PATERSON, N.J. — Another strip club has been accused of poaching sexy photos off the web and posting them on their website and social media sites.
In the latest suit, 25 models with rich backgrounds as social media influencers and commercially exploitable with their sexy and glamourous looks claim that the Sunrise Gentlemen’s Club in Paterson, N.J., ripped off their photos to advertise, promote and market the club without their permission.
The 25 models claim in the suit filed last week that they found their stolen images on Sunrise’s own website and the club’s Facebook and Instagram pages, along with its Twitter feed.
Plaintiffs suing Sunrise are Ana Cheri, Carmen Electra, Arianny Celeste, Brittany Wilcox, Camila Davalos, Mariana Davalos, Chantel Gonzalez, Cielo Jean Gibson, Claudia Sampedro, Cora Skinner, Imogen Thomas, Irina Voronina, Jaime Edmondson Longoria, Jessica Hinton, Jessica Burciaga, Jessica Rockwell, Ina Schnitzer, Katarina Van Derham, Megan Daniels, Jessica Killings, Rosie Jones, Lucy Pinder, Paola Canas, Sarah Stage and Tiffany Toth.
In the suit, models said that the club and its owners and operators “have brazenly and repeatedly, without consent, misappropriated plaintiffs’ images and likenesses for use in their advertising materials produced to market and promote their strip club.”
“Each plaintiff is, and at all times mentioned herein was, a professional model and actress who earns a living by commercializing her identity, image and likeness for many business endeavors, including the advertisement and promotion of products and services through negotiated, arms-length transactions with reputable commercial brands and companies,” the suit said.
“A model’s reputation directly impacts the commercial value associated with the use of image, likeness, or identity to promote a product or service. As such, she has the right to control the commercial exploitation of her name, photograph and likeness.”
Each of the 25 models claim Sunrise should be found liable for misappropriation of likeness, false endorsement, unfair competition and violating the Lanham Act and a New Jersey statute for false endorsement.
The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages, the fair market value of their services, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
In a trend that is seemingly growing, more adult models and social media influencers have filed lawsuits against those who grab their images online to help their businesses prosper.
On Monday, XBIZ reported that 30 models sued Chicago’s Atlantis Gentlemen’s Club, demanding reparations over photos that allegedly were poached off their social media accounts.
Operators of the Sunrise club did not respond immediately to an email request for XBIZ comment.
