Throughout the history of reality TV, there have been a slew of lawsuits. For example, America’s Got Talent once got sued over a wrongful death and a Love Is Blind star faced a lawsuit from the show’s producers for complaining about the show. Unfortunately for Gordon Ramsay, he was sued because of a Kitchen Nightmares episode and Leah McSweeney sued Real Housewives producers for trying to get her to drink when she was sober.
Just like other reality show personalities, the stars of Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup do things like find love and have dramatic relationships. Similarly, a Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup star got involved in a fascinating lawsuit after suing a nursing home for rejecting her daughter.
Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup’s Melissa Picariello Filed A Lawsuit After A Nursing Home Rejected Her Daughter
During the fourth season of Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup, fans were introduced to Melissa Picariello and Louie. As the show revealed, Melissa and Louie were navigating their life together after he was released from prison.
Sentenced to ten years for armed robbery, Louie clearly wasn’t a stranger to getting headlines for his conduct. However, New Jersey’s Melissa didn’t seem to have the same kind of life that got the attention of the local news.
At least, that was the case until Melissa filed a lawsuit in 2024 that garnered a lot of attention. The lawsuit was fascinating because it featured a reality star and one of the most controversial issues of the last several years.
On Instagram, Melissa has published photos of herself with her teen daughter Isabella.
Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup Seasons | |
|---|---|
Season | Tenure |
Season 1 | 2018 |
Season 2 | 2018-2020 |
Season 3 | 2020-2022 |
Season 4 | 2022-2023 |
Season 5 | 2023-Present |
Those photos appear to show how close the mother and daughter pair has always been. However, if the images don’t make their bond obvious, the way that Melissa reacted to her daughter suffering a career setback says a lot.
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In January 2024, TV Shows Ace reported on the fact that Melissa filed a lawsuit against Brandywine Senoir Living. As that article revealed, Melissa sued because the nursing home rejected her daughter Isabella.
Based on Melissa Picariello’s social media activity, she definitely isn’t shy about addressing controversies in public. In October 2024, Melissa posted a video on
Instagram
in which she expressed her anger at a tentative deal that was offered to United States Postal Service workers at the time.
According to the outlet, Isabella was a nursing school student who needed to find an internship to continue her education. To that end, Isabella applied to begin an internship at Brandywine Senior Living and was rejected.
The thing that inspired Melissa to sue over the rejection was the reason why her daughter didn’t get the internship. Melissa’s lawsuit claimed it was wrong for Brandywine Senior Living to reject Isabella because she didn’t get a COVID-19 vaccination.
The reason why Melissa Picariello was the one who sued Brandywine Senior Living instead of her daughter is due to age. When Isabella was rejected, she was only 17 years old, which made her a minor.
Furthermore, the lawsuit claimed that Isabella didn’t get the COVID-19 vaccination due to her “sincere religious beliefs.”TV Shows Ace’s article reported that Melissa’s lawsuit accused Brandywine Senior Living of violating the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
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Melissa’s lawsuit made other claims about Brandywine Senior Living’s decision to reject her daughter Isabella.
According to TV Shows Ace’s article, Melissa’s lawsuit was demanding a lot. “Compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs of suit, and such other relief as the Court may deem proper and just.”
As for why Melissa’s lawsuit claimed she and her daughter deserved that, it was claimed they suffered a lot because of Brandywine Senior Living’s rejection. To be specific, they claimed to have suffered “emotional distress, including suffering embarrassment, humiliation, indignity, and other mental anguish.”
How Brandywine Senior Living Responded To Melissa Picariello’s Lawsuit
In January 2024, Starcasm published an article about Melissa Picariello’s lawsuit against Brandywine Senior Living. That article revealed how Brandywine Senior Living responded to Melissa’s lawsuit.
According to Starcasm’s report, Brandywine Senior Living filed to have Melissa’s lawsuit against them thrown out.
Furthermore, Brandywine Senior Living argued in court that there were three reasons why Melissa’s lawsuit should be dismissed.
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First off, Brandywine Senior Living argued that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination didn’t apply to the details of the lawsuit. According to Starcasm’s report, Brandywine Senior Living argued that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination only applies to employers and employees. The company argued that since they didn’t employ Isabella, the law didn’t apply.
Secondly, Brandywine Senior Living argued that there was precedent for businesses like the one they operate to demand vaccination. To be more specific, the lawsuit claimed that companies could “mandate vaccination of those entering its facility in order to protect its at-risk elderly resident population.”
Finally, Brandywine Senior Living argued against Melissa’s lawsuit based on a demand for more information. The company petitioned the court to dismiss the lawsuit because Melissa didn’t explain the religious belief that stopped Isabella from getting vaccinated.
According to the website Trellis Law, Melissa’s lawsuit against Brandywine Senior Living remains open as of the time of this writing. As a result, it is currently unclear what the ultimate outcome of the matter will be.
Life After Lockup is a show that follows the lives of seven former inmates and their significant others (who previously appeared on the hit series Love After Lockup and Love During Lockup) as they learn to navigate all aspects of their new lives, including their relationships, dealing with parole, and adapting to a new normal after being behind bars.
- Release Date
- June 14, 2019
- Seasons
- 5
- Network
- WeTV
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
- Franchise(s)
- Love After Lockup
