Blackwell v. Planet Fitness Franchising, LLC

── Blackwell v. Planet Fitness Franchising, LLC ── Court: District of Columbia Court of Appeals Date: May 21, 2026 Category: General Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the Atlantic and Maryland Reporters. Users are requested to notify the Clerk of the Court of any formal errors so that corrections may be made before the bound volumes go to press. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS No. 24-CV-1034 K.L. BLACKWELL, APPELLANT, V. PLANET FITNESS FRANCHISING, LLC, et al., APPELLEES. Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (2024-CAB-000124) (Hon. Yvonne M. Williams, Motions Judge) (Submitted February 12, 2026 Decided May 21, 2026) Kenneth L. Blackwell, pro se. Leslie Paul Machado was on the brief for appellees. Before BECKWITH, EASTERLY, and SHANKER, Associate Judges. SHANKER, Associate Judge: Appellant K.L. Blackwell regularly visited a Planet Fitness exercise facility in southeast Washington, D.C., as the guest of a Planet Fitness “Black Card” member. In a lawsuit against Planet Fitness and three related entities in Superior Court, Mr. Blackwell, proceeding pro se, alleges that on October 26 and 27, 2023, he endured distressing and discomfiting treatment by a  2 Planet Fitness employee and Planet Fitness did nothing to remedy the situation. Mr. Blackwell’s amended complaint asserts several tort claims and a claim for breach of contract. The trial court dismissed the amended complaint for failure to state a claim under Superior Court Civil Rule 12(b)(6). We affirm. I. Background “We summarize the facts as alleged in the complaint.” McCall v. D.C. Hous. Auth., 126 A.3d 701, 703 (D.C. 2015). The Planet Fitness Black Card membership program, and Planet Fitness’s marketing and policies, form the relevant background for this appeal. Planet Fitness operates commercial exercise facilities that are open to the public. Interested individuals may pay for access to these facilities by subscribing to a membership program, which provides certain benefits in exchange for a monthly fee. One tier of membership, the Planet Fitness Black Card, allows a Black Card member to bring a guest with them to a Planet Fitness location, for no additional charge, while the Black Card member is using that facility. To do so, the Black Card member registers their guest at the front desk and the guest is given a “PF Keytag,” an electronic key that allows the guest to swipe in so long as the Black Card member is present.  3 Planet Fitness markets itself to customers as a “Judgement Free Zone.” 1 According to the amended complaint, this means that Planet Fitness promises a “welcoming and friendly community where people [can] feel comfortable regardless of their fitness level,” and a “safe, energetic environment, where everyone feels accepted and respected.” To help achieve its goal of fostering a “judgement free planet,” Planet Fitness maintains an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy prohibiting “verbal o[r] physical harassment of any member or team member for any reason.” Mr. Blackwell, who was seventy or seventy-one at the time of the relevant events (he alleges both ages in his complaint), does not allege that he has ever been a Planet Fitness member. Rather, in February 2023, another individual became a Black Card member and allowed Mr. Blackwell to take advantage of his guest pass benefit. Mr. Blackwell registered as a guest at a Planet Fitness location in southeast D.C. by providing his identification, address, and phone number, and he was given a PF Keytag. For several months, Mr. Blackwell used this particular Planet Fitness without incident, sometimes arrivi