A lawsuit was brought on behalf of a 35-year-old former Playboy Playmate who alleges that management at a Beverly Boulevard bar used her image for promotional purposes on the establishment's Facebook page without her permission.
Ana Cheri Moreland, who was born in Anaheim, is seeking unspecified compensatory damages from the Paper Tiger Bar through Timed Out, which acquires and pursues claims for rights-of-publicity violations by third parties. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit brought Wednesday alleges misappropriation of publicity and negligent hiring, supervision and/or retention of employees.
"Defendants stole (Cheri's) images to use for purposes of advertising, marketing and promoting the Paper Tiger Bar…," the suit states.
A Paper Tiger Bar representative could not be immediately reached.
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Moreland was Playboy's October 2015 Playmate of the Month and has appeared in such television series as "Booty Boot Camp," "Nuclear Family" and "Playmate Playback." She also owns Cheri Fit activewear and has more than 12.5 million followers on Instagram, more than 6.2 million followers on Facebook and more than 12,300 followers on Twitter, according to the suit.
The bar began using Moreland's image on its Facebook page on July 8, showing her wearing a teal blue sports bra and shorts with the intent to promote the establishment's "Reggaeton Hip Hop Latin Vibes," the suit states.
The bar used her image on Facebook for the same promotion the next day, the suit states. Copies of the Facebook ads are attached to the complaint.
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The ads suggest Moreland works for the bar or, at minimum, that she endorses the establishment, the suit states. Timed Out believes Moreland's image may have been used on other advertising material for the bar, but she was never paid for the use of her images on Facebook or elsewhere and was never contacted her to get her permission, according to the suit.
