safety
The company reported that RAINN and its Safety Advisory Council facilitated training for more than 1,300 franchisees and managers.20Massage Envy. Massage Envy’s Ongoing Commitment to Safety Plaintiffs in newer cases argue the reforms have not stopped repeat gaps, particularly around background checks and coordination with state licensing boards.
Government Actions Outside the Assault Cases
Regulators have moved on separate fronts. In 2018, the Washington State Attorney General secured an Assurance of Discontinuance requiring Massage Envy to remove “no-poaching” clauses from franchise agreements, without any admission of wrongdoing.21Washington State Attorney General. Massage Envy Assurance of Discontinuance In June 2023, the company settled with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island over a policy that required disabled customers to bring their own helper for table transfers, agreeing to change the policy and pay $10,000 in compensatory relief without admitting wrongdoing.22U.S. Department of Justice. Massage Envy ADA Settlement Agreement New Jersey moved to revoke the license of therapist Steven A. Segovia in July 2018 over inappropriate contact allegations at two Massage Envy locations in 2013.23New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. State Seeks to Revoke Massage Therapy License These are separate from the assault and billing tracks and do not create a claim path for individual customers.
If you are considering a lawsuit against Massage Envy, the practical picture as of early 2026 is that assault cases are being filed and settled in state courts, franchisor liability remains a live question with at least one court letting claims against the national company proceed, the arbitration clause has been rejected in California and New Jersey, and one class action over billing has closed while another over blocked cancellations is still pending.