To a model, this judge is just beautiful.
Brunette actress and model Berenice Mosca wrote a glowing letter to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Peter Sherwood this month, dubbing him the hero of her industry’s fight against agencies and companies that cheat pretty faces out of paychecks.
“There are historical moments when groups of people rely on the judiciary to protect their personal well-being,” Mosca, a New Yorker who has appeared on “Law & Order” and in ads for L’Oréal, wrote to Sherwood.
“In this case, there is nothing more valuable than an individual’s own image,” the 43-year-old wrote.
Sherwood posted the letter on July 28 in the public docket of a $30 million class-action suit over photo-usage fees against Next Model Management, Wilhelmina Models, Ford Models and beauty firms.
Mosca, who is not part of the suit but who sued HSBC bank for allegedly using a commercial of her in Russia and Brazil without compensation, also praises the bespectacled jurist for asking the state attorney general to probe industry practices.
In March, Sherwood told state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that he was making the referral because his pending civil case involves “matters in the public interest” beyond the eight male and female models in the suit.
Judge Sherwood, thank you for shining the light on the need for regulations, better statutes, new practices and laws.
- Berenice Mosca
“Judge Sherwood, thank you for shining the light on the need for regulations, better statutes, new practices and laws,” Mosca gushed in her letter.
She also notes in the missive that the “explosive growth of the unregulated online marketplace” has allowed companies to earn “billions” off the backs of beauties like her.
The cadre of catwalkers in the class-action suit include Louisa Raske, a 5-foot-9 blonde who claims she spotted herself on a L’Oréal hair-color box in a Florida CVS after her agency had canned her for not bringing in enough business.
Raske is joined by male model Alex Shanklin. The brown-eyed hunk, whose résumé includes Dolce & Gabbana and Kenneth Cole, was allegedly dumped by Wilhelmina Models only to discover that the agency was still marketing his mug without paying him.
“It is against equity and good conscience to permit the modeling agency defendants to retain the funds paid for usage that are owed the model,” Shanklin’s and Raske’s suit charges.
The case is still pending.