A fashion model has refiled her lawsuit against retailer Rainbow Shops for allegedly using AI generated images of her without her consent, weeks after dropping the case to resolve the matter privately.
Francheska Pujols refiled her case at New York State Supreme Court on June 15, public records showed. It was originally filed on May 22, then withdrawn a week after on May 29. Without going into details, her lawyer Richard Altman said private talks had since failed.
“The reason was that the parties had agreed to pursue a private settlement of the issues raised,” her lawyer’s affidavit read, explaining why they initially dropped the case. “However, we were unable to do so, and are refiling the claims today.”
Rainbow Shops has not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
The refiled case treaded similar lines as the original, reiterating that although Pujols did do a photoshoot for Rainbow Shops in 2024, she did not consent to her likeness being used in the AI generated ads that came after.
As with the case before, Pujols said she did not know the full extent of Rainbow’s use of her likeness. She also said that she was uncertain whether her “likeness has been shared” with Rainbow’s affiliates, third-party services, and other systems involving AI.
The refiled case added a new picture as evidence, however: an Instagram post showing Pujols sitting in a chair with one knee up, exposing her undergarments. The post was from an account belonging to an online store called Kiss Don’t Tell.
Sourcing Journal could not independently verify Kiss Don’t Tell’s affiliation with Rainbow Shops, however, there were at least two overlaps in the content that both brands produced: firstly, the outfit Pujols wore in the Kiss Don’t Tell Instagram post was the same outfit she wore for a Rainbow Shops photoshoot, and secondly, both brands have the same social media manager listed on LinkedIn.
“At least one challenged image depicts me in a pose and wardrobe presentation in which my undergarments are visible. I did not pose for, approve, or authorize any such depiction, and they are causing damage to my professional reputation,” Pujol’s latest affidavit read. “I have never consented—and would never consent—to being portrayed in this manner.”
This case was refiled days before June 19, when New York will begin requiring modeling agencies to register as part of the New York State Fashion Workers Act. Among other provisions, the law, which took effect one year ago, prohibits model management companies from creating or altering a model’s digital likeness through AI “without clear, conspicuous and separate written consent from the model.”
