‘Dance Moms’ Criminal Case Update: Kelly Hyland, Abby Lee Miller In Court As Case Moves Forward

The dramatic Dance Moms criminal case involving Kelly Hyland and Abby Lee Miller is finally moving ahead in court. Kelly is facing charges after the battle caught on camera during Season 4 of the show and the parties were at the courtroom this week to start working through the situation.

Entertainment Tonight caught Abby Lee Miller as she entered court in New York on Tuesday. This court case revolves around the physical altercation that took place in November 2013 between Kelly and Abby as they argued over Abby’s treatment of Kelly’s girls, particularly Brooke in this incident. As the two women shouted at one another, Abby approached Kelly and ultimately Kelly slapped Miller and pulled her hair. The police were called and charges were filed against Hyland.

Miller maintains that she was right in calling the police after the incident, and Kelly is now facing an attempted assault charge. Both women say that they were victims in the case and that the videotape backs their assertions.

Kelly’s lawyer, Steven Goldstein, says that they are hoping for a fair trial and an acquittal. He says it’s clear in the videotape that Abby was the aggressor and that Kelly was defending herself. In addition to this case, the Hylands have filed two other lawsuits against Abby and the show for how the girls were treated during their time on Dance Moms.

Abby was all smiles and says the incident has been great for ratings. She says that the Dance Moms Season 5 ratings were up 29 percent for the first episode back and she claims that this was achieved without any show promotion. Naturally she also hyped her plans to open a new studio in Los Angeles.

Some would say Abby’s claims about how great this fight has been for ratings are a bit interesting. As Deadline notes, the Season 5 premiere episode did have 29 percent more viewers than the Season 4 mid-season return last July. However, that isn’t necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison.

The Season 4 premiere last January, a more applicable comparison, had significantly better ratings than the Season 5 premiere this month. This latest premiere was down 25 percent compared to last year. The Season 3 premiere in January 2013 was the strongest episode the show has had, so many would say there does seem to be a pattern of declining ratings.

Is the show just wearing out it’s welcome, or have the departures of the Hylands, and now Chloe Lukasiak, impacted the ratings? Many strong Dance Moms fans would argue that the ratings are still pretty solid, especially for a cable show, and that is a valid point. However, some think that there could be some issues with keeping fans engaged and excited this season.

How will the Dance Moms lawsuits and case with criminal charges against Kelly Hyland be resolved? Fans are curious to see how this all plays out and it does look like things are starting to move forward at last. Dance Moms is now airing new episodes on Lifetime every Tuesday night.

[Image via Scott Gries/Lifetime]