Author Topic: Dr. Phil / Island View lawsuit  (Read 10359 times)

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Offline Oscar

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Dr. Phil / Island View lawsuit
« on: January 30, 2014, 09:27:52 AM »
Quote from: Deseret News
Family sues Dr. Phil, Utah treatment center
By Pat Reavy, Deseret News, Published: Wednesday, Jan. 29 2014 5:03 p.m. MST


YRACUSE — The family of a teenage girl who claims she was berated on television by Dr. Phil and then sent to a residential treatment center in Utah where she was falsely imprisoned, has filed a civil lawsuit.

Terri and David Myers, on behalf of their 15-year-old daughter, filed the complaint in federal court in Salt Lake City on Monday against the Dr. Phil Organization, Bain Capital, CRC Health Group, Aspen Educational Group, Island View Academy in Syracuse and a teacher at the academy.

In February of 2013, Terri Myer went on the "Dr. Phil" show with her daughter. In the episode, the daughter admitted to having sex with adult men she met online, which the family called "bizarre and dangerous conduct" in their lawsuit.

The family claims Dr. Phil, Phil McGraw, subjected the mother and daughter to "his brand of blunt ridicule." He offered to help the family by paying for the daughter to enroll at Island View Academy, a co-ed residential treatment center for troubled youth located in Syracuse.

The parents enrolled the girl. In their suit, they now call the facility a "private prison" and claim their daughter was placed there "for the purpose of forcing her to become obedient instead of truant by depriving her of freedom, privacy, education, and subjecting her to involuntary servitude, and unjust unusual punishments."

In one incident, the daughter apparently refused to obey staff members who told her to get off of her bed. When staff members tried to pull her off, her right arm "was badly and perhaps irreparably broken, and its main nerve severely damaged," the lawsuit states.

The family also claims their daughter's constitutional rights were violated and she was falsely imprisoned, as well as conspiracy and fraud.

Attempts to reach the Island View Academy and the "Dr. Phil" show for comments were unsuccessful.

Offline Pile of Dead Kids

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Re: Dr. Phil / Island View lawsuit
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2014, 10:22:28 PM »
Inevitable, like night following day.
...Sergey Blashchishen, James Shirey, Faith Finley, Katherine Rice, Ashlie Bunch, Brendan Blum, Caleb Jensen, Alex Cullinane, Rocco Magliozzi, Elisa Santry, Dillon Peak, Natalynndria Slim, Lenny Ortega, Angellika Arndt, Joey Aletriz, Martin Anderson, James White, Christening Garcia, Kasey Warner, Shirley Arciszewski, Linda Harris, Travis Parker, Omega Leach, Denis Maltez, Kevin Christie, Karlye Newman, Richard DeMaar, Alexis Richie, Shanice Nibbs, Levi Snyder, Natasha Newman, Gracie James, Michael Owens, Carlton Thomas, Taylor Mangham, Carnez Boone, Benjamin Lolley, Jessica Bradford's unnamed baby, Anthony Parker, Dysheka Streeter, Corey Foster, Joseph Winters, Bruce Staeger, Kenneth Barkley, Khalil Todd, Alec Lansing, Cristian Cuellar-Gonzales, Janaia Barnhart, a DRA victim who never even showed up in the news, and yet another unnamed girl at Summit School...

Offline Oscar

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Re: Dr. Phil / Island View lawsuit
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2014, 04:56:19 PM »
Latest update. Looking at the Dr.Phil show it seems that the old sponsor has gone. Now kids are held at "Center for Change" instead.

Quote
Teen sex, Dr. Phil and Utah collide in federal lawsuit
By Tom Harvey, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 23 2014

Courts » Lawsuit has makings of daytime talk show fodder ­— Oh wait, it already was

It’s a story made for daytime TV.

Two teens having sex before witnessing a third partner’s murder. Hookups with older men arranged online. Parents berated on air by Dr. Phil and then one of the teen’s confinement in a youth treatment center in Utah, where she allegedly suffered physical abuse at the hands of staff.

Sad but true, according to allegations in a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court for Utah.

Terri and David Myers of Missouri are suing the Dr. Phil organization, Bain Capital and the Island View Academy, among others, over allegations involving their 15-year-old daughter.

Their tale begins with the daughter and a female friend of the same age engaging in sex with a 19-year-old, who then is shot to death in front of the girls by a "jealous teenaged male."

In response to that trauma, the girl, identified by her initials, "started seeking sex online with older men," according to the suit filed in January.

Her "deeply concerned" parents then enrolled her in therapy provided by Missouri. However, those sessions "did not seem appropriate, proper, or helpful," and they then turned to Dr. Phil McGraw of the "Dr. Phil" television show on which he offers advice and help to troubled people.

In a Feb. 23, 2013, episode, the couple say McGraw "induced them to submit to his brand of blunt ridicule for their not being more vigilant" and berated Terri Myers and the daughter for their behaviors.

McGraw then offered free therapy for the teen at Island View, a residential treatment facility in Syracuse, Utah, that the lawsuit describes as a "private prison" where she was hurt in a dispute with a staff member. Island View is owned by a division of Bain Capital, according to the lawsuit.

Chip Babcock, a Texas attorney who represents the Dr. Phil organization, said the couple signed releases before going on the show and that the TV personality had no control over her visit at the Utah facility.

"Dr. Phil had absolutely nothing to do with any treatment the plaintiffs received after they left the show," said Babcock, who said Dr. Phil had not been served with the lawsuit and that he had sent a letter to the Myers’ attorney threatening sanctions for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Babcock also noted the "publicity value" of adding McGraw’s name to the suit.

Kevin Murphy, an attorney for Island View, said he will be filing a response soon in court.

"Other than to say that Island View denies any wrongdoing, I have no further comment," he wrote in an email.

The teen was held at Island View against her will with no contact allowed with anyone outside the facility, the suit claims. During a "melee" involving a male teacher, the girl suffered a broken arm and nerve damage.

The suit asks for unspecified damages plus costs on claims of false imprisonment, negligence, conspiracy and fraud, among other things.

Thomas M. Burton, the Utah attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Myers, did not return an email seeking more information.

Federal court records show Burton has made practically a mini-industry of suing teen-help facilities such as Island View. Burton appears to have at least five such suits pending in court.

Offline Oscar

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Looking for info
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2015, 03:54:41 AM »
Another organization has discovered this death. Has this poor girl been at "Center for Change"?

Emily Elizabeth Roe (1988-2011)