Washington Drive. The lawsuit says the models' images were published without their consent and were used on the Internet and social media in such a way that implied the women either worked as strippers at the club or promoted or endorsed Desiree's even though none of their images were ever intended to promote sexually oriented businesses.
Desiree's "has repeatedly misappropriate the Plaintiffs' Images and has repeatedly published them in both print and digital formats advertising its strip club and events taking place at the strip club," the petition stated. The Plaintiffs' Images have been used for years to promote the Club. The lawsuit names Jennifer N. Goana as the club's registered agent. Goana declined to comment for this story.
Most of the women live in California. Court documents said the lawsuit stemmed from the strip club's misappropriation of the models' images and the publication of those pictures in a defamatory manner. The women are suing on allegations of invasion of privacy and misappropriation, defamation and libel and negligence.
Another image showed Jamillette Gaxiola, who was Miss Cuba in , in revealing black lingerie inviting patrons to come and see her during happy hour at the strip club, according to court documents. The image was circulated via the Internet and social media on many occasions by Desiree's. Court documents said that all suing parties are internationally well-known models who earn substantial amounts of money marketing their images and providing endorsements, branding and other usages associated with their images.
The models' ability to earn money is heavily dependent upon their control of the use of their images through negotiating a rate based on the manner in which their images are going to be used and paid accordingly, stated the documents. The petition said the club used professionally taken photos as well as "selfies" of the women to promote its business.
