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Thread: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

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    Default Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Anyone work there?

    By NATALIE SHERMAN
    [email protected]
    November 27, 2012 12:00 AM

    Kings Inn lawsuit

    DARTMOUTH — Two exotic dancers have sued the owner of the Kings Inn in hopes of winning back pay they say is owed them and about 100 other workers.

    The Route 6 "gentlemen's club" called the women contractors, but the suit maintains they were actually employees.

    As contractors, the women — who earned between $200 and $900 a night at the Kings Inn, according to court documents — were denied minimum wage and other labor protections, said attorney Hillary Schwab of the Cambridge firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan. Minimum wage in Massachusetts is $8 per hour.

    "It's a blatant violation of Massachusetts law," Schwab said, adding that she has represented dancers in about 10 similar suits.

    Attorneys for the two women, who are involved with similar suits elsewhere, are now calling for more dancers to come forward as part of a class-action action suit that could go to trial in 2013. The Kings Inn suit, filed in Bristol Superior Court Sept. 7, 2010, covers dancers who performed at the club starting Sept. 7, 2007.

    "The motivation to take on the case is that ... it's a population that is exploited and transient," Schwab said. "Many of them don't have the ability or motivation to pursue these cases on their own behalf."

    Kings Inn president Henry Lauzon maintains the dancers were independent contractors who paid fees — $35 to $50 a shift plus cuts from their $25 lap dances and $215-plus "Champagne room" (a room set aside for private entertainment) — to use the club, a common practice in the industry, said his attorney, Patrick Matthews of the Coastal Legal Affiliates of Fall River. Lauzon intends to go to trial to defend the club, Matthews said.

    "He believes that these issues have to be fully litigated and he's really wanted to push ahead," he said.

    Lauzon, 63, has a home in Fall River but resides nine months of the year in Las Vegas, according to court documents. He is "out of state" and could not be reached for comment Monday, Matthews said.

    To win the case, Lauzon must prove that the dancers were not working under the club's direction, that exotic dancing is not a regular part of the Kings Inn business and that the women worked as exotic dancers independent from the club.

    Those legal standards were set as part of 2004 revisions to state law, Matthews said. Most previous challenges have settled before going to trial and judgment could have far-reaching implications for other industries that also rely on independent contractors, he said.

    "The highest courts in Massachusetts haven't really looked at the statute as applied to this situation and (Lauzon) believes that when the court does look at it that they may have a different outcome," Matthews said. "If applied the way they're applying it, it would have a lot of different ramifications in a lot of different industries."

    Judges in Bristol Superior Court have already issued preliminary judgments that favor the women's suit, ruling that the case may proceed as a class-action suit and that the women's argument that they were employees is supported by the fact that the club was in the exotic dancing business.

    The Kings Inn dancers, Ramona Cruz and Nelita Monteiro, are also plaintiffs in a suit against Mario's Showcase in Worcester and Monteiro is a plaintiff in a suit against Centerfolds, also in Worcester. They have performed in clubs in numerous states, including Connecticut, according to court documents.

    They could not be reached for comment Monday.

    If the women win, the club, located at 635 State Road in Dartmouth, would be required to provide dancers with three times their back wages and, if more dancers come forward, it could result in "millions" awarded, if not actually recovered, Schwab said.
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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    This has actually been going on for a while. I couldn't find any updates. I did know a couple of girls who worked there for about six months in 2011 but they both left as there really isn't much money to be made at the club and the fees were high. Based on the outcome of recent lawsuits against Alex's in Stoughton and King Arthur's in Chelsea the outlook isn't good for the owners of King's Inn.
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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    the Spearmint Rhino federal court case / ruling may now have a direct bearing on these state lawsuits.

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    ^ In Massachusetts the case law already exists. There have been several lawsuits and all have been won by the dancers. A lot of the girls have been going to CT or RI clubs to work. I'm much more concerned about the effect that the SR case will have in those states...
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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    I have not been there in about four months, it was always really slow in there, when ever I drive by there are not many cars in the parking lot. This may be the final push that puts them out of business. The last few times I went there, there were 4 dancers on shift and 3 or 4 customers.

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    I'm inclined to agree. I knew two girls who worked there for a while in 2011 but they bailed at the start of 2012. Just no money there at all. I can't imagine them surviving a big settlement against them.
    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    yoda, I want you so bad it aches in the swimsuit area.
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    Quote Originally Posted by tempest666 View Post
    Double team! 2 latinas with big tits!!

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    This has actually been going on for a while. I couldn't find any updates. I did know a couple of girls who worked there for about six months in 2011 but they both left as there really isn't much money to be made at the club and the fees were high. Based on the outcome of recent lawsuits against Alex's in Stoughton and King Arthur's in Chelsea the outlook isn't good for the owners of King's Inn.
    wow i was thinking about trying out Alex's..guess not! my club near boston has had multiple lawsuits against them but they haven't changed any of the rules ..hoping it stays that way

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Well, to be fair, Alex's is a bit busier than Kings Inn. I've been a customer there, off and on, for twenty years. Busy on the weekends, not so much on weeknights. Pretty slow during the day but Thursdays and Fridays can be good in the afternoon. All of my faves left after the lawsuit when the Mass Department of Revenue showed up at the club. Dancers are on the books as employees at Alex's.
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    yoda, I want you so bad it aches in the swimsuit area.
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    Quote Originally Posted by tempest666 View Post
    Double team! 2 latinas with big tits!!

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    Well, to be fair, Alex's is a bit busier than Kings Inn. I've been a customer there, off and on, for twenty years. Busy on the weekends, not so much on weeknights. Pretty slow during the day but Thursdays and Fridays can be good in the afternoon. All of my faves left after the lawsuit when the Mass Department of Revenue showed up at the club. Dancers are on the books as employees at Alex's.
    In this case it's the dancers themselves going after the club vs the Mass Department of Revenue no? I'm still confused as to what it's all about I guess.
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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Ok...trying to understand this better. I know it would result in the dancers being paid and require the payment of taxes etc. And as I understand it would also allow the clubs to schedule the dancers and that the club would probably keep them under 30 hours due to Obamacare scenario, correct? Wouldn't it also allow them to schedule the dancers in other capacities? Shot girl? Door girl? Coat check lady? While it may be detrimental to their bottom line to do so, wouldn't they be allowed to? Allow them to only schedule a lady for one or two shifts a week if business was slow? Allow for drug testing? Also, couldn't they schedule the dancers two hours past closing in order to ''clean'' the club, the bar, the VIP, the bathrooms? As employees, I would think they would be allowed to. Not saying they should or that it would be the smartest thing to do but it seems like this employee status opens up an entirely scenario.

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Quote Originally Posted by Will View Post
    In this case it's the dancers themselves going after the club vs the Mass Department of Revenue no? I'm still confused as to what it's all about I guess.
    After Alex's lost the lawsuit (brought by dancers) the D.O.R. showed up to make sure that the club was in compliance with the law as it applies to any employee in Mass. SS#, Address and residency status must be provided. Half or more of Alex's dancers were undocumented aliens at the time and had to leave. I walked in the Monday after the D.O.R. had been there to find a day shift with two girls working when a week before there had been ten or more...
    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    yoda, I want you so bad it aches in the swimsuit area.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sophia_Starina View Post
    Sophia_Starina is a sensible stripper...Naked all the way.....
    Quote Originally Posted by tempest666 View Post
    Double team! 2 latinas with big tits!!

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Quote Originally Posted by Raider View Post
    Ok...trying to understand this better. I know it would result in the dancers being paid and require the payment of taxes etc. And as I understand it would also allow the clubs to schedule the dancers and that the club would probably keep them under 30 hours due to Obamacare scenario, correct? Wouldn't it also allow them to schedule the dancers in other capacities? Shot girl? Door girl? Coat check lady? While it may be detrimental to their bottom line to do so, wouldn't they be allowed to? Allow them to only schedule a lady for one or two shifts a week if business was slow? Allow for drug testing? Also, couldn't they schedule the dancers two hours past closing in order to ''clean'' the club, the bar, the VIP, the bathrooms? As employees, I would think they would be allowed to. Not saying they should or that it would be the smartest thing to do but it seems like this employee status opens up an entirely scenario.
    I'm not an employer or a bar manager so I don't really know what the rules are but I'm guessing much of what you say is true Raider. To be clear. I'm not supporting the idea of dancers as employees and none of the dancers I know support the idea either. These lawsuits, in my opinion, are being brought by dancers who don't make very much money and are looking for an easy pay day in the form of suing for "lost wages" or other unfair treatment by management. I'm quite sure non of them ever thought of the possibility that they could be scheduled for only a few hours a week or asked to wipe tables at the end of the night once they became employees of the club and not IC's. They probably also didn't realize that, as employees, the club could take over the sale of V.I.P. and private dances and pay the dancers a cut instead of the way it works now. Bottom line, there are a lot of negatives from the dancer's perspective and not really many positives. In fact, I've yet to come up with even one...

    No successful dancer in her right mind would want to go on the books.
    Last edited by yoda57us; 11-30-2012 at 09:52 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    yoda, I want you so bad it aches in the swimsuit area.
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    Sophia_Starina is a sensible stripper...Naked all the way.....
    Quote Originally Posted by tempest666 View Post
    Double team! 2 latinas with big tits!!

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    interesting. I have never danced in Boston but I like hearing news about the industry here. I still can't feel out if its good in MA or not.

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    As a long time customer I know that dancers don't look for the same qualities in clubs that we do. I've been clubbing in Mass for almost 30 years now and in RI and CT for about 20. The economy has hurt clubs in all three of those states. RI was the best money for a long time but it was at the expense of having to give full contact LD's. As "full contact" became bj's and screwing in VIP a lot of dancers left RI and moved back to dancing in Mass. A few of my faves did this and were surprised to find that they could make as much money dancing relatively clean as they did in Providence doing full contact. Of course, "good money" doesn't mean the same thing now that it did three to five years ago...
    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
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    Quote Originally Posted by tempest666 View Post
    Double team! 2 latinas with big tits!!

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    Default Re: Dancers sue Dartmouth strip club

    Also, as pointed out in the SR lawsuit thread, transitioning to 'employee' status for dancers costs the clubowner the $20-30-50 nightly house fee he was formerly able to charge, on top of nightly tipped minimum wage payout, plus unemployment / worker's comp insurance premiums, plus a 6.5% 'employer's' share of SSI taxes on dancer income, plus new costs for payroll processing and estimated tax withholding on behalf of the 'employee' dancers. Ultimately, this amounts to something like $60-75-90 per night per dancer in customer money that can no longer find its way to the 'employee' dancers' pocket.

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