A Dancing Lawsuit

Jessica Ventura, Writer/Editor

Like mother, like daughter. Almost one year after former “Dance Moms” star Kelly Hyland filed a suit against Abby Lee Miller affirming assault, her daughter and co-star, dancer Paige Hyland, is prepared to go up against the ALDC teacher in court.

Paige, 13, who was dismissed from Miller’s Pittsburgh dance studio and Lifetime’s reality-TV series “Dance Moms” in Nov. 2013 successive to her mother’s heated dispute with her teacher, alleges to have endured mistreatment and cruelty while under the coach’s lead. The legal papers, put on record at the Superior Court of California Tuesday, accuse Miller of “pinching another student until they bled” and forcing them to train for upward to 60 hours per week to gain adequate footage for the show.

“Miller insulted and abused Paige essentially every day,” verifies the lawsuit, signifying one case from Season 2 in which Miller threw a chair in the dancer’s path. “Miller even threw a chair during a conflict with Paige while Kelly Hyland was not there, triggering Paige to run from the room horrified as she feared she would be physically injured by Miller.”

The court documents affirm that Miller, 48, who commenced filming her Lifetime series alongside the Hyland family and several other mother-daughter duos in 2011, would purposefully make her students cry by calling them “weak” and insulting their physical appearance for the sake of unrivaled television. “As the show started up, it became apparent early on that the adolescents on the show were being subjected to abusive and inappropriate surroundings,” declares the statement.

Paige claims to now receive medical treatment for panic attacks and extreme anxiety spurred from her time spent with Miller. She is reportedly seeking more than $25,000 in punitive damages.

While Paige and her mother have yet to speak out about the recent litigation, their lawyer, Michael Shapiro, said the juvenile’s charges are authentic. “I’m not looking to make a lot of money off this. I think what Miller has done to the children is intolerable and has to end. It’s the most repulsive prosecution I’ve been engaged in over 49 years of practice.”

Hyland’s other daughter and former “Dance Moms” star, Brooke Hyland, 16, was mentioned in the lawsuit, but not listed as a plaintiff.

Kelly Hyland, 43, filed her own lawsuit against Miller following a dance-related brawl in New York the past November. Hyland was suspected of pulling Miller’s hair during the fight and was booked for assault and harassment, but not officially charged. An episode featuring the fight aired on Lifetime in February as part of the series’ fourth season.

In response to the episode’s debut, Hyland filed a $5 million dollar suit against Miller and the Lifetime network suggesting assault, denigration, emotional sorrow and abuse of contract. In August, Judge Ruth Kwan was considering siding with Miller and dismissing a majority of Hyland’s abuse-related claims.

“Dance Moms” is set to begin filming Season 5 this Saturday at the Sheer Talent dance competition in Niagara Falls, New York. The Season 4 event special premieres Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.