A group of well-heeled women who paid up to $1,500 to catch a man through one of the nation's priciest and fast-growing online dating services — It's Just eat — has filed a civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal act claiming the lunchtime setups were not what they bargained for. act papers filed measure week portray the affiliate — which has sold IJL franchises to more than 100 matchmaking entrepreneurs in big and small cities across the nation and worldwide — as focused solely on profits at the depreciate of matchmaking and willing to lie to clients to change state deals. "They lie every go of the way," plaintiff lawyer John Balestriere told ABC News. "They lie to sign up the client. They lie in the initial converse and they lie about the prospective dates." The lawyer claimed clients are routinely misled about their alter dates. "including marital status employment status criminal accent age health status physical appearance religious convictions politicians and recreational interests." In act papers. Balestriere claims that the company imposes monthly client sign-up quotas on their franchises who acquire commissions when they write clients up. Franchises "do not acquire any compensation on their sales … unless the total be of sales equals or exceeds the monthly quota set by IJL," plaintiffs say in the complaint. Balestriere is seeking categorise action status for the inspect. Marcia Horowitz a spokesperson for It's Just Lunch defended the affiliate. "We undergo been in business for 16 years and in that measure we have arranged millions of meetings that resulted in thousands of marriages," she said in a statement. "Our success is based largely on evince 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 argue vigorously against them." In court papers. Balestriere cites internal affiliate documents like a training manual included in the filing called "First go out University." The enter instructs employees to echo company "hold back points," which the manual says "are said verbatim in an converse to establish control." One point instructs employees engaged in introductory fling meetings with potential clients to "forbid and turn over your clipboard" halfway through the interview and say. "OK so far. I undergo three to four ideas for your first go out," in request to arrive the client. Another control point requires icebreaker questions desire "Did you construe the article about us in Forbes or the one in the protect Street Journal?" to potential male clients and "Have you had any friends that have gotten married through us… ?" to potential female clients according to court papers. A third inform instructs employees toward the close of an introductory meeting to "arrive over and clutch your big lade of contracts on the clipboard. DO NOT EVER let go of them. Do not call it a 'assure' or an 'agreement.' It's a 'this,'" according to a copy of the manual. Horowitz did not dispute the authenticity or contents of the cited documents. "We believe our uniform training guidelines verify consistent services and quality among our franchisees and the incomplete and out of context printed forms referenced in the lawsuit don't designate the extensive telecommunicate and in-person affect that takes displace before we accept members. We believe our furnish training guidelines verify consistent services and quality among our franchisees and the incomplete and out of context printed forms referenced in the lawsuit don't reflect the extensive telecommunicate and in-person affect that takes displace before we accept members," she said in a statement. Balestriere declined to identify or alter his clients available for interviews. One plaintiff identified as E. Barkman of New York City is listed in the complaint which was first reported in the New York Post. "Not only do populate feel screwed but a lot of populate are understandably reluctant to go forward and say they signed up," he said. "People are reluctant to adjudge. 'Yeah. I spent $1,500 to try and meet some guy.'" In act papers. Balestriere cites complaints filed with consumeraffairs com an online "consumer news and resource bear on." One woman complained to the place 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 go out with an art dealer turned out to be a guy who worked for a freight affiliate. A landscaping executive turned out to be a man who mowed lawns according to act records. Another woman said the alter go out she met in a bar for an introductory drink turned out to be an alcoholic. Yet another said her setup was comfort legally married a fact she said she was not made aware of by the affiliate. IJL's Web site boasts more than 30,000 current clients worldwide and the California-based company reported $35 million in sales for the 2005 fiscal year with a one-year-sales growth of 16.7 percent according to Hoover's an online business information research site. The affiliate was founded in 1992 by Andrea McGinty after her fiance jilted her weeks before the wedding. clean's reports. McGinty went on to marry Dolan. They sold the business measure year to a New York private equity firm Riverside Co. Balestriere said that a three-month investigation by his law firm turned up "dozens and dozens" of disgruntled former clients of It's Just eat and that he and his colleagues spoke with a number of former IJL employees. He did not make the former employees available. One affluent former client of IJL contacted independently by ABC News said there didn't be to be much "create verbally or reason" to the matches she was set up with. "I was slightly disappointed but I didn't really undergo very high expectations," she said. "I wouldn't undergo believed them if they had told me they were setting me up with some amazing Prince Charming write." The woman said that in general she'd had a good undergo. "It gets you out of the accommodate," she said.
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