Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy => Topic started by: Troll Control on September 12, 2006, 03:05:01 PM
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U.S. District Court
Northern District of Georgia (Gainesville)
CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 2:06-cv-00146-WCO
J.O.R. et al v. Hidden Lake Academy, Inc. et al
Assigned to: Judge William C. O'Kelley
Cause: 28:1391 Personal Injury
Date Filed: 09/11/2006
Jury Demand: Plaintiff
Nature of Suit: 190 Contract: Other
Jurisdiction: Diversity
Plaintiff
J.O.R. represented by Mary Donne Peters
Gorby Reeves & Peters
Two Ravinia Drive
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30346-2104
404-239-1150
Email: mgorby@gorbyreeves.com (http://mailto:mgorby@gorbyreeves.com)
LEAD ATTORNEY
ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED
Patrick Ryan Kelly
Gorby Reeves & Peters
Two Ravinia Drive
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30346-2104
404-239-1150
Email: http://www.gand.uscourts.gov (http://www.gand.uscourts.gov) to obtain Pretrial Instructions. (Entered: 09/11/2006)
09/11/2006 2 Summons Issued as to Hidden Lake Academy, Inc., HLA, Inc., Hidden Lake Foundation, Inc., Leonard Buccellato. (sk) (Entered: 09/11/2006)
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This looks to be an absolutely massive lawsuit. In the estimation of one of the involved parties, it will eventually have "probably 100 families or more" as plaintiffs.
Once again, for all of the nay-sayers, the doubters, HLA employees and the general program rabble rousers who said this would never happen: WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY NOW?
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MGDP gets out the warpaint and the spears.
Kill the pig. Slit her throat. Bash her in.
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Once again, for all of the nay-sayers, the doubters, HLA employees and the general program rabble rousers who said this would never happen: WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY NOW?
HLA Staff:
"Where do I sign up for unemployment?"
or
"It's time to get my resume in order."
or
"Would you like to super-size that?"
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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it's about time... hope buccie doesn't pull the gay card and try to take the sympathy route
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Judge William C. O'Kelley = Conservative Republican
The "gay card" probably can't be played with this fellow.
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Kristie,
Here is an item for your "breaking news" section or your "press releases" section. I think it is important to let your readers know that this is happening. I also didn't see on your site that the Academy at Ivy Ridge in NY has been sued for $100million for fraud and abuse. Shouldn't these events get "air time" at your site?
Regards,
A Concerned Parent
U.S. District Court
Northern District of Georgia (Gainesville)
CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 2:06-cv-00146-WCO
J.O.R. et al v. Hidden Lake Academy, Inc. et al
Assigned to: Judge William C. O'Kelley
Cause: 28:1391 Personal Injury
Date Filed: 09/11/2006
Jury Demand: Plaintiff
Nature of Suit: 190 Contract: Other
Jurisdiction: Diversity
Plaintiff
J.O.R. represented by Mary Donne Peters
Gorby Reeves & Peters
Two Ravinia Drive
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30346-2104
404-239-1150
Email: mgorby@gorbyreeves.com (http://mailto:mgorby@gorbyreeves.com)
LEAD ATTORNEY
ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED
Patrick Ryan Kelly
Gorby Reeves & Peters
Two Ravinia Drive
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30346-2104
404-239-1150
Email: http://www.gand.uscourts.gov (http://www.gand.uscourts.gov) to obtain Pretrial Instructions. (Entered: 09/11/2006)
09/11/2006 2 Summons Issued as to Hidden Lake Academy, Inc., HLA, Inc., Hidden Lake Foundation, Inc., Leonard Buccellato. (sk) (Entered: 09/11/2006)
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You know I have a funny feeling we wont be hearing much more out of that crowd for awhile,
Thanks to everyone who sought to expose the truth, the house of cards is soon to be collapsed.
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::fuckoff:: ::both::::bigsmilebounce:: ::bwahaha2:: ::bwahaha:: ::fuckoff:: ::both:: ::hehehmm:: ::nod:: ::rocker:: ::both:: ::fuckoff:: ::unhappy:: :wave: :wave: :wave: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: ::fuckoff:: ::both::
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::bwahaha:: ::bwahaha::
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I have just read two pages of posts and still do not know what the lawsuit is about. Does anyone have any details?
Sincerely,
A first time poster and parent of a former HLA resident.
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I have just read two pages of posts and still do not know what the lawsuit is about. Does anyone have any details?
Sincerely,
A first time poster and parent of a former HLA resident.
Details will be released very soon.
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You can follow the link in the original post and purchase a copy for .08 per page through Pacer, or be patient. I'm sure it will be posted asap, or a summary at the least.
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You can follow the link in the original post and purchase a copy for .08 per page through Pacer, or be patient. I'm sure it will be posted asap, or a summary at the least.
Here's the link to PACER:
http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/pacer.htm (http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/pacer.htm)
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Seems like the lawsuit would most likely be about what parents expected HLA to provide and what HLA said they could provide versus what HLA actually did provide.
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i am happy to hear that this hell hole is getting shut down i went through 2 yrs of bullshit i went throught a lot and i am happy to hear that future kids wont have to expeirience what i did.thank god
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Seems like the lawsuit would most likely be about what parents expected HLA to provide and what HLA said they could provide versus what HLA actually did provide.
No its a personal injury suit, its probably more along the lines of emotinal injury and things like that, though i owuldnt be surprised if things like failure to provide adequate services dont pop up.
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Seems like the lawsuit would most likely be about what parents expected HLA to provide and what HLA said they could provide versus what HLA actually did provide.
No its a personal injury suit, its probably more along the lines of emotinal injury and things like that, though i owuldnt be surprised if things like failure to provide adequate services dont pop up.
No, this is a class action suit - not a personal injury suit. There's a huge difference.
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Seems like the lawsuit would most likely be about what parents expected HLA to provide and what HLA said they could provide versus what HLA actually did provide.
No its a personal injury suit, its probably more along the lines of emotinal injury and things like that, though i owuldnt be surprised if things like failure to provide adequate services dont pop up.
No, this is a class action suit - not a personal injury suit. There's a huge difference.
Let me see if I can clear things up a bit. This is a class-action lawsuit with multiple plaintiffs. It is being brought for personal injuries and other accessory issues such as fraud, etc.
I understand that the document posted does not reveal all of the information involved in the suit. Currently there is not an entire case summary available through PACER. Save yourselves the 8 cents per page fee, because there's not much there yet, as it has to be fleshed out as they upload more documents. I will be happy to keep all of you apprised of the situation as it develops (so far, this has been the best 8 cents I ever spent).
Money damages being sought have not been enumerated yet, but in order to be a federal case, it is necessarily over $5million dollars (although I hear it could easily be ten to twenty times this amount when all is said and done).
I also understand that the principles are not interested in a settlement in this case, but rather an admission of wrongdoing by HLA and subsequent regulation required by law or closure of the facility. Regulation, in effect, would mean closure for all practical purposes because HLA would have to hire an entire new (QUALIFED, LICENSED) staff, completely retool policies and procedures, upgrade facilities, revamp the educational component, build laboratories for academic use, hire certified teachers and, of course, submit fully to random inspections. My suspiscion is that rather than behave according to moral, ethical and legal standards - which all cost money - they will fold up and move on.
I know HLA is currently carrying only $11million in insurance and that, based on similar cases in precedent, it will absolutley not cover the judgement should the plaintiffs prevail. Therefore, business assets could be force-liquidated and could possibly result in the sale of the entire facility to meet the judgement figure. We'll have to see how that shakes out.
I hope this helps to clarify the issues and I will do my best to keep this thread up to date and current.
As for SHH and RB, it is now crystal clear that although SHH blindly and ignorantly defended HLA every step of the way, up to and including calling RB a liar and attempting to out his identity (same for me, too), she was dead wrong about almost every single assertion she posted here. Suffice it to say that all along RB was dead on and all of you who disparaged him for telling the truth about his experience at HLA should be ashamed of yourselves (although I do acknowledge that some of you sociopaths are incapable of feeling this). There's not much else to say about this.
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You can follow the link in the original post and purchase a copy for .08 per page through Pacer, or be patient. I'm sure it will be posted asap, or a summary at the least.
Deborah - is Pacer currently providing a draft of the charges or the final copy (which I would assume is not released yet)
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You can follow the link in the original post and purchase a copy for .08 per page through Pacer, or be patient. I'm sure it will be posted asap, or a summary at the least.
Deborah - is Pacer currently providing a draft of the charges or the final copy (which I would assume is not released yet)
Plese see preceeding post. Thanks.
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Didn't see that because I was typing when you posted, thanks !!!
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If anyone wants more info on the lawsuits PM me.
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Seems like the lawsuit would most likely be about what parents expected HLA to provide and what HLA said they could provide versus what HLA actually did provide.
No its a personal injury suit, its probably more along the lines of emotinal injury and things like that, though i owuldnt be surprised if things like failure to provide adequate services dont pop up.
No, this is a class action suit - not a personal injury suit. There's a huge difference.
Let me see if I can clear things up a bit. This is a class-action lawsuit with multiple plaintiffs. It is being brought for personal injuries and other accessory issues such as fraud, etc.
I understand that the document posted does not reveal all of the information involved in the suit. Currently there is not an entire case summary available through PACER. Save yourselves the 8 cents per page fee, because there's not much there yet, as it has to be fleshed out as they upload more documents. I will be happy to keep all of you apprised of the situation as it develops (so far, this has been the best 8 cents I ever spent).
Money damages being sought have not been enumerated yet, but in order to be a federal case, it is necessarily over $5million dollars (although I hear it could easily be ten to twenty times this amount when all is said and done).
I also understand that the principles are not interested in a settlement in this case, but rather an admission of wrongdoing by HLA and subsequent regulation required by law or closure of the facility. Regulation, in effect, would mean closure for all practical purposes because HLA would have to hire an entire new (QUALIFED, LICENSED) staff, completely retool policies and procedures, upgrade facilities, revamp the educational component, build laboratories for academic use, hire certified teachers and, of course, submit fully to random inspections. My suspiscion is that rather than behave according to moral, ethical and legal standards - which all cost money - they will fold up and move on.
I know HLA is currently carrying only $11million in insurance and that, based on similar cases in precedent, it will absolutley not cover the judgement should the plaintiffs prevail. Therefore, business assets could be force-liquidated and could possibly result in the sale of the entire facility to meet the judgement figure. We'll have to see how that shakes out.
I hope this helps to clarify the issues and I will do my best to keep this thread up to date and current.
As for SHH and RB, it is now crystal clear that although SHH blindly and ignorantly defended HLA every step of the way, up to and including calling RB a liar and attempting to out his identity (same for me, too), she was dead wrong about almost every single assertion she posted here. Suffice it to say that all along RB was dead on and all of you who disparaged him for telling the truth about his experience at HLA should be ashamed of yourselves (although I do acknowledge that some of you sociopaths are incapable of feeling this). There's not much else to say about this.
Excellent synopsis!
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i'm goin to have to say HLA did one thing for me....I CAN FUCKIN LIE MY ASS OFF. since leaving i have never gotten into trouble, fired from a job, gotten away from arrest situations, and completely learned how to milk my parents, and learned i can do what ever i want if i cover it up and have the right people with me. i want to thank all my friends who made kids scared to tell on people.thanks HLA
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i'm goin to have to say HLA did one thing for me....I CAN FUCKIN LIE MY ASS OFF. since leaving i have never gotten into trouble, fired from a job, gotten away from arrest situations, and completely learned how to milk my parents, and learned i can do what ever i want if i cover it up and have the right people with me. i want to thank all my friends who made kids scared to tell on people.thanks HLA
Unfortunately that's what happens to most of the kids who go there. Tell the truth and you get punished or sent on restrictions. The kids learn very quickly it's better to lie or not speak up at all about what goes on and keep your mouth shut than face the consequences.
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Ironically, they 'teach' what they profess to 'treat'.
:rofl:
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Deborah,
Thank you for your unwavering devotion to this cause!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
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::birthday:: ::cheers::
PS... what a lovely birthday present.
Thanks co-hearts. ::kiss::
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Once again, for all of the nay-sayers, the doubters, HLA employees and the general program rabble rousers who said this would never happen: WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY NOW?
HLA Staff:
"Where do I sign up for unemployment?"
or
"It's time to get my resume in order."
or
"Would you like to super-size that?"
:lol: :lol: :lol:
These are very real possible scenarios...
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I don't want to burst everyone's bubble, but how winable is this law suit going to be? All that has really been done so far is a suit has been filed. Is there proof for what ever has been alledged? When will we be able to find out what this lawsuit really covers?
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Im sure if you ask your Uncle JoJo he'll be happy to share it with you and inform you there is more than enough proof for what did in fact occur.
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I don't want to burst everyone's bubble, but how winable is this law suit going to be? All that has really been done so far is a suit has been filed. Is there proof for what ever has been alledged? When will we be able to find out what this lawsuit really covers?
well, let's put it this way: after months of investigations by private investigators, the irs, cps, ors, the fbi and the attorneys who filed the case it was determined that not only does it have merit, but it's imminently winnable.
if it weren't, then why would the foremost, most successful class action attorneys in the entire country even move forward with the case? obviously, if they can't win they can't get paid, right?
let me just say that if you saw the evidence in this case (which will be made public at trial) you'd have no question as to whether or not this action is winnable.
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There's so much judicial and legal machinery mobilized here that it's a shame just to waste it all on HLA.
When HLA finally gets creamed, can the same attorneys move to smashing up the rest of the hellholes?
Just a pleasant thought to throw out there...
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I don't want to burst everyone's bubble, but how winable is this law suit going to be? All that has really been done so far is a suit has been filed. Is there proof for what ever has been alledged? When will we be able to find out what this lawsuit really covers?
http://www.bergermontague.com/case-summary.cfm?id=155 (http://www.bergermontague.com/case-summary.cfm?id=155)
Hidden Lake Academy
Clients of Berger & Montague have filed a class action lawsuit against Hidden Lake Academy, Inc. and related defendants. Hidden Lake touts itself as a "therapeutic boarding school" geared to high-school aged students who exhibit oppositional-defiant behavior, low self-esteem, drug addiction or other social deficits. The families and other caregivers of these children, in turn, pay Hidden Lake several thousand dollars per month in what Hidden Lake represents to be "an all-inclusive tuition." The plaintiffs allege, in sum, that contrary to the school's uniform representations to class member families throughout the past several years while their children were enrolled there, Hidden Lake: employed a number of uncertified teachers and unqualified counseling staff; did not employ at times any licensed learning disability specialist or a registered or properly licensed nurse; allowed unlicensed staff such as secretaries to dispense to students prescription medication; enrolled a number court-ordered, violent and severely disturbed children; and overbilled families for a number of items and incidential charges, among other things.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division, where Hidden Lake is based. In addition to Berger & Montague, the plaintiffs are also represented by Gorby, Reeves & Peters, P.C. of Atlanta, Georgia.
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All I know is I should be awarded some kind of settlement for all the suffering Ive had to endure because of that horrid place. Not to mention all the hard work Ive done in trying to expose them.
Can anyone give me the lawyers contact information?
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The lawsuit is more about a misuse of power and an abuse of trust.
When professionals make reccomondations about facilities for minors in a legal capacity where you have, under the most challenging of circumstances, placed your trust in them to hire them as a professional consultant in a field of expertise that they have advertised they are, in fact licensed to practise, there is a reasonable expectation that the professional will represent the subject facility to provide services to your minor child in need, that will be, in fact, be safe and they will be accountable to you for those services.
HLA misrepresents itself both through edcons and its own professional intake and educational staff when you visit, but then after you have signed the contract and they have taken possesion of your family situation, the terrible reality comes out!
Then when they get your child in their slimy grip, they blackmail you and your child through withholding family contact and communication to keep absolute control over your child that you trusted them with the care of.
Their misrepresentations of their abilities and their intent with your entire family dire circumstances is criminal and hopefully, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
They use their expertise in the area of "treating" manipulation and emotional disabilities to in fact, actually use manilpulation at its highest art form to take away your power to advocate for your child.
They use the very skills they are supposed to treat your child with to manipulate the family under their control to their own gain.
I pray to God that enough principaled professionals dare to come forward to expose this group so that they are able to resore some faith in the legitimate other treatment facilities.
Way to go Deborah and all those who made this happen :)
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I pray to God that enough principaled professionals dare to come forward to expose this group so that they are able to resore some faith in the legitimate other treatment facilities.
This is exactly how this entire event got rolling. There are some ethical professionals out there whose only concern is the safe, ethical and effective treatment of children. This is why we stand up against fraudulent, unethical treatment like that dispensed at HLA.
Please PM me for information on how to get your story to the media and to the attorneys handling the case.
Thanks.
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the date - thank you for that - justice will prevail... :lol: :D ::bwahaha:: :wave: :silly:
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I am not sure if this can be answered at the present moment, but can anybody give an appx time that this is going to trial?
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That is still at the very least several months away.
Which means there's still plenty of time to get involved. Anyone interested feel free to PM for information on how.
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Appears a precedent was set with the Alldredge/Ayne suit, in terms of settlement.
Paul and Diana Lewis and the Alldredge Academy in Davis settled for $1.2 million with a stipulation that the academy would admit responsibility for the death. [Way to go Lewises]
http://wwf.fornits.com/viewtopic.php?p= ... yne#201516 (http://wwf.fornits.com/viewtopic.php?p=201516&highlight=ayne#201516)
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"Discreation is the better part of Valor"
I don't know who said this, but I have found it valuable in life to keep my expectations tiny, tiny, then I will have less reasons to be winey, winey.
In other words, usually when you pop a great big zit, there will be alot of disgusting stuff.
Buccalato (I never have been able to get his disgusting name right!) & Crew are experts in deflecting responsibility and covering their own, "you know whats".
Don't be surprised when Quirk & Quirk and the other law firms they will retain start flinging serious mud and those fragile, sensitive souls that we may be, better have some serious armor to protect us.
Don't go into this believing the "law" protects "victims". That is a lie from hell. The "law" protects itself.
I support this effort whole heartedly, but I just caution that lawsuits take a long, long time and sometimes, evil does win and that has to beaccepted so good people do not break.
Play the long game always. There may be multiple battles. Make sure you stay in for the whole war. Don't give up if little or medium battles or lost.
Just believe that in the end, good and right will always previal - it just may take awhile.
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I have finished reading the entire case against HLA and, my oh my, is it informative.
The phrases "organized crime" and "confidence game"immediately come to mind.
I will post its entire contents tomorrow as time permits, as it is a scanned-up .pdf and I need to OCR it to a more usable format for posting.
The discovery phase, I suspect, will be equally as interesting and informative as this initial filing. That's going to be where the rubber meets the road in this affair - where hard evidence of HLA's deplorable practices becomes public record for public scrutiny.
As an aside, it has been told to me by a very, very reliable source that the Little General is absolutely terrified of testifying in court - not particulary in this matter, but any court in general. That's one to watch right there...
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I have finished reading the entire case against HLA and, my oh my, is it informative.
The phrases "organized crime" and "confidence game"immediately come to mind.
I will post its entire contents tomorrow as time permits, as it is a scanned-up .pdf and I need to OCR it to a more usable format for posting.
The discovery phase, I suspect, will be equally as interesting and informative as this initial filing. That's going to be where the rubber meets the road in this affair - where hard evidence of HLA's deplorable practices becomes public record for public scrutiny.
As an aside, it has been told to me by a very, very reliable source that the Little General is absolutely terrified of testifying in court - not particulary in this matter, but any court in general. That's one to watch right there...
[/b][/i]
DJ - You are too funny. That court room is going to be packed tight. I wouldn't miss this for the anything. Doesn't it make you wonder how this coward got away with bullying for so long? It was probably for the best because what goes around comes around. My oh my, Bucci is in for it and he's going to get his due and maybe Spoonie's due as well! :flame:
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Apparently Spoonie and the clan are just as much puppets as the rest of them.
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A legal note to all prior and current HLA staff who are contacting parents on this forum.
I do not believe HLA's counsel would feel it was judicious for you to have contact with the very plaintiff's who will be testifying against your actions against their children.
Whatever relationship we might have been forced into as your employer had physical custody of our children and subjected us to be dependant on your physical control, when our children were at HLA, now that the lawsuit has been filed, employees of HLA are part of the group of defendants and will be called to testify to their part in the harm done to our children.
I think it very pudent for all parents and former "students" to be very careful with relationships they may have with current or former staff of HLA.
This is where the "rubber meets the road". "Piss or get off the pot".
You are either part of the lawsuit or you condone HLA actions.
There is NO in-between.
If staff had cared so much for us or our children, why were they NOT whistle blowers? And if they are whistle blowers, then they can publicly let us all know exactly, how they stood up to the HLA superiors that were forcing them to do things they knew better than to do and let us know what reprecusions they sufferred.
This is a serious time now not to sabatoge this case.
We are either seriously harmed and am looking for justice or "it really wasn't that bad".
It can't be both ways.
Lawsuits are serious business. If you think these people are giving up their reputations, their businesses they built for decades, their bank accounts, their positions in the world community as a expert without a damned god-awful fight - you'd better think again.
This crew are experts in manipulations and mind games. Not much difference than counter-intelligence people.
You are banking on the legal system can beat a bunch of shrinks.
My judgement is still up in the air as to who I think might win that fight.
You think because we were wronged and anyone can see that, that we will win??
Wait a minute - bad things happen all the time and people just "walk away".
So, at the very least, one of the legal staff needs to let the folks here know that now is not the time to be "cozying up".
If I were a former or current staff, I'd be pissing in my pants, worrying about how big a part I might be called into in this mess and how I was going to feed my family during the months or years this might drag on and if I lost my license, then what would I do.
This is very serious business.
I do not mean to scare you or to be over-buerdensome in my postings, but we all got used to alot of "CHAOS" and now is not the time to confuse the issues of this case by being buddy-buddy with some of the staff, but well not others.....
sorry for the rant....
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since not all that went there had horrible experiences, then which ones were we?
is it just me, or are their commonalities?
the analyst in me, how many plaintiff families were any time in the course of the treatment period, "single-parent" families?
my belief is that buccalto has "women" issues and used all our "profiles" they put together on our families to "know" who they could most abuse and get away with it
no offense, but those of our families that did not have a nuclear mother and father to team up, but only had another loving person come along that supported during the process, were we at a serious disadvantage in the "game" that was played
just a suspision thAT i WOULD BE CURIOUS IF SOMEONE RAN TO GROUND
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A legal note to all prior and current HLA staff who are contacting parents on this forum.
I do not believe HLA's counsel would feel it was judicious for you to have contact with the very plaintiff's who will be testifying against your actions against their children.
Whatever relationship we might have been forced into as your employer had physical custody of our children and subjected us to be dependant on your physical control, when our children were at HLA, now that the lawsuit has been filed, employees of HLA are part of the group of defendants and will be called to testify to their part in the harm done to our children.
I think it very pudent for all parents and former "students" to be very careful with relationships they may have with current or former staff of HLA.
This is where the "rubber meets the road". "Piss or get off the pot".
You are either part of the lawsuit or you condone HLA actions.
There is NO in-between.
If staff had cared so much for us or our children, why were they NOT whistle blowers? And if they are whistle blowers, then they can publicly let us all know exactly, how they stood up to the HLA superiors that were forcing them to do things they knew better than to do and let us know what reprecusions they sufferred.
This is a serious time now not to sabatoge this case.
We are either seriously harmed and am looking for justice or "it really wasn't that bad".
It can't be both ways.
Lawsuits are serious business. If you think these people are giving up their reputations, their businesses they built for decades, their bank accounts, their positions in the world community as a expert without a damned god-awful fight - you'd better think again.
This crew are experts in manipulations and mind games. Not much difference than counter-intelligence people.
You are banking on the legal system can beat a bunch of shrinks.
My judgement is still up in the air as to who I think might win that fight.
You think because we were wronged and anyone can see that, that we will win??
Wait a minute - bad things happen all the time and people just "walk away".
So, at the very least, one of the legal staff needs to let the folks here know that now is not the time to be "cozying up".
If I were a former or current staff, I'd be pissing in my pants, worrying about how big a part I might be called into in this mess and how I was going to feed my family during the months or years this might drag on and if I lost my license, then what would I do.
This is very serious business.
I do not mean to scare you or to be over-buerdensome in my postings, but we all got used to alot of "CHAOS" and now is not the time to confuse the issues of this case by being buddy-buddy with some of the staff, but well not others.....
sorry for the rant....
All very excellent points!!!!
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Take a look at the law firm representing the Plaintiffs:
http://www.bergermontague.com/ (http://www.bergermontague.com/)
They are one of the best law firms in the United States and their expertise is in Class Action Suits.
No firm would have taken on this case if they didn't think they could win it.
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Now that we have found Marla, I thought it might be a good idea to dedicate this topic to the real fallen angels, the children,the survivors of HLA.... May your wings never be clipped..To the counselors,staff who stood up for the 'fallen
angels, and are gone because they somehow held onto their humanity,we thank you...To the parents who reached deep into their own soul and found it in their child's eyes...To the rest of
you,watch the mirror crack as you truly see your
ugly reflection...only the truth will set you free...
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A legal note to all prior and current HLA staff who are contacting parents on this forum.
I do not believe HLA's counsel would feel it was judicious for you to have contact with the very plaintiff's who will be testifying against your actions against their children.
Whatever relationship we might have been forced into as your employer had physical custody of our children and subjected us to be dependant on your physical control, when our children were at HLA, now that the lawsuit has been filed, employees of HLA are part of the group of defendants and will be called to testify to their part in the harm done to our children.
I think it very pudent for all parents and former "students" to be very careful with relationships they may have with current or former staff of HLA.
This is where the "rubber meets the road". "Piss or get off the pot".
You are either part of the lawsuit or you condone HLA actions.
There is NO in-between.
If staff had cared so much for us or our children, why were they NOT whistle blowers? And if they are whistle blowers, then they can publicly let us all know exactly, how they stood up to the HLA superiors that were forcing them to do things they knew better than to do and let us know what reprecusions they sufferred.
This is a serious time now not to sabatoge this case.
We are either seriously harmed and am looking for justice or "it really wasn't that bad".
It can't be both ways.
Lawsuits are serious business. If you think these people are giving up their reputations, their businesses they built for decades, their bank accounts, their positions in the world community as a expert without a damned god-awful fight - you'd better think again.
This crew are experts in manipulations and mind games. Not much difference than counter-intelligence people.
You are banking on the legal system can beat a bunch of shrinks.
My judgement is still up in the air as to who I think might win that fight.
You think because we were wronged and anyone can see that, that we will win??
Wait a minute - bad things happen all the time and people just "walk away".
So, at the very least, one of the legal staff needs to let the folks here know that now is not the time to be "cozying up".
If I were a former or current staff, I'd be pissing in my pants, worrying about how big a part I might be called into in this mess and how I was going to feed my family during the months or years this might drag on and if I lost my license, then what would I do.
This is very serious business.
I do not mean to scare you or to be over-buerdensome in my postings, but we all got used to alot of "CHAOS" and now is not the time to confuse the issues of this case by being buddy-buddy with some of the staff, but well not others.....
sorry for the rant....
GO PRICILLA GO :flame:
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Are former staff, such as prior headmaster Greg Lindsey, named in the lawsuit.
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Are former staff, such as prior headmaster Greg Lindsey, named in the lawsuit.
You can view the entire lawsuit here:
http://www.bergermontague.com/pdfs/Hidd ... plaint.pdf (http://www.bergermontague.com/pdfs/Hidden%20Lake%20Academy%20Complaint.pdf)
www.bergermontague.com (http://www.bergermontague.com)
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Guest7 the only individual named in the lawsuit is Len. PM me for more details.
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Guest7 the only individual named in the lawsuit is Len. PM me for more details.
So far. I strongly suspect that there will be others. Plaintiffs reserved the right to name Spooner specifically, but there could very well be many others, including EdCons who refer to HLA and agencies who failed to properly oversee or regulate HLA, such as SACS. Precedent for this has been set in the $100million lawsuit against WWASPS' Ivy Ridge.
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Guest7 the only individual named in the lawsuit is Len. PM me for more details.
You can bet that Ken Spooner and Georgia Tent and Awning will be named in the suit very quickly
Quirk will have a tough time defending this , is the suit too big for them?
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Probably. Which is really too bad, I was looking forward to meeting Lil' Joey.
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Do you really think Len is gonna stick around and watch his empire crumble?...I bet he skips the country and takes all his hidden assets with him.
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I have heard that he will settle for any amount necessary before he will take the stand. He'd rather lose everything than testify.
Maybe Spoonie will let Bucci sit on his lap on the witness stand so he doesn't get too frightened.
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Maybe Spoonie will let Bucci sit on his lap on the witness stand so he doesn't get too frightened.
:rofl:
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"Yes, your honor. The defense calls Mr. Leonard Buccellato. Would you kindly hand me that booster seat? Thank you."
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We're coming up on the deadline for HLA to respond to this suit. It's going to be interesting to say the least...
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Plaintiffs have now grown to 21 families.
If the class is not certified, the plaintiffs intend to file individual suits that, eventually, could reach 50 or more.
There sure are a lot of folks out there that feel they've been wronged by HLA and are willing to take it to the mat. It's going to be very interesting to see how it all shakes out. Unless of course ORS shuts HLA down before the case is heard, which is a distinct possibility.
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http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/artic ... %20hla.txt (http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/articles/2007/02/14/news/04%20hla.txt)
Hidden Lake class action hangs in balance
By Matt Aiken
To be a class action or not to be a class action? That is the multi-million dollar question which could determine the ultimate fate of Hidden Lake Academy,
With the Camp Wahsega Road boarding school reeling in the wake of a civil lawsuit, that question has yet to be answered by Judge William C. O'Kelley of the United States District Court.
Two weeks earlier the judge set aside an entire day within the walls of the federal courthouse in Gainesville in which to entertain a series of motions involving the pending lawsuit.
On Sept. 11 2006, a civil suit was filed against the school by families of two former students who accused the school and its founder Dr. Len Buccellato of a laundry list of ethical oversights, including the alleged misappropriation of funds, the knowing acceptance of ?violent? and ?disturbed? children and the routine hiring of uncertified teachers.
Since the filing of the suit, HLA's legal team of King & Spalding reported that the school has suffered a large drop in enrollment which has resulted in salary cuts and numerous firings.
?Not to ring the bell too hard,? said defense lawyer Letitia McDonald at the beginning of the hearing. ?This could be a moot issue. The school is teetering for lack of a better word.?
As the proceeding got under way one half of the courtroom was occupied by a group of parents and potential class action applicants. Many of the parents cast occasional glares at Buccellato and the handful of HLA administrators who sat entrenched on the opposite side of the courtroom.
Amidst it all HLA's legal team argued long and loud against the possible certification while portraying such a suit as the nail in the coffin for a school that was once the fourth largest private employer in Lumpkin County.
?I don't believe I've seen a case where plaintiffs proposed a class action ... on so thin an argument,? said Barry Goheen of King & Spalding.
Much of the agrument revolved around HLA's 70-page parental handbook.
The plaintiffs' legal teams of Gorby, Reeves and Peters have pointed to numerous alleged misleading statements in the handbook that detail the reported services provided at Hidden Lake.
The plaintiffs argued that this handbook included the guarantees, such as certified teachers and non-court ordered students, which convinced many parents to pay the approximate rate of $6,000 monthly tuition.
However, the defense argued that even if such promises are hypothetically untrue, they were not actually included on the parents' signed contract.
?The issue is the plethora of individual issues the handbook brings into the case,? continued Goheen. ?Determining whether each parent read the entire 70-page handbook should be determined on a class-by-class basis.?
O'Kelley seemed to agree with this sentiment.
?You've got to go outside the document [contract] to establish what your expectations were on the part of the parents,? he said. ?And it's very possibly and probably very different for each one of them.?
Merrill Davidoff of the plaintiffs' legal team countered by arguing that such materials are key in a parent's arduous decision to enroll their child in a year-round boarding school.
?I think that the proof will be that somewhere from 97-100 percent had it in front of them and that's enough,? said Davidoff ?They say these are our policies, practices and procedures. I don't know what could be more clear.?
?You pay for a Lincoln Towncar and you get a Ford Pinto,? surmised Davidoff. ?That's what this is.?
?It's still a Ford,? replied O'Kelly.
As the hearing drew to a close the plaintiffs' legal team requested a new period of limited discovery in which to further research the details of the case.
?We really should get some discovery,? said Davidoff, ?before Your Honor makes a precipitous decision to deny the class.?
As of Tuesday morning O'Kelly had yet to officially approve or deny such a request.
?The motion to certify is the one that is the most disturbing, and I have real problems with that,? surmised O'Kelley at the end of the hearing. ?And you obviously saw it because I think I started asking questions about it the very first thing this morning ... and I just have difficulty with that issue.
?But if it requires more discovery, I may set a pattern and allow you to do that, but whatever I do, I want it to be the right thing. And I expect it to be. And I know it will be.?
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Matt Aiken used to work at HLA...
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?The motion to certify is the one that is the most disturbing, and I have real problems with that,? surmised O'Kelley at the end of the hearing. ?And you obviously saw it because I think I started asking questions about it the very first thing this morning ... and I just have difficulty with that issue.
?But if it requires more discovery, I may set a pattern and allow you to do that, but whatever I do, I want it to be the right thing. And I expect it to be. And I know it will be.?
What'd I tell you guys? Even a federal judge has problems wrapping his head around this shit.
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Reading this article is doesn't sound like the judge is too likely to certify.
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?You pay for a Lincoln Towncar and you get a Ford Pinto,? surmised Davidoff. ?That's what this is.?
?It's still a Ford,? replied O'Kelly.
So is this the judge's logic?:
"You pay for a Therapeutic Boarding School that is supposed to have certified teachers and trained, skilled counselors and you get a TBS (which, by the way, has fought state regulation for years) that has uncertified teachers (some of the teachers aren't even real teachers) and untrained, unskilled counselors," surmises John Doe. "That's what this is."
"It's still a school," - replies the judge.
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Pretty much. You got a car didn't ya? Does it matter that it's not what you ordered?
I'm not sure what HLA intended with their comment about being the fourth largest employer in Lumpkin Co. Should that somehow weigh on the judge's decision? I can't even find them in the Top 10.
4th Quarter 2005
Lumpkin County- Five Largest Employers
Chestatee Regional Hospital
Mohawk Carpet Corp
North Ga College & University
The Torrington Co
Wal-Mart Associates Inc
Lumpkin Area- Ten Largest Employers
Northeast Ga Medical Center
Fieldale Farms Corp
Pilgrims Pride Corp
Mar-Jac Poultry
K D Acquisition I LLC
Kubota Manufacturing
Wrigley Manufacturing
Brenau College
Wal-Mart Associates
North Ga College & University
The five largest employers in Lumpkin County were
Aladdin Manufacturing Corp
Chestatee Regional Hospital
North Georgia College and State University
TorringtonCompany
Walmart
The ten largest employers in the Lumpkin Area are all located in Hall County, and include
ConAgra Poultry Co.
Cottrell, Inc.
Fieldale FarmsCorp
Gannett Satellite Information Network
Gress Foods LLC
KSLLake Lanier Inc.
Mar-Jac Poultry Inc.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center Inc.
Peachtree Doors & Windows Inc.
WM Wrigley Jr. Co.
http://tinyurl.com/3dk73q (http://tinyurl.com/3dk73q)
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Look at the wording in this article again Deborah
"was once the fourth largest private employer in Lumpkin County"
It WAS once the fourth largest private employer in Lumpkin Co. I remember seeing the numbers when I lived there. At one time it employed over 200 people, most of whom resided in the county. It doesnt have that status anymore, however. Thats why you can't find it in the top 5 or top 10 now.
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The statement was probably just another exaggeration and a ploy to get sympathy from the court.
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Look at the wording in this article again Deborah
"was once the fourth largest private employer in Lumpkin County"
It WAS once the fourth largest private employer in Lumpkin Co. I remember seeing the numbers when I lived there. At one time it employed over 200 people, most of whom resided in the county. It doesnt have that status anymore, however. Thats why you can't find it in the top 5 or top 10 now.
Okay. Can you post anything to substantiate that? The information I posted was for 2005, prior to the lawsuit, which is blamed for the current lower number of employees.
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I can't post anything to substantiate it, but I can say that when people in the community were protesting MBA being built and there was a debate of sorts with the county commission there, this employment statistic was given and it was cooberated by members of the county commission. I am pretty sure it is true. They did have close to, or maybe even over, 200 employees at one time.
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Well that last post wasnt me, but no, I cant substantiate that. The timeframe I am talking about was around 2001 or 2002 or so, when they had over 200 employees. I have no idea how many employees they had between Ridge Creek and HLA in 2005. I remember them getting the road paved back in 1998 or 1999 because it was proven that they were either number 4 or number 5 in number of employees in the county and the road was owned by the county and they were refusing to pave it for awhile even though they were paving private roads in other areas of the county. They won their case and got the road paved. In 2005 with some new industry coming in its quite possible by then it had already dwindled to number 10 or 11.
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And where did most of the employees come from?
Out of State...That was also an argument with MBA.
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?You pay for a Lincoln Towncar and you get a Ford Pinto,? surmised Davidoff. ?That's what this is.?
?It's still a Ford,? replied O'Kelly.
So is this the judge's logic?:
"You pay for a Therapeutic Boarding School that is supposed to have certified teachers and trained, skilled counselors and you get a TBS (which, by the way, has fought state regulation for years) that has uncertified teachers (some of the teachers aren't even real teachers) and untrained, unskilled counselors," surmises John Doe. "That's what this is."
"It's still a school," - replies the judge.
And, according to Ford, Lincoln Town Car, is a Mercury.
How would Delta feel if they ordered a Boeing 767 and they received a Boeing 717....?
"It is still a Boeing"..... I don't think so.
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We came from two counties away, not out of state. From what I remember, almost all cooks, maintenance, security, shipping, janitorial, and the ex ranger camp workers were living in the county already when they got hired. The main ones that came from out of state were counselers who graduated colleges in other states, and maybe a few teachers. But some teachers graduated from North Georgia which is in Dahlonega so they were in county. And almost all of the office employees, clerical type, were in-county. I would say when I was there, 1994-2001, at least 70% of the employees were from North Georgia area. Thats from those years, I have no idea after 2002 what the in-county percentage was of employees. Where you find the out of state hires is in counseling roles mainly and some higher up management positions.
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Yeah, the observation by the judge doesn't look like his head is in a good place. On the other hand, it's not a ruling.
Say you bought a German Shepherd dog. Say it was very different from the quality of dog you thought you were buying.
It's still a dog, sure, but then the next question becomes important:
Did the seller make material misrepresentations to the buyer?
Did the seller, for instance, show the buyer a falsified pedigree that asserts both parents are champions, when the bitch is from a backyard breeder and the dog who fathered the litter looks like a German Shepherd dog but has no pedigree at all?
Did the seller ensure the puppy was healthy and free of hip defects when it's a sick little sucker?
Did the seller sell *a lot* of puppies who had similarly falsified records? For example, was the seller a pet store chain that sold a lot of sick and/or pedigree-falsified dogs to hundreds of people?
It may still be a dog, but once you get to the next question on the list, it still qualifies as a class.
So, "It's still a Ford," may just mean, "You can't show me you paid for a Ford and got a Schwinn--it's another Ford. So now you're gonna have to show me you've got enough evidence of a pattern of material misrepresentations about this Ford that meet the right criteria for me to certify this as a class."
Don't read too much into the comment. It doesn't look good, but still.
Julie
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There's a ton of evidence/documentation, but it's whether or not the court chooses to look at the evidence/documentation. Federal court is vastly different than Civil court.
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Wouldn't you think that the length of time this is taking favors the plantiffs? It at least seems like the judge is looking at the evidence and seriously weighing it. If the judge were just completely closed off to the idea of certifying it, he could have come back with a judgement much sooner. Of course I may just be showing my ignorance in such matters.
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If the school is in such critical financial condition that if the suit gets certified they will shut down by March, how is the denial to certify going to get HLA so well that it will be all rosey. How can len believe that everything will be just fine?
He has all 5 recently acquired properties for sale, a fire sale.
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a fire sale.
Wouldn't it be quicker and more in his character to just torch the places and collect the insurance money?
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If the school is in such critical financial condition that if the suit gets certified they will shut down by March, how is the denial to certify going to get HLA so well that it will be all rosey. How can len believe that everything will be just fine?
Thinking... hoping... the plaintiffs will give up and go away?
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What's worse, a class action or a dozen different parents individually out for your blood?
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How many ex-students/current students might be out for blood?
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Hundreds. With the exception of brainwashed saps like Aften.
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Good ol Tunafish. Wonder what shes up to these days.
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If the class is not certified, it will be very expensive for the individual plaintiffs to proceed, and there is not big pot of gold at the end of the expensive litigation.
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But you also have to remember, these are parents that were willing to pay 6000 a month to ship their kids off with no hope of return on that money. I doubt it would cost that much to persue this litigation, and the reward is substantial, even if its not monetary. These parents are obviously quite motivated and determined in the process they've gotten started. For some reason I just cant see them throwing their hands up at the first road block.
But thats just my opinion.
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$6000 will get them maybe 2 weeks of attorney time. The parents expected a big return on their investment in HLA- isn't that the point of the lawsuit? Not having the class certified would be a huge blow. I suspect there will be a few families that pursue individual suits, but not many.
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$6000 will get them maybe 2 weeks of attorney time. The parents expected a big return on their investment in HLA- isn't that the point of the lawsuit? Not having the class certified would be a huge blow. I suspect there will be a few families that pursue individual suits, but not many.
Think again.
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If the class is not certified, it will be very expensive for the individual plaintiffs to proceed, and there is not big pot of gold at the end of the expensive litigation.
I think for a lot of us its about the principle.
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i am happy to hear that this hell hole is getting shut down i went through 2 yrs of bullshit i went throught a lot and i am happy to hear that future kids wont have to expeirience what i did.thank god
the school is not closing by the way...ask yourself why you were sent there in the first place. It wasn't HLA.
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i am happy to hear that this hell hole is getting shut down i went through 2 yrs of bullshit i went throught a lot and i am happy to hear that future kids wont have to expeirience what i did.thank god
the school is not closing by the way...ask yourself why you were sent there in the first place. It wasn't HLA.
Let's place some bets - I bet HLA will close on/around 1 July 2007.
BTW - This bet is placed on behalf of the kid M.K. took on an Intervention in late 2006. The boy found a bottle and sliced his wrists. But being the compassionate professional you are, you just taped us his wrists and made him stay on the Intervention. You never told his parents about it (or got him professional help), but the kids on the Intervention talked and so did his PG members and roommates. Sucks how secrets always come back to haunt you, huh?
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the school is not closing by the way...ask yourself why you were sent there in the first place. It wasn't HLA.
Ask yourself why the school is having so many problems in the first place. It wasnt us.
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July 2007...wouldn't it close to coincide w/ the end of an academic quarter and wouldn't that be May 2007.
This entity is backed by one person not Goldman Sachs...and is losing money...if you were losing lots of your personal money every day would you wait until July?
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Yes, but they need a month or two to blame everyone else for their problems....
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They need to go ahead at the end of the quarter and close which is May 2007. They do not need to keep taking all that money from paretnts when so much of their staff have either quit or were let go. The staff keeps dwindling each week with more and more leaving. When 2 big peer groups graduate in May, and other parents pull their kids at the end of the semester, why would anyone think they can keep carrying on business as usual? The children there do not have enough supervison now as it is with half the staff.
They need to accept the facts and do the right thing especially when parents have to pay monthly tuition 1 month in advance.
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Those parents who pre-pay their tuition will never see one penny of their money returned..... they can't even pay back the people they owe money from months ago.
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What I meant by pre-pay the tuition is that when you get a bill due for 04-01-07, it is for May's tuition. The bill due 05-01-07 is for June's tuition and so on. If they were to close in May, they should tell people now and not make them pay on 05-01-07 for June 2007 tuition.
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What I meant by pre-pay the tuition is that when you get a bill due for 04-01-07, it is for May's tuition. The bill due 05-01-07 is for June's tuition and so on. If they were to close in May, they should tell people now and not make them pay on 05-01-07 for June 2007 tuition.
I see what you mean.
Even if they want to be upfront with everyone their lawyers/accountants will advise them not to tip their hand until the last minute. Typically once the announcement is made all the banks and creditors rush in and start freezing assets. You cant pay any bills unless they are in a certain order and approved by the creditors (if any). So they will keep the date under their hat as long as possible and then refund the money to the parents, if they paid it after the school knew it was to close.
If they had plenty of funding then they could announce it months in advance but people would bail out and parents would remove their kids early (not a good business move)
So if HLA knows it is going to close say June 1st then they would accept payments on 5/1/2007 for Junes tuition, but by law they will need to return this because they knew they were closing and the banks would distribute these funds (may take a few months, though) for them.
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"By law" has never been a huge concern for them.
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indeed. very astute observation.
and, yes, i'm sure, as the who stated, they WANT to tell the truth to the people they're ripping off, but those damned lawyers and accountants are to blame for crushing these families emotionally and financially, not HLA.
they're a TBS, people. they're here to help! :roll: :roll:
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themselves.
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well, the payment thing (not paying for the next month idea) would be all well and good except for the fact that the last monthly payment for the AUGUST grads was in APRIL...remember the money put in up front when the register is for the last 3 months...they are not collecting any funds for any students that are graduating in may OR in august...they are staying a float with only the funds they have for any student that didn't prepay the program or who is there past august...and there was a HUGE push last year for EVERY AND ANYONE coming in to pay in full and most of them did since they were offering 10% off the cost of the program if they did that...i think that discount has been dropped back to like 6% if they are even offering a discount...buch had to pay for the mosaleum (sp)...
so really...they have very very little actual liquid funds coming in...
and for the parents who read this...YOU WILL NOT SEE A PENNY OF ANY OF YOUR PREPAY MONEY WHEN THE SCHOOL CLOSES OR YOU PULL YOUR KID!!! but PLEASE don't let that be a deterrant to pulling your kid...it is just money and you can make more...but you can't replace your kid!!!
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There was a rumor floating around that the bank was getting ready to foreclose on the property - anyone out there know anything about that?