Federal Lawsuit Accuses Brookhaven’s Pink Pony of Charging Dancers Hundreds in Nightly Fees

A former dancer has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Brookhaven’s Pink Pony of requiring dancers to pay nightly house fees that allegedly ranged from $60 to $532, while receiving no wages for work time at the club.

WSB-TV reported on Sept. 14, 2026, that Heather West sued Trop, Inc., the operator of the Pink Pony, along with executives Michael Kap, Dennis Williams and Eddie Stone. The allegations come from a complaint and have not been proven in court.

What the complaint alleges

According to the complaint described by WSB-TV, dancers were required to pay a house fee tied to their earnings. The reported fees ranged from $60 to $532 per shift.

The complaint also alleges that dancers received no wages for work time on the premises. If those claims are substantiated, the alleged fees and deductions could reduce workers’ effective pay below the federal minimum wage.

The central labor dispute is how the club’s compensation system operated: whether dancers were properly paid as workers and whether required fees reduced their earnings below the minimum required under federal law.

Case filed in federal court in Atlanta

The case is Wendlandt v. Trop, Inc., identified as Case No. 1:26-cv-03795-VMC on a case-information page published by Hall & Lampros. The page says the complaint was filed July 7, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

The lawsuit was filed as a proposed collective action. No collective group has been certified, and the filing does not establish liability by Trop, Inc. or the individual defendants.

Pink Pony owner disputes allegations

Kap disputed the allegations in messages to WSB-TV. He described the dancers as commissioned sales employees and said the club pays them at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

That response conflicts with the complaint’s account that dancers received no wages for work time and that required fees could reduce their effective pay below the federal minimum.

Why the case matters in metro Atlanta

The Pink Pony is in Brookhaven, not the City of Atlanta. The case is nevertheless relevant to metro Atlanta because it involves a local workplace, a federal labor lawsuit filed in Atlanta and disputed pay practices affecting workers in the region.

WSB-TV also reported that recent lawsuits involving a Pink Pony bartender and house mom allege that the club improperly took portions of workers’ tips. Those cases provide context, but this article focuses on West’s separate dancer lawsuit.

The federal case remains pending. Future filings may address the defendants’ response, the allegations about fees and wages, and whether the matter can proceed collectively. For now, the complaint presents disputed claims, while the club maintains that its dancers receive at least the federal minimum wage.

Sources

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