Top model Ginta Lapina left former agency Women Model Management in New York last month. The Latvian model quickly joined rival agency DNA, resulting in a breach of contract lawsuit from her former employer.
Lapina filed a countersuit, alleging that Women withheld payment from the model and misled her about the usage of her pictures.
Following a preliminary injunction on Tuesday to stop working with DNA until the lawsuit is resolved or thrown out, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez found that the model’s departure would not „burden the company too significantly,“ because she is „just one of many highly paid models on the Women Model Management roster,“ according to The Fashion Law.
When the lawsuits were first filed in October, the agency claimed that it had „invested substantial time, money and resources in Lapina’s nascent career, providing countless hours of professional services to Lapina and parlaying its industry contracts to introduce Lapina to top fashion designers, advertising clients and other industry professionals.“
It also described Lapina as a „unique and irreplaceable talent,“ contending Justice Mendez’s most recent findings.
The model has fronted campaigns for YSL, Céline, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu and Moschino. She is seeking $1 million from her former agency, claiming she was paid less than $20,000 for a shoot with Karl Lagerfeld that was later used in an international hair product campaign for Schwarzkopf without her knowledge, according to The Fashion Law.
„The Schwarzkopf Look 2014 trends advertorial was not an advertising campaign, and therefore, the models were compensated only for their time for the photo shoot but not for the usage of their image,“ her suit claims.
„The Schwarzkopf products and look of advertisement are not of the caliber normally endorsed by a model of Ginta’s stature in the industry and have diluted her brand as a model for the haute couture and/or highest paying clients.“
In addition to fiscal damages, Lapina is also seeking an injunction to prevent Schwarzkopf from using the pictures of her.