A judge has temporarily ordered Britney Tongel's foster family to stop using her name and likeness to raise money.
Columbia County President Judge Thomas James ruled in favor of Carey Ann Torres and Marguerita Nimlo, Tongel's mother and grandmother, respectively, both of Berwick, on Monday, in their request for "injunctive relief."
Torres and Nimlo filed the court action against husband and wife Terry and Lisa LaForme and their daughter, Misty, all of Trevorton, over their efforts to raise money for a memorial fund established after the death of Tongel, who committed suicide in the LaFormes' home on Feb. 16.
Torres and Nimlo had tried to stop the LaFormes' from carrying out the "Britney Tongel Bullying Awareness Cruise-In" that was held Saturday in Mifflinburg. That went on as planned. But the LaFormes had been served papers on Friday and had to appear for a hearing in the Bloomsburg courtroom on Monday, at which James made his ruling.
"They were using my granddaughter and soliciting funds in my granddaughter's name without our permission. We want that to stop," Nimlo said Tuesday.
Lisa LaForme, however, stressed the money wasn't used for personal gain.
"We weren't doing this to hurt anyone or to make money. The money was going to go to the funeral parlor and her headstone," she said in discussing the issue Tuesday.
She noted the urgent court appearance prevented them from having a lawyer.
"We didn't really speak much because we felt like we needed an attorney present," Lisa LaForme said.
She has been visiting schools to raise awareness about cyberbullying, which she and Tongel's friends blame for her death. LaForme had described in previous stories how people have reached out to help her, including those who organized Saturday's cruise-in.
While James granted the order Monday, further court action in the case is expected.
The judge, while noting that the LaFormes "had good intentions," according to a story in the (Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise, also ordered all money in a bank account set up in Britney's name be frozen.
Bullying questioned
Tongel, who was a sophomore at Line Mountain High School at the time of her death, had been living with the LaFormes for 11 months.
Nimlo repeated in Tuesday's phone interview an argument she made in court that Britney's death should not be blamed on bullying.
"The state police haven't found anything. There is no actual proof that she was being bullied. I couldn't find it," said Nimlo. She said she wouldn't speculate otherwise on why the family believes Britney took her own life, and also wouldn't elaborate on why she was in foster care.
LaForme disagrees, saying the proof is on Facebook.
"All they had to do is look on the Internet. The nasty notes were still posted on the Internet the day after she died," she said.
At the time of her death, accusations were made that two girls had recently posted messages on a social networking site created by Tongel suggesting she killer herself. After her death, Internet posts included photos of Tongel with captions that said, "LOL DEAD," "I deserve to be bullied" and "She is better off dead," among other more vulgar comments.
State police said that same week they were pursuing the "bullying angle," although no charges have been filed.
Headstone purchase
Lisa LaForme said she was told the biological family was not going to purchase a headstone, and that's why she was raising funds for one.
Nimlo said that was news to her family.
"We already had one picked out and everything. We were shocked," she said Tuesday.
Nimlo said her family has no intention to raise any funds in Britney's name, and she doesn't want the LaFormes doing it either.
"The Britney fund. The Britney T-shirts and bracelets and sticking out cans. Doing rallies" all must stop, said Nimlo.
Torres could not be reached for comment Tuesday. A photograph from the Press Enterprise's coverage of Monday's proceeding showed Torres sticking up both middle fingers at a photographer as she arrived at the courthouse.
Younger brother upset
As explained in the lawsuit, Lisa LaForme visited Orange Street Elementary School in Berwick, which is attended by Britney's brother, Dominick Tongel, 9, who was upset when he saw his sister's face on LaForme's T-shirt.
"When he approached Mrs. LaForme in the hallway to inform her that she had his sister's face on her T-shirt, she introduced herself and said, 'That's my daughter.' Dominick immediately and quickly left the defendant, extremely upset," the lawsuit reads.
The biological family said the LaFormes have had other instances where they have "incorrectly and inappropriately" referred to Britney as their daughter.
Lisa LaForme has written several letters to the editor since Tongel's death and has referred to her as "foster daughter." News surrounding her death has repeatedly identified the LaFormes as foster parents.
Also, in late February 2011, the LaFormes participated in a CBS News interview about cyberbullying despite the biological family's objection of it through KidsPeace, the foster agency, according to the lawsuit. It says that when the LaFormes were informed of this decision, they quit the agency and participated in the interview.
Lisa LaForme has said previously that people wanted her not to talk about the death in light of the foster program, but that she didn't feel it was appropriate to be silent about the issue or that her free speech should be stifled. She said her family has taken in "hundreds" of foster children over many years.
Speaking out
LaForme said she's pleased the court decision won't keep her from speaking out about bullying, which she says is her primary goal.
"I didn't want to lose my rights to be able to go the anti-bullying rallies and speak. The money is the furthest thing from my mind," she said.
She doesn't want people to forget "the circumstances of Britney and her death."
"It needs to be known what's going on in these schools and the Internet for these kids," she said.