HOUSTON – Austin attorney Dennis C. Postiglione has filed a lawsuit against three sexually-oriented businesses in Houston on behalf of models who claim their likenesses by the establishments are used without their permission, recent Harris County District Court records show.
The 13-page suit, filed on Oct. 23 in the Harris County 157th District Court, accuses Treasures, Centerfolds, and Splendor of disseminating promotional materials with images of the plaintiffs “that are doctored to make it appear that they are strippers working in the clubs or that they endorse the clubs.”
The complainants are Jaime Middleton, Cora Skinner, Jamillette Gaxiola, Jennifer Zharinova, Jessica Hinton, Lina Posada, Lucy Pinder, Paola Canas, Sandra Valencia, Tiffany Toth, Cielo Jean Gibson, Maysa Qui, Elizabeth Turner, Emily Sears, Gemma Lee Farrell, and Jaclyn Swedberg.
Postiglione
“The plaintiffs are often Photo-shopped into scenes depicting them as being present in the strip clubs and the new businesses are subsequently placed into Internet posts, social media posts, and Web pages depicting the plaintiffs in the clubs or at various events associated with the clubs, thereby associating the plaintiffs with the strip club industry,” the complaint says.
Court papers state that neither complainant did not consent to the defendants’ use of their images, adding said images could jeopardize their careers.
“The plaintiffs are the owners of their images and have all rights associated with their images,” the original petition says. “The plaintiffs have not given anyone permission to use their images and did not consent to having their images associated with the defendant strip clubs.”
A jury trial is requested.
Harris County 157th District Court Case No. 2017-71429