People's Court: 7-5-12 **** Lawyer **** Dog Bite ** Best Friends

Let's explore the following situations involving strangers, family and friends. Trusting people to do the right thing is an ideal that is not always achieved. When these relationships break down, the courtroom is a neutral place to find a resolution.

Jose is a lawyer who has entered into an agreement to rent a furnished room. He gave Laura $1500.00 to hold the room she was renting. Neither of them agree whether this was the first month's rent or a security deposit. He gave her cash and he did not get a receipt. Thank goodness she does not deny receiving the money. Jose is quick to explain he does have follow-up emails discussing the money did change hands. He is very fortunate these e-mails exist. Laura has even asked him to write up an agreement for the rental. He does not prepare anything for the rental and then he changes his mind about the room. It is clear that Laura is confused, since it appears that he was already moving in, he brought toiletries and bedding to leave in his room. Jose sent Laura an e-mail that he changed his mind and wanted to pick up his belongings and get back his deposit. Laura wants to keep the money because she does not have time to rent the room to someone else. Why do people allow themselves to get into such a situation? Especially Jose, after all, he is a lawyer. Of all people he should have known better. He does not even do his homework before he comes to court. He is totally unprepared. The Judge is not happy with him and tells him he is not a very good lawyer, he does not care. She advises him to use the money on night classes. He is very fortunate to get his money back; he is fortunate the laws in New York support his case. In the hallway, Laura tells us she trusted him because he was a lawyer and now she has learned the law. Jose, the lawyer, tells us that when the law is on your side you do not have to do much, although he does admit he should have done research. We do expect more of a professional and it is a shame Laura left everything to him, he was not concerned with her best interests!

This next case is one of the saddest situations; a family torn apart. Everyone gathered at the home of Ryan and Cindy. Cindy and Isabel are cousins. Isabel had 3 dogs with her; 2 puppies and a dachshund.  This is a very close family, even welcoming the dogs to join them. There were more dogs, but they were not in the yard when the attack occurred. Someone let the 2 puppies into the yard and Isabel bent down to scoop them up. Bullet, a bull terrier, ran towards her and bit her inner thigh. There is no question she was bitten, although Ryan, Bullet's owner, tries to say no one knows which dog bit her. The other dog in the yard was Isabel's dachshund. No one believes her little dog bit her. The neighbors call the police when they hear the commotion. The police think they are responding to a domestic dispute and Cindy is embarrassed. Instead of being embarrassed, she should be worried about Isabel's injuries. They go into the house and look at the wound. The skin is not broken and they do not think it is serious. Over the next few days it gets worse. The pictures of Isabel's leg are truly worth a thousand words. She has developed a huge hematoma. The blood has pooled under the skin and looks really painful. Isabel misses a month of work due to doctor's orders. She needs a medical procedure and gets stitches. So much to go through and it seems the worst part to her is that the family is taking sides over this. Isabel and Cindy have not talked since the incident. Here is an interesting twist, Ryan tells us that when Animal Control comes to the house Bullet is missing. No one has ever been able to locate him. How can this be true? So, not only does he not pay for the medical bills and lost wages for Isabel, he hides his dog! Ryan and Cindy are found responsible and have to pay Isabel. In the hallway, Cindy comments that she misses her family and Isabel tells us if it was handled differently they would not be here. After listening to these people, I hope that Isabel and Cindy can repair their relationship. Ryan should be ashamed of himself for causing such family problems. What do you think happened to Bullet!

Alicia and Ashley have been friends since high school. They decide to move in together and share the expenses of an apartment. Alicia has children, Ashley does not. Alicia pays for the first month's rent and the security deposit. She expects Ashley is going to pay her back when she has the money. Ashley never plans on paying her back. This would have been the perfect time for a written agreement. These two friends do not seem to communicate with each other. Alicia does not ask for the money because she says her friend knows it was a loan. She did not want to keep reminding her to pay her back. Ashley had no idea Alicia was expecting the money back. They both admit it was tense in the apartment, they were both upset over different things. Ashley was upset because she thought Alicia's children and guests damaged her furniture. If these two friends talked with each other, we could have avoided the loss of this friendship. Ashley moves out, still not returning the money. Remember - she still thinks it was a gift. I think she is being selfish expecting her friend to pay her way, but that is Ashley! Alicia does the right thing bringing this to court, she proves her case and she gets her money back. The insight of the hallway interview is the Ashley has no clue and Alicia is a genuinely nice person. It is clear the friendship is over and Alicia handled it very gracefully.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for joining me today.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson


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