Who is a Class Member
You are part of the Santa Barbara Hospitality Services Exotic Dancers Unpaid Wages Class Action Settlement if, according to the Settlement Notice, you “performed as an entertainer at any of the Clubs and fall within at least one of the following subclasses:
(1) “California Settlement Class”: the individuals who worked as entertainers and who have provided nude, seminude and/or bikini entertainment for customers at one or more of the Clubs owned by the following entities at some point during the period of time from February 3, 2013 up to and including the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order:
- City of Industry Hospitality Venture, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino – City of Industry, CA)
- Farmdale Hospitality Services, Inc. (Blue Zebra – North Hollywood, CA)
- Inland Restaurant Venture I, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino – Van Nuys, CA)
- Midnight Sun Enterprises, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino, Torrance, CA)
- Olympic Avenue Venture, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino, Los Angeles, CA)
- The Oxnard Hospitality Services, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino, 2 Oxnard, CA)
- Rialto Pockets, Incorporated (Spearmint Rhino, Rialto, CA)
- Rouge Gentlemen’s Club, Inc. (Dames N Games, Van Nuys, CA)
- Santa Barbara Hospitality Services, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino, Santa Barbara, CA)
- Santa Maria Restaurant Enterprises, Inc. (Spearmint Rhino, Santa Maria, CA)
- Washington Management, LLC (Dames N Games, Los Angeles, CA)
(2) “Florida Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, seminude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by WPB Hospitality, LLC from February 3, 2012 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(3) “Idaho Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, seminude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by L.C.M., LLC from February 3, 2014 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(4) “Iowa Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, seminude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by Sarie’s Lounge, LLC and World Class Ventures, LLC from February 3, 2014 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(5) “Kentucky Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, semi-nude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by Kentucky Hospitality Venture, LLC from February 3, 2014 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(6) “Minnesota Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, semi-nude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by Nitelife, Inc. from February 3, 2014 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(7) “Oregon Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, seminude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by Wild Orchid, Inc. from February 3, 2014 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(8) “Texas Settlement Class”: the individuals who performed as entertainers and who have provided nude, seminude, and/or bikini entertainment for customers at the Club owned by High Expectations Hospitality Venture, LLC from May 3, 2014 to the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order.
(9) “FLSA Settlement Class”: the individuals who are members of the California, Idaho, Iowa, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon and Texas Settlement Classes who elect to participate in the Settlement and timely submit a Valid Claim Form.
(10) “Intervenor Class”: the individuals who currently perform as members of limited liability companies at any Existing Clubs and wish to perform and remain classified as Owners or LLC Members and not as employees.”
If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Settlement Amount
- $5,500,000.00 (Gross Cash Settlement) and $3,000,000 (Credit Benefit Settlement)
Estimated Award
- Between $6.92 and $11.93 per dance day
Settlement payments will be dispersed on a pro rata basis, based upon the number of Dance Days performed. In lieu of receiving the Settlement payment by check, each individual Class Member may elect in writing to receive a Credit Benefit in the amount of two times the settlement payment to be applied solely towards the amount of the Overhead Payment(s) at her Qualifying Club.
Proof of Purchase
- Claimants will need to provide their Driver’s License Number, Social Security Number, as well as the names of the clubs they performed, the dates they performed as an entertainer at said clubs, and the number of dance days they performed along with a W-9.
Claim Form
Santa Barbara Hospitality Services Exotic Dancers Unpaid Wages Settlement Notes
- Byrne v. Santa Barbara Hospitality, Inc., Case No. 5:17-cv-0052; and
- Bracy v. DH Hospitality Van Nuys LLC, et al., Case No. 5:17-cv-00854
- Both pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Plaintiffs Lauren Byrne, Bambie Bedford, and Jennifer Disla brought this class action lawsuit against Santa Barbara Hospitality Services, the owner and operator of several gentlemen’s clubs across the country, including the Spearmint Rhino, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and various California labor laws.
Specifically the class action lawsuit states Santa Barbara Hospitality fails to pay their exotic dancers state-mandated minimum wages, proper overtime compensation, and fails to provide proper meal and rest breaks.
Additionally, the former exotic dancers claim that were never even paid wages for the hours they worked and were even required to pay to enter the clubs – they assert the only compensation they receive came in in the form of tips received from club patrons. Moreover, they were allegedly required to divide those tips with the company and other employees who do not customarily receive tips.
Santa Barbara Hospitality denies any and all claims and also denies that they are liable to the Class Members in any way. The Settlement Agreement and other related documents are available on the Santa Barbara Hospitality Services Exotic Dancers Unpaid Wages Settlement website.
Class members who wish to exclude themselves or object to the terms of the Santa Barbara Hospitality Services Exotic Dancers Unpaid Wages Class Action Settlement must do so by February 2, 2018. Class members who wish to file a claim for payment must do so by February 2, 2018.
Important Dates
- 2/2/18: Claim Form Deadline
- 2/2/18: Objection or Exclusion Deadline
- 3/5/18: Final Approval Hearing at 2:00 pm PT* (class members do not need to attend this hearing in order to receive a slice of the settlement pie).
*Settlement Class Members who wish to speak at the hearing should check www.santabarbarahospitalityservicesettlement.com to confirm that the date or time of the Hearing has not been changed.
Contact Information
- Mail: Lauren Byrne v. Santa Barbara Hospitality Inc., et al. & Jenetta L. Bracy v. DG Hospitality Van Nuys LLC, et al., Settlement Administrator – Kurtzman Carson Consultants, P.O. Box 40417, Louisville, KY 40204
- Phone: 1-866-644-9959
Class Counsel
- Todd Slobin and Ricardo J. Prieto of Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP
- Melinda Arbuckle of Baron & Budd PC
- Salvatore C. Badala and Paul Maslo of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
Settlement Website