People's Court - 8 20 2012 - Monday

How Many Times Do I Have To Return To Your Store?

Valerie is suing her dry cleaners for $400.00 ($100.00 for her dress and the rest is for harassment). Valerie left 10 garments to be cleaned, when she picked them up, one was missing. She was asked to come back. When she returned, she met the owner, Emmanuel. He explained to her that the beads on the dress exploded during the cleaning process. He wanted more time to clean it. Valerie agreed and came back to the store a third time. The dress was still ruined., Valerie wanted $100.00 for the dress. This is what she paid for it, several years ago. Emmanuel offered her $50.00 due to depreciation of the dress. This money was to be used in store credit. Valerie did not want store credit, she wanted to be paid for her ruined dress. Emmanuel said he would think about it and she should come back. Valerie left and came back to the store a fourth time. When she got to the store this time, Emmanuel was waiting on a customer. Valerie waited and finally Emmanuel helped her. He asked her to wait, while he pressed the dress. When he brought the dress out, he hung it up and then asked her to wait again while he called his lawyer. Valerie was tired of waiting, she took the dress and left the store. An employee of the store saw this and told Emmanuel that she was leaving with the dress. Emmanuel ran after her, yelling and then tried to stop her from driving away. He leaned on the back of the car. When another car pulled in, he had the driver block Valerie from leaving. Emmanuel called the police. The police said it was a civil matter and Valerie should take him to court. And here we are....what a major ordeal to make over a dress. I really think the police have better things to do. Although, the way Emmanuel acted, something far worse could have happened. It is never a good idea to try to stop a moving car. Why did Emmanuel have to make Valerie return to the store four times? The first time she returned, he needed to explain to her how the dress was ruined in the dry cleaning process. Emmanuel explains that his staff is not trained to tell customers this type of information. Why didn't Emmanuel call Valerie to explain about the dress? Why make her come back to the store so many times? There is no excuse for this! Valerie is awarded $50.00 for the cost of the dress. She does not get harassment, even though she was very convincing that she almost had a heart attack when Emmanuel chased her when she was trying to drive away! Valerie is satisfied with the outcome, she just wanted Emmanuel to learn that he has to be fair to people. I hope Emmanuel did learn this. I also hopes he trains his staff to explain problems to his customers. This way they do not have to keep coming back to his store unless it is to drop off and pick up clothing. What do you think?

I Want Tony Montana Back!

Tracy is suing Cindy for $1216.70. This is for the value of her cat, rent and damages to window blinds. Tracy rented her second bedroom to Cindy for $170.00 a week, including utiities. Tracy had a dog and a cat. Her Maine Coon cat, Tony Montana, and her dog were the loves of her life. When Tracy went away for a week, she asked Cindy to take care of her pets in exchange for one week's rent. While Tracy was away, she asked her friend, Roger, to keep an eye on everything. Tracy did this because Cindy had recently moved in and she did not know her that well. Why didn't she ask Roger to care for her pets? It would have made sense since Roger was her good friend? During this week, Cindy decided to move out. Tracy said when she found this out she came home early. Cindy says she was gone from Saturday to Saturday, a whole week. When Tracy got home, she said she found a sticky note from Cindy asking Roger to walk the dog. She saw that Cindy was in the process of moving out. Then, Tracy realized that Tony Montana was missing. Where was her cat? Tracy is convinced that Cindy stole her cat. Cindy says she really liked Tony, but she has two cats of her own. Where did the cat go? Maybe through the window that Cindy leaves open in her bedroom. Why does she leave the window open? Cindy says she does not allow Tony in her bedroom. Really, a cat does not try to go where it is not allowed? That is what cats do! Is Cindy responsible for Tony? I believe so, but Tracy is not able to prove that Tony was stolen. Where is Roger, Tracy's good friend? He is not able to be in court, even though he lives locally. Tracy has a recording on her phone from Roger to the Judge. Tracy starts to play it and then the Judge tells her to stop. The Judge is not able to cross-examine a recording. It seems that Roger is making up a story after the fact. If he was so worried about the cat and the dog during the week, he should have done something about it. Does Tracy have any other evidence? She has a series of text messages from herself to Cindy's boyfriend and there is nothing to prove that she knew any of the information that is included in Roger's recording. If anything, the text messages prove that Tracy is a good liar. In her text messages, she says she has two eyewitnesses to Tony's theft. She does not have any witnesses. She is willing to say anything to get her cat back. I understand her frustration, but lying about it, does not help at all. Remember, honesty is always the best policy! Since Tracy has no proof that Cindy stole Tony, she is not awarded the value of the cat. Tracy does get some of the rent money back, since Cindy was not up to date on rent when she moved out.  Tracy is not able to prove that Cindy damaged the blinds, so she has to return the security deposit. This case is not about money. Tracy misses her cat and just wants him back. In the hallway, Cindy's boyfriend says that Tracy did not give the cat attention and he probably left to find a better home. Really, what does this mean? A cat does not leave to find a better home. Does anyone think that Cindy and her boyfriend helped Tony to find a "better" home?

What Happened To My Driveway?

Gary is suing Frank's paving company for $1935.00. Gary hired Frank to repave his asphalt driveway and to seal it. Frank was recommended by a neighbor. When Gary hired Frank, he also got him several more jobs in the neighborhood. Frank did those jobs before he did Gary's. Why? This is never answered. Gary is not happy with the outcome of the job. He shows pictures of the driveway. It is discolored, crumbling and deteriorating. There are even weeds growing through the asphalt. Frank explains this damage is from a snowplow. Gary says he never used a snowplow on the driveway. He only used a snow blower. Why is the driveway a gray color and bumpy looking? Franks says there is only one place in the county to buy asphalt. There is no way to be guaranteed to get the same quality material. The other driveways are perfect. Gary wants his driveway to look like those driveways. Why should he get inferior material? Frank says it is not inferior, it is just different. The weather has so much to do with it. When it is over 75 degrees outside, the asphalt gets soft and and the tires from the car can damage it. This is not the type of damage that is shown in the pictures. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. Should Gary have to live with an inferior job? No, he does not. The Judge awards him the $1935.00. In the hallway, Gary says he should have asked for more money. After all, it is going to cost him more to have the driveway removed before it is replaced. I think Gary should have had an estimate from a company for the removal of the driveway. I think he would have won. Whay do you think?

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

The most simple things can bring the most happiness.

- Izabella Scorupco

People's Court: 7-18-12

Where Do You Want Me To Start?

There is so much history that leads up to this case, almost 40 years. Lila and Debra's mom met in church almost 40 years ago. They became friends and their lives entwined. Throughout the years, so much happened. They co-signed on the mortgage to the house. At some point, there were changes, so only Lila's name was on the deed. Lila and her family continued to live there, Debra's mom and family moved out. Debra's mom starts to say she was paying rent to Lila, since this is not pertinent to today's case, she does not continue with her part of the story. At some point Debra and her family move in with Lila. Debra claims she has paperwork that shows in the event of the sale of the house, her mom gets part of the proceeds. Lila says this is not true. She does not have that paperwork with her. It is really not what she is in court to pursue. So much going on and it is not for this court to decide on the issues of who the house belongs to or who is entitled to the proceeds of a sale. The lawsuit that brings us here today is about an unpaid loan and unpaid storage fees. The loan appears very straightforward. Debra agrees that Lila lent her $1000.00. She says she is so grateful to Lila for helping her out. Yet, she did not pay her back. Why? Debra claims the $1000.00 is supposed to come out of her mom's share of the proceeds of the sale of the house. The one thing has nothing to do with the other. Why would this be the agreement, when Lila is denying that Debra's mom has claim to the house? The other part of the lawsuit is about storage fees. When Debra moved out of Lila's house, she left her motorcycle in the garage. She does show receipts for $25.00 a month payments. Lila says she owes her $100.00 a week for storing the motorcycle. Unfortunately, they did not have a contract regarding the storage of the motorcycle. Since Debra was paying Lila $25.00 a month, she is responsible to maintain those payments. She also has one month to remove the motorcycle. I would think she would rush over to get it out of there, since it is her baby! She would never even consider selling it to pay her bills. It does not end there. Debra has a $4200.00 counterclaim against Lila. She is suing her for broker's fees, one month's rent and one month's security deposit. Debra claims Lila kicked her out, forcing her to find another place to live. Why on earth would Lila be responsible to pay these expenses? The counterclaim is dismissed. Debra also claims that when she was locked out for three weeks, her fish died. Why didn't she call the police? She says she did not want to make trouble for Lila. This does not make any sense. If she truly had fish that needed care, she should have moved heaven and earth to save them. So dramatic! The sad, sad part of this entire situation is the breakdown of the friendship between Lila and Debra's mom. What a shame that it comes to this! It is not over for them, the ownership of the house is still in question and that case is pending. I wish these two ladies luck in working out this lifelong problem.

We Slept Together! - No, We Didn't!

Randy and Anna are stand-up comics. They are both here today suing each other. I will tell you now, there is nothing funny about these two. They are both mean-spirited and seem to enjoy torturing each other. Also, there is not much of the story they agree upon. Thank goodness they are able to bring their cases to civil court, otherwise it would certainly be criminal. Randy is suing Anna for the cost of the promotional items directly relating to her participation in a play they worked on together. He approached her at a comedy club and suggested they pursue a joint venture based on her "bestselling" book. Anna claims he hired her at $100.00 an hour to write a play based on his failed marriage. Right from the beginning, there is not a meeting of the minds. Needless to say, there is nothing in writing, no contracts, no confirmation e-mails or texts. The saga continues, Randy claims they had an intimate relationship. Anna vehemently denies it and is quite insulting to Randy. She thinks this is her time to do her act, it is not! Randy provides very explicit e-mails that do not leave anything to the imagination. Anna claims someone hacked her e-mail account. She even tries to implicate Randy, claiming he had access to her laptop. For two people that had only a business relationship, they seem to know an awful lot about each other. Anna finally says they were fooling around. What does that mean? She seems to stumble over her words. For someone who performs for a living and has written a book, she did not handle this appearance in a very professional way. She shows such hatred towards Randy, you wonder how involved they really were. There is definitely more to this relationship than meets the eye. What do you think? Randy did manage to go on with the show. He changed the name of the play and found a replacement for Anna. There were certain promotional items that he was not able to use since Anna was not involved in the production. Anna agreed they were supposed to split the costs of the play. She is found responsible to pay Randy back for the promotional items. Now for Anna's counterclaim. She wants $5000.00 for writing a play for Randy. He denies that he offered to pay her anything, let alone $100.00 an hour. Anna cannot prove she had any promise of payment. She loses on her counterclaim. It is a relief when this case is over. It is very painful watching these two people torture each other. Hopefully they will go their separate ways and stay far, far away from each other. Please let me know what you think about the Randy and Anna Show!

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

An obstacle is often a stepping stone.

-Prescott