A Rochester Hills mother has launched a class-action lawsuit against Goldfish Swim School, claiming the popular chain failed to protect families after a physician secretly recorded people, including children, inside a changing room. The complaint says plaintiff Morgan Dean was filmed nude while changing in July 2023 and that gaps in the swim school’s practices left patrons exposed.
The suit, filed yesterday in Oakland County Circuit Court and demanding a jury trial, alleges that Dr. Oumair Aejaz set up a hidden camera to record Dean as she changed and that he entered the Rochester facility at least 50 times without his children or any legitimate reason to be there, according to The Detroit News. The complaint names Goldfish Swim School–Rochester as negligent, saying the business failed to station staff to monitor the community changing area or adopt policies that would have kept unauthorized adults out.
What the complaint says
The filing accuses Goldfish of a basic lack of oversight in the shared changing stalls, stating there were “no proper policies, procedures or guidelines” to keep families safe. “Goldfish Swim had every opportunity to protect the families and children in its facilities, and it failed,” the plaintiff argues. Attorneys say they brought the case as a class action to press for reforms across the company’s locations, according to ClickOnDetroit.
Criminal case and scope
Aejaz pleaded no contest in October and later received a sentence of between 35 and 60 years after prosecutors said investigators uncovered roughly 13,000 videos showing him recording and, in some cases, assaulting victims. CBS Detroit reports that the material included footage from hospital rooms and the Rochester Goldfish location and that the revelations have already triggered several civil lawsuits.
Why it matters
Attorneys and experts say the case could become a test of how far child-focused businesses must go to police changing areas and other private spaces. If juries decide companies failed to supervise access, swim schools and similar operators could face stricter safety rules and serious financial exposure. The fallout from Aejaz’s alleged recordings has already produced a large class-action deal with a local hospital system: about $141 million for thousands of patients, underscoring the scale of potential civil liability when institutions are accused of security lapses, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Next steps for families
Goldfish told Local 4 and other outlets in 2024 that no camera was found attached to any structure inside the Rochester facility, and company officials have declined to comment on the latest lawsuit while litigation is pending, per ClickOnDetroit. Attorneys for Dean say they hope the class action forces meaningful reforms and urge anyone who used the Rochester location and suspects they were recorded to contact the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office special investigations unit or seek legal advice.
