Author Topic: More TPiR Legal Woes, Docs Surface (Read 8412 times)

inturnaround · « **on:** September 21, 2004, 05:11:42 PM »

Court TV had an article up today (which I saw linked from Fark.com) that said a CA appeals court recently ruled Holly Hallstrom's wrongful termination suit against Bob Barker and TPiR valid. It could go to trial as soon as late 2005 or 2006.

Accompanying the story was the lawsuit filed by Claudia Jordan and Sylvia Clement-Henry alleging wrongful termination, sexual harassment, race discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The document can be found here. (Acrobat Reader needed for the document)

Most distressing is the allegation that contestants for the show were chosen based on race. Plaintiff Henry, an African-American, alleges that Phil Rossi Wayne had a rule where no more than 2 African-American contestants would be chosen per show and those that were would fit some sort of stereotype. Henry said that these contestants would often be placed at the end of the show, so only one would be likely to make it on stage.

This is the ninth suit made against Barker and Company over the years, most for wrongful termination.

Here is a link to Linda Riegert's lawsuit and a link to the appeals court decision in the Hallstrom case.

urbanpreppie05 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 21, 2004, 05:55:44 PM »

Oh Wow.

I still think that Holly doesn't have much of a case, but as for the other...maybe so, but who's being sued? Barker or Rossi, cause it sounds more like Rossi.

Mario500 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 21, 2004, 07:55:04 PM »

(Faith in justice system down 33%, a record low since 1994)

MikeK · « **Reply #3 on:** September 21, 2004, 08:02:20 PM »

[quote name=\'Mario500\' date=\'Sep 21 2004, 07:55 PM\'] (Faith in justice system down 33%, a record low since 1994) [/quote]
Let's remember that people are innocent until proven guilty, and that the truth will come out in the courtroom. The truth is occasionally a tough pill to swallow.

inturnaround · « **Reply #4 on:** September 21, 2004, 09:07:00 PM »

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 21 2004, 08:02 PM\'] [quote name=\'Mario500\' date=\'Sep 21 2004, 07:55 PM\'] (Faith in justice system down 33%, a record low since 1994) [/quote]
Let's remember that people are innocent until proven guilty, and that the truth will come out in the courtroom. The truth is occasionally a tough pill to swallow. [/quote]
Legally sure, but practically they either did it or they didn't. (Also, it's a bit naive to think that the truth comes out in the courtroom. That's certainly the idea, but since when does the ideal become reality for most people?)

While I'm not sure of veracity of the individual charges, I'm just amazed at how many people accuse the show and the producers of wrong-doing. One or two is easy to dismiss as a quest for big payday. Nine lawsuits by former employees? It just makes me think that there may be something there.

These charges cannot be ignored. I would think that CBS would want to investigate the charges of discrimination and make the findings public so that people can be assured that the contestant process is as fair as it can be. This charge could very well find itself on the front page of a major newspaper very soon if someone wanted to make a stink over it.

CBS certainly has a lot of scandals lately. They need to be proactive in this one if they don't want to find themselves on the defensive in daytime like they are in their news division.

inturnaround · « **Reply #5 on:** September 24, 2004, 01:41:30 PM »

Just a request, people, if you're going to cut and paste what I wrote, please give me proper credit.

My debut on Golden-Road.net.

I'm not sure how "TunaHead" would know that contestant selection was always proportional to the audience distribution, but his contention was not open to debate as he closed the thread. ::shrugs::

ClockGameJohn · « **Reply #6 on:** September 24, 2004, 02:09:13 PM »

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Sep 21 2004, 09:07 PM\']While I'm not sure of veracity of the individual charges, I'm just amazed at how many people accuse the show and the producers of wrong-doing. One or two is easy to dismiss as a quest for big payday. Nine lawsuits by former employees? It just makes me think that there may be something there.[/quote]

But you have to also think how easy it is to jump on the band wagon once the ball is rolling. When Mrs. Liebeck spilled McDonald's hot coffee on her and was kindly awarded 2.9 Million Dollars for her mistake, how many people do you think filed lawsuits for former "injuries"?

[quote name=\'inturnaround\']I'm not sure how "TunaHead" would know that contestant selection was always proportional to the audience distribution, but his contention was not open to debate as he closed the thread. ::shrugs:: [/quote]

I'm not sure that he's trying to use mathematical statistics, but more reality. On the episode I was chosen, I counted 4 black audience members. 1 was chosen. Do I care? No, not really. I think it's pretty plain to see that whites clearly outnumber blacks on most days. Not trying to start a racial debate here, just being realistic.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #7 on:** September 24, 2004, 03:31:14 PM »

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Sep 24 2004, 01:41 PM\'] Just a request, people, if you're going to cut and paste what I wrote, please give me proper credit.

My debut on Golden-Road.net.

[/quote]
It should come as no surprise that the person doing the cutting and pasting is the very person who's in the Isolation Booth with us right now -- for cutting and pasting. My apologies to inturnaround, the situation will be dealt with.

Quote

I'm not sure how "TunaHead" would know that contestant selection was always proportional to the audience distribution, but his contention was not open to debate as he closed the thread. ::shrugs::

This is a surprising lock-down. Since the information certainly comes from a reputable news organization, and since people are being quoted using their own names and none of that "inside sources tell us" stuff, it would seem to be a very valid topic of conversation and debate, ESPECIALLY on a TPIR board.

urbanpreppie05 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 24, 2004, 04:25:06 PM »

(No offense to CGJ) I think the reason why they locked it is because some of the GR-Net members won't listen to facts and start up wild speculations on stuff. From what i understand, they're locking the thread until more info becomes availale.

inturnaround · « **Reply #9 on:** September 24, 2004, 04:38:54 PM »

[quote name=\'urbanpreppie05\' date=\'Sep 24 2004, 04:25 PM\'] (No offense to CGJ) I think the reason why they locked it is because some of the GR-Net members won't listen to facts and start up wild speculations on stuff. From what i understand, they're locking the thread until more info becomes availale. [/quote]
Yeah, but the mod who closed it said he wanted to wait until something other than something that tends to be a "Dan Rather Report" comes to light. I'm not sure how you can do that as you have a serious allegation being made publicly by a prominent former cast-member of the show and a former contestant coordinator alleging bias in the contestant selction process.

Is it true? Who knows? But it's news and it's not something that will go away by ignoring it. I think it speaks volumes of the board if they feel they can't have an intelligent discussion about it.

And Matt, thank you for your attention to the matter I brought up.

ClockGameJohn · « **Reply #10 on:** September 24, 2004, 04:48:35 PM »

No offense taken, and please allow me to clarify. While I wasn't the one who locked it, I would support it knowing personally that some of the information is not accurate.

I know that Sylvia Clements-Henry was not fired and is still in fact working for the show. Claudia posted first hand that she was leaving the show; so she was not fired as well. As far as the other accusations, I won't get involved with those. Knowing that enough of it is inaccurate news reporting, I agreed with the lockup.

I personally just don't enjoy chatting it up about the legal issues involved with the staff on our site when they've been nothing more than pleasant and generous to us.

As far as the quoting goes, I will also speak with the person at fault. I will be honest and say that when I saw the quote, I assumed it was the article. I will make it clear to him that it is unethical.

Hopefully this clears a few things up!

inturnaround · « **Reply #11 on:** September 24, 2004, 05:13:45 PM »

[quote name=\'ClockGameJohn\' date=\'Sep 24 2004, 04:48 PM\'] No offense taken, and please allow me to clarify. While I wasn't the one who locked it, I would support it knowing personally that some of the information is not accurate.

I know that Sylvia Clements-Henry was not fired and is still in fact working for the show. Claudia posted first hand that she was leaving the show; so she was not fired as well. As far as the other accusations, I won't get involved with those. Knowing that enough of it is inaccurate news reporting, I agreed with the lockup.

I personally just don't enjoy chatting it up about the legal issues involved with the staff on our site when they've been nothing more than pleasant and generous to us. [/quote]
Claudia alleges in her complaint that she was fired last Halloween. She may have said she quit somewhere else, but the lawsuit filed on her behalf says otherwise.

To clarify the accusation of Ms. Henry, she claims that she was "stripped of all her duties" as contestant coordinator because she pursued her lawsuit. She also says that she was offered the promotion and payraise to contestant coordinator in the first place to persuade her not to testify or to dissuade her from filing her own lawsuit.

The CourtTV article's main thrust is based on the old Holly Hallstrom lawsuit. What I wrote was a very brief, basic summary of the lawsuit Jordan and Henry filed. So what I wrote is true, they did allege these things.

Read the lawsuit for yourself and you'll see that my summary is based on what they filed and, as far as I can tell, does not inaccurately describe anything that is in the document.

ClockGameJohn · « **Reply #12 on:** September 24, 2004, 05:19:20 PM »

Saw it, read it, absorbed it.

Steve Gavazzi · « **Reply #13 on:** September 24, 2004, 07:56:51 PM »

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Sep 24 2004, 05:13 PM\'] To clarify the accusation of Ms. Henry, she claims that she was "stripped of all her duties" as contestant coordinator because she pursued her lawsuit. [/quote]
I'm sure Jeff Thisted would find that very interesting.

ClockGameJohn · « **Reply #14 on:** September 24, 2004, 11:25:19 PM »

[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Sep 24 2004, 07:56 PM\'] [quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Sep 24 2004, 05:13 PM\'] To clarify the accusation of Ms. Henry, she claims that she was "stripped of all her duties" as contestant coordinator because she pursued her lawsuit. [/quote]
I'm sure Jeff Thisted would find that very interesting. [/quote]
Good point.