Sue Scheff Reveals What Led to the $11.3 M Victory

[Anonymous]

Sue Scheff Reveals What Led to the $11.3 M Victory
 
Parent?s Universal Resource Experts, Inc.
10/15/2006 10:21:57 PM
 

Weston, FL (October 15th, 2006) I understand the hopelessness, helplessness, frustration and desperation felt by parents with troubled teens. I?ve been there.


In 2000 I enrolled my daughter in the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) program, Carolina Springs Academy in South Carolina. Six months after she was enrolled I learned she was hospitalized without my knowledge. With that information compounded by the strange WWASPS seminars I attended, I withdrew her.


I discovered the abuse my daughter endured and learned of other families who had been through similar experiences, I felt compelled to speak out; to turn a negative into a positive. I created my organization, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Inc. (PURE) in January 2001, and launched my website www.helpyourteens.com. In an effort to help other desperate parents, I shared our experiences with WWASPS on my website.


In January 2002 WWASPS sued me and my organization for defamation in an attempt to silence me. After over two years of litigation, I won in a jury trial in 2004. They appealed and again I won the appeal in 2006 and continue to share my story today.


In September 2002 Carey Bock contacted me asking for help to get her boys out of a WWASPS program. I supplied her with information of other parents and a consultant who had recently visited there.


In October 2002 Carey Bock had her sons removed from the WWASPS program with a bodyguard and camera crews.


In November 2002 Carey asked me for private information about minor children to use in a film. I refused to give her the names, as I felt it was an invasion of the children?s privacy. As a result of this, Bock began an all-out campaign to destroy me over the Internet. She committed Internet Defamation and Invasion of Privacy.


The ironic twist was in 2003 Carey Bock contacted WWASPS? attorneys and negotiated a price for her computer hard drive which contained private information of many families and private e-mails from me that she believed would incriminate me. According to a deposition she gave for the WWASPS v. Sue Scheff, et al. lawsuit in December 2003, Carey Bock asked for $100,000 and settled for $12,500. She accepted money from the same organization she claims harmed her children.


That same year Carey Bock started a hate campaign against me on Internet Forums. She received a copy of my private deposition taken for the case WWASPS had against me. In her deposition she states the transcript just appeared in her mailbox (no return address). This deposition transcript contained highly confidential and private information about my children and me. Carey Bock began posting portions of the deposition transcript on the Internet, threatening to post the entire transcript online.


In December 2003 I hired an attorney, David Pollack, in an attempt to stop this from happening. In February 2003 Carey retained the same law firm that represented WWASPS (again the same organization that she claims abused her sons) to defend her. In her deposition taken in 2005 she claimed she did not know who paid for her legal fees.


During Bock?s campaign to further discredit me, many people begged her to stop. I was fearful to have any contact with her since it was obvious she would stop at nothing. The attempts of others to get her to stop only escalated the vicious attacks.


In June 2006 Carey Bock?s legal counsel withdrew from the Internet Defamation and Invasion of Privacy lawsuit. The Judge postponed the trial to give Ms. Bock ample time to locate new counsel or represent herself. In July 2006 it seems Bock decided to ignore all court requests and my attorney?s telephone calls and mailings.


In September 2006 a Broward County jury spent two days in court listening to extensive evidence (volumious postings and emails). They listened to five witnesses, including a Psychologist. They deliberated for hours and came back with a verdict of $11.3 million, $5 million in punitive damages.


I was as shocked as everyone else with the verdict the jury returned. The jury shared with me their desire to send a strong message that you simply cannot destroy the lives of others over the Internet. This speaks volumes and I feel vindicated.


Media have taken this story and run with it before finding out the facts of this case. Some portray Carey Bock as a Katrina victim. Katrina does not excuse her from her illegal actions.


The misconception that Bock was without representation or could not afford it is simply another smoke screen in an attempt to condone what she did. Carey Bock was represented by a prestigious law firm in Florida for over two years. When they withdrew from her case she had ample time to find new counsel or represent herself.


The Broward County Clerk?s Office, as well as David Pollack, continually sent her notices regarding the case including the trial date ? it seems she made a conscious decision to ignore them. Some were returned. She claims she moved back to Louisiana. We wonder if she intentionally did not submit a forwarding address. The trial was postponed for two months in an attempt to give her adequate notice.


It has been a long five years, however, the victory of both trials have brought me vindication. The fact that I have been on both sides of the fence brings my story full circle.


My book, ?At Wits End?, is a place many parents end up when dealing with a difficult teen, as I did. It is also a place I ended up while defending myself. This book will chronicle both trials as well as much more. Look for it in spring of 2007.

Related Links
 
Parent?s Universal Resource Experts, Inc. (PURE)
www.helpyourteens.com
 
Coalition Against Institutional Child Abuse
www.caica.org
 

Contact Information
Sue Scheff
President
Parent?s Universal Resource Experts, Inc.
954-349-7260
sue.s@helpyourteens.com

Source:  Posted on CAICA 10/16/06

----------------------

Question?  Who is this consultant that had recently visited "there"?  What did he/she do to help Ms. Bock?  As for the cameras, maybe the purpose of that was for security?  I'd like to hear Ms. Bock's side.  

Elsewhere I have read that media lawyers don't view the victory as setting any real legal precedent since the case was not defended.  I take that to mean that it's important for the plaintiff's witnesses to be subject to cross-examine by a defense lawyer as well as to put on their own witnesses.  

T.I.A.

[Anonymous]

Excuse me, I thought Sue Scheff once referred to WWASPS?  Both before and after she created PURE and that this "revelation" is actually contained in her own words in the WWASPS v. PURE transcripts?

[Anonymous]

Anybody have a link to the WWASPS v. PURE transcripts or a Fornits thread/postings where this issue of Scheff referring to WWASPS was discussed in more depth?

[Anonymous]

You can get a copy of the WWASP V PURE transcripts from ISAC.

The consultant she speaks of is Steve Bozak.

I never heard anything about Carey working on a film of any kind. I assume Susan has email to prove her allegation; but I would still maintain what pissed Carey off, and began her harping on Fornits, was getting booted off the Trekker list serve, after the argument about the photos of the kids in the High Impact cages.

Its possible Sue and Carey had private email about some kind of film, but I find it hard to believe there would not have been mention of it to the list serve or otherwise.

As I recall, Carey wanted information about the assault and rape at Dundee ranch. As I recall, her beef was largely with Dundee persons. The victim was not a minor. I recall no mention about Carey wanting this information for a film. I think I would, had that been the case. Perhaps someone will want to refresh my memory - but as is, I feel that this is a fabrication.

The only film I recall Carey having any issue with, was the one Ryan F was involved with (and the name escapes me) but she was miffed (big time) that it was a dramatization - and not a documentary. It was suspected at the time, she was really just miffed that she and her sons weren't being featured in it. But she said she was opposing it b/c it wasn't "true".

I'll finish by saying that while I do believe what Carey Bock has done is despicable; what Susan had done and is doing is worse.

Carey betrayed a bunch of adults. Its possibly true (I believe it is) that she greatly damaged the effectiveness of some of these adults in helping relieve other's children from WWASPS' treatment.

But Susan has proven her willingness to over look abusive treatment, if it is putting money in her pocket. Not only over look it - but attack the parents and children trying to tell her about it. And in my POV, that is much worse than what Carey did - as awful as that was.

Personally, I despise them both. Generally, I think they deserve one another. But this judgment is insane. Carey did no damage to anything of Susan's, excepting her bloated ego.

[Anonymous]

Long 5 years?

The WWASPS lawsuit was filed in Nov. 2002 according to what I read on the Interent. (CAICA).  If this is not correct, then would someone please post when the lawsuit was filed?

[Anonymous]

You can get a copy of the WWASP V PURE transcripts from ISAC.

The consultant she speaks of is Steve Bozak.

I never heard anything about Carey working on a film of any kind. I assume Susan has email to prove her allegation; but I would still maintain what pissed Carey off, and began her harping on Fornits, was getting booted off the Trekker list serve, after the argument about the photos of the kids in the High Impact cages.

Its possible Sue and Carey had private email about some kind of film, but I find it hard to believe there would not have been mention of it to the list serve or otherwise.

As I recall, Carey wanted information about the assault and rape at Dundee ranch. As I recall, her beef was largely with Dundee persons. The victim was not a minor. I recall no mention about Carey wanting this information for a film. I think I would, had that been the case. Perhaps someone will want to refresh my memory - but as is, I feel that this is a fabrication.

The only film I recall Carey having any issue with, was the one Ryan F was involved with (and the name escapes me) but she was miffed (big time) that it was a dramatization - and not a documentary. It was suspected at the time, she was really just miffed that she and her sons weren't being featured in it. But she said she was opposing it b/c it wasn't "true".

I'll finish by saying that while I do believe what Carey Bock has done is despicable; what Susan had done and is doing is worse.

Carey betrayed a bunch of adults. Its possibly true (I believe it is) that she greatly damaged the effectiveness of some of these adults in helping relieve other's children from WWASPS' treatment.

But Susan has proven her willingness to over look abusive treatment, if it is putting money in her pocket. Not only over look it - but attack the parents and children trying to tell her about it. And in my POV, that is much worse than what Carey did - as awful as that was.

Personally, I despise them both. Generally, I think they deserve one another. But this judgment is insane. Carey did no damage to anything of Susan's, excepting her bloated ego.

Thank you, here's what I found on ISAC relevant to PURE, Whitmore and WWAPS:

1. Cease and Desist Letter from Scheff's attorney to the parent of a child enrolled at Whitmore:

http://isaccorp.org/whitmore/harrisletter.pdf

2.  Statement from the Parents of a Former Whitmore Student

http://isaccorp.org/whitmore/jharris.pdf

3.  WWASPS v. PURE Transcript:

http://www.isaccorp.org/wwasps/wwaspsvpure.pdf

* Note this document is 700 plus pages long and covers a lot of territory.  Perhaps someone can narrow it down to the page(s) where the testimony begins about Scheff's referrals to WWASPS and when they began/ended?

4.  Complete File on WHITMORE (a PURE referral program)

http://isaccorp.org/documentsnz.asp#pure

[Anonymous]

Carey's own words and this is just one thread.

http://wwf.fornits.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... sc&start=0

Looks to me like she ought to at least consider an appeal between her own postings and what was revealed in the WWASPS v. PURE transcripts.  Anybody else agree?  I mean, at one point she was trying to defend herself until she lost her attorney.  Did they ever get to the deposition phase?  Did her attorney file anything with the court?

[Anonymous]

You can get a copy of the WWASP V PURE transcripts from ISAC.

The consultant she speaks of is Steve Bozak.

I never heard anything about Carey working on a film of any kind. I assume Susan has email to prove her allegation; but I would still maintain what pissed Carey off, and began her harping on Fornits, was getting booted off the Trekker list serve, after the argument about the photos of the kids in the High Impact cages.

Its possible Sue and Carey had private email about some kind of film, but I find it hard to believe there would not have been mention of it to the list serve or otherwise.

As I recall, Carey wanted information about the assault and rape at Dundee ranch. As I recall, her beef was largely with Dundee persons. The victim was not a minor. I recall no mention about Carey wanting this information for a film. I think I would, had that been the case. Perhaps someone will want to refresh my memory - but as is, I feel that this is a fabrication.

The only film I recall Carey having any issue with, was the one Ryan F was involved with (and the name escapes me) but she was miffed (big time) that it was a dramatization - and not a documentary. It was suspected at the time, she was really just miffed that she and her sons weren't being featured in it. But she said she was opposing it b/c it wasn't "true".

I'll finish by saying that while I do believe what Carey Bock has done is despicable; what Susan had done and is doing is worse.

Carey betrayed a bunch of adults. Its possibly true (I believe it is) that she greatly damaged the effectiveness of some of these adults in helping relieve other's children from WWASPS' treatment.

But Susan has proven her willingness to over look abusive treatment, if it is putting money in her pocket. Not only over look it - but attack the parents and children trying to tell her about it. And in my POV, that is much worse than what Carey did - as awful as that was.

Personally, I despise them both. Generally, I think they deserve one another. But this judgment is insane. Carey did no damage to anything of Susan's, excepting her bloated ego.

Thank you, here's what I found on ISAC relevant to PURE, Whitmore and WWAPS:

1. Cease and Desist Letter from Scheff's attorney to the parent of a child enrolled at Whitmore:

http://isaccorp.org/whitmore/harrisletter.pdf

2.  Statement from the Parents of a Former Whitmore Student

http://isaccorp.org/whitmore/jharris.pdf

3.  WWASPS v. PURE Transcript:

http://www.isaccorp.org/wwasps/wwaspsvpure.pdf

* Note this document is 700 plus pages long and covers a lot of territory.  Perhaps someone can narrow it down to the page(s) where the testimony begins about Scheff's referrals to WWASPS and when they began/ended?

4.  Complete File on WHITMORE (a PURE referral program)

http://isaccorp.org/documentsnz.asp#pure

Buzz,
The WWASP transcript gives a "time-line:"
Sue Scheff enrolled her daughter at Carolina Springs Summer 2000.
She removed her daughter January 2001.
Scheff established Pure February 2001.

Page 165 of the WWASP transcript:
"PURE was established as a 501(c) under the PURE Foundateion, and later changed within a year to a S-Corp." From a non-profit to a profit.(Scheff testimony).

Kevin Richey testimony:

He testified he worked for Teen Help for 7 years.
Page 219
"Sue Scheff had a lot of referring parents that were coming into the program. I was doing my best to help her get paid on the referrals."

Question:
"How long did Scheff continue to send referrals?"

Richey:
"August of the year I left...2001"

Recap:
PURE was established in February 2001.
Scheff continued to send referrals to WWASP until August 2001.

Add it up Ladies and Gentlemen:
Ms. Scheff was sending children to WWASP programs for MONTHS; and at the same time referring children to other "not so UN-ABUSIVE programs" through PURE.

Now, how does a MOM criticize/accuse WWASP for abusing her OWN DAUGHTER, and continue to send other parents and their children to these "abusive WWASP PROGRAMS?"

HOW does anyone do THAT?

------------

http://wwf.fornits.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... c&start=75

[Anonymous]

Long 5 years?

The WWASPS lawsuit was filed in Nov. 2002 according to what I read on the Interent. (CAICA).  If this is not correct, then would someone please post when the lawsuit was filed?

Think she means since she put her kid in a WWASPS program which was around 5 years ago.

[Anonymous]

If you feel like digging through archives - check an see when it was she and Richey had their disagreement on how  much to pay her (its in his testimony) and the date she began he activities on Struggling Teens? How close do they co-inside?

I now believe her posting about WWASP on ST had nothing to do with her concern over the abuse in the programs; but was motivated by her disagreements with them over money.

When the information about her WASP referrals came out, there was a lot of talk among the some Trekkers as to How that could be.  It was also a bit shocking to read how much PURE was making. Most of us had been lead to believe what the programs paid her was just very minor amounts - no more than it took to keep the web site up and pay bills. Sue always said she was independently wealthy; a trust fund baby; and that PURE was just her selfless effort to help educate parents.

Not quite the case, as it turns out.

As to time lines - it might be worth noting that these transcripts got into peoples hands about the same time Whitmore was becoming a hot potatoe issue. It was all a real rude awakening. At least for those who woke up.

[Anonymous]

Speaking of Whitmore, there was a civil lawsuit filed against this program by a group of parents.  Don't know if it's been settled yet but it was definitly filed from what I can tell on the Whitmore thread.

I wonder if among this group of parents are any that were referred by Ms. Scheff and if so, how they might feel about this defamation lawsuit and the amount of the verdict?

[Anonymous]

The Whitmore Civil Case is in the deposition phase now.
It is still active.
Almost all the parents and their children were referred to Whitmore Academy by Sue Scheff/Pure. A couple of them go back to the Canada days before Whitmore was established, but the MAJORITY were referred by Scheff/Pure.

[Anonymous]

If you feel like digging through archives - check an see when it was she and Richey had their disagreement on how  much to pay her (its in his testimony) and the date she began he activities on Struggling Teens? How close do they co-inside?

I now believe her posting about WWASP on ST had nothing to do with her concern over the abuse in the programs; but was motivated by her disagreements with them over money.

When the information about her WASP referrals came out, there was a lot of talk among the some Trekkers as to How that could be.  It was also a bit shocking to read how much PURE was making. Most of us had been lead to believe what the programs paid her was just very minor amounts - no more than it took to keep the web site up and pay bills. Sue always said she was independently wealthy; a trust fund baby; and that PURE was just her selfless effort to help educate parents.

Not quite the case, as it turns out.

As to time lines - it might be worth noting that these transcripts got into peoples hands about the same time Whitmore was becoming a hot potatoe issue. It was all a real rude awakening. At least for those who woke up.

Wish somebody would explain who or what the Trekkers are since this name has come up more than once on Fornits.  

Also, what is CAICA's connection with PURE and is she a Trekker, too?

[Anonymous]

Long 5 years?

The WWASPS lawsuit was filed in Nov. 2002 according to what I read on the Interent. (CAICA). If this is not correct, then would someone please post when the lawsuit was filed?

2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006
Looks like 5 years

[Anonymous]

Long 5 years?

The WWASPS lawsuit was filed in Nov. 2002 according to what I read on the Interent. (CAICA). If this is not correct, then would someone please post when the lawsuit was filed?

2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006
Looks like 5 years

Huh? The lawsuit was filed November 15, 2002

November 15, 2002 to November 15, 2006 equals 4 years

 :roll: