People's Court Blog - 10 15 2012 - Monday

Snickers And Scorpio

Cindy is suing Mark for $3826.30. This is a combined total for lost wages and vet bills. Both of these dog owners are guilty of letting their dogs roam free in the neighborhood. There is a leash law in their town, neither of them care. They do  not care if their dogs get lost, stolen or hit by a car. Now they care because someone needs to be responsible for the vet bill. Scorpio, Mark's Chocolate Labrador attacked Snickers, Cindy's Dachshund. The vet bills are $2826.20. Mark offered to pay half because it was near Christmas and he wanted to help Cindy out. Actually Mark, you are going to pay the entire amount because of Florida law on strict liability. Even though both of them were wrong in leaving their dogs roam free, Mark is responsible for the bills. He does not have to pay for the week of work that Cindy chose to miss. She wanted to be home with Snickers while he was recovering. Please both of you put leashes on your dogs! The dogs deserve to be protected from harm. If you cannot be bothered to walk your dog on a leash, do not have dogs! What do you think?

The Harmonica Player 

Elliot is suing Michael for $200.00. He claims Michael hired him to play in a band on Labor Day in at a city sponsored picnic in 2010. Michael denies this. He says he does not even like harmonica players so why would he hire him. Are we to believe that Elliot just walked up to the band and started playing with them? Are we to believe that now Elliot is suing for a job he did not have? Well, it is hard to know what to believe since Elliot is claiming Michael owes him $200.00. Michael says he paid the men in the band $50.00 each. Elliot finally admits that he was hired for $50.00 and now wants more because he had to waste so much time trying to get paid. Elliot does have a letter from one of the men in the band stating that the were paid. Unfortunately, he does not mention the amount. After listening to both sides of the story, The Judge decides that Elliot was hired and he will get paid $50.00 and interest from the past two years! Why did Michael think is was believable that Elliot would sue him if he was not hired? Why did Elliot think that it was believable that he was hired for $200.00? If both men just told the truth it would have been a magical moment! What do you think?

The Pitter Patter Of Little Feet

Lisa is suing George for $5000.00. This is for damages to her apartment and for pain and suffering. Lisa has lived in her apartment for 40 years. In 2008, George moved in above her. She says there were leaks in her apartment caused by George. These problems were resolved. In 2011, he rented to a couple with a 7 year old, 45 lb child. Lisa claims that she has had damage to her ceiling fan light fixture, smoke detector, medicine cabinet and toilet because of the child. She said the child jumps up and down and creates problems. She complained to George on many occasions. He did ask the family to put down rugs and they did. Lisa said it did not help. One day George came in her apartment to see the damage she was complaining about. When Lisa asked him if he could hear the noise, he listened and heard the pitter patter of little feet. That is when he realized this was not going to to be easy to resolve. Lisa was super sensitive to the slightest noise. It does seem that George was trying to mediate the problem. The family was made aware of the complaints. They provided a letter to the court that described how they supervise their child and they even remove their shoes at the door. The family moved out because of this situation. That is really a shame! The child has a right to walk around in his own home. The Judge finds that Lisa cannot prove her case. What a shame that a family had to move out because of this unreasonable woman! What do you think?

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

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Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.

~James M. Barrie

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.

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