People's Court: 7-17-12

You Gave Me A Stroke!

Du-en and Latisha are cousins. When Du-en needed help, Latisha was there for him. She had her own family to take care of, yet she let Du-en move in with her. Latisha became the payee on his social security checks as a requirement of his medical condition. Du-en is bi-polar and is on medication. He admits that he talks a lot and definitely proves it in court. One night, Du-en had a friend over and Latisha's friend was also visiting. They were all sitting in the livingroom. Latisha's friend was watching television and Du-en was talking to his friend. He said he was not interested in the show that was playing. Why not go into another room to talk? Latisha's friend asked him to be quiet. Unfortunately, Du-en got into an argument with Latisha's friend. Latisha asked them to calm down. The situation escalated. Latisha told Du-en to move out since he was a bad influence around her children. She cannot tolerate stress. When she is in a stressful situation, she can become dizzy and then she can have a stroke. This has happened two times to her. Well, it was about to happen again. She was starting to get dizzy and she passed out. She said that when she came to, she was in the hospital. She had a small stroke. Latisha was kept in the hospital for three days. So, why are we in court? When Du-en's check arrived, Latisha cashed it and kept the money. She felt that she deserved it for everything her cousin put her through. She had no right to keep the money. She has to pay it back. This is a very sad situation because she was the only one who was there for Du-en when he needed help. She let him move into her home and he did not behave properly. Latisha has her children to think of. She should not have allowed him to move in and disrupt her life. The stress he caused her affected her health. Du-en regrets his behavior and says it is not worth it to lose the support  of his cousin. It is a shame that it worked out this way. We need to rely on others in our times of need. It is unfortunate that Latisha is so soured by this experience, she says she will not help anyone in the future.

The Dog Ate The Paperwork!

Vilma and Reynold bought an Akita puppy from George. They took the puppy to their vet and was told the puppy had entropion. This is a condition where the eyelids grow inward. Sometimes the puppies grow out of it and sometimes they need surgery. The vet said they should wait and see what happens. When the condition continued to get worse, the dog needed the surgery. The vet said the dog should not be used for breeding. When Reynold bought the puppy, he planned to breed him. He paid $2200.00 for the puppy and was looking forward to recouping some of his money. This is not responsible, but that is another story for another day. Reynold said he contacted George and wanted his money back. He claims George agreed to give him half of the money back. Of course, nothing is in writing and George denies this. George seems to deny most of what was said. George says he could not understand Reynold because of his accent. He understood well enough to sell him the puppy. Why behave this way? Why make up such unbelievable answers? Just tell the truth! He should not be selling puppies, he is not a responsible breeder, he calls himself a hobbyist. Again, another story for another day. This is about the sale of the puppy. Reynold's family is love with the puppy and has no plans of letting him be returned to George. The surgery is done to repair the entropion and now the akita is diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Again, George is contacted. And again, George does not have recall of the conversations. He tells Reynold to take the dog to his vet. This is done and the vet agrees that the dog should not be used for breeding. Reynold says that George is telling him to breed the dog. George does not remember any of this, thank goodness the vet records are available. What is not available are contracts, there is no paperwork. Where is the paperwork? The dog ate it! This is an amusing moment, since the Akita is in court and he is big and beautiful. Obviously, he is big enough to reach papers on the table! There is some laughter about this, as we think about the infamous dog ate my homework excuse. The bottom line is that unless Reynold is willing to give the dog back, he cannot get the purchase price back. He is entitled to the money spent on the surgeries. This works out well, since Reynold's family would never give the dog up. They are in love with him and would give Reynold away first! George is not happy about this decision. In the hallway, he says something about intricate decisions and living things and continues on his way. He really needs to stop breeding dogs. He also needs to be more respectful towards people. No one deserves to be insulted and treated in a demeaning manner. This beautiful Akita has a wonderful and loving home. He will continue to be a family pet and not a stud dog.

We Admit We Damaged The Carpeting!

LaToya and Mark are suing their landlord for their security deposit. They think the landlord did not give them proper notice to withhold the security deposit, so they are suing for double the amount. The landlord is able to prove the notice was sent out to meet the requirements of notification. They will not get double back, will they get anything back? Can the landlord prove that she can keep the entire security deposit. She shows the Judge pictures of the carpeting. There is no visible damage. LaToya and Mark are honest. They remember their babysitter doing something that caused the damage to the carpet. I give them so much credit for being honest. It shows character. The landlord also is asking for payment for cleaning the apartment. She is able to prove that this was a necessary cost. She is not able to prove the money she spent on a new floor in the bathroom was justified. The Judge rules that a portion of the security deposit is to be returned to LaToya and Mark.The landlord can only keep the amount for the carpet and the clean-up costs. She is lucky that LaToya and Mark were so honest. In the hallway, the landlord says she will take batter pictures next time. LaToya and Mark leave the court feeling the right thing was done. They still got back more than the landlord wanted to give them. I am so glad to see honesty in court. LaToya and Mark have set a really good example for how people should behave in court and in life.

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

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

-William James

People's Court: 7-6-12 ***** A Horse ***** A Theft ** A Rude Plaintiff

Everyday situations present us with unique challenges. We find ourselves dealing with new problems all the time.  In working to resolve these issues people need to behave with integrity. Are they trying to right a wrong or find a bonanza? When these stories wind up in the courtroom, the resolution is fair.

Marion needed to transport a horse to a competition for her granddaughter. The transport company is owned by Chip. When the trailer was opened at the competition, the horse was lying down. The horse was injured during the trip. As soon as Marion learns the horse cannot compete, she finds another horse. Her granddaughter was able to successfully compete. Why are we in court? Marion wants Chip to pay for all of the expenses for both horses, the injured horse and the replacement horse, transport fees and competition fees. She does not have a clear answer when she is asked to explain why Chip should have to pay for the expenses of both horses. Why should she get a bonanza? She is only entitled to the money she can prove she lost because of the negligence of Chip's company. Why should her granddaughter get  a free ride? She feels that Chip's company was negligent while securing the horse in the trailer.  In order to prove this, she needs to have evidence. She has her husband tell the court that a horse would never lay down in a horse trailer. He should know he has transported horses for 15 years. This is not evidence. Now, Chip's daughter explains she has been doing this for years and it can happen. It may not be common, but she has seen horses lay down in the trailer. Chip explains that the chain is left loose, so if the horse does lay down, their neck is not broken. Since Marion cannot prove her case, she does not win.  To Marion's surprise, Chip has countersued for 2 additional transports. Even though Marion was unhappy with him in August, she used his company in October and November. On these two occasions, she did not pay him. She claims she had to use his service since the horse farm only contracts with his company. They did not switch companies when the horse was injured. She was not able to pay because she fell on hard times. She did not make any attempt to make payments on the bill. The court finds that Marion is responsible to pay Chip for the services provided. It makes you wonder if Chip would have brought her to court on his own or if he just took this opportunity to countersue?  Why would Marion think she did not have to pay for any of the services she received? What do you think? For those that are wondering, the horse sustained scrapes to her leg and one of her back legs was swollen.

Christian and Nicole rented an apartment together. They both signed the lease and they shared expenses. Christian is suing Nicole for $2000.00. This amount is for a loan, rent and money that was stolen. Christian had a promissory note signed for the loan, but was unable to find it for court. The rent was from December, that was deferred to January as a birthday gift. Nicole moved out suddenly in January and did not pay the rent for December or January. There was money missing from Christian's room. She is convinced Nicole stole it. Knowing that Christian dd not see Nicole steal the money or have any evidence to prove the theft makes you think she is not going to win this portion of the case. Well, Nicole starts to lie about everything. The answers she gives the Judge contradict the written answers she provided to the court. She does deny that she stole the money. Unfortunately, since she lies about the rent and the loan, she shows her true character. Once someone lies in court, nothing they say can be believed. Christian wins the case, but is very sad to have lost her girlfriend.

Konstantine's car was damaged in an accident. He made the decision to pay for the repair himself and not go through the insurance company. He takes his car to Nakhman's repair shop. After the repairs were done he claims he returned many times since there were still problems with the car. He does not have any documentation for the return visits. According to the owner of the shop, he picked the car up in June and did not complain until October. We also learn he recommended the shop to his uncle. How unhappy was he if he sent his uncle to the shop? Konstantine has paperwork that he generated and had a mechanic sign. It listed old parts that were used for repair and repairs that were not done or done incorrectly. This paperwork was not created by the mechanic. It did not serve as true evidence. The Judge tries to get more information from Konstantine. On several occasions, he talks over her. This is so rude. When he loses, he says it was fun to give Nakhman stress and waste his time in court. It is a shame Konstantine did not take this case more seriously. If he would have paid attention, he might have learned something. 

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

Everything is okay in the end, if it's not okay, it's not the end.

- Unknown

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