The drama never ceases when it comes to Lifetime's Dance Moms. In October 2014, 14-year-old former Abby Lee Miller Dance Company student and Dance Moms star Paige Hyland sued Abby Lee Miller, the famous Dance Moms dance teacher, for assault — and now the verdict is in. On Thursday, July 16, Deadline reported that the assault case against Abby Lee Miller was dismissed by Judge Ruth Kwan. After reviewing footage from Dance Moms, which was submitted as proof of the alleged assault, the judge deemed Miller not guilty of assaulting Paige due to lack of evidence.
In November 2014, another judge tossed a defamation and emotional distress case filed against Miller by Paige, her mom, Kelly Hyland, and her sister, Brooke Hyland.
Paige's assault case stemmed from a Season 4 Dance Moms episode filmed on November 22, 2013, where an altercation between Miller and Paige's mom, Kelly, escalated to the point where things got physical (see below). In her complaint, Paige claimed that the incident caused her to have panic attacks and fear Miller would physically harm her.
According to Judge Kwan, even though Miller once threw a chair in Paige's direction, she didn't believe the youngest Hyland was afraid of her former dance teacher. Deadline reports that Paige's attorneys may file an appeal.
As for Paige's mom, Miller filed assault charges against her for her part in the same November 2013 incident. However, in April 2015, the charges were dropped, but Kelly was still required to attend two days of counseling and stay away from Miller for six months.
In addition to these cases, in February 2014, Kelly filed a her own $5 million lawsuit against Miller and Collins Avenue Entertainment. According to International Business Times, "The reality star is citing assault, defamation and breach of contract, claiming that she has not been paid regularly following the altercation in November." Deadline reports that Kelly is still moving forward with her lawsuit. A rep for Dance Moms tells Bustle that Miller "is not able to comment on legal matters." The dance instructor told Entertainment Tonight in July 2014 regarding the first lawsuit, "The whole incident is very, very unfortunate."
