State of Iowa Ex Rel. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General for Iowa v. Vertrue, Incorporated F/K/A Memberworks, Inc., a Delaware Corporation Adaptive Marketing, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company Idaptive Marketing, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company

**What Happened** The state of Iowa sued Vertrue, Inc. (formerly Memberworks, Inc.) and related marketing companies for deceiving consumers through their "buying club" membership programs. The state claimed these companies tricked people into signing up for expensive monthly memberships by hiding fees and using misleading sales tactics when customers made online purchases. **What the Court Decided** The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state, finding that Vertrue violated Iowa's consumer protection laws. The court ordered the company to pay nearly $29 million total: $25.2 million to reimburse harmed consumers, $2.8 million in civil penalties, and $725,000 in attorney fees. The court determined that Vertrue's deceptive membership practices violated both the state's Buying Club Membership Law and Consumer Fraud Act. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling protects workers as consumers from predatory membership schemes that companies sometimes use to generate revenue. It demonstrates that state attorneys general will pursue companies that use deceptive practices to automatically charge people recurring fees. Workers should be aware of hidden membership charges when making online purchases and know that consumer protection laws exist to help recover money from fraudulent schemes.