The limits of “right of publicity” torts are being tested in unlikely places—strip clubs—across the country, as models sue in multiple states and raise allegations of adult-entertainment businesses illicitly using their image to attract customers.

The latest example is a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on behalf of six California-based models who claim an out-of-state bar stole their images from their websites and social media.

The lawsuit follows similar litigation in Texas, Florida and Illinois, which have included high-profile plaintiffs. Among them: Joanna Krupa, who appeared on the “Real Housewives of Miami” and “Dancing with the Stars,” and who sued in Florida over clubs' unauthorized use of her image in advertisements.

In most of the suits, plaintiffs claim the strip clubs knew it was illegal to use their likeness for commercial gain without permission, but did it anyway.

Why? The answer is simple, according to University of Connecticut School of Law professor Steven Wilf: They can.

“It's easy to get photos off the websites of the models, so that's why it's done,” said Wilf, professor of local commerce and the founder of university's intellectual properties program. “The party whose image was taken must show that image was being used in a false endorsement, which, in these cases, is not particularly hard to prove.”

The Connecticut complaint names Waterbury's Mr. Happy's Cafe, which features nude and semi-nude dancers. It alleges Mr. Happy's downloaded women's images, and used them on its own social media platforms to drum up business by leading customers to believe the models either endorsed the club or danced there.

Frederick Toupin Sr., owner of Mr. Happy's, declined to comment through someone who answered the phone at the business Wednesday night.

Like the other recent complaints, the Connecticut suit seeks monetary damages and an order permanently enjoining the defendants from using the pictures to promote the club. The plaintiffs are Alyssa Nobriga, Cielo Jean “CJ” Gibson, Dessie Mitcheson, Eva Pepaj, Marketa Kazdova and Tiffany Toth-Gray. Most of the women have sued other clubs in recent years for the same alleged offenses.

The Casas Law Firm, which has offices in New York City, Florida, California, Illinois and Texas, is serving as plaintiff counsel in Connecticut and two Florida cases. New York-based litigator John Golaszewski said the firm would have no comment.  His co-counsel, New Haven solo practitioner John Radshaw III, declined to comment.

Meanwhile, observers like Wilf, who is not involved in the litigation, expects most of the lawsuits to settle out of court.

“Damages for the clubs would be too high a risk,” he said.

But jurisdictional considerations could sway outcomes. Some states—like California, because it's the home of entertainment hub Hollywood—have passed laws that explicitly give individuals a right to their own image. And Indiana, for instance, protects the voice rights of individuals.

“Some states have better laws than others,” Wilf said. “Certain states, like Connecticut, have common-law protections, which are also pretty strong when its comes to this issue.”

But while the models appear to be on strong legal ground, the same might not apply to the photographer who took the photos in question, Wilf said.

“Theoretically, it's tougher on legal grounds for the photographer than the model to sue,” Wilf said. “Photographers are getting thinner and thinner protections. There are so many photographs out there and there is often a question of originality of the photos.”