Back in April and early March, many Cincinnatians were all :-P as they looked ahead to another summer of fun in the sun at Mason’s longtime waterpark, The Beach. But their faces were more like :-( on March 9, when The Beach abruptly announced that it would not reopen for the 2012 season, and many went >:-O when the waterpark notified them that no refunds would be made for 2012 season passes. Today the waterpark’s operators are all :‘( because they just got sued by the Ohio attorney general.
At the time of the announcement that the park would not be opening, The Beach had already sold 8,800 season passes. But rather than offering full refunds to the thousands of consumers who had purchased waterpark passes, the Beach offered a collection of day passes and various discounts to other local attractions, such as Kings Island and the Cincinnati Zoo, that it said was valued at "close to $200." Season passes to The Beach had most recently been sold for $89.99.
In response, 427 people filed complaints with the Ohio Attorney General’s office, resulting in the May 25 filing of a lawsuit against The Beach by Attorney General Mike DeWine. The lawsuit charges the business with failure to deliver, a violation of Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act.
"It's unfortunate when a long-standing Ohio business closes," DeWine said in a press release. "But The Beach Waterpark took money from thousands of consumers and never delivered promised services. That's unacceptable."
The Beach in recent years has seen increased competition from such nearby attractions as Kings Island’s Soak City waterpark and the Great Wolf Lodge, which opened an indoor waterpark in Mason in 2006. In response to The Beach’s closing, Kings Island offered discounted rates for upgrades to its season passes and a complimentary visit to its amusement park and waterpark for Beach pass holders.
Dan Tierney, spokesman for DeWine, says companies that go out of business often refund money or provide a different product or service in place of that which was previously purchased, but it must be of equal or greater value and meet the consumer’s satisfaction.
“That has not occurred in this case,” Tierney says.
The lawsuit alleges that The Beach’s ownership partners have committed unfair or deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Failure to Deliver Rule and Consumer Sales Practices Act. Each violation of the Consumer Sales and Practices Act is punishable by a $25,000 fine. The lawsuit asks for reimbursements for all consumers, legal and court costs, an injunction and civil penalties.
“There’s a possible penalty on the punitive side of $25,000,” Tierney says. “That being said, the goal of this, because there is no bankruptcy protection, is to help affected consumers get refunds.”
According to Tierney, if The Beach had filed bankruptcy protection, the company would be protected and each individual consumer would need to file failure to deliver lawsuits.
“During a bankruptcy consumers can become creditors for not being delivered products,” Tierney says. “In absence of that they would have to each individually file failure to deliver lawsuits, but the attorney general is doing it on behalf of Ohio consumers.”
The lawsuit was filed in the Hamilton County Court of Common Please against the park’s owners and operators: The Beach at Mason Limited Partnership and Dayton-based Water Parks, Inc., and Cabana Equities, Inc.
According to the lawsuit, the Beach’s operators decided to close the waterpark on March 7, two days before announcing the canceled season and lack of refunds.
The attorney general’s office is encouraging other consumers who purchased passes to The Beach Waterpark to file a complaint a www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov.
