Last Iowa strip club sued for using women's photos without permission settles lawsuit
A West Des Moines strip club is the last of several Iowa adult establishments to settle claims it used models' photos online without permission.
Nine Iowa clubs, including four in the Des Moines metro, were sued in 2022 by dozens of models and social media influencers who alleged the clubs had used their pictures in advertising on Facebook and elsewhere without permission. All but one of those lawsuits, against West Des Moines' Beach Girls club, had subsequently settled.
Court rules against Beach Girls before trial
Attorneys for Beach Girls asked the federal court to dismiss the claims of eight plaintiffs against it.
The club argued the women failed to prove several elements of a trademark infringement claim. In February, the judge mostly denied the motion, writing that a jury can decide whether "a strip club posting images of women without their consent is highly offensive."
Lawsuit settles for undisclosed sum
Now Beach Girls also has settled its case, according to court records, in advance of a July 22 trial date. The court filings do not say what terms the parties agreed to, but note that at one point the plaintiffs had demanded more than $1.7 million.
Attorney Edmund Aronowitz, who represented the plaintiffs in the Iowa cases and has filed similar cases in other states, declined to comment. Attorneys for Beach Girls did not respond to a message from the Des Moines Register.
Wage theft lawsuit still pending
Beach Girls also is the subject of another long-running lawsuit by several former dancers who alleged the club misclassified them as "contractors" instead of employees and illegally paid them less than minimum wage. The plaintiffs claimed they received no salary and had to pay the club's owner for the right to work for tips.
That lawsuit, filed more than two years ago, also is in settlement negotiations, according to court filings.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: West Des Moines strip club Beach Girls settles suit over models' photos
