The main Costco membership lawsuit active in 2026 is George v. Costco Wholesale Corp., a proposed class action filed in March 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (case number 3:26-cv-02369) that accuses Costco of violating California’s Automatic Renewal Law by sending renewal notices about 60 days before charging members and by making cancellation harder than sign-up.1PACER Monitor. George v. Costco Wholesale Corp2The Oregonian. New Class Action Lawsuit Targets Costco Memberships No class has been certified. The parties were ordered into private mediation in June 2026.
What the Lawsuit Claims
The named plaintiff, California resident Russel George, points to a specific statutory window. Under California Business and Professions Code § 17602, a business with an annual auto-renewing subscription must send its renewal reminder at least 15 days but no more than 45 days before the charge hits.3Justia. California Business and Professions Code § 17602 George says Costco’s notice comes at roughly 60 days, outside that window, and that a timely reminder would have prompted him to cancel instead of renew.4Scripps News. Costco Faces Legal Challenge Over Membership Renewal Notices
The second half of the complaint is about how members get out. California’s statute requires that if a consumer signs up online, the business must let them cancel online too, through a prominent and straightforward mechanism.3Justia. California Business and Professions Code § 17602 George alleges Costco funnels members who want to cancel to a toll-free phone number or an in-person warehouse visit, which the suit calls an overly burdensome process that fails the statute’s ease-of-cancellation and same-medium rules.5Syracuse.com. Major Retailer Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Automatic Membership Renewals
The complaint also asserts violations of California’s False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and Unfair Competition Law, and requests a jury trial and damages on behalf of a proposed class of similarly affected members.6AL.com. Costco Hit With Another Class Action Lawsuit
Where the Case Stands
The case is before Judge Thomas S. Hixson. In June 2026, Judge Hixson issued a scheduling order sending the parties to private mediation, to be completed within 90 days, with a mediation status report due September 9, 2026. Fact discovery is set to close in April 2027, and George’s motion for class certification is due in May 2027.1PACER Monitor. George v. Costco Wholesale Corp Until a class is certified or a settlement is reached and approved, no member is automatically entitled to anything from the case.
Who Would Be Covered
The proposed class is framed around California members affected by the practices George describes: those who received renewal notices outside the 15-to-45-day statutory window, or who tried to cancel and were routed to the phone or a warehouse rather than a comparable online option. The suit is based in California law, so its direct reach is to California members. The exact class definition, and who ends up inside it, will be shaped by the certification briefing due in 2027.1PACER Monitor. George v. Costco Wholesale Corp
How Costco’s Renewal and Cancellation Actually Work Right Now
Whatever the court decides, members can act on their own account today. As of mid-2026, Gold Star and Business memberships cost $65 per year, and Executive memberships cost $130.4Scripps News. Costco Faces Legal Challenge Over Membership Renewal Notices If auto-renewal is on, Costco charges the card on file on the first day of the renewal month. To stop that charge, you have to turn off auto-renewal at least three business days (72 hours) before that date.7Costco Customer Service. How Can I Manage Membership Auto-Renewal Online
Costco says you can change the setting in four ways: online at Costco.com, in person at a warehouse membership counter, through Member Services chat, or by phone at 1-800-774-2678.7Costco Customer Service. How Can I Manage Membership Auto-Renewal Online If you miss the 72-hour cutoff and get charged, Costco will refund the fee in full to the card on file, typically within five to seven business days; there are no partial refunds, and the membership stays active through the end of that month.8Costco Customer Service. Costco Auto-Renewal Refund The George suit’s core dispute is whether the online option Costco lists is truly as easy and prominent as the sign-up path California law requires.
Why This Is a California Case, Not a Federal One
Auto-renewal used to be on track for a national fix. The Federal Trade Commission finalized a “click-to-cancel” rule in October 2024 that would have required every covered company to make cancellation as easy as signing up. On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated that rule, finding the FTC had skipped a required preliminary regulatory analysis.9Reuters. US Click-Cancel Rule Blocked by Appeals Court With no federal backstop, state statutes like California’s Automatic Renewal Law now carry the weight for consumers challenging renewal practices, which is why the George case is filed under California law and in a California federal court.
How Costco Has Handled Membership Cases Before
The George suit is not the first membership-focused case Costco has faced. In Dupler v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (No. 06-cv-3141), filed in the Eastern District of New York, members alleged that Costco backdated late renewals to the previous expiration date, so a member who renewed weeks after expiring still lost that time from the paid year. The case settled in 2010 before Judge Joseph Bianco.10CaseMine. Dupler v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, No. 06-CV-3141
Under the settlement, roughly 4.8 million members who had renewed 22 or more days late between March 2001 and March 2009 received free membership extensions of one to three months, worth a combined $38.8 million at retail. Costco also agreed to stop backdating renewals processed more than 60 days after expiration and to improve its disclosure of renewal policies for at least four years. Plaintiffs’ attorneys received up to $5.3 million. Of the 11.8 million class members identified, only 127 opted out and 24 objected.10CaseMine. Dupler v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, No. 06-CV-3141 That history is a reasonable guide to what a resolution here might look like if the parties settle in mediation: relief tied to membership value, plus prospective changes to the practices being challenged. Whether that happens, and on what terms, will not be known until at least the September 2026 mediation report.