Miami Sex Club Loses Suit Over Unauthorized Use Of Model Photos

Former Real Housewives of Miami star Joanna Krupa led a group of 32 professional, and in some cases well-known, models in 2015, as The Miami Herald reported, when they sued a Miami sex club for using their photos in advertisements, in an attempt to, the models said, “class up” their establishment where members are free to engage in group sex. Nearly four years later, after a lengthy trial in which 21 of the models testified in court, a jury awarded the group at total of $892,500 in damages for using the photos without permission, and without paying the models a cent, according to a Law 360 report. (Link behind paywall.)  The award was considerably less than the models had demanded in the lawsuit, which was $5.35 million. But an attorney for the group said that the jury’s verdict was justifiable. “I think they took into account that these women were entitled to say 'Yes' or 'No' to the job and that ultimately they wouldn't have said 'Yes,'” Naim S. Surgeon told Law 360. Krupa (pictured above) received the largest monetary damages award, with the jury granting her $65,000 from the coffers of Miami Velvet, a members-only swingers club that allows couples to swap partners and have sex with them on the club premises, according to a Miami Herald report this week. But in their 2015 lawsuit, the models called the activities that take place inside the club  “unhealthy and unsanitary,” and said that they would not have granted permission for their images to be used in an attempt to “class up” the sex club, according to The Herald. A former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, Jaime Edmondson Longoria—who was also once a cop in Boca Raton, Florida—received a $32,500 award, as did model Cora Skinner, who once appeared on the TV game show Deal or No Deal, according to the Herald report. The lawsuit, however, was far from the only such legal action brought by professional models and actresses against strip clubs and other types of adult establishments, who have allegedly used the women’s images in advertising without permission or compensation. As AVN.com reported, 13 such suits were brought against clubs in Ohio in 2018 alone. Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Colorado, have also seen the same type of lawsuits against adult entertainment clubs. In the Miami case, three of the 32 models saw their names used in connection with the clubs, as well as their unauthorized images.  “These aren’t just pretty women. They’re entrepreneurs, mothers, businesswomen,” Surgeon told The Herald. Photo By Ed Kavishe / Wikimedia Commons