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Update
The Dr. Phil-Octomom Summit
Dr. Phil may not make house calls, but he apparently is willing to receive them.
E! News caught America's favorite single mother of 14, Octomom Nadya Suleman, leaving the good TV doctor's Beverly Hills abode after a closed-door summit.
Accompanying Suleman on the visit was attorney Gloria Allred. The camera-ready lawyer praised McGraw but opted not to discuss Suleman's possible legal troubles. The meeting comes less than a month after Allred filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services questioning Sulerman's fitness as a mother.
"All I can say is 'no comment' and it's all about the babies," Allred told E! News of the meeting. "If and when there is anything to say beyond that, definitely everyone will know."
Allred declined to comment on whether the threesome's meeting was caught on camera for Dr. Phil's show or whether it was a private encounter.
As for whether a more formal press conference was in the works, Allred told E! News, "I'm not planning one at this time."
This isn't the first time the 33-year-old Suleman came face-to-face with the folksy straight-talker; she sat down for a two-part, ratings-bonanza interview on McGraw's syndicated show last week.
The purpose of today's visit remains unclear, but Dr. Phil has been publicly critical of Suleman while at the same time a reluctant supporter of her children, saying that there are now "other people to consider."
As for Allred's involvement, Suleman rejected an offer of help made by the nonprofit group Angels in Waiting last month, which would have relied on public donations. Allred represented the group.
Meanwhile, despite Allred's--not to mention the public at large's--call for a closer look at Suleman's fitness as a mom, there is no open investigation, according to the Whittier Police Department and the L.A. Department of Children and Family Services.
Police spokesman Office Jason Zuhlke tells E! News that, while officers were called to two different residences occupied by Suleman three times over the past year, one visit had to do with her children's welfare, while another occurred after one of the kids dialed 911 while playing with the phone.
A call came in July 7, 2008, from a neighbor about suspected child abuse but no evidence substantiated the claim, Zulke said.
"Any citizen can call in a claim of child abuse to the DCFS or the police department directly," he said.
"The neighbor called DCFS and said the kids weren't being cared for, they looked unkempt. We were contacted like we normally are, and we went out to investigate. When we do that, we talk to everybody and look to see if there is food in the refrigerator, we see if they have a place to sleep and that all of the needs were met.
"That was the case. The kids were fine and the claim of neglect was absolutely unfounded."
Allred announced last month that she "quietly" submitted a complaint with the DFCS, asking for a probe into whether Suleman was able to adequately care for her brood.
—Additional reporting by Ken Baker and Ashley Fultz
(Originally published March 3, 2009 at 1:07 p.m. PT.)
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