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JetSmarter Litigation Thread
The seal has been broken. The first federal lawsuit brought by a consumer against JS was filed last week in New Jersey. You can read the complaint here: https://www.scribd.com/document/3855...n-v-JetSmarter
In addition to the previously-covered employee class action, another case has also been filed in state court in Florida by a disgruntled ex-employee. You can read that complaint here: https://www.scribd.com/document/3855...n-v-Jetsmarter I expect these will be the tip of the iceberg for JS litigation, and court activity deserves its own thread. |
Will be interesting to see how this goes. The plaintiffs are stupid to mention their travels to Morocco in their complaint. Jetsmarter never promised free flights to Morocco. |
Originally Posted by PbodyPhoto
(Post 30055722)
Will be interesting to see how this goes. The plaintiffs are stupid to mention their travels to Morocco in their complaint. Jetsmarter never promised free flights to Morocco. |
Originally Posted by Mike Azzarello
(Post 30057632)
Europe and Middle East are clearly listed as Free Destinations in the salesmans pitch.
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Morocco is in Africa
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A new JS lawsuit - this one for $2 million from a member who was booted in California - In addition to changing terms and misleading customers, there is apparently a Yelp Law in California that prevents companies from retaliating against customers who post negative reviews. It sounds like the member believes he was evicted because of a prior negative review on Yelp. It also delves into JetSmarter's use of influencer marketing - Kim Kardashian, etc. and how it and the influencers didn't disclose the relationship. The Points Guy also gets a mention. The suit is not connected to the New Jersey lawsuit or the rumored class action lawsuit according to this article.
https://privatejetcardcomparisons.co...st-jetsmarter/ |
Looks like the case filed by the disgruntled ex-employee referenced above was in response to a federal lawsuit filed by JetSmarter claiming this person stole and misused JetSmarter's customer lists containing users' personal information. Specifically, JetSmarter seems to be asserting the ex-employee has stolen the information and provided it to its competitor Blade. There is some very interesting material in that case's files, including sworn deposition testimony by JetSmarter's designated representative about the information JetSmarter maintains about its members:
22· ·Yes.· The customer list is essentially everyone 23· ·that has downloaded our app.· It shows on our side who 24· ·that person is.· It provides their name.· Once they 25· ·become a member, they provide the type of membership Case 0:17-cv-62541-FAM Document 58 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/29/2018 Page 127 of 227 ·1· ·that they've signed up as, when they signed up as a ·2· ·member, how long they've been a member, the amount of ·3· ·money they spent as a member.· It also shows their date ·4· ·of birth once they're a member, it shows their legal ·5· ·name as a member, it shows their weight as a member, it ·6· ·shows what type of phone they're utilizing to download ·7· ·our app on, it shows us the last time they've looked on ·8· ·our app on that phone, it shows the flights that they ·9· ·have taken with us, it shows the cities that they're 10· ·interested in traveling with us, it shows the type of 11· ·flight that they have taken with us, it shows the amount 12· ·of money that they have spent with us on those flights, 13· ·it shows the airports surrounding those flights, it 14· ·shows the exact FBOs that they're flying to in and out 15· ·of the flights, the departure time of those flights, it 16· ·also shows all communication between the departments and 17· ·that member and the message center, and it also has the 18· ·ability for our team to respond to anything that the 19· ·member says in those. |
Very interesting @millions. The name Joe(seph) Benson should ring a bell with some people here..
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For those of you who believe or have been told you have no recourse against JetSmarter except to arbitrate in Florida, here's one example of a successful small claims suit filed against the company in Los Angeles last year:
https://www.scribd.com/document/3862...t-and-Judgment The plaintiff's allegations in the case may be familiar to some here: DEFENDANT MISREPRESENTED "GRANDFATHERING", "LOCKED IN" RATES, BUT THEN INSTEAD CHANGED TERMS OF ONGOING SERVICE. The case is Alexandru Popa v. JetSmarter, Case Number: 17IWSC06061 |
I have been saying for years that JetSmarter is a ponzi scheme that is about to topple over. I wrote a blog post on my companies website saying as much.
The information they used to raise all of their capital was borderline fraudulent. Totally misrepresenting what they were capable of to those who didn't have an advanced knowledge of the private jet charter industry. They started out by saying they'd be able to capture/monetize basically 100% of the empty leg market, which is not possible. Never has been and never will be. As an owner of a Private Jet Charter Company, I could go on and on about JetSmarter for days. Fire any questions you may have about JS at me and I will give you candid responses. PJ Paul |
Originally Posted by PJ Paul
(Post 30089984)
I have been saying for years that JetSmarter is a ponzi scheme that is about to topple over. I wrote a blog post on my companies website saying as much.
The information they used to raise all of their capital was borderline fraudulent. Totally misrepresenting what they were capable of to those who didn't have an advanced knowledge of the private jet charter industry. They started out by saying they'd be able to capture/monetize basically 100% of the empty leg market, which is not possible. Never has been and never will be. As an owner of a Private Jet Charter Company, I could go on and on about JetSmarter for days. Fire any questions you may have about JS at me and I will give you candid responses. PJ Paul Can you elaborate on the "ponzi scheme" aspect of jetsmarter? I disagree with this company's significant terms & conditions adjustments during a membership period but don't see this as a ponzi where a swindle results in a quick profit for investors. I have not signed up even though I was close a few times. Not being able to control my schedule isn't worth any real or perceived cost savings to me. In the past, members ranted and raved about it.. I missed that boat. But how is this a ponzi scheme vs. an investment that didn't come to fruition yet? I believe that's on the investors being naive enough to think that the company WOULD BE capable of capturing the empty leg market and returning a profit. It's a gamble they are taking, and they might pay dearly, or get away unscathed by selling their share to another naive investor. Do you see any possible change in jetsmarter's business model that could turn the company into a profitable enterprise? |
Originally Posted by WhyPrivate
(Post 30090280)
PJ Paul,
Can you elaborate on the "ponzi scheme" aspect of jetsmarter? I disagree with this company's significant terms & conditions adjustments during a membership period but don't see this as a ponzi where a swindle results in a quick profit for investors. I have not signed up even though I was close a few times. Not being able to control my schedule isn't worth any real or perceived cost savings to me. In the past, members ranted and raved about it.. I missed that boat. But how is this a ponzi scheme vs. an investment that didn't come to fruition yet? I believe that's on the investors being naive enough to think that the company WOULD BE capable of capturing the empty leg market and returning a profit. It's a gamble they are taking, and they might pay dearly, or get away unscathed by selling their share to another naive investor. Do you see any possible change in jetsmarter's business model that could turn the company into a profitable enterprise? I think the term "ponzi scheme" may not apply, I was just using the word flippantly. I do know that the execs pay themselves very well and i know that the company cannot be turning a profit with the amount of money they spend on advertising. I run a very lean private jet charter brokerage myself, and the margins in this industry are very small, so there is no way they can be turning a profit with the amount of overhead they have. I also know last year their CFO got indicted for embezzling investor money (allegedly). When there is smoke, there tends to be fire. |
So two big stories in the Miami Herald and Forbes
JetSmarter, the Fort Lauderdale-based private jet startup that Silicon Valley has valued at more than $1 billion, used celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Petra Nemcova to mislead customers, a new lawsuit alleges. The complaint, filed in L.A. County Superior Court in California earlier this month, does not name the celebrities as defendants. But plaintiff Derek Milosavljevic, a JetSmarter customer, accuses JetSmarter of using the stars to plug the company without having them disclose that they were paid promoters. “JetSmarter’s advertisements are unfair, unlawful, deceptive, and misleading, and have violated and continue to violate state and federal laws and regulations,” the suit alleges. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/bus...216880465.html A Case Study In How Not To Do It Most people I’ve talked to aren’t surprised that JetSmarter finally had to come 180 degrees from the buffet of free seats and empty legs. Nothing they saw provided a logical explanation that the company might be gaining profitability as it kept making incremental changes. It’s the journey from the good old days of tokens and free flights from New York to Los Angeles to the present that has sapped much of the goodwill from those early members. In June it was announced free flights are no longer being offered for new members. Existing members who bought in under the expectation of flying free claim there is a deficit of inventory for their use. They also say they were being pushed into less attractive memberships, charged one price to then learn others were charged much less or dropping out of the program in some cases despite claims of high renewals. https://www.forbes.com/sites/douggol.../#2f2fb86e5b34 |
The Kardashian/Nemcova allegations are 8 paragraphs out of 200-paragraph, 57-page complaint. Talk about clickbait. |
Davimos v. JetSmarter, another New Jersey action, this time filed in state court, is linked here. The claims are familiar, misrepresentations about the services and costs. Plaintiff here is seeking at least $890,000.
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