Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
Melinda Ballard damage. The award was later changed to $4 million. As a result of her case and the attention she received, Ballard founded Policyholders of America, a consumer advocate group and homeowner’s insurance information clearinghouse. In 2013, Ballard died at the age of 55. Melinda Ballard Melinda Ballard (1958 – 2013) was an activist for insurance policyholders in America. In 1999, she sued her insurer over mold damage in her 22-room Austin, Texas mansion. Their case started as a single claim for water damage and turned into a case about mold contamination in the entire house. They were one of the