The legal fallout from a camera found in the family restroom of a local chiropractic office continues, with a pair of lawsuits alleging The Joint Chiropractic location on McBean Parkway failed to protect its customers and staff.
Two women in separate lawsuits filed against The Joint Chiropractic alleged to have discovered the camera reported to have been found in the restroom at the office.
One employee filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of herself and her children, claiming she found the camera during a restroom trip in May.
The second suit was filed by an employee who claimed that she found the camera after she experienced harassment for nearly two years by a doctor who’s been arrested on suspicion of placing the camera.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has not filed charges against Nicholas Vanderhyde, a 40-year-old Santa Clarita resident, according to L.A. County Superior Court records available online.
He is the only named defendant in both lawsuits.
Representatives from the DA’s office said a case was still pending review as of Tuesday evening.
A corporate spokeswoman for The Joint Chiropractic issued a statement on behalf of the company Tuesday in response to a request for comment:
“At The Joint Chiropractic, the safety of our staff and patients, and the integrity of the service we provide, are always our highest priorities,” according to the statement from Margie Wojciechowski, director of public relations and communications for The Joint. “We are aware of the complaint. However, we are not at liberty to comment on private information related to purported current or previous employees, nor discuss ongoing legal matters.”
The situation started with an employee finding a poorly hidden camera in a bathroom cabinet in May, according to both lawsuits.
In the first suit, filed June 6, an employee, who was also identified as a client, put her phone on a bathroom cabinet while using the restroom, and when she was leaving the bathroom, she grabbed her phone off the cabinet.
That’s when she saw the camera “taped to the top of the cabinet and hooked to a power pack behind it,” according to her class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the employee immediately notified her supervisors and law enforcement, and The Joint failed to protect its staff and customers.
The lawsuit states she and her children used the restroom, and it seeks relief on behalf of anyone who was improperly recorded. It does not seek a specified amount for damages.
Court records from the investigators who first looked into the complaint identified approximately 30 potential victims, ranging in age from children to adults, both male and female.
Vanderhyde was seen placing the camera and then adjusting it in one of the videos seen by investigators who seized the camera, according to court documents obtained by The Signal.
Vanderhyde also is facing a lawsuit filed June 20 on behalf of a different former employee of The Joint, naming the same parties as defendants and claiming Vanderhyde subjected the employee to “a series of inappropriate behaviors that escalated over time,” according to her lawsuit, “which culminated in a severe invasion of her privacy and personal safety” after she found the “hidden cameras” on May 9, according to the complaint.
The behaviors ranged from hitting on the employee to unwelcome and flirtatious comments to stalking her on social media and inappropriate touching during an adjustment, the lawsuit states.
“The impact of discovering the cameras was profound,” according to the complaint. “Plaintiff has since suffered from severe anxiety, distress and a pervasive sense of vulnerability. The restroom, a place where privacy is inherently expected, had been transformed into a site of violation. This invasion of privacy exacerbated her existing distress caused by the ongoing sexual harassment, leading to symptoms that include sleep disturbances, heightened anxiety and a constant fear of being watched or recorded.”
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials investigated the complaint, and on June 6, Vanderhyde was arrested on suspicion of violating California Penal Code section 311.11(A): “unlawful possession of obscene matter knowing it depicts a person under the age of 18 years engaging in or simulating sexual conduct,” according to a station official.
The station’s jailer indicated the charge could be a misdemeanor or a felony, but the felony was listed.
The lawsuit filed June 6 is due back in court Aug. 23. The lawsuit filed June 20 is due back in court Aug. 29. Both cases are expected to be heard in Downtown Los Angeles.
