‘Dance Moms’ Host Sees Assault Claims By Former Cast Member Dismissed

That’s another legal trophy for Abby Lee Miller. In November, a California judge threw out the defamation and emotional distress allegations from ex-cast member Kelly Hyland and her daughters against the Dance Moms instructor. On Thursday, the same Judge Ruth Kwan dismissed the assault claims from former dancer Paige Hyland in a separate complaint. The judge said today that she’d watched relevant footage from the Lifetime show and saw no evidence that Miller was the perpetrator of an attack on the younger Hyland.

Kwan also said that despite claims that Miller threw a chair in Hyland’s direction in the past, she simply didn’t believe that the young dancer was afraid of the TV coach. For one thing, Hyland stayed on Dance Moms for more than a year after the alleged incident and only filed the claims after her mother’s complaint was in the courts. All of which doesn’t absolutely mean lawsuit filed October 9 will be shuffling off the scene. The younger Hylands’ attorneys are considering an appeal on the ruling. The older Hyland’s case still is moving forward with breach-of-contract claims against producers Collins Avenue.

This being reality TV, both incidents with Kelly Hyland and Paige Hyland were caught on camera. Check out the November 22, 2013, screamfest between Miller and the older Hyland over the “bullying and insulting” way the coach was supposedly treating the younger Hylands on the show here:

In the case tossed today, Paige Hyland was represented by LA’s Michael Shapiro and San Marcos’ Marcus Jackson. The lawyers also represented her mother, sister and herself in the other suit.

Now set out in L.A., the fifth season of Dance Moms debuted on January 6.