Hair Club for Men sues poaching stylists over its thinning ranks

April 2007

The Hair Club for Men recently hired a private detective to videotape ex-clients as they entered a rival follicle replacement business staffed by two of its former workers.

According to a breach of contract lawsuit, "hair restoration stylists" Danielle Eaton and Tina Moskal bolted from the company earlier this year and have since siphoned away dozens of Hair Club clients.

In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Hair Club for Men alleges that Eaton and Moskal have violated terms of non-compete agreements each woman signed upon being hired by the company.

To support its claim against the stylists, Hair Club hired Frasco Investigative Services to stake out the offices of Elite Solutions Hair Alternatives, the rival business now employing Eaton and Moskal.

As seen in the stills on the following pages, private eye Michael Selby videotaped a quartet of former Hair Club clients entering Elite, and also shot footage of Eaton and Moskal at the competitor's premises.

The surveillance images were included in a recent court filing by Hair Club, which operates 90 restoration facilities nationwide and bills itself as "the world's leading provider of all proven hair loss solutions."

In a court declaration, Hair Club employee Courtney Ward identified each of the four ex-clients by name, adding that it took up to two hours to style each man's hair piece.

Ward charged that following the defection of Eaton and Moskal, dozens of similar Hair Club clients cancelled appointment and contracts, or announced they "were taking possession of their hair systems.

" Hair Club, which won a March 22 temporary restraining order against Eaton and Moskal, is a division of the publicly-held Regis Company, which also owns the Vidal Sassoon, Jean-Louis David, and Supercuts chains.

Hair Club was founded nearly 30 years ago by Sy Sperling, who famously starred in the company's TV commercials as "not just the president, I'm also a client."

In 2004, Regis bought Hair Club for $210 million.