http://www.bergermontague.com/case-summary.cfm?id=155Hidden 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.
