Heather Gay Dragged to Federal Court Over Beauty Lab as She Fights Costar Monica Garcia’s ‘Botched’ Lawsuit
Nov. 13 2023, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay and her med spa were slapped with a federal lawsuit months before her legal drama with her co-star Monica Garcia was exposed.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a photographer named Gavin O’Neill filed a civil lawsuit against Gay and her Utah-based company, Beauty Lab + Laser.
The suit, filed in March, accused the defendants of copyright infringement.
O’Neill said he has worked with everyone from Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and GQ. He said his bills are paid through his work being licensed.
Tensions between the cast hit an all-time high when Garcia's role with a gossip account was exposed.
He said Gay used photos he took of models in her company’s advertisements. He said one of his images was used to show the potential results “of what can be achieved with Beauty Lab’s HydraFacial services, and urged its users to book an appointment online.”
He said Gay and her company used multiple photos he took without permission or paying him a dime.
“O’Neill is informed and believes Defendants (including their employees, agents, contractors or others over whom they have responsibility and control) used, displayed, published, and otherwise held out to the public O’Neill’s original and unique Photographs in order to acquire a direct financial benefit from the use of the Photographs through revenue from the sales of Beauty Lab’s products and services,” he said.
Filming for season five kicks off in February.
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The photographer said he attempted to settle the matter with Gay before bringing the lawsuit, but she refused. His lawsuit demanded damages more than $450k.
Gay and her company denied all allegations of wrongdoing and demanded the entire lawsuit be thrown out. The Bravo star argued O’Neill had not been damaged by her actions.
“Defendant’s infringement was not willful. Defendant removed the allegedly infringing photographs immediately upon receiving notice,” her response read.
The case has yet to be resolved.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, on top of the federal lawsuit, Gay and her company Beauty Lab + Laser are facing a separate lawsuit brought by her costar Monica Garcia.
In a lawsuit, first reported by The Sun, Garcia accused Gay’s med spa of giving her “botched” nose and lip injections.
The 'Salt Lake City' newcomer emerged as a fan favorite in season four.
Garcia claimed the filler was “negligently given” and “did not have the intended, promised result.”
In her lawsuit, Garcia demanded no less than $50k in damages. The suit came Gay’s company sued Garcia over money owed.
The suit demanded $2k in damages for the 10 months’ worth of $200 payments that Garcia failed to make for work done.
The company claimed it “suffered, and continue to suffer, significant losses and damages” due to Garcia’s breach of contract.
Garcia claimed Gay brought her lawsuit due to her “personal animosity” against her.