Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay has reached a confidential settlement following a court battle involving Beauty Lab.
Photographer Gavin O’Neill sued Heather and her company, Beauty Lab + Laser, for using photos he had taken without his permission. He accused Heather and the business of copyright infringement.
But now the spa owner and O’Neill have informed the court that they’ve reached an agreement. In light of their agreement, the photographer is dropping his claims against her company. No further details were provided.
Photos used without permission
As a professional photographer, O’Neill makes his living by licensing his photos to third parties. He has worked with high-profile entities such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan and GQ.
According to RadarOnline, the photographer accused Heather of using multiple photos he took in advertisements for Beauty Lab without his permission. He even claimed that one of his images was used to show “what can be achieved with Beauty Lab’s HydraFacial services, and urged its users to book an appointment online.”
Seriously, doesn’t everybody know you can’t use professional photos without permission?
The original suit claimed, “O’Neill is informed and believes Defendants (including their employees, agents, contractors or others over whom they have responsibility and control) used, displayed, published, and otherwise held out to the public O’Neill’s original and unique Photographs in order to acquire a direct financial benefit from the use of the Photographs through revenue from the sales of Beauty Lab’s products and services.”
Claiming he tried to settle the dispute with Heather before filing suit, O’Neill’s lawsuit demanded damages of more than $450,000. Denying she had done anything wrong, Heather’s attorneys argued that the photographer didn’t suffer any damages.
“Defendant’s infringement was not willful,” her filing read. “Defendant removed the allegedly infringing photographs immediately upon receiving notice.”
Now, O’Neill and the Beauty Lab owner have agreed to dismiss the suit, but the specifics of the deal remain private.
Monica’s suit dismissed
The settlement news comes on the heels of the dismissal of Monica Garcia’s lawsuit against Heather and her business. In her suit, Monica claimed that Beauty Lab had “botched” her nose and lip injections. A judge dismissed her case on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired.
Monica’s suit was likely motivated by retaliation. She filed after Heather sued her for allegedly failing to pay thousands of dollars she owed to Beauty Lab for work provided.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is now streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK HEATHER SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO USE PROFESSIONAL IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION? DO YOU THINK MONICA WILL EVER PAY HEATHER WHAT SHE OWES HER?
