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Life Time Fitness terminated Hugh McTavish鈥檚 membership in 2022 after the third-party candidate refused to remove campaign leaflets he had left on cars parked at the gym鈥檚 Bloomington facility.

McTavish sued Life Time for breach of membership contract and alleged Life Time violated his First Amendment rights. The Court of Appeals left intact a lower court ruling in Life Time鈥檚 favor.

McTavish argued he could use Life Time鈥檚 facilities if he paid for them. But Life Time countered that its membership agreement allows termination for conduct Life Time deems contrary to the gym鈥檚 best interest. McTavish said he was told the local Life Time manager that the leafleting violated a city ordinance.

The ruling distinguishes between the ability of a government entity and a private business to restrict political speech.

Contributed / Hugh McTavish

鈥淢ore important here, whether the city has an ordinance that restricts political speech is not relevant to Life Time鈥檚 right as a private entity to restrict political speech on its premises,鈥� the appeals panel wrote.

The ruling also notes that the gym gave McTavish the ability to retrieve the leaflets prior to taking membership action against him.

McTavish received less than one percent of the vote in the 2022 election running under the Independence-Alliance Party banner.