Shanklin v. Wilhelmina Models, Inc.

This website is to inform you of a lawsuit that was certified as a Class Action in New York County Supreme Court. The Court has not ruled on who would win the case.

The Plaintiffs sued Defendants Wilhelmina Models, Inc., Wilhelmina International Ltd. (together “Wilhelmina”), and Next Management, LLC (“Next”) on behalf of themselves and other current and former models who had management agreements with the Defendant Modeling Agencies. The lawsuit claims that such models are misclassified as independent contractors and that, accordingly, Wilhelmina and Next are in violation of certain provisions of New York Labor Law. The time period covered by the lawsuit is from October 24, 2007 to the present. This class action seeks to recover money damages for all Class Members, to the extent that such damages are available and awarded by the Court. The Defendants deny the allegations and have asserted a number of defenses to Plaintiffs’ claims, including that the New York Labor Law does not apply to Plaintiffs because models are properly classified as independent contractors.

You are a Member of the Class if you entered into a model management contract with Wilhelmina and/or Next and were classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee and attended a casting, go see, meeting, check-in, or test shoot, or performed any other work or service booked by Next or Wilhelmina’s New York Office on or after October 24, 2007; and (i) had deductions taken from your payments by Next or Wilhelmina on or after October 24, 2007, and/or (ii) received or should have received a paycheck or wage statement from Next or Wilhelmina on or after October 24, 2007.

You may be entitled to share in any monetary recovery (damages) obtained by either the Wilhelmina Class and/or Next Class. As a Class Member, you will be legally bound by the Court’s final decision in this case, either favorable or unfavorable, on the claims being litigated in this case.

You do not have to do anything to remain in the Class.

Yes. You may exclude yourself from the lawsuit by mailing or emailing the Request To Be Excluded form by no later than June 20, 2025.

You can exercise your right to exclude yourself by mailing a Request To Be Excluded to the address below, or by emailing the signed letter to the email listed below. The request must contain the case name, number and be signed with your name and address printed below your signature. All requests for exclusion must be mailed or emailed to the address below and postmarked or emailed no later than June 20, 2025:

Shanklin v. Wilhelmina Administrator
c/o Epiq
PO Box 2896
Portland, OR 97208-2896

Email: info@shanklinmodelslawsuit.com

If the request is postmarked or emailed later than June 20, 2025, the request will be considered untimely and you will not be excluded.

If you exclude yourself from either the Wilhelmina Class and/or Next Class, you will not be entitled to share in any recovery that may be obtained for the Class. You will also not be legally bound by the Court’s final decision and are free to pursue your own claims if you decide to. Finally, you will not be entitled to any further notice about this case.

Should you desire further information about the lawsuit, you may inspect the pleadings, all orders entered by the Court, and all other papers filed in the lawsuit at the office of the Clerk of the Court for the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, or by accessing the Court’s online docket at https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/CaseSearch?task=new and searching for case number 653702/2013. You can also find out more about the lawsuit by calling 1-888-890-8824 or emailing info@shanklinmodelslawsuit.com.

The Court has appointed the following attorneys and law firm (“Class Counsel”) to represent the class: