Makeover Show Claims Dismissed

Entertainment Law

Posted Jul 17, 2007, 01:32 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was able to change a three-bedroom house into a nine-bedroom mansion, but it didn’t have to provide a happy ending for five orphans who lived there, a judge has ruled.

Judge Paul Gutman said the children had failed to prove claims that the show promised them a permanent home, the Los Angeles Times reports. He granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the network, the production companies and the builder last week.

The children’s parents died within two months of each other, and fellow church members took in the family. The TV show heard of the situation and converted the churchgoers’ modest home into a 4,267 square foot abode.

Within weeks of the show’s airing, the kids had a disagreement with the couple and moved out. Their suit contends the couple conspired to drive them out; that claim is still pending.

A lawyer for the children told the Associated Press that he would appeal the ruling. "It’s something we can bring to the court of appeal, and we will," said Patrick Mesisca Jr.

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