Peloton Facing Lawsuits, Government Investigations

Peloton has sought to move on from the unfortunate rollout of its treadmills, but action from four government agencies and a handful of private lawsuits will make that impossible for the time being.

Safety issues with the Peloton Tread+ were connected to at least 70 injuries and the death of a child. In May, Peloton issued a voluntary recall on the hardware after initially claiming there was no need to do so.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Peloton said it was cooperating with a swell of investigations related to the fiasco.

• The company said it was under investigation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed it for documents and other information regarding the treadmill injuries.
• The SEC is investigating the company’s public disclosures about the injuries.
• Peloton also mentioned that three class actions and three shareholder lawsuits, which allege “unjust enrichment, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, and waste” have been filed against the company. 

Peloton is releasing a revamped Tread machine with new safety features on Aug. 30 for $2,495, a steep drop from the original $4,300 price.

The recall weighed on its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue, which dropped 25.8% from the previous quarter to $937 million.