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New York Women Sue It's Just Lunch

Dates were duds, "they lie every step of the way," lawyer charges

October 26, 2007

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A group of angry New York women have gone to court, seeking damage from It's Just Lunch, the online dating service that charges fees of up to $1,500. The women charge that IJL is more interested in making money than matchmaking.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan claims the lunchtime setups weren't quite what the women had in mind. "They lie every step of the way," plaintiff lawyer John Balestriere told ABC News. "They lie to sign up the client. They lie in the initial interview and they lie about the prospective dates."

The suit charges that clients are routinely misled about their blind dates' marital and employment status as well as "criminal background, age, health status, physical appearance, religious convictions, politicians and recreational interests."

It's Just Lunch has about 100 franchises around the country. Its Web site boasts that it has 30,000 current clients worldwide. It reported $35 million in sales for the 2005 fiscal year.

Marcia Horowitz, a spokesperson for It's Just Lunch, defended the company.

"We have been in business for 16 years and in that time we have arranged millions of meetings that resulted in thousands of marriages," she said in a statement. "Our success is based largely on word of mouth and we wouldn't be successful without having a vocal majority of satisfied members. The allegations in the lawsuit are completely without merit and we will defend vigorously against them."

In court papers, Balestriere cites complaints filed with ConsumerAffairs.com, including one from a woman who complained that she specifically requested no Republicans or "religious types," but her first two dates were with a Catholic Republican and a Seventh-day Adventist.

Another said a date with an art dealer turned out to be a guy who worked for a freight company. A landscaping executive turned out to be a man who mowed lawns, according to court records. Another woman said the blind date she met in a bar for an introductory drink turned out to be an alcoholic. Yet another said her setup was still legally married, a fact she said she was not made aware of by the company.

The complaints cited in the lawsuit mirror those filed by ConsumerAffairs.com's readers.

"The dates were as random as my dart-throwing after a glass of wine," said a California woman. "Toward the end of my contract, I was set up with a man who admitted to being 75 - IJL told me he was 58."

In July, It’s Just Lunch International and its three New York State franchises settled a complaint that accused the company of exceeding the limit a consumer can be charged for social referral services. The company agreed to pay fines and costs to the state and reform its business practices.

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