I am looking for opinions from both models and photographers.  I apologize for the length of this post, but it is necessary to go into detail about the situation I find myself in for you to fully understand.  I am looking for your opinions on what you feel I should do on this matter.  I will also not be divulging any names of the parties involved in this situation in this post.

Earlier this summer I had scheduled a shoot with a Portland model in Seattle.  The model was going to be a part of an event in Seattle, and I was catching a ride up to Seattle with she and her husband as I was planning on attending the event and having out shoot the next day.

As it turned out, my boss (company I no longer work for) shoved a bunch of work on me 4 days before the event, and I was not sure if I could make it, and I did not want to be a no show when another person could take my place.  I emailed the events representative a few days in advance to let him know I might not be able to attend the event, and to give my space to someone else.  I burned the midnight oil and got the work completed in well enough time, but I did not feel it right to contact the event to see if I could get my space back.  I did still plan on going ahead with the shoot the following morning, and going up to Seattle with the model and her husband and staying at a motel the night before the shoot, when she was to be at the event.

The day before the shoot the models husband called me and demanded to be paid up front the day before the shoot.  I had no problem with this request provided that the model sign a pre-payment agreement to protect my investment so that, should the weather be adverse to completing the shoot (outside shoot) that the money would be returned and we would reschedule.  I have done it in the past with other models.  Her husband agreed that this was fair.

The following morning both model and husband met me at my studio.  The husband asked for the money up front, I gave the model the pre-payment contract, she signed it, and I gave her the money.  We drove up to Seattle and they dropped me off at my motel, then left for their hotel and the event.  Friday night traffic caused them to not make the event on time, but the model contacted the event coordinator who assured them that he understood the situation, and that it was okay if they were late.  They got to the event late, and was turned away by the same event co-coordinator who assured them it was okay if they were late a few times on the phone while they sat in traffic.  This really messed their finances up.  She had counted on making money at this event.

Following this they came to my motel and told me what happened, and explained why they had been stand off-ish with me, and asking me to be paid in advance.  It seems that the event coordinator, who also runs a site of his own (non competing with my site) called them two days before the event and told them a bunch of lies.  He told them that I had.

1.  Scheduled to attend his events on many occasions, only to cancel at the last moment.  The first even I had scheduled for was the year before.  This same person had emailed me the night before to tell me that he had over-booked, and he was trying to see if someone would give their space to me, but was unable to.  I wasn’t mad and told him it was fine, and that I could go to another one at another time.  He made a point in his email to tell me that it was pretty cool on my part that I didn’t get upset over not being able to go to it.  The next, and only other event that I scheduled was the one in June 2005.

2.  I had asked him when registering for the first event if I could pass out cards to the models attending his events about modeling for my site.  He said this was against the rules, but that he had no problem with me contacting the models from his site about this.  I did, and only one responded.  We emailed back and forth about it a few times, and she was very interested.  I told her my studio was not ready to shoot in yet, and she told me that when it was to contact her about scheduling a shoot.

Here is the kicker.  This jerk told the model and her husband that I had contacted one of his models about a shoot and asked her drive all the way down to Portland from Seattle for a meeting at a café.  He said that she asked me for money up front, and I supposedly got upset, stood up, and walked out leaving her with the bill.

THIS NEVER HAPPENED.  I have never scheduled a shoot with any of his models.  I do not meet models at cafes.  I only meet models at my studio unless they must make a first contact at a public venue such as a café.  That is one of the reasons that I have the studio in the first place.  I have no problem with the model bringing an escort to anything that we do.  I have only met one model at a café twice last year about doing an exchange of modeling time for a set of stocks for her dungeon.  I built the stocks, and delivered them to her, but the model died in a car accident a few months later before we could shoot.

If I am talking to a model at all it means I already want to shoot with her.  I have no problem pre-paying a model for a shoot that I want to work with provided that they sign a contract stating that they will go through with the shoot.  This way I am protected so that if the model cancels and refuses to work with me before the shoot, she must repay in full the money back. I have never met or worked with any of his models, much less scheduled a shoot with any of them.

There were quite a few other things that this idiot told the model and her husband, but it would take too long to go into detail on them.   Needless to say, I was steamed.  The funny thing was that both the model and her husband told me that I had acquired their trust on the drive up as the husband was testing me to see if I would do the things this moron told them I would do.  Even before I knew that was going on, I didn’t do anything that this guy said I was going to do.  I asked both of them to give a detailed accounting of all the lies this guy told them.  In the video I asked them to swear that what they were saying was true, and if I had any way coerced them, or offered them any sort of compensation to say these things.  I told them that I intended to take legal action against this person, and the company that he was representing as he did it on their time, as their representative.  They had no problem with this, and said they had no problem being a witness at whatever legal action I took.

On the way back, they both had said they felt bad that they listened to his lies and didn’t trust me.  They both said that he ended up doing all the things he said that I would do.  Once in Portland, I showed them all of the correspondences with this person, and his models that I had to let them know that I was not making up what I said.  Following this, I emailed this idiot, and the company that threw these events that he was a representative of,  with everything, including a .wmv of the model and her husbands video testimony on the lies he had said about me.  I told him I was giving him 24 hours to be a man and converse with me on why he made up these lies, and to reach a resolution.  He did not respond to any of my emails.

The owner of the company who throws these events contacted me the next morning and tried to tell me that it had nothing to do with his company.  I replied that it did as this person was acting as their representative, on company business, when he did this.  The owner realized that he was liable and told me to contact him that morning.  I did and we had an hour long conversation.  I had laid out the lies his representative made, and the facts of everything.  I told him that I would have no problem with what this guy had said about me had any of it been true.  But none of it ever happened.  Everything his representative had said was 100 percent fabrication, and that I could prove it in a court of law.  All of the models that I had worked with prior told me they would write a letter of character on my behalf should I take this to court.  He kept trying to find a way that his company was not liable, but I know the law.  Eventually he understood that he could not get out of this, and he did state that the representative had indeed made the call and told the model and her husband these things.  I told him that what I had, if I wanted to pursue it, was a slam dunk case.  I told him that I did not want to take this to court, I just wanted him to shut up this person and I did not want anything like this to happen again.  I also told him that I did intend to seek legal counsel on the matter, but I wanted to send a cease and desist letter to this representative, and also one to his company to end the matter.  He agreed that this was acceptable and we actually got along.

The next day the model received a letter, which read as a thinly veiled ultimatum to align herself with this idiot and his lies, or she would not be able to attend their events again.  She refused to and did not receive any further communication from them

I have contacted many lawyers and showed them the video testimony of the model and her husband.  All of the lawyers want to start a slander and defamation case right away as they said it is a slam dunk case.  I don’t want to do this.  I want to start off with a cease and desist letter first.  Only if that fails do I want to take the matter further.  I have just met a lawyer that wants to start off that way, and I am going to take care of this soon.

I have a feeling that since this idiot and his company, who oversees events in both Seattle and Portland, has told lies to more models.  I don’t have any proof, but I know that one a model who is interested with me appears as a model for these events, all of a sudden all contact stops.  Every model that I have worked with contacts me regularly about working with me again save for one who does not model anymore.  So I am obviously doing something right.

Here is my question.  What would you photographers do if this had happened to you?  And to you models, what can I do to find out if this idiot has done this with other models that I have been talking to, and models in my area that I haven’t?  The models I have worked with who are on MM Have offered to write tags on my profile about their experiences working with me.  They have no problem emailing referrals to models that I am interested in working with.  Other than this, what can I do?

Your story was rather long, so perhaps I missed this.  Why do you think the event coordinator did what you claim?  This incident is extremely personal.  Has he done anything similar to anyone else?

Sorry, I’m afraid that what happened to you is too unique for me to speculate about what I would do.       

Finding out if someone has been spreading rumors about you could be tricky.  Asking a model that is considering working with you if they have heard any negative things about you, could be opening a can of worms if they haven’t heard anything bad.  You might be better off saying nothing and conducting business as usual.  Hopefully, as with your model and her husband, by your conduct people will recognize your true character.  Recommendations from models that have worked with you, can only help.

Hate to say it, but find a lawyer who will write a letter for a couple hundred dollars (or do what I do, I write my own letters, email them to my lawyer, and tell him to edit as he wishes but make them sound stern - which saves me a bunch of money) and send the letter. That to all parties. That should stop any further problems. If you want to sue, listen to your attorneys - they don't get paid unless they win. If they think they can win, and the parties you are suing actually have any money, then go for it. Cheers, Tim at Portland Filmworks.

Well...This is a tricky one, but, I think that I am going to go with what Paul and Tim are saying...I too do not like to sue unless it is the only way to resolve something, but there are times where you could be spinning your wheels trying to clear up something that someone else has said. In the mean time, you really will never know if that person will continue to tell lies...I know this might not be the answer you are looking for, but sometimes this is the way that we have to deal with people in order to get them to straighten up a bit...

go for the juggular
dont waste time
pull a nike "just do it"

hmmmmm....that is what lawyers are for... got get him!

Listen to the lawyers, start the suit. Especially if they're willing to work on a percentage of the verdict.. That's when you know they think they have a slam dunk case.

Thanks guys.  Yeah I really don't want to sue.  I just want it to stop.  But if it continues, then I have no choice.  The kicker is I don't know this guy.  Never met him.  Never worked with any of his models.  We don't have competing sites.  It makes no sense why he would do this.  Every model I have shot with has told me that the way I conducted my shoots have been more professional than any other shoot they have done.  They all want to work with me again, so it really makes no sense.

Listen to the lawyers. I had a similar situation here in the UK. The events organiser finally spent 3 years in the pokey for fraud.
JMC

I would listen to the lawyer...they usually know what they're talking about.

deleted by poster