Costco Auto-renewal Legal Challenge: New Class-Action Over Membership Notices
A Costco Auto-renewal Legal Challenge is now at the center of a class-action lawsuit filed by a California man who says the company did not follow the state’s auto-renewal notice law. The complaint was filed over Costco memberships and claims the required renewal warning did not arrive in time. The case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in June.
What the lawsuit alleges
Russel George says Costco failed to provide a renewal notice at least 15 days, and no more than 45 days, before his annual membership expired. The lawsuit says that if he had received that notice in time, he would have canceled and not allowed the membership to renew automatically. Costco offers two membership tiers: a $65 annual membership and an executive membership that costs $130 a year.
The Costco Auto-renewal Legal Challenge centers on whether the company met California’s notice requirements for auto-renewing memberships. The complaint does not say that Costco was unable to renew memberships, but it argues the company did not properly warn customers before charging again.
Immediate reactions and legal framing
Costco has been contacted for comment. The company’s policy allows members to cancel by calling a toll-free number or by visiting a store location, which matters because California law says consumers must be able to cancel using the same method of communication used to enroll, or the method they generally use to interact with the business.
The California Attorney General’s Office says businesses must also offer a toll-free phone number, email address, or another easy-to-use cancellation method. That requirement is part of the wider legal backdrop surrounding the Costco Auto-renewal Legal Challenge.
How the case fits into the wider debate
The case lands after the Federal Trade Commission tried to create similar nationwide auto-renewal rules in 2024 under the Biden administration. A federal appeals court struck down that rule in July 2025 after opponents said the agency did not follow proper rulemaking procedures.
Under the proposed rule, businesses would have needed to make cancellation at least as easy as enrollment, and annual reminders and confirmations would have been required for renewals of non-physical goods. That failed federal effort now adds more attention to the Costco Auto-renewal Legal Challenge and to how companies handle renewal notices.
What happens next
George’s case against Costco is set for a preliminary hearing in June, and the next filings may clarify how the court views the notice claims and the company’s cancellation process. For now, the Costco Auto-renewal Legal Challenge is pushing the issue of membership renewals back into the spotlight, with the dispute turning on timing, disclosure, and the state’s auto-renewal rules.
