Woman sues modeling agency, papers over escort service ad

A woman who said suggestive pictures of her were used in newspaper advertisements without her permission has filed a negligence suit in Clark County District Court.

Danielle Sorensen named a modeling agency, its owner and one of its employees in the suit as well as the ad sponsor and the newspapers that allegedly published the ad.

Defendants include Hampton Entertainment doing business as Casablanca West and Patty and Her Playmates; M Models Inc.; the Las Vegas Times; Radiant City Publications; Radiant City Publications II doing business as Scope magazine; Roma Promotions; Vegas Deluxe and RRR Publications.

Also named were Ladislav Novotny, listed as the owner of M Models, and Robert Rodin, listed as an employee.

Both Radiant City companies and Vegas Deluxe are owned by the Greenspun family, which owns the Las Vegas Sun. Scope magazine was the predecessor of Las Vegas Weekly, an alternative publication also owned by the family.

In the suit, Sorensen said she was contracted to model for a perfume ad in August 1996. During the taking of the photographs, Sorensen said she was asked to remove her clothing and was joined by a nude male model in suggestive poses.

She said she asked whether the poses were for the perfume ad and when she was told they weren't, she asked for the photos and the negatives. The request was denied.

The next time she saw one of the photos, she said, was when it appeared in 1998 editions of the Las Vegas Times and Scope magazine as advertisements for Patty and Her Playmates, an escort service.

Sorensen said the photos were used without her signing a model release and that the publications had a responsibility to ensure her privacy interests. She said she suffered physical and emotional pain and mental suffering and is seeking in excess of $10,000 in damages. She's also seeking punitive damages and general damages in excess of $10,000.

Ben Morgan, publisher of the Las Vegas Times, a weekly newspaper, said the advertisement appeared before he became owner of the publication. He said most publications take it for granted that model releases have been secured when they receive an advertisement for publication.

Morgan said Roma Promotions was affiliated with the publication prior to his acquiring it and that previous owners have disappeared.

A spokeswoman for Radiant City, Vegas Deluxe and Scope said she had not seen the suit and had no comment.

M Models, Novotny, Hampton and RRR Publications could not be reached for comment.

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