[
{"id":1,"case_name":"Jane Doe 1, et al. v. Maine Department of Corrections, et al.","case_number":"2:26-cv-00256-LEW","court":"United States District Court for the District of Maine","jurisdiction":"Maine","filing_date":"2026-05-15","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Jane Doe 1","John Doe 1","John Doe 2","John Doe 3","John Doe 4","John Doe 5","John Doe 6","John Doe 7","John Doe 8"],"defendants":["Maine Department of Corrections","Martin Magnusson","Mary Ann Saar","Lars Olsen","Robert Lancaster","Barbara Heath","Michael Mack","Scott DeWitt","Brian MacDougall","Ralph Nichols","Steven Butts","Carrie Johnson","Barry Lemery","John Napolitano","Scott Lamry","Norma Jean Duhamel","Patricia L. Poole","James McDevitt","Pamela Creamer","Kenneth Factor","Daniel Thurlow","Stephen Hasson","David Clock","Daniel Kane","Daniel Dickson","Adrien Dufresne","Daniel Boisot","Roy Guzman","Leo Albert","Steven Rogers","Peter McDermott","Ewa Lewandowska","Garret Smith","Sean Clancy","Michael Whelan","Jeffrey Tardiff","Timothy Foust","John Coyne","Christopher Coyne","James Bell","FNU Bell","Lisa Tilly","Matthew Nee","FNU Farr","FNU Dardell","FNU Owens","FNU Moreau","FNU Dotay","FNU Turner","FNU Albertson","FNU Drew","Louis Hanson","David Ford","Shirley Antonowicz","Scott Riska","FNU Quinn","Scott Janosik","FNU Thomas","FNU Nelson"],"facilities_mentioned":["Maine Youth Center (Long Creek Youth Development Center)","Old Intensive Care Unit (old ICU)","New Intensive Care Unit (new ICU)","Special Treatment Unit (STU)","Female Security Program (FSP) / Hayden Building","New Security Building (NSB)","Cottage 1","Cottage 3","Cottage 4","Cottage 6","Cottage 8","Androscoggin County Jail","Mercy Hospital","Cumberland County Jail","Maine State Prison","Maine Correctional Center (MCC)","Jackson Brook Institute","St. Mary's Hospital","Devereaux Juvenile Facility","Portsmouth Pavilion","Spring Harbor Hospital","Augusta Mental Health Institute","Riverview Psychiatric Hospital","Somerset County Jail"],"staff_mentioned":["Martin Magnusson","Mary Ann Saar","Lars Olsen","Robert Lancaster","Barbara Heath","Michael Mack","Scott DeWitt","Brian MacDougall","Ralph Nichols","Steven Butts","Carrie Johnson","Barry Lemery","John Napolitano","Scott Lamry","Norma Jean Duhamel","Patricia L. Poole","James McDevitt","Pamela Creamer","Kenneth Factor","Daniel Thurlow","Stephen Hasson","David Clock","Daniel Kane","Daniel Dickson","Adrien Dufresne","Daniel Boisot","Roy Guzman","Leo Albert","Steven Rogers","Peter McDermott","Ewa Lewandowska","Garret Smith","Sean Clancy","Michael Whelan","Jeffrey Tardiff","Timothy Foust","John Coyne","Christopher Coyne","James Bell","FNU Bell","Lisa Tilly","Matthew Nee","FNU Farr","FNU Dardell","FNU Owens","FNU Moreau","FNU Dotay","FNU Turner","FNU Albertson","FNU Drew","Louis Hanson","David Ford","Shirley Antonowicz","Scott Riska","FNU Quinn","Scott Janosik","FNU Thomas","FNU Nelson","Carol Saunders","Eric Berry","Kathy [LNU]","FNU Houlton","Sonia Smith","Gerry Dugrandpre","Judy Redmond","Kelly Blanding","A.L. Carlisle","Kimberly Ackley","Kimberly Shaw","Kathy Wisecup","Jack Purdy","Marsha Thomas","Svetla Popova","Werner Pobatschnig","Judy Lehman","Kathleen Gesner","Nancy Cochrane","Bobby Coulthard","Jeff Campbell","Hawkins","Trott","Eastwood","Jackson","Allenwood","Dan Nee","Laurence Reid"],"organizations_mentioned":["Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC)","Amnesty International","Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)","Maine State Police"],"claims":["Discrimination Against Qualified Individual with Disabilities in Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12132) and the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794)","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Supervisory Liability in Violation of the Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments","5 M.R.S. § 4682(1-A) - Supervisory Liability in Violation of Article I, §§ 1, 5, 6, 6-A, and 9 of the Maine Constitution","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Deliberate Indifference to Substantial Risks of Serious Harm (Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments)","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Use of Unreasonable and Excessive Isolation (Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments)","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Unreasonable and Excessive Use of Force and Restraints (Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments)","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Denial of Necessary Medical Treatment and Deliberate Indifference to Serious Medical Needs (Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments)","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Sexual Abuse (Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments)","42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Supervisory Failure to Train","Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Maine State Law)"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"A civil rights lawsuit brought by nine former residents (Jane Doe 1 and John Does 1-8) of the Maine Youth Center against the Maine Department of Corrections and various facility officials and staff. The plaintiffs allege severe physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, unreasonable and excessive use of solitary confinement and physical restraints, and deliberate indifference to their serious medical and mental health needs during their confinement in the 1990s and early 2000s.","source_urls":["https://archives.maine.gov/agents/corporate_entities/521","https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/the-impacts-of-solitary-confinement.pdf","https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/how-solitary-confinement-hurts-the-teenage-brain/373002/","https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/126385NCJRS.pdf","https://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1032&context=doc_docs","https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1514441/download"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Civil Rights","Eighth Amendment","Fourteenth Amendment","Juvenile Justice","Solitary Confinement","Excessive Force","Sexual Abuse","ADA Violations","Deliberate Indifference"],"published_at":"2026-05-26 15:49:53"},
{"id":2,"case_name":"Fuller v. Hyde School","case_number":"2:25-cv-00354-NT","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Maine","jurisdiction":"Maine","filing_date":"2025-07-11","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Jessica Fuller, on behalf of herself and similarly situated former students"],"defendants":["Hyde School","Laura Gauld","Malcolm Gauld","Georgia Gauld MacMillan","Don MacMillan","Laurie Gauld Hurd"],"facilities_mentioned":["Hyde School (Bath, Maine)","Seguin Island (Hyde work site)","Eustis wilderness center (Hyde work site)"],"staff_mentioned":["Laura Gauld","Malcolm Gauld","Georgia Gauld MacMillan","Don MacMillan","Laurie Gauld Hurd","Joseph Gauld (founder)"],"organizations_mentioned":["Island Justice Law","Justice Law Collaborative"],"claims":["Forced labor under threat and deprivation (TVPRA sections 1584, 1589, 1590)","Systematic emotional abuse, racial and sexual slurs, and public humiliation","Physical punishments including assault, excessive exercise, and starvation","Students forced to clean campus, staff homes, and remote wilderness properties","Hyde leadership personally profited from student exploitation","Deceptive marketing to desperate families","Fraud and negligence"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Class action complaint for child labor trafficking and abuse. Jessica Fuller, a former student, alleges that Hyde School operated as a cult-like system of forced labor and psychological abuse disguised as character education. She claims students were emotionally and physically abused, denied medical care, and forced into unpaid labor benefiting school leadership, including work at Seguin Island and the Eustis wilderness center. Filed under the federal TVPRA and Maine state law; seeking class certification and injunctive relief. Plaintiff counsel: John Steed (Island Justice Law), Kelly Guagenty and Kimberly Dougherty (Justice Law Collaborative). A defense motion to dismiss was filed 10/07/2025. The case could set national precedent for holding private residential programs accountable under federal trafficking laws.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/lawsuit-fuller-vs-hyde-school-2025/","https://www.pressherald.com/2025/07/11/hyde-boarding-school-accused-of-abusing-students-forcing-them-into-manual-labor/","https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/courts-news/hyde-school-bath-maine-lawsuit-abuse-allegations-hidden-curriculum/97-ca1c5caa-d075-4aad-919b-22fbaac7c335","https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/07/12/midcoast/midcoast-education/former-student-accuses-maine-boarding-school-of-forced-labor-in-lawsuit/"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Fuller-vs.-Hyde-Complaint-With-Docket-.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Fuller-v-Hyde-School-MacMillan-Summons.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Fuller-v-Hyde-School-Amended-Complaint.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Fuller-v-Hyde-Case-Summary-September-2026.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Fuller-v-Hyde-Case-Summary-September-2026-Mobile.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Fuller-v-Hyde-motion-to-dismiss-10.07.25-1.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/09113755020.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/09113748309-1.pdf"],"tags":["class action","forced labor","TVPRA","boarding school","Maine"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:45:33"},
{"id":3,"case_name":"P.R. v. Red Rock Canyon School, et al.","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["P.R. (former student, identified by initials)"],"defendants":["Red Rock Canyon School","Sequel Youth and Family Services"],"facilities_mentioned":["Red Rock Canyon School (St. George, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Atonio Kavea","Asiah Kavea"],"organizations_mentioned":["Sequel Youth and Family Services"],"claims":["Sexual abuse of a minor by staff","Staff knowledge and facilitation of the abuse","Concealment of abuse and removal of the victim to limit liability","Negligence and failure to protect"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Civil lawsuit filed against the now-closed Red Rock Canyon School in St. George, Utah and its parent company Sequel Youth and Family Services by former student P.R., who alleges she was sexually abused and impregnated by staff member Atonio Kavea while a minor, with the knowledge and alleged facilitation of other personnel including Kavea's sister, Asiah Kavea. The suit claims the school attempted to conceal the abuse and remove P.R. rather than protect her, and seeks over $10 million in damages. Reported by KUTV (Liv Kelleher) on 06/10/2025.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/lawsuit-claims-staff-at-former-st-george-youth-center-abused-impregnated-teenage-girls/","https://kutv.com/news/local/lawsuit-claims-staff-at-former-st-george-youth-center-abused-impregnated-teenage-girls"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["sexual abuse","Sequel Youth and Family Services","Utah"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:34:46"},
{"id":4,"case_name":"Silvers v. Discovery Ranch Academy, et al.","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Parents of Biruk Silvers"],"defendants":["Discovery Ranch Academy","University of Utah","Pilcrow Advisors"],"facilities_mentioned":["Discovery Ranch Academy (Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["University of Utah","Pilcrow Advisors"],"claims":["Negligence leading to a resident's death","Violation of the facility's own suicide prevention policies","Failure to create a care plan and provide adequate supervision","Failure to restrict access to harmful items despite known suicide risk"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"The parents of 17-year-old Biruk Silvers sued Discovery Ranch Academy in Utah, alleging staff negligence led to their son's death in November 2024. Biruk had shared suicidal thoughts with his psychiatrist and disclosed dangerous oxygen-deprivation behavior to a therapist, yet staff allowed him to be alone and failed to restrict access to harmful items, including a belt. A state investigation found Discovery Ranch violated its own suicide prevention policies, failed to create a care plan, and did not provide adequate supervision; the facility was fined but remains licensed. The suit also names the University of Utah (employer of Biruk's psychiatrist) and Pilcrow Advisors, the educational consultant that recommended the program. Reported by Jessica Schreifels.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/parents-sue-utahs-discovery-ranch-over-teens-death/"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["wrongful death","negligence","suicide","educational consultants","Utah"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:45:54"},
{"id":5,"case_name":"Sweidy v. Spring Ridge Academy, et al.","case_number":"3:21-cv-08013-SPL","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona","jurisdiction":"Arizona","filing_date":"2021-01-21","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Kimberly Sweidy"],"defendants":["Spring Ridge Academy","Kate Deily","Jean Courtney","Suzanne Courtney","Brandon Courtney","Erin Smith","Leslie Filsinger","Justin Zych","Veronica Borges"],"facilities_mentioned":["Spring Ridge Academy (Mayer, Arizona)"],"staff_mentioned":["Jean Courtney (co-founder)","David Gilcrease (co-founder)","Suzanne Courtney (Executive Director)","Brandon Courtney (President/CEO and Program Director)","Erin Smith (Director of Operational Excellence)","Leslie Filsinger (Clinical Director)","Justin Zych (Principal)","Kate Deily (Admissions Director)","Veronica Borges (therapist)","Kelly Rudolf (Community Life Director, Transition Specialist)","Susan Dougherty (staff supervisor)"],"organizations_mentioned":["Lifespring","National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)","Arizona Department of Health Services","Yavapai County Sheriff's Office","Reddit, Inc."],"claims":["Actual and constructive fraud in inducing enrollment","Arizona Consumer Fraud Act violations","Breach of contract and warranty","Breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing","Civil RICO","Negligence per se","Intentional infliction of emotional distress and conversion"],"outcome":"On August 15, 2023 the court granted summary judgment to Veronica Borges, Jean Courtney, Suzanne Courtney, Brandon Courtney, Erin Smith, Leslie Filsinger and Justin Zych, and dismissed every claim except fraud and consumer fraud against Spring Ridge Academy and Kate Deily. After a jury trial that began May 29, 2024, the jury returned a $2.5 million verdict for Kimberly Sweidy on June 14, 2024. On January 8, 2025 the court granted the defendants' motion for a new trial, finding a reasonable possibility that a juror viewed prejudicial outside information on Reddit during deliberations, and vacated the verdict; pending motions for attorney fees and costs were denied as moot.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Kimberly Sweidy sued Spring Ridge Academy, a therapeutic boarding school for girls in Mayer, Arizona, and eight of its staff in federal court in Arizona on January 21, 2021, after enrolling her daughter there in December 2019 and removing her in February 2020. She alleges the school misrepresented its program before enrollment, used seminars modeled on Lifespring-style large group awareness training rather than evidence-based therapy, and used shaming, isolation and restricted parent contact. In August 2023 the court dismissed the individual staff defendants except Admissions Director Kate Deily and left only the fraud and consumer fraud claims for trial. A jury trial ran from May 29 to June 14, 2024, with testimony from school leaders and staff, former students, a parent of another student and expert witnesses on both sides. The jury returned a $2.5 million verdict for Sweidy on June 14, 2024. On January 8, 2025 Judge Steven P. Logan granted a new trial, finding a juror had likely visited Reddit during deliberations and later posted in the Troubled Teens subreddit that they had served on the jury, so the verdict no longer stands and the case awaits retrial.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/sweidy-v-spring-ridge-academy/","https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/38016732/Sweidy_v_Spring_Ridge_Academy_et_al","https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/former-students-describe-spring-ridge-academy-treated-like-we-were-criminals","https://azmirror.com/2024/07/15/it-was-a-cult-traumatizing-troubled-teens-spring-ridge-academy/"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["fraud","consumer fraud","jury verdict","new trial","large group awareness training","Arizona"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:44:55"},
{"id":6,"case_name":"Sherman, et al. v. Trinity Teen Solutions, et al.","case_number":"20-CV-00215-SWS","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2020-11-25","status":"settled","plaintiffs":["Carlie Sherman","Anna Gozun","Amanda Nash","Andrew Scavuzzo","Ehan Jelinek"],"defendants":["Trinity Teen Solutions, Inc.","Triangle Cross Ranch, LLC","Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Mystic Monk Coffee)","Gerald E. Schneider","Michaeleen P. Schneider","Angela C. Woodward","Jerry D. Woodward","Diocese of Cheyenne","Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity","et al."],"facilities_mentioned":["Trinity Teen Solutions (Powell, Wyoming)","Triangle Cross Ranch (Powell, Wyoming)","Mount Carmel Youth Ranch (Wyoming)","Rock Creek Ranch (Wyoming)"],"staff_mentioned":["Gerald (Jerry) Schneider","Michaeleen P. Schneider","Angela (Angie) Woodward","Jerry D. Woodward","Fr. Daniel Schneider","Mathew Schneider","Mark Schneider","Kara Woodward","Kyle Woodward","Thomas George","Judith Jefferis"],"organizations_mentioned":["Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Mystic Monk Coffee)","Dally-Up, LLC","Rock Creek Ranch, Inc.","Diocese of Cheyenne","Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity","New Mount Carmel Foundation, Inc.","Wyoming Department of Family Services","U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (amicus curiae on appeal)"],"claims":["Forced labor of teens under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act","Trafficking for labor","RICO violations","Promised therapies the programs did not provide","Negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress"],"outcome":"The district court dismissed the RICO, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims under Rule 12(b)(6), leaving the forced labor and trafficking claims. After the plaintiffs moved for class certification in August 2022, the district court denied it. On October 31, 2023, in a published opinion (No. 22-8080), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held the district court had applied the wrong legal standards for commonality, typicality and predominance, vacated the denial of class certification and sent the case back for further proceedings. The United States filed an amicus brief in the appeal. Back in the district court, the case settled in 2025 for $2.3 million, to be shared by a class of 262 former residents; the defendants admitted no wrongdoing and class members who accept payment must agree not to disparage them. Judge Scott Skavdahl gave final approval in fall 2025 and the case was terminated on October 6, 2025.","settlement_amount":"$2.3 million","summary":"Former residents Carlie Sherman, Anna Gozun, Amanda Nash, Andrew Scavuzzo and Ehan Jelinek sued Trinity Teen Solutions, Triangle Cross Ranch, the Schneider and Woodward families who own and run them, a Carmelite monastery that sells Mystic Monk Coffee, the Diocese of Cheyenne, and others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, first filing in November 2020 and filing a first amended complaint on February 12, 2021. The suit alleges the ranches near Powell, Wyoming promised parents therapy and schooling and instead made teens work long hours on the ranches without pay under threat of punishment and longer stays. The district court dismissed the RICO and negligence claims, leaving forced labor and trafficking claims under federal law, and later denied class certification. On October 31, 2023 the Tenth Circuit vacated that denial and sent the class certification question back to the district court. In 2025 the case settled as a class action: 262 women who were sent to the ranches as teenagers will share $2.3 million from Trinity Teen Solutions and Triangle Cross Ranch, with no admission of wrongdoing. Class members who accept payment must agree not to disparage the defendants; lead plaintiff Anna Gozun declined to take part. Judge Scott Skavdahl approved the settlement in fall 2025 as fair given the risk of recovering nothing, and the case closed on October 6, 2025.","source_urls":["https://www.codyenterprise.com/news/local/article_31d7308f-8dab-4b9e-acb3-e2420a2d90e1.html","https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinion/22-8080","https://dockets.justia.com/docket/wyoming/wydce/2:2020cv00215/56518","https://www.freedomunited.org/news/settlement-for-camp-survivors/"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/sherman-et-al-v-trinity-teen-solutions-et-al.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Class-Action-Approval-TTS-TCR.pdf"],"tags":["class action","Wyoming","forced labor","trafficking","appeal","Tenth Circuit","settlement"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:45:20"},
{"id":7,"case_name":"Anonymous v. Hyde School at South Woodstock (Connecticut)","case_number":"WWM-CV21-5012142-S","court":"Connecticut Superior Court, Windham Judicial District at Putnam","jurisdiction":"Connecticut","filing_date":"2021-02-19","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Anonymous"],"defendants":["Hyde School at South Woodstock, Inc.","Hyde School"],"facilities_mentioned":["Hyde School at South Woodstock (Woodstock, Connecticut)"],"staff_mentioned":["Duncan McCrann (described in a plaintiff's motion as head of Hyde School at the time)"],"organizations_mentioned":["Hyde School (Bath, Maine)"],"claims":["Negligence in supervising campers at the Summer Leadership Challenge camp","Negligent infliction of emotional distress","Negligent supervision and training of camp staff","Negligent hiring and retention of camp staff"],"outcome":"No final judgment, settlement or withdrawal of the action appears in the filings. On Sep 4, 2024 the court let the defendants file a late summary judgment motion; the plaintiff's response deadline was extended to Nov 18, 2024. On Oct 30, 2024 the court granted a joint motion to continue the Feb 4, 2025 jury trial (requested to early June 2025).","settlement_amount":"","summary":"A woman proceeding as Jane Doe sued Hyde School at South Woodstock, Inc. and Hyde School (Bath, Maine) in Connecticut Superior Court at Putnam in February 2021. She alleges that in summer 2005, as a 16-year-old camper at the schools' Summer Leadership Challenge camp on the Woodstock campus, two male campers woke her at night, took her to a secluded spot and sexually assaulted her, and that the schools failed to supervise campers and to hire, train and supervise staff properly, causing lasting PTSD and depression. The court allowed her to proceed under a pseudonym (temporary order March 2, 2021; full ruling by Judge Ann E. Lynch on June 8, 2021); no order sealing the file appears, only the pseudonym order. After a request to revise, she filed a revised complaint on September 14, 2021 and withdrew four duplicate emotional-distress counts; a defense motion for nonsuit over late discovery answers (September 2021) was followed by her compliance that October, and pleadings were certified closed on May 29, 2024. Discovery included her December 2022 deposition, out-of-state depositions of a former roommate and former boyfriend, a treating counselor and a causation expert for the plaintiff, a defense psychiatric examination the court allowed over her objection, and a subpoena to former head of school Duncan McCrann. The defendants moved for summary judgment in August 2024, arguing she has no evidence the campers or any staff member had a known propensity for such conduct; the filings end with that motion pending and the February 2025 trial continued by agreement toward June 2025.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/anonymous-v-hyde-connecticut/","https://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=WWMCV215012142S"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/doe-v-hyde-woodstock-complaint.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/doe-v-hyde-woodstock-amended-complaint-2.pdf"],"tags":["boarding school","Connecticut"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:35:23"},
{"id":8,"case_name":"Anonymous v. Vista RTC","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2022-03-23","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Anonymous survivors"],"defendants":["Vista RTC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Vista RTC (Dimple Dell Canyon, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":[],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Anonymous survivors sued Vista RTC in Utah; complaint filed 03/23/2022 concerning the Dimple Dell Canyon facility. Salt Lake Tribune coverage described residents being bullied, shamed, and abused.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/anonymous-v-vista-rtc/","https://web.archive.org/web/20240518192030/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/03/23/bullied-shamed-abused-why/"],"document_urls":["https://web.archive.org/web/20220325144115/https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21495202/dimple-dell-canyon-suit.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","residential treatment center"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:34:54"},
{"id":9,"case_name":"Whitcomb and Clifford v. InnerChange Chrysalis, LLC (Embark Behavioral Health), et al.","case_number":"","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Montana","jurisdiction":"Montana","filing_date":"2023-04-25","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Oliver Whitcomb and Amy Clifford, on behalf of an anonymous survivor"],"defendants":["Chrysalis Therapeutic Boarding School (InnerChange Chrysalis, LLC)","Embark Behavioral Health","et al."],"facilities_mentioned":["Chrysalis Therapeutic Boarding School (Montana)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Embark Behavioral Health"],"claims":[],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Oliver Whitcomb and Amy Clifford, on behalf of an anonymous survivor, sued Chrysalis Therapeutic Boarding School (InnerChange Chrysalis, LLC), Embark Behavioral Health, and others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Filed 04/25/2023. Docket trackable on PacerMonitor.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/whitcomb-clifford-v-chrysalis-embark-behavioral-health-et-al/","https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/48621954/Whitcomb_et_al_v_InnerChange_Chrysalis,_LLC_et_al"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Embark Behavioral Health","Montana","boarding school"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:35:04"},
{"id":10,"case_name":"Richardson v. Elevations RTC","case_number":"","court":"Utah Second District Court","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2024-01-14","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Finn Richardson"],"defendants":["Elevations RTC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Elevations RTC (Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":[],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Finn Richardson sued Elevations RTC in Utah's Second District Court; filed 01/14/2024 and awaiting a trial date. A prelitigation panel hearing was held 08/05/2024. Salt Lake Tribune coverage framed the allegations as trauma presented as treatment.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/richardson-v-elevations-rtc/","https://web.archive.org/web/20240329120510/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/01/15/trauma-is-treatment-new-lawsuit/"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ryan-Faust_Elevations-Lawsuit-2024.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/richardson-v-elevations-rtc-prelitigation-panel-opinion/"],"tags":["Utah","residential treatment center"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:34:29"},
{"id":11,"case_name":"Shiver v. Acadia Healthcare, LLC and Southstone Behavioral Health","case_number":"CL24000490-00","court":"Halifax County Circuit Court, Virginia","jurisdiction":"Virginia","filing_date":"2024-06-14","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Joshua Shiver"],"defendants":["Acadia Healthcare, LLC","Southstone Behavioral Healthcare Center, LLC (sued as Southstone Behavioral Health)"],"facilities_mentioned":["Southstone Behavioral Health (Halifax, Virginia)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Acadia Healthcare"],"claims":[],"outcome":"On September 5, 2024 the court granted the defense motion to quash service and denied Shiver's first motion for default judgment. After Southstone was re-served on September 11, 2024, it filed an answer six business days late on October 10, 2024 with a motion for leave; Shiver opposed and noticed a renewed default judgment motion for November 8, 2024. The documents do not show the ruling.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Joshua Caleb Shiver, representing himself, sued Acadia Healthcare and its Halifax County, Virginia facility Southstone Behavioral Health in Halifax County Circuit Court; the complaint was filed 06/14/2024. On September 5, 2024 the court granted the defense motion to quash improper service and denied Shiver's motion for default judgment. Southstone was re-served on September 11, 2024 and filed its answer late on October 10, 2024, denying the allegations and raising defenses including the statute of limitations and Virginia's malpractice damages cap. Shiver opposed the late answer and moved again for default judgment, with a hearing noticed for November 8, 2024.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/shiver-v-southstone-behavioral-health-acadia-healthcare/"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Shiver-v.-Southstone-Complaint.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Shiver-v.-Southstone-Summons.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-10-10-Answer-to-Complaint93753554.1.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/southstone-joshua-2024-10-23-Brief-in-Support-of-Motion-for-Leave-to-File-Late-Answer94433561.1.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/southstone-joshua-brief-in-opposition.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SouthstoneDefaultMotion.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/SouthstoneDefaultMotion-1.pdf"],"tags":["Acadia Healthcare","Virginia","default judgment","pro se"],"published_at":"2026-09-03 16:44:00"},
{"id":12,"case_name":"Liparote v. Discovery Ranch, Inc. et al.","case_number":"2:26-cv-00503-JNP-DBP","court":"United States District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2026-05-28","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Landen Giovanni Liparote","Susan Damato","Landen"],"defendants":["Discovery Ranch, Inc.","Discovery Ranch for Boys, LLC","Discovery Ranch for Boys Real Estate, LLC","Ascent OPCO, LLC","Dorothy Ah Quin","Does 1-10","Roe Corporations/Entities 1-10","Ah Quin"],"facilities_mentioned":["Discovery Ranch for Boys","Discovery Ranch","South House"],"staff_mentioned":["Dorothy Ah Quin","Eric","Ah Quin"],"organizations_mentioned":["Pearson Butler","Utah Division of Professional Licensing","Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS)","Blackbird Health","BDSA (Bipolar and Depression Support Alliance)","Moravian Academy","Wilson Area High School","DCFS","Pearson Butler PLLC"],"claims":["sexual_abuse","forced_labor","neglect","fraud","breach_of_contract","trafficking","negligence","chemical_assault","therapist_misconduct","labor_trafficking","failure_to_report","educational_neglect","medical_neglect","medical_negligence","civil_labor_trafficking","intentional_infliction_emotional_distress","negligent_infliction_emotional_distress","premises_liability","negligent_hiring","vicarious_liability","civil_conspiracy"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Plaintiff Landen Giovanni Liparote alleges that during a three‑month placement at Discovery Ranch for Boys in Utah, he experienced repeated sexual assaults, forced unpaid labor, food deprivation, and other mistreatment. The defendants, including the facility operators and a therapist, are accused of negligence, fraud, and violations of federal trafficking statutes. The complaint seeks compensation for psychological injury and other damages resulting from the alleged conduct.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Liparote-v-Discovery-Ranch-Complaint-1.pdf"],"tags":["residential_treatment","sexual_abuse","forced_labor","trauma","utah","labor_trafficking","medical_neglect","failure_to_report","residential treatment","labor trafficking","medical negligence","fraud","emotional distress","therapeutic boarding","breach_of_contract","civil_conspiracy"],"published_at":"2026-09-06 12:03:08"},
{"id":13,"case_name":"Frederic Yeomans IV v. Discovery Ranch, Inc.","case_number":"","court":"Fourth Judicial District Court, Utah County, Spanish Fork Division","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2017-08-18","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Frederic Yeomans IV","Frederic H. Yeomans IV"],"defendants":["Discovery Ranch, Inc.","Discovery Ranch Holdings, LLC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Discovery Ranch","Second Nature Wilderness Program"],"staff_mentioned":["Lexi Diedrich","Craig Smith","Clinton Dorny","LS","Craig Stokes","Dean L. Petterrsson","Susan Trueblood"],"organizations_mentioned":["Smith Hartvigens, PLLC","Gregg R. Woodnick, PLLC","Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing","Smith Hartvigsen, PLLC"],"claims":["negligence","negligent_infliction_of_emotional_distress","medical_negligence","sexual_abuse","breach_of_contract"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Frederic Yeomans IV, an Arizona resident, filed a complaint against Discovery Ranch, Inc., a Utah residential treatment facility. The plaintiff alleges that the facility failed to adequately screen and supervise another resident, resulting in repeated sexual assault of the plaintiff while enrolled. The complaint asserts claims of negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, medical negligence, and sexual abuse. The plaintiff seeks relief for physical and psychological harm.","source_urls":["https://dockets.justia.com/docket/utah/utdce/2:2017cv00768/106125"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Yeomans-vs-Discovery-Connections-Complaint-1.pdf"],"tags":["residential treatment","sexual abuse","negligence","medical negligence","wilderness therapy","sexual_abuse","Utah","teen therapy"],"published_at":"2026-09-04 16:56:18"},
{"id":14,"case_name":"Milonas and Rice v. Williams (Provo Canyon School)","case_number":"691 F.2d 931 (10th Cir. 1982)","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Utah; Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"1979-01-01","status":"ruling","plaintiffs":["Timothy Milonas (Nevada)","Kenneth Rice (Alaska)","Class of boys placed at Provo Canyon School"],"defendants":["Provo Canyon School","Jack Williams","Robert H. Crist"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Jack Williams","Robert H. Crist"],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":["Cruel and unusual punishment through isolation and physical force","Denial of due process for boys placed by state juvenile justice systems","Censorship of mail and use of polygraph examinations","Anti-therapeutic and inhumane treatment"],"outcome":"Jury found for the school in 1980, but the district court entered a permanent injunction barring Provo Canyon School from opening, reading or censoring boys' mail, administering polygraphs, placing boys in isolation except to contain physical violence, and using physical force except to restrain a boy who is an immediate danger to himself or others. Affirmed as Milonas v. Williams, 691 F.2d 931 (10th Cir. 1982).","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Two teenagers sent to Provo Canyon School by their home states' juvenile justice systems escaped and brought a federal class action challenging the school's confinement, education and treatment methods. The case produced the 1980 injunction that still defines the limits on isolation, restraint, polygraphs and mail censorship at the school.","source_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/milonas-et-al-v-provo-canyon-school-et-al.pdf","https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/410235/milonas-v-williams/","https://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens/wiki/index/provocanyon/"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/milonas-et-al-v-provo-canyon-school-et-al.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/milonasmemo.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","injunction","isolation","restraint","civil rights","class action"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":15,"case_name":"Taylor v. Charter Medical Corporation and Charter Provo School, Inc. d/b/a Provo Canyon School","case_number":"162 F.3d 827 (5th Cir. 1998)","court":"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":null,"status":"ruling","plaintiffs":["David Taylor"],"defendants":["Provo Canyon School","Charter Medical Corporation"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Charter Medical Corporation","Charter Behavioral Health Systems"],"claims":["Fraud","Medical negligence","False imprisonment","Breach of fiduciary duty","Gross negligence"],"outcome":"Fifth Circuit opinion issued December 9, 1998 (CourtListener). One of the 1980s and 1990s suits over confinement and treatment at the school.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"A former resident sued the school and its then-owner over his confinement and treatment. Part of a run of civil suits during the Charter years alleging abuse, false imprisonment, medical negligence and First Amendment violations.","source_urls":["https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/759763/david-taylor-plaintiff-appellant-cross-appellee-v-charter-medical/","http://www.heal-online.org/provocases.htm"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Utah","Charter","false imprisonment","medical negligence"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":16,"case_name":"Provo Canyon School v. HEAL (Human Earth Animal Liberation)","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2009-12-01","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Provo Canyon School"],"defendants":["HEAL (Human Earth Animal Liberation)"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["HEAL","NATSAP"],"claims":["Libel"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"The school sued the human rights group HEAL for libel over its published records of police calls and complaints about the program. HEAL describes the suit as a strategic lawsuit against public participation and disputes a later NATSAP bulletin's account of it.","source_urls":["http://www.heal-online.org/healsuit.htm","http://www.heal-online.org/PCSpolicecalls.pdf"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Utah","SLAPP","libel","HEAL"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":17,"case_name":"Hinman v. Island View Academy et al.","case_number":"1:14-cv-00015 (D. Utah)","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Utah","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2014-01-01","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Hinman (former resident and family)"],"defendants":["Provo Canyon School","Island View RTC","Wade Taylor"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)","Island View RTC (Syracuse, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Wade Taylor"],"organizations_mentioned":["Universal Health Services"],"claims":["Negligence","Breach of fiduciary duty"],"outcome":"Ruling issued May 13, 2015 (published on govinfo).","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Negligence and breach of fiduciary duty claims against Island View RTC and Provo Canyon School, naming Provo Canyon therapist Wade Taylor among the defendants. The court issued a ruling on May 13, 2015.","source_urls":["https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-utd-1_14-cv-00015/pdf/USCOURTS-utd-1_14-cv-00015-0.pdf"],"document_urls":["https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-utd-1_14-cv-00015/pdf/USCOURTS-utd-1_14-cv-00015-0.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","negligence","Island View"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":18,"case_name":"Chudnovsky v. Provo Canyon School","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2017-01-03","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Parents of a former resident (Chudnovsky)"],"defendants":["Provo Canyon School","Universal Health Services"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Springville, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Universal Health Services"],"claims":["Negligence","Intentional infliction of emotional distress","Denial of medical care","Failure to protect a self-harming resident"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Parents allege their daughter was denied medical care for nearly two weeks after breaking her thumb, and was given access to staples, pens and plastic cutlery despite the program knowing she struggled with compulsive self-harm.","source_urls":["https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xzk94uO5rkBDOsfM-uoxd2eFUO9oONmQ/view"],"document_urls":["https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xzk94uO5rkBDOsfM-uoxd2eFUO9oONmQ/view"],"tags":["Utah","medical neglect","self-harm"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":19,"case_name":"Ross v. Universal Health Services, Inc. et al.","case_number":"2:22-cv-00053 (D. Utah)","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Utah","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2021-08-06","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Aaron Ross"],"defendants":["Universal Health Services, Inc.","Provo Canyon School"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Justin Uale"],"organizations_mentioned":["Universal Health Services"],"claims":["Sexual abuse by staff","Chemical sedation and overmedication","Extended isolation","Physical restraint","Food and sleep deprivation","Strip searches","Forced labor"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"A former resident who was 13 when placed at the school in 2001 alleges he was forced to perform oral sex on a staff member at least a dozen times under threat of punishment and starvation, was locked in solitary confinement for weeks at a time, was overmedicated with Seroquel, Depakote, Trileptal and Celexa, and went two years without being allowed outdoors.","source_urls":["https://dockets.justia.com/docket/utah/utdce/2:2022cv00053/130104","https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9877811/Utah-school-Paris-Hilton-claims-abused-sued-student-sex-torture.html"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Utah","sexual abuse","isolation","overmedication","UHS"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":20,"case_name":"Family of injured teen v. Provo Canyon School (2026, delayed medical care)","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2026-06-15","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Mother of a teenage resident (name withheld in coverage)"],"defendants":["Provo Canyon School","Universal Health Services"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Universal Health Services"],"claims":["Medical neglect","Negligence","Failure to act on safety warnings"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"A mother alleges staff ignored her son's warnings that he was not safe before he was attacked at the facility and suffered a jaw injury and brain bleed, and that medical care was delayed. Utah licensers sanctioned the school over the same incident in June 2026. Paris Hilton publicly supported the family and called for the school's closure.","source_urls":["https://www.sltrib.com/news/2026/06/15/provo-canyon-school-lawsuit-teen/","https://www.sltrib.com/news/2026/06/02/troubled-teen-industry-provo/","https://kutv.com/news/local/paris-hilton-comes-to-utah-as-families-file-lawsuits-against-provo-canyon-school"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Utah","medical neglect","peer violence","2026 closure"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":21,"case_name":"Second family v. Provo Canyon School (2026, medical malpractice)","case_number":"","court":"","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":"2026-06-15","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Family of a teenage resident (name withheld in coverage)"],"defendants":["Provo Canyon School","Universal Health Services"],"facilities_mentioned":["Provo Canyon School (Provo, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Universal Health Services"],"claims":["Medical neglect","Medical malpractice"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"The second of two family lawsuits filed in June 2026, alleging the school failed to provide adequate medical care to a teenager, resulting in serious injury and health complications.","source_urls":["https://kutv.com/news/local/paris-hilton-comes-to-utah-as-families-file-lawsuits-against-provo-canyon-school"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Utah","medical neglect","2026 closure"],"published_at":"2026-09-11 16:45:24"},
{"id":24,"case_name":"Cheryl Struble, et al. v. Herman Fountain, et al.","case_number":"","court":"U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Southern Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2004-11-02","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Cheryl Struble, Kelly Dukes, Willie Dukes, Mark P. and Sandra Riepenhoff, Patty Crawford, Cindy McCoy, Linda Griggs, Charles and Carolyn Campbell, Leroy Lawrence","Their minor sons, by next friend"],"defendants":["Herman Fountain","John Fountain Jr.","Josh Fountain","Susan Churchwell","Kevin McGowan","John Butler"],"facilities_mentioned":["Bethel Boys Academy (Lucedale, Mississippi)"],"staff_mentioned":["Herman Fountain","John Fountain Jr.","Josh Fountain","Susan Churchwell","William Knott","James Bonner","Oscar Bonner","Kevin McGowan","John Butler","Tommy Fortenberry"],"organizations_mentioned":["Bethel Baptist Church"],"claims":["Fraud and breach of contract against parents who paid tuition","Assault and battery by staff and by cadets ordered to beat other cadets","False imprisonment","Intentional infliction of emotional distress","Negligent medical care","Failure to pay minimum wage and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act for forced labor"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Eight families of former students (called cadets) sued Herman Fountain, John Fountain Jr., Josh Fountain, Susan Churchwell and others who ran Bethel Boys Academy near Lucedale, Mississippi, in federal court, claiming federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state-law claims. The complaint alleges that staff and cadets forced by staff beat new arrivals, that boys were locked in footlockers, made to hold electric fences, held underwater at a swamp, denied bathroom breaks, sleep, food and medical care, and made to work up to 18 hours a day without pay. It alleges the academy misled parents about care, education and a staff nurse, and kept tuition and other payments. The enrollments described run from 2002 to 2003. The extracted text is missing the caption page, so the docket number, district and filing date are not shown, and the document shows nothing beyond the complaint.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/BethelComplaint2TC.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":25,"case_name":"The Estate of Jason Britt and Kathleen Britt v. Agape Baptist Church, Inc. d/b/a Agape Boarding School","case_number":"6:23-cv-03316-MDH","court":"United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Southern Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2023-10-11","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["The Estate of Jason Britt","Kathleen Britt"],"defendants":["Agape Baptist Church, Inc. d/b/a Agape Boarding School"],"facilities_mentioned":["Agape Boarding School (Stockton, Missouri)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Agape Baptist Church, Inc."],"claims":["Physical and sexual abuse of a student, including an alleged gang rape","Forced labor and trafficking under 18 U.S.C. 1589, 1591 and 1595","Negligent hiring, supervision and retention","Failure to protect residents and to report abuse","Wrongful death under Missouri law"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"The estate of Jason Britt and his mother Kathleen Britt sued Agape Baptist Church, Inc., which ran Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Missouri, in federal court on October 11, 2023. The complaint alleges that in 2009-2010, when he was 16, Jason Britt was taken to the unlicensed facility in the middle of the night and was strip-searched, confined in a dark padded room, beaten, forced to exercise to exhaustion, and gang-raped in a basement. It alleges Agape knew of earlier abuse at the school and failed to protect residents or report abuse. It alleges the abuse led to mental health problems and his suicide on February 4, 2022, and seeks damages under federal trafficking and forced labor law and Missouri wrongful death law. The document shows only the filing of the complaint.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Britt-v-Agape-Complaint.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":26,"case_name":"United States, et al. ex rel. Rodney Brockenbrough v. TrueCore Behavioral Solutions, LLC, et al.","case_number":"8:19-cv-02557-TPB-AAS","court":"United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2019-10-16","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["United States of America","State of Florida","State of Texas","Rodney Brockenbrough (relator)"],"defendants":["TrueCore Behavioral Solutions, LLC","Boyne Capital","BHSB Holdings, Inc.","BHSB Investors, LLC","G4S US","G4S Youth Services, LLC","G4S Secure Solutions","The Henry & Rilla White Youth Foundation, Inc."],"facilities_mentioned":[],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["TrueCore Behavioral Solutions (formerly Behavioral Health Solutions)","Boyne Capital","G4S Youth Services","The Henry & Rilla White Youth Foundation","USDA Food and Nutrition Service","Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services","Texas Department of Agriculture"],"claims":["False Claims Act violations for National School Lunch Program funds","Using a nonprofit foundation as a front so for-profit youth facilities could claim school lunch money","Florida False Claims Act violations","Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act violations","Retaliation against the relator"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Rodney Brockenbrough, former chief operating officer of TrueCore Behavioral Solutions, filed a sealed qui tam complaint on October 16, 2019, on behalf of the United States, Florida and Texas against TrueCore, its private equity owner Boyne Capital and related holding companies, the G4S entities that formerly ran the business, and the Henry & Rilla White Youth Foundation. The complaint alleges that the White Foundation posed as the owner of nineteen for-profit G4S/TrueCore youth facilities so they could collect National School Lunch Program money that only nonprofit institutions may receive. It alleges TrueCore quietly left the program in 2018 after a Texas audit, then cut staffing and overtime to make up the lost money, and that Brockenbrough resigned on August 2, 2019. It seeks treble damages and penalties under the federal and state false claims laws. The document shows only the filing of the complaint.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Brockenbrough-v.-TrueCore-Behavioral-Solutions-LLC-et-al-COMPLAINT-against-BHSB-Holdings-Inc.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":27,"case_name":"Rowenna Clark v. Solstice RTC, LLC dba Solstice Residential Treatment Center","case_number":"","court":"Second Judicial District Court, Davis County, Farmington Department, State of Utah","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Rowenna Clark"],"defendants":["Solstice RTC, LLC dba Solstice Residential Treatment Center"],"facilities_mentioned":["Solstice Residential Treatment Center (Layton, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Alicia Sherman"],"organizations_mentioned":["Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing prelitigation panel","Davis Hospital"],"claims":["Medical negligence under the Utah Medical Malpractice Act","Refusing a resident's requests to go to the hospital","Failing to monitor and act on failing vital signs","No medical professional on site","Negligent policies for passing on resident health information"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Rowenna Clark sued Solstice RTC, LLC, which runs Solstice Residential Treatment Center in Layton, Utah, in Utah state court in Davis County; the complaint is signed January 27, 2017. She alleges that in late August 2014, shortly after she turned 18 at Solstice, she became acutely ill for several days and staff refused her repeated requests to go to the hospital, dismissed her low blood pressure as an equipment error, and relied on a nurse who was mostly off site. She alleges she was finally taken to Davis Hospital with septic shock and kidney failure, was placed on life support in an induced coma for about eleven days, and has lasting health problems. The complaint states a DOPL prelitigation panel issued its certificate of compliance on December 2, 2016. The document shows only the complaint; no case number is filled in.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/CLARK-ROWENNA-vs.-SOLSTICE-RTC-LLC-Complaint.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":28,"case_name":"Tenia Goshay, Personal Representative of the Estate of Cornelius Frederick v. Lakeside for Children d/b/a Lakeside Academy, et al.","case_number":"1:21-cv-00848-RJJ-RSK","court":"United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2021-09-30","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Tenia Goshay, Personal Representative of the Estate of Cornelius Frederick"],"defendants":["Lakeside for Children d/b/a Lakeside Academy","Lakeside Academy","Sequel Youth Services of Michigan, LLC","Sequel TSI Holdings, LLC","Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC","Sequel Academy Holdings, LLC","Sequel Youth Services, LLC","Cole Hodge","Zachary Solis","Michael Mosley","Orlando Little, Jr.","Coady Ries","Maurice Davis","Ja'Shon Cheeks","Brandon Reynolds","Heather McLogan","Bradley Hodge"],"facilities_mentioned":["Lakeside Academy (Kalamazoo, Michigan)"],"staff_mentioned":["Cole Hodge","Zachary Solis","Michael Mosley","Orlando Little, Jr.","Coady Ries","Maurice Davis","Ja'Shon Cheeks","Brandon Reynolds","Heather McLogan","Bradley Hodge","Chris Roussos","Chip Ripley","Samantha Lee"],"organizations_mentioned":["Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC","Michigan Department of Health and Human Services","Youth Services International","Bronson Methodist Hospital"],"claims":["Excessive force through a suffocating restraint that killed a 16-year-old","Failure to give medical aid or intervene","Monell claim that Sequel had a custom and policy of dangerous restraints","Civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments)","Failure to train, supervise and discipline staff"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Tenia Goshay, as personal representative of the estate of Cornelius Frederick, sued Lakeside Academy, several Sequel Youth and Family Services companies and ten staff members in federal court in Michigan on September 30, 2021. The complaint alleges that on April 29, 2020, staff at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo restrained the 16-year-old state ward on the floor for throwing a sandwich and suffocated him while he said he could not breathe, then gave no aid, and that he died at Bronson Methodist Hospital on May 1, 2020. It alleges he had been restrained many times before, that Sequel was warned by Oregon Senator Sara Gelser about its restraint practices, and that the state had cited the facility for restraint and staffing violations since 2016. It states the state revoked Lakeside Academy's license after his death. The document shows only the filing of the complaint.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/cornelius-frederick-lawsuit-complaint.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":29,"case_name":"Falcon Ridge Ranch, Inc., et al. v. Sequel Youth Services of Red Rock Canyon, LLC, et al.","case_number":"200500204","court":"Fifth Judicial District Court in and for Washington County, State of Utah","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Falcon Ridge Ranch, Inc.","Red Rock Canyon School, L.L.C.","Lava Heights Academy, Inc.","Mount Pleasant Academy, LLC","Red Rock Canyon School Non-Profit Organization","Falcon Ridge Ranch Non-Profit Organization","Red Rock Canyon Charitable Remainder Trust Dated August 15, 2016","Frank Habibian","Frank Habibian Dynasty Trust Dated August 9, 2016"],"defendants":["Sequel Youth Services of Red Rock Canyon, LLC","Sequel Youth Services of Falcon Ridge Ranch, LLC","Sequel Youth Services of Lava Heights, LLC","Sequel Youth Services of Mount Pleasant, LLC","Care Youth Corporation"],"facilities_mentioned":["Falcon Ridge Ranch (Utah)","Red Rock Canyon School (St. George, Utah)","Lava Heights Academy (Utah)","Mount Pleasant Academy (Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Frank Habibian","Melanie Habibian","Sherman Habibian","Gerard Habibian","Brian Pace","John Stupak","John (Jay) Ripley","Sybil Potts","Ryan Santi","Mandy Moses","Steve Gilbert","Susanne Young","Roy Day"],"organizations_mentioned":["Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC","American Arbitration Association","Nevada Medicaid program","U.S. Department of Justice"],"claims":["Petition to confirm an arbitration award under the Utah Uniform Arbitration Act","Underlying dispute over Sequel's 2016 purchase of the four CARE Schools","Sequel's indemnification claim for its 2017 settlement with the United States and Nevada over referral fees tied to Nevada Medicaid students","Sellers' counterclaim that Sequel breached the purchase agreement and good faith duties to avoid an earn-out payment"],"outcome":"In the underlying AAA arbitration (No. 01-17-0005-9666), the arbitrator issued an Interim Award on March 2, 2020, and a Final Award on May 1, 2020, denying the Sequel buyers' claims, granting the sellers' counterclaim (a contingent payment of at least $3,118,445), and awarding the sellers $1,300,000 in fees and costs. The sellers filed this amended petition on May 11, 2020, asking the court to confirm the awards; the documents do not show the court's ruling.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Frank Habibian and the companies that sold Falcon Ridge Ranch, Red Rock Canyon School, Lava Heights Academy and Mount Pleasant Academy (the CARE Schools) to Sequel Youth Services in August 2016 asked a Utah state court in Washington County to confirm an arbitration award against the Sequel buyers; the amended petition is dated May 11, 2020. In the arbitration, Sequel sought indemnity for a June 2017 settlement of about $2.58 million it paid the United States and Nevada after self-reporting that the schools had paid referral fees for students covered by Nevada Medicaid. The arbitrator dismissed that claim because Sequel settled without notifying the sellers, found the sellers had been ignorant of the law rather than fraudulent, and ruled that Sequel breached the purchase agreement in how it ran the schools after the sale. This is a business dispute between a program's sellers and buyers, not an abuse case, but it documents the referral-fee practice and the Medicaid settlement. The documents do not show whether the court confirmed the award.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/FALCON-RIDGE-RANCH-INC-et-al.-vs.-SEQUEL-YOUTH-SVCS-FALCON-RIDGE-et-al-Amended-Petition.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":30,"case_name":"Scott Green and Michele Green v. Susan L. Scheff, et al.","case_number":"","court":"Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida","jurisdiction":"Florida","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Scott Green","Michele Green"],"defendants":["Susan L. Scheff","Parents Universal Resource Experts, Inc.","Focal Point Academy, LLC","Glen Horlacher","Boyd Hooper"],"facilities_mentioned":["Focal Point Academy (Mesquite, Nevada)"],"staff_mentioned":["Glen Horlacher","Kellee Horlacher","Kimberly Allen","Tim Hamilton","Boyd Hooper","Susan L. Scheff"],"organizations_mentioned":["Parents Universal Resource Experts, Inc. (P.U.R.E.)","AKME Consulting","WWASP"],"claims":["Fraud in the inducement by a referral service that hid per-student kickbacks","Breach of contract","Breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing","Breach of fiduciary duty","Unjust enrichment","Failure to protect a student from sexual and physical assaults by other students"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Scott and Michele Green sued Sue Scheff, her referral company Parents Universal Resource Experts (P.U.R.E.), Focal Point Academy of Mesquite, Nevada, its co-owner Glen Horlacher, and recruiter Boyd Hooper in Broward County, Florida circuit court; the complaint is dated June 2007. They allege Scheff presented herself as an unpaid parent advocate while Focal Point paid her per referral, and that Hooper posed as a school administrator while working as a paid recruiter. They allege the school misrepresented its accreditation, therapy and teachers, never did the paid assessment, let their son choose his own medications, left an ear infection untreated, and did nothing when he reported repeated beatings and sexual assaults by other students, instead isolating him when he tried to call home. They allege they removed him in 2006 and never received a promised refund. The document shows only the complaint.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/green-v-focal-point-academy.pdf"],"tags":[],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":31,"case_name":"J.O.R., et al. v. Hidden Lake Academy, Inc., et al.","case_number":"2:06-cv-00146-WCO","court":"U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2006-09-11","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["J.O.R.","R.R.","D.M.","R.B."],"defendants":["Hidden Lake Academy, Inc.","HLA, Inc.","Hidden Lake Foundation, Inc.","Dr. Leonard Buccellato"],"facilities_mentioned":["Hidden Lake Academy (Dahlonega, Georgia)","Ridge Creek (Dahlonega, Georgia)"],"staff_mentioned":["Dr. Leonard Buccellato","Kenneth Spooner","Clarke Poole","Nicole Fuglslang","Dr. Steven Taylor","Dr. Brad Carpenter"],"organizations_mentioned":["HLA, Inc.","Hidden Lake Foundation, Inc.","Ridge Creek, Inc.","St. Francis Day School"],"claims":["Misrepresenting teacher and counselor credentials to families","Letting unlicensed staff dispense prescription medication","Enrolling violent or court-ordered students despite promising otherwise","Routine strip searches of students not disclosed to parents","Undisclosed fees and mark-ups despite advertised all-inclusive tuition","Using students for manual labor","Founder's self-dealing with school funds and gifts to education consultants"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Four families identified by initials filed a class action complaint on September 11, 2006 in federal court in Gainesville, Georgia against Hidden Lake Academy, its related nonprofit entities, and founder Dr. Leonard Buccellato. The complaint alleges that from 2000 onward the therapeutic boarding school misrepresented that its teachers were state certified and its counselors clinically trained, let unlicensed staff dispense medication, and enrolled violent students despite telling parents it did not. It also alleges routine strip searches, student labor, and undisclosed charges and mark-ups on top of an advertised all-inclusive tuition of over $5,900 a month. The copy on file is the first 27 pages of the complaint and does not show how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/HiddenLakeComplaint.pdf"],"tags":["class action","Georgia","therapeutic boarding school"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":32,"case_name":"John R. v. United Behavioral Health, et al.","case_number":"2:18-cv-35-TC-DAO","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":null,"status":"ruling","plaintiffs":["John R.","Charles R."],"defendants":["United Behavioral Health","The Guardian Choice Plus POS Plan for Home Office Employees"],"facilities_mentioned":["Summit Achievement (Maine)","Second Nature Blue Ridge Wilderness Therapy (Georgia)","In Balance Ranch Academy (Arizona)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["UnitedHealthcare","Guardian Life Insurance Company of America","In Balance Counseling, Inc."],"claims":["Wrongful denial of ERISA health plan benefits","Insurer refused coverage for wilderness and residential treatment","Denials based on medical necessity and claim-filing deadlines"],"outcome":"On September 24, 2021 the court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment and denied the plaintiffs' motion, upholding the denial of coverage for all three programs.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"John R. and his son Charles R. sued United Behavioral Health and his employer's health plan under ERISA after the insurer denied coverage for the son's treatment as a teenager from 2014 to 2016. The treatment included about two months at Summit Achievement wilderness program in Maine, about two and a half months at Second Nature Blue Ridge in Georgia, and about a year and a half at In Balance Ranch Academy in Arizona. The insurer denied the Summit and In Balance claims on procedural grounds and the Second Nature claim as not medically necessary. On September 24, 2021 Judge Tena Campbell granted summary judgment to the defendants and affirmed all three denials. The case is about insurance coverage, not abuse at the programs.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/insurance-coverage-lawsuit-2NBR-In-Balance-Ranch-Summit-Achievment.pdf"],"tags":["insurance","ERISA","wilderness therapy","Utah"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":33,"case_name":"Newman v. Lichfield, et al.","case_number":"DA 10-0548","court":"Supreme Court of Montana (appeal from the Twentieth Judicial District Court, Sanders County)","jurisdiction":"Montana","filing_date":"2006-10-23","status":"ruling","plaintiffs":["Judith Newman, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Karlye Newman"],"defendants":["Robert Lichfield","World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc."],"facilities_mentioned":["Spring Creek Lodge Academy (Thompson Falls, Montana)"],"staff_mentioned":["Robert Lichfield","Brent Facer","Cameron Pullan","Chaffin Pullan"],"organizations_mentioned":["World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP)","Premier Educational Systems, LLC","Teen Help, LLC","National Contract Services, LLC","Peacox Enterprises, LLC","Spring Creek Lodge, Inc."],"claims":["Wrongful death after a student's suicide at the school","Negligent care and supervision of a suicidal student","Deceit and negligent misrepresentation in marketing","Breach of contract and fiduciary duty","Civil conspiracy and Consumer Protection Act violations"],"outcome":"Newman settled with Spring Creek, Teen Help and National Contract in early 2010. A jury returned a defense verdict for Lichfield and WWASP on October 27, 2010. On March 6, 2012 the Montana Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded for a new trial, holding the trial court wrongly limited evidence on foreseeability.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Judith Newman sued over the death of her daughter Karlye, who was found hanged at Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Thompson Falls, Montana on October 7, 2004 and died at age 16. She filed suit on October 23, 2006 against Spring Creek and its directors, later adding WWASP founder Robert Lichfield, WWASP, Teen Help, National Contract and Peacox, and alleged negligent care, wrongful death and deceptive marketing to parents of suicidal youth. She settled with Spring Creek, Teen Help and National Contract in 2010, and a jury found for Lichfield and WWASP in October 2010. On March 6, 2012 the Montana Supreme Court reversed in part and ordered a new trial. The documents do not show what happened after remand.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Newman-v.-Lichfield-Spring-Creek-Lodge.pdf"],"tags":["WWASP","wrongful death","suicide","Montana","appeal"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":34,"case_name":"Kennefick and Whitcomb v. Lifeline for Youth, et al.","case_number":"","court":"Bountiful Judicial District Court, Davis County, Utah","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Joseph Kennefick","Hillary Whitcomb","Estate of Joseph Hunter Kennefick"],"defendants":["Lifeline for Youth","Lifeline Behavioral Health, LLC","Life-Line, Inc.","Jane Doe X","John Doe Y","John Does 1-10"],"facilities_mentioned":["Lifeline for Youth (North Salt Lake, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Jane Doe X (counselor)","John Doe Y (counselor)"],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":["Counselors took residents out and supplied them alcohol and drugs","Breach of contract and fraudulent inducement","Negligent hiring, training and retention","Intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress","Wrongful death"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Joseph Kennefick and Hillary Whitcomb, individually and for the estate of their son Joseph Hunter Kennefick, filed a complaint dated October 19, 2018 in Davis County, Utah against Lifeline for Youth and related entities. They allege that in 2011, while their son was 13 or 14 and in residential drug treatment at Lifeline, two of his counselors took him and other youths out, supplied them alcohol and drugs, and encouraged them to use. The complaint alleges this set off years of relapse and contributed to his death in September 2018 at age 21, and brings thirteen claims including breach of contract, fraud, negligent hiring and wrongful death. The copy on file carries no case number or filing stamp and does not show an outcome. This is a different case from Whitcomb and Clifford v. InnerChange Chrysalis already on the page.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Whitcomb-vs-LifeLine-Behavioral-Health-Complaint.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","wrongful death","drug treatment"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":35,"case_name":"Zanolini v. Liahona Academy for Youth, LLC","case_number":"","court":"Fifth Judicial District Court, Washington County, Utah","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Jordan Alexander Zanolini"],"defendants":["Liahona Academy for Youth, LLC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Liahona Academy (Virgin, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Parker Haslam (program director)","Derek Durham","Taylor Jacobson","Jared (staff member, last name not given)"],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":["Punching and pressure-point restraints by staff","Forced to stand outside in freezing temperatures in shorts","Forced to wear diapers for months","Made to sit facing a wall from 6 am to 10 pm for weeks","Negligent hiring and supervision","Assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Jordan Zanolini, a former student placed at Liahona Academy in Virgin, Utah as a minor, sued Liahona Academy for Youth, LLC in a complaint dated April 26, 2021 in Utah's Fifth Judicial District Court in Washington County. He alleges staff punched him and repeatedly restrained him with pressure points, that the program director lifted him by the neck, threw him across a room and rubbed his face into a carpet, and that he was made to stand outside in freezing weather in shorts. He also alleges he was forced to wear diapers for months and punished on work crew by sitting facing a wall from 6 am to 10 pm for weeks. The copy on file has no case number and does not show an outcome.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Zanolini-vs-Liahona-Academy-Complaint.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","physical abuse","restraint"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":36,"case_name":"Dungan, et al. v. The Academy at Ivy Ridge, et al.","case_number":"","court":"U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2006-07-25","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Bruce Dungan","Shelley Dungan","W. Patrick Dungan","Cecelia Eighmey","Steven Eighmey","Tommy Lee Halford, Sr.","Tommy Lee Halford, Jr.","Roger Keroack","Lori Keroack","Holly Stepp","Robert P. MacRae","Patricia A. MacRae","Anthony Mazzullo","Anthony Mazzullo, Jr.","Irene Pfeffer","Victoria Shevchenko","Vadim Soskil","Lisa Stocki","Edward Stocki","Krystina Stocki","Ronald Wose","Sandra Wose","C. Richard Wyatt","Rebecca Wyatt","Farrah Wyatt"],"defendants":["The Academy at Ivy Ridge","Academy at Ivy Ridge, Inc.","Academy at Ivy Ridge, LLC","Jason G. Finlinson","Joseph Mitchell","Alyn Mitchell","Robert B. Lichfield","World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc.","Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, Inc.","et al."],"facilities_mentioned":["The Academy at Ivy Ridge (Ogdensburg, New York)"],"staff_mentioned":["Jason G. Finlinson","Joseph Mitchell","Alyn Mitchell","Robert B. Lichfield"],"organizations_mentioned":["World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP)","Premier Educational Systems, LLC","Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and Universities, Inc.","Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, Inc.","Jason G. Finlinson Corp.","Joseph & Alyn Mitchell Corp.","Teens In Crisis, Inc.","Teens In Crisis, LLC","Lifelines Family Services, Inc. (Teen Life Lines)","Teen Soulutions, LLC"],"claims":["Falsely representing the school was licensed by New York to award credits and diplomas","RICO violations","Fraud, fraud in the inducement and conspiracy to defraud","Negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment","Deceptive business practices under New York General Business Law 349 and 350","Breach of contract"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Families of former students filed a class action complaint on July 25, 2006 in federal court in the Northern District of New York against The Academy at Ivy Ridge in Ogdensburg, its owners, WWASP and Robert Lichfield, an accrediting body, and several referral companies. The complaint alleges the defendants falsely told parents and the public that Ivy Ridge was licensed and authorized by New York State to award high school credits and diplomas. It brings claims under RICO and New York law, including fraud, conspiracy, deceptive business practices and breach of contract. The document on file is the complaint and does not show how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/ivyridge_classaction_suit.pdf"],"tags":["class action","WWASP","New York","RICO","diplomas"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":37,"case_name":"Houlahan v. World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, et al.","case_number":"1:04-cv-01161","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":null,"status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Thomas G. Houlahan"],"defendants":["World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools","et al."],"facilities_mentioned":[],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP)","Teen Help","NATSAP","IECA","Woodbury Reports"],"claims":[],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Thomas G. Houlahan was the plaintiff in a federal case against the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP) and others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The only document on file is the report of the plaintiff's expert witness, industry consultant Lon Woodbury, filed as an exhibit on February 1, 2006. Woodbury's report compares WWASP programs to industry standards, citing referral fees, commission-paid marketers, enrollments far over 200, open-ended phone blackouts, students used as junior staff to enforce discipline, and more abuse claims and closures than at other programs. The document does not state the plaintiff's claims or how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Lon-Woodbury-Expert-Report.pdf"],"tags":["WWASP","expert report","Federal"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 00:50:47"},
{"id":38,"case_name":"J.P., as Father and Next Friend of G.P. v. Sequel TSI of Alabama, LLC, et al.","case_number":"CV-2022-900020.00 (removed to federal court as 3:22-cv-00190-CWB)","court":"Circuit Court of Macon County, Alabama (removed to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, then remanded)","jurisdiction":"Alabama","filing_date":"2022-03-18","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["J.P., as father and next friend of G.P., a minor"],"defendants":["Sequel TSI of Alabama, LLC d/b/a Sequel TSI of Tuskegee","Sequel Youth & Family Services, LLC","Sequel TSI Holdings, LLC","Fictitious Defendants A-F"],"facilities_mentioned":["Sequel TSI of Tuskegee (Tuskegee, Alabama)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Sequel Youth & Family Services, LLC","Sequel TSI Holdings, LLC","Brighter Path Alabama LLC (Sequel TSI of Alabama's name from about March 1, 2022)","SYFS SaleCo, LLC","Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, LLC","Alabama Department of Youth Services","Alabama Department of Human Resources"],"claims":["Outrageous conduct (intentional infliction of emotional distress)","Negligent or wanton failure to monitor and supervise","Negligent or wanton failure to protect a child from assault and abuse","Failure to provide a safe and humane living environment","Combined and concurring negligence causing injury"],"outcome":"Defendants removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on April 20, 2022, arguing that the two Sequel parent companies were fraudulently joined. On March 17, 2023 Magistrate Judge Chad W. Bryan granted the plaintiff's motion to remand, holding that the defendants had not shown the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000, and sent the case back to the Circuit Court of Macon County. The documents do not show what happened after remand.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"J.P. sued on behalf of his 15-year-old son G.P. in the Circuit Court of Macon County, Alabama on March 18, 2022, against Sequel TSI of Tuskegee, a psychiatric residential treatment facility, and its parent companies Sequel Youth & Family Services and Sequel TSI Holdings. The complaint alleges that after the Alabama Department of Youth Services placed G.P. there on November 2, 2021, he was sexually assaulted within four days and was choked, beaten and bitten by residents during a seven-week stay while staff failed to intervene, and that he attempted suicide. It also alleges dangerous restraints such as chokeholds, contraband smuggled in by staff and a lack of mental health care. The defendants removed the case to federal court, where an affidavit said Sequel's parent companies had given up control of the facility on October 1, 2021 and that the facility's owner had been renamed Brighter Path Alabama. On March 17, 2023 the federal court sent the case back to state court; the documents do not show how it ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.almd_.77768.1.1.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.almd_.77768.20.0.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.almd_.77768.1.0.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.almd_.77768.1.3.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.almd_.77768.1.2.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.almd_.77768.1.4.pdf"],"tags":["Alabama","Sequel Youth & Family Services","psychiatric residential treatment facility","sexual assault","restraint","state placement"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":39,"case_name":"Mary Ann McMahan-McWhorter v. Sequel TSI Holdings, LLC","case_number":"5:20-cv-01926","court":"U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2020-12-03","status":"dismissed","plaintiffs":["Mary Ann McMahan-McWhorter"],"defendants":["Sequel TSI Holdings, LLC"],"facilities_mentioned":[],"staff_mentioned":["Mary Caudle"],"organizations_mentioned":["Equal Employment Opportunity Commission"],"claims":["Disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act","Retaliation for requesting a disability accommodation","Wrongful termination"],"outcome":"The parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal, which dismissed the case with prejudice; on August 24, 2021 Judge Liles C. Burke directed the clerk to close the case. The documents do not show any settlement terms.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Mary Ann McMahan-McWhorter, who worked in accounts receivable for Sequel TSI Holdings in Huntsville, Alabama from about May 2014, sued the company in federal court on December 3, 2020. She alleges that after she developed a vision condition in early 2019 and asked for dimmer lighting, Sequel moved her to a brighter workstation, gave her screen-heavy data entry work as a demotion, and fired her on about April 4, 2019. She brought disability discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act after an EEOC charge. This is an employment case, not an abuse case. The parties jointly dismissed it with prejudice and the court closed it on August 24, 2021.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.alnd_.175794.1.0.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/gov.uscourts.alnd_.175794.39.0.pdf"],"tags":["Alabama","Sequel Youth & Family Services","employment","disability discrimination"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":40,"case_name":"Shayrena Penn v. Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc.","case_number":"","court":"Fifth Judicial District Court, Washington County, Utah","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Shayrena Penn"],"defendants":["Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc."],"facilities_mentioned":["Diamond Ranch Academy (Hurricane, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":["Riley Dias","Marcel Harkey","Trever Thompson","McKay Lewis","Rodney Mellor","Rob Dias (registered agent)"],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":["Negligent hiring, retention and supervision","Assault","Battery","Intentional infliction of emotional distress","Punitive damages"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Former student Shayrena Penn sued Diamond Ranch Academy in Utah's Fifth Judicial District Court in Washington County; the complaint is dated April 29, 2021. She alleges that during a four- to five-month stay that began when she was 15, staff restrained her as punishment using pressure points, held her down while she said she could not breathe, and pressed her face into the ground so hard that she suffered lasting paralysis on the left side of her face. It also alleges sleep deprivation, strip searches, forced exercise with water withheld, inadequate clothing in winter, and weeks of isolation. It names five staff members and brings negligent hiring and supervision, assault, battery and emotional distress claims. The document on file is the complaint and does not show how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/DRA-Complaint-1.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","restraint","isolation","physical abuse"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":41,"case_name":"Dean Jeffries L. Goodridge, individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Taylor Goodridge v. Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc.","case_number":"4:22-cv-00102-DN-PK","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Utah","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2022-12-30","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Dean Jeffries L. Goodridge, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Taylor Goodridge"],"defendants":["Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc."],"facilities_mentioned":["Diamond Ranch Academy (Hurricane, Utah)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":[],"claims":["Wrongful death","Negligence and knowing and reckless indifference","Medical neglect","Breach of fiduciary duty","Premises liability"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Dean Goodridge, the father of Taylor Goodridge, sued Diamond Ranch Academy in federal court in Utah on December 30, 2022, ten days after his daughter died at the program. The complaint alleges that from November 2022 Taylor had extreme abdominal pain, collapsed in her own vomit and begged staff for help, and that staff told her she was faking and gave her only water and aspirin. It alleges she collapsed and died on December 20, 2022, likely of sepsis, and that the program told her father she had had a heart attack and died at the hospital when she had died before leaving the campus. It brings negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and premises liability claims and says a Utah Health Care Malpractice Act claim would be added later. The document on file is the complaint and does not show how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/taylor-goodridge-DRA-lawsuit-complaint.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","death","medical neglect","wrongful death"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":42,"case_name":"Wood, et al. v. World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc., et al.","case_number":"120500380","court":"Fifth Judicial District Court, Washington County, Utah","jurisdiction":"Utah","filing_date":null,"status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["William Chase Wood (aka Chase McKinney)","et al. (357 numbered former students and parents)"],"defendants":["World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc. (WWASPS)","Robert B. Lichfield","Ken Kay","Brent M. Facer","Patricia E. Lichfield","Teen Help, L.L.C.","Cross Creek Center for Boys, L.L.C.","Cross Creek Manor, L.L.C.","Majestic Ranch Academy, Inc.","Midwest Academy, L.L.C.","Red River Academy, L.L.C.","Spring Creek Lodge, L.L.C.","Academy at Ivy Ridge, LLC","Carolina Springs Academy","Teens In Crisis, L.L.C.","et al."],"facilities_mentioned":["Cross Creek Center for Boys (La Verkin, Utah)","Cross Creek Manor (La Verkin, Utah)","Cross Creek Academy (Utah)","Brightway Adolescent Hospital (La Verkin, Utah)","Majestic Ranch Academy (Randolph, Utah)","Red Rock Academy (Utah)","Midwest Academy (Iowa)","Red River Academy (Lecompte, Louisiana)","Spring Creek Lodge (Montana)","Academy at Ivy Ridge (New York)","Carolina Springs Academy (Donalds, South Carolina)","Sky View Academy (Nevada)","Casa By The Sea (Mexico)","High Impact (Baja California, Mexico)","Pacific View Retreat (Mexico)","Sunrise Beach (Cancun, Mexico)","Tranquility Bay (Jamaica)","Dundee Ranch (Costa Rica)","Paradise Cove (Western Samoa)","Morava Academy (Brno, Czech Republic)","Darrington Academy"],"staff_mentioned":["Robert B. Lichfield","Ken Kay","Brent M. Facer","Patricia E. Lichfield","Narvin Lichfield","Karr Farnsworth","Kerry Gubler","Dan Peart","Donna Peart","Willard Jake Peart","Dace Goulding","Brian Viafanua","Steven Roach","Glenda Roach"],"organizations_mentioned":["Teen Help, L.L.C. (Adolescent Services International)","The Browning Schools, Inc. (Browning Distance Learning Academy)","R & B Management Group, L.L.C.","R & B Billing, L.L.C.","National Contracting Services, Inc.","Lifelines Family Services, Inc.","Premier Education, Inc.","Recaf, Inc.","Jill-Co., Inc.","BMF and RBL holding entities","Robert Browning Lichfield Family Limited Partnership"],"claims":["Physical, emotional and sexual abuse of students at WWASPS programs","Negligence and respondeat superior","Actual and constructive fraud in marketing to parents","Breach of contract and warranty","Civil conspiracy and fraudulent concealment of abuse","Breach of fiduciary duty","Intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and battery"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"William Chase Wood and several hundred other former students and their parents sued the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), founder Robert Lichfield, his business partners and dozens of affiliated programs, marketing and billing companies in Utah's Fifth Judicial District Court in Washington County. The document on file is the plaintiffs' 228-page first amended complaint, submitted July 24, 2013, which refers to claim sheets filed in the case on December 17, 2012 in opposition to a WWASPS motion to dismiss. It alleges that students placed at WWASPS programs in Utah, other states, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Samoa and the Czech Republic from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s were beaten, restrained, locked in isolation and small boxes or cages, denied food and medical care, sexually abused and forced to work without pay. It alleges the programs operated as a single enterprise that deceived parents and concealed the abuse, and brings negligence, fraud, contract, conspiracy and emotional distress claims. The document does not show how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/StGeorgeUtah.pdf"],"tags":["Utah","WWASPS","Robert Lichfield","mass tort","fraud","physical abuse","sexual abuse"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":43,"case_name":"John Doe M.D.Y. v. Trails Academy, LLC, et al.","case_number":"1:24-cv-00253-MOC-SCR","court":"United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Asheville Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2024-10-11","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["John Doe M.D.Y."],"defendants":["Trails Academy, LLC","Trails Carolina, LLC","Trails Momentum a/k/a Trails Carolina","Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC d/b/a Family Help & Wellness","WTC Holdco, LLC","WTCSL, LLC","Unnamed Entities 1-10"],"facilities_mentioned":["Trails Momentum (Hendersonville, North Carolina)","Trails Carolina (Lake Toxaway, North Carolina)"],"staff_mentioned":["Francis van de Beuken","Wayne Laird"],"organizations_mentioned":["Family Help & Wellness","Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC","WTC Holdco, LLC","WTCSL, LLC","FHW/THP Blocker, Inc.","Rhine Law Firm, P.C."],"claims":["Negligence and gross negligence","Negligent infliction of emotional distress","Forced labor in violation of the federal labor trafficking law (18 U.S.C. 1589)","Unfair and deceptive trade practices under North Carolina law","Unlawful trade practices under Oregon law (against Family Help & Wellness and Wilderness Training & Consulting)"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"A young man identified as John Doe M.D.Y. sued Trails Academy, Trails Carolina and their Oregon parent companies, which do business as Family Help & Wellness, in federal court in Asheville on October 11, 2024. He enrolled at 18 in the Trails Momentum young-adult wilderness program and stayed 93 days, from March to June 2021 (the defense gives March 3 to June 3, 2021). The complaint alleges an invasive strip search on arrival in which a staff member touched his genitals, two weeks isolated in a cabin, censored letters and a single muted phone call home, unpaid cleaning, cooking and landscaping work, days in freezing weather with frozen boots and limited food and water, threats that he would be arrested if he left, and little mental health care, and says his mental health collapsed afterward, including a suicide attempt in October 2021. It also alleges an admissions employee misled his parents. The plaintiff asked for a Rule 9(j) extension for any medical malpractice claims, which the defendants opposed, and on December 30, 2024 the defendants moved to dismiss or compel arbitration under a March 2021 enrollment agreement; the documents do not show rulings on those motions.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/trails-lawsuit-john-doe.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe-v-Trails-123024-32-Defendants-ask-for-arbitration.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe_v_Trails_Academy_LLC-31-plaintiffs-reply-to-motion-to-dismiss.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe_v_Trails_Academy_LLC-111524-27-plaintiffs-motion-for-extension.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe_v_Trails_Academy_LLC-29-defendants-opposition-to-extension.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe_v_Trails_Academy_LLC-30-plaintiffs-reply-to-defendents-opposition-of-extension.pdf"],"tags":["wilderness therapy","North Carolina","young adults","labor trafficking","arbitration","Family Help & Wellness"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":44,"case_name":"Jane Doe L.Y. and June Doe A.D. v. Trails Academy, LLC, et al.","case_number":"1:24-cv-00254-MOC-SCR","court":"United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Asheville Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2024-10-11","status":"in_progress","plaintiffs":["Jane Doe L.Y.","June Doe A.D."],"defendants":["Trails Academy, LLC","Trails Carolina, LLC","Trails Momentum a/k/a Trails Carolina","Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC d/b/a Family Help & Wellness","WTC Holdco, LLC","WTCSL, LLC","Unnamed Entities 1-10"],"facilities_mentioned":["Trails Momentum (Hendersonville, North Carolina)","Trails Carolina (Lake Toxaway, North Carolina)"],"staff_mentioned":["Francis van de Beuken"],"organizations_mentioned":["Family Help & Wellness","Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC","WTC Holdco, LLC","WTCSL, LLC","FHW/THP Blocker, Inc.","Rhine Law Firm, P.C.","Justice Law Collaborative"],"claims":["Unfair and deceptive trade practices under North Carolina law (nationwide class)","Deceptive and unfair trade practices under Florida law (Florida class)","Unlawful trade practices under Oregon law","Negligent misrepresentation","Negligent infliction of emotional distress (the named parents individually)"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Two Florida parents, Jane Doe L.Y. and June Doe A.D., filed a proposed class action on October 11, 2024 in federal court in Asheville against Trails Academy, Trails Carolina and their Oregon parent companies doing business as Family Help & Wellness. They seek to represent everyone in the United States who bought residential program services from the defendants, with a Florida subclass, and seek repayment of tuition. The complaint alleges the companies misrepresented the Trails Momentum program, which their son attended in 2021, as safe and therapeutic, pressured families through an admissions salesperson, and charged a 3,900 dollar enrollment fee plus 585 dollars a day, 24,570 dollars for the first 42 days. On December 30, 2024 the defendants moved to dismiss or compel arbitration under the family's enrollment agreement; the documents do not show a ruling or a class certification decision.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/trails2.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe_et_al_v_Trails_Academy_LLC-24-defendants-formal-motion-to-dismiss.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Doe_et_al_v_Trails_Academy_LLC-25-defendants-motion-to-dismiss-or-compel-arbitration.pdf"],"tags":["class action","wilderness therapy","North Carolina","consumer fraud","arbitration","Family Help & Wellness"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":45,"case_name":"Beverly J. MacKerron v. Elan One, et al.","case_number":"CV-79-613","court":"Maine Superior Court, Androscoggin County","jurisdiction":"Maine","filing_date":null,"status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Beverly J. MacKerron"],"defendants":["Elan One","Central Maine Power Company (party in interest)","Depositors Trust Company of Southern Maine (party in interest)"],"facilities_mentioned":["Elan School (Poland Spring, Maine)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Elan One Corporation","D & R Realty","Central Maine Power Company","Depositors Trust Company of Southern Maine","Skelton, Taintor & Abbott, P.A."],"claims":["Foreclosure and sale of two parcels in Poland, Maine, under two defaulted mortgages","Default on two 30,750 dollar promissory notes from Elan One's February 1, 1974 land purchase","About 16,973.51 dollars claimed due on each note"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"This is a mortgage foreclosure case, not an abuse case. Beverly J. MacKerron sued Elan One, the Maine company behind the Elan School, in Androscoggin County Superior Court in November 1979; the complaint is dated November 14, 1979. She and Neil D. MacKerron had sold Elan One Corporation two parcels on Upper Range Pond in Poland on February 1, 1974 for two promissory notes of 30,750 dollars secured by mortgages, and the complaint says Elan One stopped paying in October 1979, with about 16,973.51 dollars due on each note. Central Maine Power, which held a 1975 power-line easement across the land, and Depositors Trust Company, which held a 1979 mortgage, were named as parties in interest. The documents show only the complaint and the clerk's certificate of filing, not the result.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mackerron-v-elan-1-complaint.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mackerron-v-elan-1-certificate-of-filing.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CMP-v-elan-1-1975.pdf"],"tags":["Elan School","Maine","foreclosure","financial"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":46,"case_name":"Martha Amesbury v. Golden Ark Enterprises and Elan One Corporation","case_number":"","court":"Maine Superior Court, Cumberland County","jurisdiction":"Maine","filing_date":null,"status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Martha Amesbury"],"defendants":["Golden Ark Enterprises","Elan One Corporation"],"facilities_mentioned":["Elan School (Poland Spring, Maine)"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Golden Ark Enterprises","Elan One Corporation"],"claims":["Underlying claims are not stated in the document","Court-ordered attachment of 65,000 dollars against Elan One Corporation's real property"],"outcome":"After a hearing and with the parties' agreement, the court ordered a 65,000 dollar attachment on Elan One Corporation's real property, finding a reasonable likelihood the plaintiff would recover at least that much.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Martha Amesbury sued Golden Ark Enterprises and Elan One Corporation, companies behind the Elan School, in Cumberland County Superior Court in Maine. The only document is an order of attachment signed at Portland in 1987 which, after a hearing and by agreement of the parties, allowed a 65,000 dollar attachment on Elan One's real estate; it was received at the Androscoggin County Registry of Deeds on December 28 (the year is partly illegible). The order refers to her affidavit but does not say what the lawsuit was about. The documents do not show how the case ended.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Amesbury-v-elan-1988.pdf"],"tags":["Elan School","Maine","attachment"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":47,"case_name":"Joseph J. Ricci, et al. v. Key Bancshares of Maine, Inc., et al.","case_number":"82-0249-P","court":"United States District Court for the District of Maine","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":null,"status":"settled","plaintiffs":["Joseph J. Ricci","Gerald E. Davidson","Golden Ark Enterprises, Inc.","Elan One Corporation","Elan Two Corporation","Elan Three Corporation","Elan Four Corporation","Elan Five Corporation","Elan Six Corporation","Elan Eight Corporation","Performing Arts and Concerts Company","Davric Maine Corporation","Williamsburg Corporation"],"defendants":["Key Bancshares of Maine, Inc.","Key Bank of Southern Maine, Inc.","Key Bank of Central Maine"],"facilities_mentioned":["Elan School (Poland Spring, Maine)"],"staff_mentioned":["Joseph J. Ricci","Gerald E. Davidson"],"organizations_mentioned":["Golden Ark Enterprises, Inc.","Elan One Corporation","Key Bancshares of Maine, Inc.","Key Bank of Southern Maine, Inc."],"claims":["Credit discrimination based on Joseph Ricci's national origin under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act","Failure to give Gerald Davidson a statement of reasons for denying credit","Breach of the line of credit agreement and of the duty of good faith","Intentional infliction of emotional distress on Joseph Ricci"],"outcome":"A jury found for the Elan owners and companies in April 1987 and assessed 15 million dollars in damages; the court added 10,000 dollars in punitive damages on each of two federal counts, set aside a 12.5 million dollar punitive award, denied the banks' motions for a new trial, and on June 16, 1987 ordered a 15 million dollar attachment on the banks' Maine property. On July 31, 1987 the plaintiffs acknowledged the judgment had been satisfied in full by settlement and the attachment was discharged. The settlement amount is not stated.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"This is a banking case brought by Elan's owners, not a case about the treatment of students. Elan School founders Joseph J. Ricci and Gerald E. Davidson and their companies, including Golden Ark Enterprises and the Elan One through Elan Eight corporations, sued Key Bancshares of Maine and Key Bank of Southern Maine in federal court in Maine over the banks' termination of their line of credit. A jury found for the plaintiffs in April 1987 and assessed 15 million dollars in damages, and Judge James L. Watson of the Court of International Trade, sitting by designation, upheld the verdict on June 16, 1987 and ordered a 15 million dollar attachment on the banks' Maine real estate. The judgment of April 29, 1987 was satisfied in full by a settlement on July 31, 1987, and the release was recorded in Androscoggin County in February 1989.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-key-1987.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-judgment-1989.pdf"],"tags":["Elan School","Maine","banking","jury verdict"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":48,"case_name":"Elan One Corporation liens, judgments and UCC filings (Poland, Maine, 1987-2001)","case_number":"","court":"Androscoggin County Registry of Deeds and Maine District Court, Lewiston","jurisdiction":"Maine","filing_date":null,"status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Town of Poland, Maine","Chuck R. Starbird d/b/a Minot Excavating & Construction","Owen Haskell, Inc.","Riviera Finance"],"defendants":["Elan One Corporation"],"facilities_mentioned":["Elan School (Poland Spring, Maine)"],"staff_mentioned":["Gerald E. Davidson"],"organizations_mentioned":["Elan One Corporation","Town of Poland, Maine","Minot Excavating & Construction","Owen Haskell, Inc.","Riviera Finance","Peoples Heritage Savings Bank"],"claims":["Unpaid town property taxes (1987 and 2001 tax liens)","Unpaid excavation work (1991 mechanics lien)","Unpaid debt (1993 District Court judgment)","Secured financing later terminated (Riviera Finance UCC filing)"],"outcome":"The documents show the Riviera Finance financing statement terminated and a lien discharge filed for a creditor named Snow; they do not show whether the tax liens, the mechanics lien or the 1993 judgment were paid.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"These are debt records against Elan One Corporation, the company that owned the Elan School property in Poland, Maine, not lawsuits about the school's treatment of students. The Town of Poland recorded a tax lien in May 1987 for 8,108.54 dollars in 1986 taxes plus 443.86 dollars interest. Chuck R. Starbird, doing business as Minot Excavating & Construction, filed a mechanics lien on February 1, 1991 for 3,627.62 dollars of excavation work done between October and December 1990. Owen Haskell, Inc. won a 1,085 dollar judgment plus 35 dollars costs against Elan One in the Lewiston District Court on June 16, 1993, with a writ of execution dated October 1, 1993. The town recorded another tax lien on July 16, 2001 for 7,617.81 dollars still unpaid. Riviera Finance filed a termination of its financing statement against Elan One (date not legible), and a lien discharge for a creditor named Snow is in the file but its text could not be read.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-poland-lien-1987.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-1-starbird-lien.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-Haskell-lien-1993.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-poland-lien-2001.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-riviera-finance-debt-termination.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/elan-Snow-lien-discharge.pdf"],"tags":["Elan School","Maine","liens","financial"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":49,"case_name":"State of Nevada v. Patricia Chappuis, et al.","case_number":"19CR00069B","court":"Justice Court of Beatty Township, Nye County, Nevada","jurisdiction":"Nevada","filing_date":"2019-08-06","status":"closed","plaintiffs":["State of Nevada"],"defendants":["Patricia Lynn Chappuis","Marcel Claude Chappuis"],"facilities_mentioned":["Northwest Academy (Amargosa Valley, Nevada)"],"staff_mentioned":["Patricia Lynn Chappuis","Marcel Claude Chappuis"],"organizations_mentioned":["Nye County District Attorney"],"claims":["Child abuse or neglect, Category B felony under NRS 200.508(1)(b)(1) (45 counts, one per child)","Failing to give enrolled children enough safe drinking water and letting them drink unsafe tap water","Failing to screen and supervise faculty and staff to protect children from physical and verbal abuse"],"outcome":"Resolved by plea agreement. On July 19, 2021 in Beatty Justice Court, Marcel Chappuis pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace and paid a $2,000 fine; Patricia Chappuis waived her preliminary hearing and agreed to plead guilty to one gross misdemeanor count in district court in Tonopah, with a $2,000 fine. Prosecutors agreed not to seek jail time or probation, and the 45 felony counts against each were dropped. News coverage found does not report Patricia Chappuis's later court date.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"In August 2019 the Nye County District Attorney filed a criminal complaint charging Patricia Lynn Chappuis and Marcel Claude Chappuis with 45 counts of felony child abuse or neglect over their running of Northwest Academy, 1492 South Highway 373 in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. Each count concerns a different enrolled child, aged roughly 11 to 17. Prosecutors alleged that between February 9, 2018 and February 12, 2019 the defendants failed to give the children enough potable water, let them drink unsafe tap water, and failed to screen and supervise staff to protect the children from physical and verbal abuse. The complaint was filed in the Beatty Township Justice Court on August 6, 2019, with an arraignment set for August 19, 2019. In July 2021 the case ended in a plea agreement: Marcel Chappuis pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace, Patricia Chappuis agreed to plead guilty to one gross misdemeanor, each was fined $2,000, and no jail time or probation was sought. Both maintained their innocence through their attorney.","source_urls":["https://pvtimes.com/news/plea-deal-allows-married-owners-of-northwest-academy-to-avoid-prison-102238/","https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/2-years-later-plea-deal-decimates-northwest-academy-child-abuse-case-2402553/","https://pvtimes.com/news/northwest-academy-owners-strike-tentative-deal-in-child-abuse-case-98200/","https://pvtimes.com/news/owners-of-northwest-academy-face-45-count-criminal-complaint-73622/"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/PATRICIA-CHAPPUIS-19CR00069B.pdf"],"tags":["criminal"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":50,"case_name":"State of Iowa v. Benjamin G. Trane","case_number":"","court":"Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County; Iowa Supreme Court","jurisdiction":"Iowa","filing_date":null,"status":"ruling","plaintiffs":["State of Iowa"],"defendants":["Benjamin G. Trane"],"facilities_mentioned":["Midwest Academy (Keokuk, Iowa)"],"staff_mentioned":["Benjamin G. Trane","Layani Trane","Colton Trane","Devon Dade"],"organizations_mentioned":["Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation","Federal Bureau of Investigation","Iowa Department of Human Services","Lee County Sheriff's Office","Lee County Attorney's Office"],"claims":["Sexual abuse in the third degree (convicted of the lesser offense of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse)","Sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist","Child endangerment"],"outcome":"Convicted December 22, 2017 of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist (pattern, practice or scheme), and child endangerment. Sentenced May 10, 2018 to 9 years in prison. Convictions affirmed by the Iowa Supreme Court (State v. Trane, 934 N.W.2d 447 (Iowa 2019); No. 21-1211, January 6, 2023). Trane reported to the Lee County jail to begin his sentence in March 2023. In postconviction proceedings the Iowa Supreme Court (No. 23-1928, January 31, 2025) reversed the grant of a new trial on the child endangerment count.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Benjamin G. Trane opened Midwest Academy in Keokuk, Iowa in 2003 and ran it until it closed in 2016 after state and federal agents searched the school. In 2015 a female student reported that he sexually abused her, and two male students reported physical abuse; the State of Iowa charged Trane with third-degree sexual abuse, sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, and child endangerment. At a jury trial in Keokuk in December 2017, a child protection worker testified that the Iowa Department of Human Services and the FBI had received a report in March 2015 that students were held in isolation rooms with human waste, and agents described searches of the school on January 28, February 1 and February 11, 2016. On December 22, 2017 the jury convicted Trane of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, a pattern, practice or scheme to engage in sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, and child endangerment. He was sentenced on May 10, 2018 to nine years in prison, ten years of supervised release and sex offender registration. His appeals failed: the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the convictions in 2019 subject to a rape shield hearing, affirmed again on January 6, 2023, and on January 31, 2025 reversed a lower court's grant of a new trial on the child endangerment count.","source_urls":["https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/supreme-court-opinions/case/21-1211","https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ia-supreme-court/116888726.html","https://www.radioiowa.com/2017/12/22/jury-finds-former-owner-of-midwest-academy-in-keokuk-guilty/","https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/iowa-boarding-school-director-sentenced-to-9-years-for-abuse","https://khqa.com/news/local/former-keokuk-boarding-school-owner-turns-himself-in-to-begin-prison-sentence"],"document_urls":["https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ben-Trane-Testimony-Part-1-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jennifer-Richardson-Testimony-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Joe-Lestina-Testimony-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Thomas-Pearson-Testimony-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/Ryan-Herman-testimony-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dr-Anna-Salter-testimony-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Full-Layani-Trane-Testimony-midwest-academy.pdf","https://kidsoverprofits.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Devon-Dade-Daughter-testimony-midwest-academy.pdf"],"tags":["criminal"],"published_at":"2026-09-24 01:17:23"},
{"id":51,"case_name":"Siegel v. Trails Carolina, LLC, et al.","case_number":"1:24-cv-00046-MOC-WCM","court":"U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2024-02-10","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Gertrude A. Siegel"],"defendants":["Trails Carolina, LLC","Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC","Derry C. O'Kane"],"facilities_mentioned":["Trails Carolina"],"staff_mentioned":["Derry C. O'Kane"],"organizations_mentioned":["Family Help & Wellness","Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC"],"claims":["Negligence","Gross negligence","Negligent supervision","Vicarious liability","Failure to protect a minor from alleged sexual assault"],"outcome":"On August 5, 2024, the court denied defendants' motions to dismiss and to strike. The supplied complaint alleges that the plaintiff was sexually assaulted by another minor while at Trails Carolina and that defendants failed to protect her.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Gertrude A. Siegel sued Trails Carolina, its owner and manager Wilderness Training & Consulting, and therapist Derry O'Kane. Her February 2024 complaint alleges that, while she was 12 and in the program, another minor sexually assaulted her and defendants failed to provide adequate screening, supervision, and protection. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":["https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/north-carolina/ncwdce/1:2024cv00046/115029/49/"],"document_urls":[],"tags":["North Carolina","sexual abuse","negligence","wilderness therapy"],"published_at":"2026-09-25 12:04:03"},
{"id":52,"case_name":"Doe, K.H. and Doe, M.H. v. Kansas City Girls Academy, et al.","case_number":"4:25-cv-00989-DGK","court":"U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Kansas City Division","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2025-12-23","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Jane Doe, K.H.","June Doe, M.H."],"defendants":["Kansas City Girls Academy","John Doe Entities 1-10"],"facilities_mentioned":["Kansas City Girls Academy"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Kansas City Girls Academy"],"claims":["TVPRA forced-labor and trafficking claims","Negligence","Breach of fiduciary duty","Abuse and exploitation allegations"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Two former residents sued Kansas City Girls Academy and unidentified entities. Their December 2025 complaint alleges that, as minors at the faith-based program, they were abused, exploited, and compelled to perform unpaid labor. The complaint seeks damages and alleges federal trafficking violations and state-law claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Missouri","forced labor","trafficking","faith-based program"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:59"},
{"id":53,"case_name":"Markel Insurance Company v. Trinity Teen Solutions, Inc., et al.","case_number":"1:24-cv-00181-SWS","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2024-09-13","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Markel Insurance Company"],"defendants":["Trinity Teen Solutions, Inc.","Angela C. Woodward","Jerry D. Woodward","Kara Woodward","Kyle Woodward","Dally-Up, LLC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Trinity Teen Solutions"],"staff_mentioned":["Angela C. Woodward","Jerry D. Woodward","Kara Woodward","Kyle Woodward"],"organizations_mentioned":["Markel Insurance Company","Dally-Up, LLC"],"claims":["Declaratory judgment on insurance coverage","No duty to defend or indemnify","Recoupment of defense costs"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Markel filed a declaratory-judgment action concerning insurance coverage for the Sherman class action. The complaint asks the court to find that Markel has no duty to defend or indemnify the Trinity defendants for the underlying forced-labor claims and seeks to withdraw its defense and recover defense costs. This entry concerns a separate coverage case; the supplied filing contains Markel's allegations and requests for relief.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Wyoming","insurance coverage","related litigation","Trinity Teen Solutions"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:54"},
{"id":54,"case_name":"Brooke Parker v. Teen Challenge of Oklahoma, Inc., et al.","case_number":"4:26-cv-00526-MTS","court":"U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2026-08-25","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Brooke Parker"],"defendants":["Teen Challenge of Oklahoma, Inc. d/b/a New Lifehouse Girls Academy","John Doe Entities 1-10"],"facilities_mentioned":["New Lifehouse Girls Academy"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Teen Challenge of Oklahoma, Inc."],"claims":["TVPRA trafficking and forced labor","Involuntary servitude","Attempt and conspiracy","Civil remedy for child victims under 18 U.S.C. § 2255"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Brooke Parker's August 2026 complaint alleges that New Lifehouse Girls Academy and related defendants abused, neglected, and exploited her while she was a minor resident, including by coercing unpaid labor. The complaint asserts federal forced-labor and trafficking claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Oklahoma","forced labor","trafficking","Teen Challenge"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:53"},
{"id":55,"case_name":"Lauren Bence v. Teen Challenge of Oklahoma, Inc., et al.","case_number":"4:26-cv-00440-MTS","court":"U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2026-07-15","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Lauren Bence"],"defendants":["Teen Challenge of Oklahoma, Inc. d/b/a New Lifehouse Girls Academy","Other named and Doe defendants"],"facilities_mentioned":["New Lifehouse Girls Academy"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Teen Challenge of Oklahoma, Inc."],"claims":["TVPRA trafficking and forced labor","Involuntary servitude","Attempt and conspiracy","Civil remedy for child victims under 18 U.S.C. § 2255"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Lauren Bence's July 2026 complaint alleges that New Lifehouse Girls Academy and related defendants abused, neglected, and exploited her while she was a minor resident, including by coercing unpaid labor. The complaint asserts federal forced-labor and trafficking claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Oklahoma","forced labor","trafficking","Teen Challenge"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:48"},
{"id":56,"case_name":"Homeland Insurance Company of Delaware v. The Devereux Foundation","case_number":"2:17-cv-02415-CDJ","court":"U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2017-05-26","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Homeland Insurance Company of Delaware"],"defendants":["The Devereux Foundation"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Glenmoore"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Homeland Insurance Company of Delaware","The Devereux Foundation"],"claims":["Declaratory judgment regarding insurance coverage","No duty to indemnify"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Homeland sought a declaration that it had no duty to indemnify Devereux under two insurance policies for an underlying personal-injury judgment. The underlying complaint concerned an alleged escape from Devereux's Glenmoore facility followed by a shooting that injured Eric Johnson. The supplied document is the insurer's complaint and does not establish the coverage case's outcome.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Pennsylvania","insurance coverage","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:45"},
{"id":57,"case_name":"Whitney Hart v. The Devereux Foundation","case_number":"1:22-cv-05041-RMB-EAP","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2022-08-12","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Whitney Hart"],"defendants":["The Devereux Foundation"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux facility in Deptford, New Jersey"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["The Devereux Foundation"],"claims":["New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act","Whistleblower retaliation","Unlawful termination"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Whitney Hart, a former Devereux direct-service provider, alleged that she was retaliated against and unlawfully terminated after raising concerns about resident abuse. The August 2022 complaint asserts claims under New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["New Jersey","employment","retaliation","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:38"},
{"id":58,"case_name":"Doe 8, et al. v. The Devereux Foundation and QualityHealth Staffing, LLC","case_number":"2:23-cv-05131-AB","court":"U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2023-12-27","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Jane Doe 8","Jaime Torres","Jacob Wright","Molly Brandon","John Doe 5","John Doe 6"],"defendants":["The Devereux Foundation d/b/a Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health","QualityHealth Staffing, LLC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health programs and facilities"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["The Devereux Foundation","QualityHealth Staffing, LLC"],"claims":["Title IX","Negligence and gross negligence","Negligent hiring, retention, and supervision","Consumer-protection claims","Failure to report child abuse","Vicarious assault and battery","Emotional distress","Breach of fiduciary duty"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Six former residents sued Devereux and staffing company QualityHealth Staffing. Their December 2023 complaint alleges sexual abuse and assault in Devereux programs, prior reports that were not adequately addressed, and related failures to protect residents. The complaint asserts Title IX, negligence, consumer-protection, and other claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Pennsylvania","Title IX","sexual abuse","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:38"},
{"id":59,"case_name":"Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health v. John Doe, Jane Doe, David Doe, et al.","case_number":"4:21-cv-10734-TSH","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2021-05-04","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health"],"defendants":["John Doe","Jane Doe","David Doe","Belmont Public Schools","Bureau of Special Education Appeals"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux special-education school and residential programs"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals","Belmont Public Schools","Massachusetts Division of Administrative Law Appeals"],"claims":["Judicial review under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act","Declaratory and related relief"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Devereux sought judicial review of a Bureau of Special Education Appeals decision that required it to remain the student's placement under the IDEA stay-put provision after Devereux had ended the placement on an emergency basis. The supplied complaint describes the parties' competing positions; it does not show the district court's later ruling.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Massachusetts","IDEA","special education","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:38"},
{"id":60,"case_name":"Jane Doe S.P. v. Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, et al.","case_number":"1:26-cv-00056-KMW-AMD","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2025-12-01","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Jane Doe S.P."],"defendants":["Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health","Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health New Jersey","The Devereux Foundation","Devereux-Deerhaven","Doe defendants and Doe institutions"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Deerhaven School for Troubled Girls","Devereux New Jersey programs"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health","The Devereux Foundation"],"claims":["Negligence","Negligent supervision","Negligent hiring and retention","Gross negligence","Negligent infliction of emotional distress","Breach of fiduciary duty"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Jane Doe S.P. alleges that she experienced sexual abuse as a minor while in the care of Devereux-affiliated programs and brings claims against Devereux entities and related defendants. The complaint was filed in New Jersey state court on December 1, 2025 and was included in a federal filing on January 5, 2026. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["New Jersey","sexual abuse","negligence","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:23"},
{"id":61,"case_name":"Raekwon Thomas, et al. v. The Devereux Foundation and QualityHealth Staffing, LLC","case_number":"2:22-cv-02166","court":"U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2022-06-02","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Raekwon Thomas","Austin Standley-Toro","John Doe 4","Jane Doe 4","Jane Doe 7"],"defendants":["The Devereux Foundation d/b/a Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health","QualityHealth Staffing, LLC"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health programs and facilities"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["The Devereux Foundation","QualityHealth Staffing, LLC"],"claims":["Title IX","Negligence and gross negligence","Negligent hiring, retention, and supervision","Consumer-protection claims","Vicarious assault and battery","Emotional distress","Breach of fiduciary duty"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Five former residents sued Devereux and QualityHealth Staffing. Their June 2022 complaint alleges sexual harassment, abuse, and assault in Devereux programs and failures to address known risks and reports. The complaint asserts Title IX, negligence, and related claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Pennsylvania","Title IX","sexual abuse","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:19"},
{"id":62,"case_name":"Diana L. Ramsey v. The Devereux Foundation d/b/a Devereux Pocono Center","case_number":"3:16-cv-01758-JMM","court":"U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2016-01-25","status":"settled","plaintiffs":["Diana L. Ramsey, as administratrix of the estate of Megan Louise Ramsey"],"defendants":["The Devereux Foundation d/b/a Devereux Pocono Center"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Pocono Center"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["The Devereux Foundation"],"claims":["Professional negligence","Wrongful death","Survival action"],"outcome":"A December 2017 court order authorized settlement of all claims for $800,000 and directed the case closed.","settlement_amount":"$800,000","summary":"Diana L. Ramsey sued Devereux Pocono Center in connection with the death of her daughter, Megan Ramsey, who died in July 2014. A December 2017 order approved an $800,000 settlement of the wrongful-death and survival claims. The supplied complaint contains allegations; the settlement order does not state an admission of liability.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Pennsylvania","wrongful death","settlement","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:17"},
{"id":63,"case_name":"Adrian Lovell v. Devereux Foundation, Inc. d/b/a Devereux Glenholme School","case_number":"3:17-cv-01411-SRU","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2017-08-21","status":"unknown","plaintiffs":["Adrian Lovell"],"defendants":["Devereux Foundation, Inc. d/b/a Devereux Glenholme School"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Glenholme School"],"staff_mentioned":["Melissa Lee Houck","Judith Cooper"],"organizations_mentioned":["Devereux Foundation, Inc."],"claims":["Negligence","Negligence per se","Recklessness","Breach of fiduciary duty","Premises liability"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Adrian Lovell alleged that, while he was a 15-year-old student at Devereux Glenholme School, an adult school employee sexually abused him and school leaders failed to protect him. The complaint asserts negligence, recklessness, premises-liability, and related claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Connecticut","sexual abuse","negligence","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:12"},
{"id":64,"case_name":"Mariam J. Kamara v. Devereux Foundation d/b/a Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health","case_number":"2:26-cv-05355-JS","court":"U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2026-07-29","status":"filed","plaintiffs":["Mariam J. Kamara, individually and on behalf of a proposed class"],"defendants":["Devereux Foundation d/b/a Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health"],"facilities_mentioned":["Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["The Devereux Foundation"],"claims":["Negligence","Negligence per se","Breach of implied contract","Unjust enrichment","Data-breach privacy claims"],"outcome":"","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Mariam J. Kamara filed a putative class action after Devereux disclosed a network intrusion in November 2025. The complaint alleges that files containing personal and health information were accessed and copied and that Devereux failed to safeguard the information. It asserts negligence, implied-contract, and related claims. These are allegations, not findings.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Pennsylvania","data breach","class action","Devereux"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:08:07"},
{"id":65,"case_name":"Dorothy Uwakwe v. Pelham Academy and Justice Resource Institute, Inc.","case_number":"1:17-cv-10558-FDS","court":"U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts","jurisdiction":"Federal","filing_date":"2017-04-01","status":"closed","plaintiffs":["Dorothy Uwakwe"],"defendants":["Pelham Academy","Justice Resource Institute, Inc."],"facilities_mentioned":["Pelham Academy"],"staff_mentioned":[],"organizations_mentioned":["Justice Resource Institute, Inc."],"claims":["Race and national-origin discrimination","Title VII","Employment discrimination claims"],"outcome":"On December 11, 2017, the court granted defendants' summary-judgment motion on counts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 and dismissed counts 5 and 6.","settlement_amount":"","summary":"Dorothy Uwakwe alleged race- and national-origin discrimination by her former employers, Pelham Academy and Justice Resource Institute. The supplied December 2017 order resolved the action for defendants: summary judgment was granted on five counts and two others were dismissed.","source_urls":[],"document_urls":[],"tags":["Massachusetts","employment discrimination","Pelham Academy","Justice Resource Institute"],"published_at":"2026-09-29 10:07:58"}
]