People's Court: 6-15-12: Being Truthful

Life can become complicated very quickly. One of the ways to simplify a crazy situation is to be truthful.

This is illustrated in the case of a man who witnessed someone falling and getting hurt. She asks him to be a witness for her in a lawsuit. He made it quite clear he would do it for compensation. He was not going to get involved out of the goodness of his heart. The woman is not clear in her story and just keeps saying he lies about everything. She is very fortunate he did not lie about her fall. His testimony enabled her to receive a $62,000 settlement. He is hearing for the first time how much money she received. He cannot believe she would not honor their agreement, considering the amount of money she received. Not only was she refusing to pay him the money to be a witness, she never thanked him for helping her receive such a huge settlement. The Judge awards him the money. I find this so interesting since there is nothing in writing and it really is about who appears truthful. Even in the hallway, the woman is still carrying on about his lies. Because this man was honest about his actions, he was able to receive compensation for his testimony. We also find out this is not illegal as long as there is full disclosure. It seems no one ever asked him if he was receiving anything for his testimony. If they asked, his testimony might not have been held in such high regard or maybe that is why there was a settlement. We will never know.

Now we have a man purchasing a used car. He is given three days to have the car checked out by the dealer. He takes it to an authorized repair shop for the type of car he purchased. They do a visual check and put it on the computer for a diagnostic test. He is provided with a list of repairs needed. The dealer honors this and refunds some of his money. A month later he takes the car back to the repair shop. He keeps saying it was a week later, since that probably sounds better. If the car had problems a week later; why did he wait and why does he think the repair shop should have been able to diagnose it earlier?. Well, it was a month later not a week, according to the receipts. The repair shop cannot be expected to diagnose a problem that had not occurred. Why does this man want to make the repair shop responsible when they are not at fault? He should be going after the dealership if they truly misrepresented the condition of the car. If he had been truthful to himself about the events, he could have sued the dealership and not wasted his time suing the wrong party.

A woman moves into Section 8 housing with her children. She claims the landlord harassed her for back rent and caused her to lose her job. The landlord admits calling her job 2 times about the rent and the noise. The tenant admits she did not pay her portion of the rent for several months. The harassment she is trying to prove does not appear truthful. She does not have hard evidence. The Judge feels the evidence provided could have been manufactured by the tenant. The landlord is entitled to the rent and is not responsible for lost wages that cannot be proven. It would have been refreshing if the tenant would have been truthful about the circumstances. None of the facts back up her story. In the hallway, the landlord states that it was like having a racetrack above her. They must have been very noisy!

Please let me know what you think about these cases. Thank you for joining me today.

Remember:

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

People's Court:6-12-12: Telling the Truth

The situations we find ourselves in can be very challenging. Going to court to right a wrong is a good idea when you are telling the truth. Holding onto the lie can make you look, well...ridiculous.

Let us look at a rental situation. I wonder who is lying when both the landlord and the tenant claim that the other came onto them. It seems a little suspicious on the part of the landlord that he let the young woman move in without paying first and last month's rent and a security deposit. Any landlord is going to have to wonder where the future rent is coming from when the person has no money to put down. Or, was he looking for something else? The tenant claims the landlord walked in on her while she was sleeping. Did she call the police? No, she did not. Again, you have to wonder why? The underlying story is so full of inconsistencies. The legal issue is that she owes the rent. The moral issue is that this whole situation was far more involved than just business. When the lines get blurred, it it time to get help. 

A young woman graduates and goes out to celebrate with her family and friends. Her car gets towed. She is claiming the tow company damaged her brakes by not completely releasing the emergency brake. She has evidence to back this up and wins the case. The bigger issue here is how the tow companies operate. The spotter saw the young woman in her cap and gown and the Judge wonders why he didn't let her know her car was going to be towed. Do they have a moral obligation to let someone know their car is going to be towed? No, they have families to feed. They are doing a job and to give people a heads up is to take money out of their own pocket. The Judge says that the only people that are hated worse than lawyers are tow companies. She is glad to have them in her courtroom! I give the young woman credit for having the evidence to back up her claim. I give the tow personnel credit for being honest. He did say that they will not charge if they tow a car from a handicapped parking spot and the person is truly handicapped and just forgot to hang the placard. This is very nice to hear and does restore my faith in people.

And now a real shame... A 35 year friendship destroyed by $1500.00. Neither of them seem upset by this, so it makes you wonder how good was the friendship. A friend lends another money. It is to be paid back in one week. When he goes to collect, his friend does not answer his calls. Finally, he receives a check that has insufficient funds. The friend sending the check claims he is returning a finder's fee for a job and not paying back the loan, that it was never a loan. Once again, I stress the importance of getting agreements in writing. The initial loan should have been a check with the word loan written on the memo line. The Judge reminds everyone the memo line on the check is very important. 

Please let me know what you think of these situations. Thank you for joining me today.

Remember: Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.

- Marianne Williamson

Life Lessons

I am amazed by people.  In our everyday life, so much happens. There is always something to learn. Years ago, someone told me that each day we should strive to learn something new. People-watching is so much fun. Sit on a bench and watch the people go by. Watch them interact with the world or ignore the world around them. Or....watch it unfold on TV from the comfort of your own home. A very interesting show is People's Court. I wonder what motivates people to sue. Some of them are about being cheated, scammed or swindled. Others are families and friends. One thing we should all have learned from court TV is never ever put anyone on your cell phone plan. Unless you do not mind paying their bill, one day something will happen and they will not pay. Hello Judge!!!! 

The most recent People's Court episode I watched had the typical three cases. Two of them were fairly straightforward, one of them gave me pause. A woman rented out her daughter's room to a male friend. They admittedly had an intimate relationship and her biggest worry was that her 19 year old son was becoming friends with this man. She locked this man out of the house because he was drinking. She did not understand that she did not have the right to do this and would not even open the door to the police!

I know times are difficult and we all are looking for a way to pay the bills. What happened to our morals, our scruples, protecting ourselves and our family, and being a role model for our children. Granted her son was an adult, but bringing a virtual stranger into her home - anything could have happened. Bringing this man into their home was her first mistake and then showing her son that dealing with a problem was to ignore the police at the door shows so much more lack of judgement. What are we teaching our children???? What have we been taught? This woman made so many mistakes and she left court unaware of all of them. When the people take something positive from the experience it gives me hope. Those of us watching might not make these same mistakes. I know I will not be renting out any rooms! It is a good day when we have learned something.

Let me leave you with this thought for the day: 

Smile and the whole world smiles with you.