Plaintiffs Apparently Settle Suit Against Dr. Phil over Naked Man Appearance
Corrected: Two women who appeared on a Dr. Phil spinoff show have dropped their lawsuit claiming they were traumatized by the unexpected appearance of a naked man.
Defense lawyer Kelli Sager refused to say whether the suit was settled, the Orange County Register reports. TMZ.com interprets Sager’s response as indicating Dr. Phil McGraw and CBS settled the case under a confidentiality agreement.
The plaintiffs, Shirley Rae Dieu of California and Crystal Matchett of Michigan, had appeared on The Dr. Phil House, in which six people spent a week together in a mock house. A nude dinner guest showed up at the house one night in a test of how the show participants would react.
Both women had signed liability waivers. But an appeals court, ruling in January, allowed the women to pursue their claims of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, rescission and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the story says.
Updated at 11:45 a.m. to correct the spelling of the television show The Dr. Phil House.
