Courthouse Steps

CAUSES OF ACTION: Breach of contract; breach of convenant of good faith and fair dealing; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; unfair, unlawful and fraudulent business practices; and wrongful death.

COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: The plaintiff and her two sisters, Patty and Kellie, applied to be on the TV show “Extreme Makeover.” After an interview, Deleese was chosen to meet with the producers in Los Angeles. She had to go through a series of painful interviews and meetings with doctors, and was then presented with a contract granting rights to use her likeness and to use film of her in order to be considered for the show. The plaintiff also released any claims for injuries. She was invited to a taping of a show called “Life After Extreme Makeover.” During a Dec. 2003 segment, the host announced that Deleese was going to get a makeover. When the defendants came to film the plaintiff's family, their goal was to create extreme emotional turmoil, asking questions that would cause such. The interviewer attacked and shamed Kellie for her sometimes cruel past treatment of Deleese. At one point, the defendants physically restrained the plaintiff from comforting her 9-year-old daughter so that they could tape the daughter crying. Deleese then went back to Los Angeles for 2 weeks to see dentists and doctors. In late January, she was told she that wouldn't get the makeover after all. Her family relationships all deteriorated because defendants elicited statements from them saying Deleese was ugly. Kellie suffered overwhelming guilt and killed herself.