THIS IS A COURT-APPROVED NOTICE,
NOT A SOLICITATION FROM A LAWYER.
NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST
“Cheeks,” “Top Hat,” “House of Babes,” “Private Dancer,” “Fantasyland
West,” and “Sirens” Clubs, their owners and managers, Greg Flaig, the
Buckeye Association of Club Executives, and The Owners Coalition
To: All current and former dancers and/or entertainers who work or worked at Cheeks in West
Carrollton, Ohio; Private Dancer in Columbus, Ohio; Top Hat in Mansfield, Ohio; House of
Babes in Columbus, Ohio; Fantasyland West in Bucyrus, Ohio; or Sirens in Columbus, Ohio
Re: Lawsuit against Cheeks, Top Hat, House of Babes, Private Dancer, Fantasyland West, and
Sirens, their owners and managers, Greg Flaig, the Buckeye Association of Club Executives,
and The Owners Coalition
Case: Jessica Hogan, et al. v. Cleveland Ave. Restaurant, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-2883
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division
INTRODUCTION
This is a court-approved Notice. It is not a solicitation from a lawyer. This Notice is to inform you
about a proposed Settlement of a lawsuit that was filed as a class action by Plaintiffs Jessica Hogan and
DeJha Valentine, and that was certified by the above Court, against Defendants Cheeks, Top Hat, House
of Babes, Private Dancer, Fantasyland West, and Sirens, their owners and managers, Greg Flaig, the
Buckeye Association of Club Executives (“BACE”), and The Owners Coalition (“OC”). The Plaintiffs
and the Defendants are collectively referred to in this Notice as “the Parties.” In this lawsuit, the
Plaintiffs have sought to recover from the Defendants an award of unpaid wages for dancers and/or
entertainers (for ease of reference, they will simply be referred to as dancers) and other damages under
federal and Ohio law. You are receiving this Notice because the Defendants’ records indicate that you
work, or at some point between May 14, 2014 and June 16, 2025 worked, at one or more of the
Defendant clubs and may be a member of the Class in this case.
NATURE OF THE LAWSUIT
This lawsuit was brought by Plaintiffs Jessica Hogan and DeJha Valentine. Ms. Hogan has danced at
Sirens; Ms. Valentine has danced at Sirens and House of Babes. In the lawsuit, the Plaintiffs have
sought to recover damages and secure other relief on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated.
The Ohio strip clubs named as defendants in this case allegedly required their dancers to sign a “Lease
Agreement” or some similar form of a contract in order to work at their clubs. The “Lease Agreement”
allegedly was created by Defendant Greg Flaig. The Plaintiffs have challenged the legality of the “Lease
Agreement” in this case. The Plaintiffs have alleged, among other things, that during some or all of the
time period beginning May 14, 2014, the defendant clubs did not pay dancers any wages, purportedly
based on the terms of the “Lease Agreement.” The Plaintiffs also have alleged that, instead of paying
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dancers their rightful wages during this period, each club that is named as a Defendant charged dancers
various unlawful fees, including “rent,” to work at the club, incorrectly claiming that the dancers were
“tenants” who “leased space” at the club and that therefore the dancers were “independent contractors”
rather than employees.
The Plaintiffs have sought an award of unpaid wages for the hours dancers worked at these clubs, plus
the recovery of all unlawful deductions, as well as additional damages under Ohio law and the Fair
Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Plaintiffs also have sought damages under Ohio common law for
civil conspiracy and unjust enrichment, damages under federal and state antitrust laws for price fixing,
and injunctive relief.
The Defendants have denied, and continue to deny, most of these allegations and claim that they did
not violate applicable laws.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
Subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the Parties
have agreed to settle their dispute for monetary relief in the amount of $800,000.00 as well as specified
non-monetary relief. The Plaintiffs have agreed to settle for this monetary and non-monetary relief on
behalf of and for the benefit of a Class previously certified by the Court.
In its previous order, the Court defined a Class consisting of all non-owner, non-employer exotic
dancers who worked at any club named as defendants at any time from May 14, 2014 to the present (1)
while such club (a) has used the Entertainer Tenant System created and disseminated by defendant Greg
Flaig, or (b) has required its dancers to sign and abide by the Entertainer Tenant Space Lease Agreement
created and disseminated by defendant Greg Flaig, or (c) has otherwise formally regarded its dancers
as leasing space at such club as entertainers and required them to acknowledge the same, and (2) while
such club did not pay any wages to its dancers.
Under the proposed Settlement, dancers who entertained at one of the clubs listed above sometime
between May 14, 2014 and June 16, 2025 would be eligible to make a claim for a share of the monetary
relief (see “How to Make a Claim” section below) and to benefit from the non-monetary relief provided
for in it, if the Court approves the Settlement. As non-monetary relief, the proposed Settlement provides
as follows:
A. Beginning 30 days after Final Approval of the Settlement, the Defendants will permanently cease
using the Entertainer Tenant System, the Entertainer Tenant Space Lease Agreement, and any of
the applications, attachments, and individual parts which accompany that Lease Agreement and
will permanently cease imposing any “rent” charge on dancers at their respective clubs as
previously charged under that Lease Agreement.
B. Beginning 30 days after Final Approval of the Settlement, defendants Greg Flaig, BACE, and OC
will permanently cease disseminating to Ohio strip clubs, club owners, club managers, or their
agents or employees, or promoting or encouraging their use of, the Entertainer Tenant System, the
Entertainer Tenant Space Lease Agreement, and any of the applications, attachments, and
individual parts which accompany that Lease Agreement.
C. Beginning 30 days after Final Approval of this Settlement, Defendants, to the extent they remain
in the business of operating strip clubs, will allow dancers at their clubs to choose their
classification as employees or independent contractors, or such Defendants can choose to classify
all dancers as employees. Each such Defendant may make this choice independently. If a dancer at
such club chooses to be classified as an employee, such Defendants at such club will comply with
all state and federal laws pertaining to that status, including but not limited to employee wage and
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hour laws, the payment of minimum wage, overtime, and relevant taxes. If a dancer at such club
chooses to be classified as an independent contractor, such Defendants at such club will treat such
dancer as a true independent contractor, as that status is defined under Ohio law. Defendants will
not attempt to persuade dancers to choose to be an independent contractor rather than an employee.
On December 1, 2026, the Court will hold a hearing on whether to approve the Settlement and on
whether to approve the request of the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys for an award of attorney fees, for
reimbursement of litigation expenses advanced by these attorneys, and for service awards for the two
class representatives. (See section on “The Plaintiffs’ Attorneys” below).
YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
You have the right to object to the proposed settlement, if you so choose. Your objection must be in
writing and must be received by the plaintiffs’ Attorneys (see their addresses in the section on “The
Plaintiffs’ Attorneys” below) no later than October 20, 2026, in order to be considered by the Court.
The objection must include a written statement (1) objecting to the Settlement, (2) setting forth the
specific reasons for the objection, including any legal or evidentiary support for the objection, (3)
stating whether the objector intends to appear and object to the Settlement at the Final Approval
Hearing, (4) a list of all cases in which the objector and/or her/his counsel objected to a Settlement, and
(5) containing the objector’s name, address, and telephone number. The objector must sign and date
the objection. An individual waives her or his right to object and/or appear at the Final Approval
Hearing if she or he fails to comply with these requirements. If you submit an objection to the proposed
settlement, you may but do not have to appear at the hearing before the Court on December 1, 2026.
You do not have to submit an objection to the Settlement in order to submit a claim form for
compensation under it.
WHAT CLASS MEMBERS WOULD RELEASE UNDER THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
Unless you exclude yourself from this lawsuit as described below, you will be bound by the judgment
in this case. This means that, if the court approves the proposed Settlement, as a Class Member
remaining in this case you would automatically release certain causes of action against the Released
Parties as provided for in the proposed Settlement. The proposed Settlement defines the “Released
Parties” as “the Defendants and all related entities, along with all their predecessors, successors,
parents, subsidiaries, franchisors, insurers, affiliates, owners, members, stockholders, officers,
directors, employees, partners, shareholders, agents, legal representatives, affiliates, insurance carriers
and all persons acting by, through, under, or in concert with them.” Under the proposed Settlement,
each class member automatically would release the released parties from all causes of action that were
raised in the operative Complaint or that could have been raised based on the facts in it, including but
not limited to claims for unpaid wages, misappropriated tips, unlawful wage deductions, antitrust, civil
conspiracy, unjust enrichment, liquidated damages, treble damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and
interest, except that class members’ Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims are excluded
from the automatic release described above. In addition to the automatically released claims
described above, class members who fill out and submit valid claim forms as described below would
also release the FLSA claims that were raised on their behalf in the operative Complaint or that could
have been raised on their behalf based on the facts in that Complaint, including but not limited to claims
for unpaid wages, misappropriated tips, unlawful wage deductions, liquidated damages, treble
damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and interest.
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HOW TO MAKE A CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT,
IF IT IS APPROVED
If you worked as an entertainer at one of the clubs listed sometime between May 14, 2014 and June 16,
2025, you may make a claim for compensation under the proposed class action settlement, if the Court
approves it. To do so, you must complete the required claim form in one of the following ways no later
than October 20, 2026, which is 90 days from the date of this Notice:
1. Online Submission | Complete and submit an online claim form, which you can access at
www.OhioStripClubCase.com, by clicking on:
GO TO STRIP CLUB CASE ONLINE CLAIM FORM
THAT ALLOWS ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE
2. Submission by U.S Mail | Print off the claim form that appears at the end of this Notice,
complete it, and mail it to the Claims Administrator at:
Hogan v. Cleveland Ave. Restaurant
c/o Atticus Administration
PO Box 64053
St. Paul, MN 55164
If your claim form is not received by the Administrator on or before October 20, 2026, which is 90 days
from the date of this Notice, you will be ineligible for compensation under the proposed class action
settlement. Regardless of whether you submit a timely claim form, you will be entitled to take
advantage of the non-monetary relief provided by the Settlement, if it is approved by the Court. (See
section on “Description of the Proposed Class Action Settlement” above.)
HOW TO COMPLETELY EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THIS LAWSUIT
If you wish to completely exclude yourself from this lawsuit and receive no money from it or from the
proposed Settlement, you must submit an exclusion letter to the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys by U.S. mail,
email, or fax, as follows:
• By Mail to: BILLER & KIMBLE, LLC, Re: Hogan v. Cleveland Ave. Restaurant, 8044
Montgomery Rd., Ste. 515, Cincinnati, OH 45236
• By email to: [email protected], Re: Hogan v. Cleveland Ave. Restaurant
• By fax to: (614) 340-4620
To be valid, the letter must be received by October 20, 2026, which is 90 days from the date of this
Notice, and must contain the following statement or a substantially similar statement:
I wish to opt-out of the lawsuit Jessica Hogan v. Cleveland Ave. Restaurant, Inc., et al., Case
No. 2:15-cv-2883. I understand that by requesting to opt-out of the lawsuit, I will receive no
money from the Settlement. I understand that I may bring my own lawsuit for the same claims
in this lawsuit. I understand that, in my own lawsuit, I might receive a different result—good
or bad—from that obtained in this lawsuit.
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THE PLAINTIFFS’ ATTORNEYS AND THEIR REQUEST FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES,
REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES, AND SERVICE AWARDS FOR THE TWO CLASS
REPRESENTATIVES
The Plaintiffs and the Class Members are represented by the following law firms and attorneys:
Paul M. De Marco Andrew R. Biller
MARKOVITS, STOCK & DEMARCO, LLC BILLER & KIMBLE, LLC
119 East Court Street, Suite 530 4200 Regent Street, Suite 200
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Columbus, OH 43219
Tel.: (513) 651-3700 Tel.: (513) 202-0710
[email protected] [email protected]
Website: www.msdlegal.com Website: www.billerkimble.com
The U.S. District Court appointed these law firms to represent the employees. You do not need to
separately pay fees or expenses to the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys for this representation. Instead, the
Plaintiffs’ Attorneys are asking the Court to approve an award of one-third of the Settlement Amount
as fees, plus reimbursement of the litigation expenses that they have advanced in this case, as well as a
$5,000 service award for each of the Class Representatives, Ms. Hogan and Ms. Valentine.
You may contact the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys at any time to obtain more information about the lawsuit and
the proposed settlement. You may also obtain your own counsel at your own expense.
THE DEFENDANTS CANNOT RETALIATE AGAINST YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS LAWSUIT.
The law strictly forbids any employer from retaliating against an employee for being involved in or making
a claim in a lawsuit. This includes a prohibition against firing you, docking your pay, changing your hours,
etc. If you experience retaliation, report it immediately to the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys.
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