People's Court Blog - 10 12 2012 - Friday

October Challenge Check-up: Here it is the end of the second week of the challenge. I hope you are doing much better than I am. Once again I have not met my goal. I will try next week to be successful. Trying is all anyone can ask for! I wish you success in meeting your October Challenge Goal! Wish me luck!

Kira And The Beast In The Basement

Kira and her two daughters, Gail and Marissa are suing Dawn for $5000.00. Kira rented her house to Dawn and a roommate for $2300.00 a month. After 4 months, Maureen, the roommate, moved out. Dawn wanted to continue to live there but needed help in paying the rent. Kira let her try to find a housemate. According to Kira after Dawn placed an ad for a housemate, she installed a kitchen, a woman, a dog and 3 cats in the basement. She actually created a separate apartment for someone. The woman who moved in the basement apartment was Kim, later to be known as the beast in the basement. Wow! What a name for someone and guess what -  it fits! Stay posted, you are going to be shocked! Kim contacted Kira and let her know that Dawn was interviewing for a roommate for upstairs. Kira looks into this and finds a an ad on Craigslist where Dawn is posing as the landlord. Dawn is asked to leave and her security deposit is returned to her. The sad part of this entire story is that Kira got rid of the wrong tenant. Now she had to contend with Kim or as she is now commonly known as "The Beast in the Basement!"

Kim had actually stopped paying rent. She called the police on Kira and her daughters. The police told the Kira and her daughters they were not allowed in the basement. Kim had squatters rights. Kira took Kim to court to evict her. The Judge gave Kim 10 days to leave. After Kim left and Kira went in the basement she was shocked! Kim had put fish on the radiator, turned the heat up to 80 degrees, took all of the switchplates, removed all the lightbulbs, removed the doorknobs and stuffed dirty diapers in the walls This is so disgusting! The Judge is outraged that the local police said this was a civil matter and would not press criminal charges. The Judge calls the Police Chief to inquire about the investigation. Hopefully we will find out that Kim was charged with criminal mischief.

The Judge finds in favor of Dawn for this case. Even though Dawn brought this woman on board as a tenant, Kira had the opportunity to get rid of her. Dawn claims that Kira's husband is the one to renovate the basement. He is not in court to dispute this. Kira does not have any evidence to prove that Dawn is responsible for this situation. She actually was the better tenant and should have not been kicked out. Kira needs to sue "The Beast in the Basement"! What do you think?

Michaele And The Lame Horse

Michaele is suing Bethany for $750.00. This is for the deposit and travel expenses for a horse she was attempting to purchase for her daughter. Michaele was looking for a horse for her daughter who has spina bifida. She needed a very calm horse that would allow her daughter to get on the horse with the use of blocks. Michaele provided a video of her daughter and horse to make sure the owner of the horses knew what she was looking for. After Michaele saw an ad on Craigslist for Bethany's horse, she sent the video. Bethany agreed that her horse would be a good candidate for Michaele's daughter. Michaele paid a deposit of $500.00 and spent $250.00 to transport the horse. When the horse arrived, Michaele contacted a veterinarian because she thought the horse was lame. The vet examined the horse and deemed it unfit for sale. There were specific instructions for Bethany to follow for the horse after she took the horse home. Bethany admits in court that she did not follow all of the vet's instructions. She says all the horse needed was some medicine and rest. After a few days the horse was fine and she she was able to sell it to someone else after Michaele did not want to continue with the purchase. Michaele wants her deposit back and the money spent to transport the horse. 

The Judge finds that Bethany breached the contract when she did not follow the vet's instructions. Michaele will get all of the money she is suing for. What I find so amazing is that someone would buy a horse sight unseen. Why didn't she contact a vet to look at the horse before she purchased him/her? Probably for the same reason that people do not pay to have a mechanic look at a used car! What do you think?

Wendy And The Leased Car

Wendy is suing Vincent for $1427.36. Vincent is the father of her two grandchildren. She leased her car to Vincent to use to be able to go to work in order to pay child support. When her daughter and Vincent had issues she took her car back. There was a signed agreement between Wendy and Vincent for the car. Wendy tells the Judge how she watches the show and loves her and knew to have a written agreement. The Judge is very proud of her for this. The agreement details what Vincent would be responsible for. He paid Wendy $60-$65 a week for the use of the car. Wendy even photocopied the cash he gave her! What Wendy did not take into account was that routine wear and tear on the car was not covered by the agreement. Keep in mind Vincent was paying for the use of the car on a weekly basis. After Wendy took the car back she took it to a mechanic. The mechanic did not refer to any repairs that were not a direct result of Vincent's mishandling of the car. He did not violate their agreement. The Judge finds in Vincent's favor.

What makes this so sad, is that Vincent is really trying to do the best for his children. It is a shame that he and the children's mother cannot get along. Hopefully he will find an affordable vehicle so he can continue to work and pay his bills. Good luck to all!

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

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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

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People's Court - 9 11 2012 - Tuesday

Evette And The Essence Magazine

Evette is suing her neighbor, Cynthia, for $2000.00. This is for an unreturned magazine and for being threatened with bodily harm. Cynthia is counterclaiming for $2000.00 for aggravation and harassment. Evettte lent Cynthia an Essence magazine. Evette paid $3.99 plus tax for the magazine. She wants $1000.00 for it. Evette claims there were unique articles about men in love. Of course there were! Cynthia was unable to find the magazine when Evette asked for it to be returned months later. Evette claims that Cynthia threatened to hit her. This sounds like a very drama filled apartment building. They have even called the police when they have been fighting. The police officer told them that if he had to come back he would lock both of them up. This should have been enough for them to stop behaving like children. Unfortunately it was not. 2 days before this court case. Evette called Child Protective Services on Cynthia. Evette claimed that Cynthia's 2 year old baby  never stops crying. Evette's behavior is so malicious that the Judge awards Cynthia the $2000.00. Evette wasted city resources to hurt Cynthia. If Evette was so worried about the welfare of the child she should have called sooner. Instead she waits until right before the court case. This is very calculated. 

Evette does not get any money. Both women are told by the Judge that neither of them is innocent. Evette is crazy to behave this way. Cynthia needs to focus on her family and her miracle baby. In the hallway, Evette does not seem to have been affected by what the Judge told her. Cynthia tells us that she is 46 years old and her baby is a miracle. This is where she needs to spends her time and energy, not fighting with a neighbor. What do you think?

Samuel And The Totaled Truck

Samuel is suing Hilda for $2500.00. This is for the cost of a totaled vehicle. Samuel and Hilda dated on and off for a year. Samuel says that Hilda took his truck one day when he was very sick. He claims he did not give her permission to drive it. Hilda says she drove the truck all the time and Samuel was giving it to her. Hilda plays a voicemail that confirms this information. Hilda should not have been driving the truck because she did not have a driver's license. This did not stop Samuel from promising to give the truck to Hilda. After these two had a major breakup involving a fight and a broken television, Samuel wanted Hilda to pay for the totaled vehicle. Hilda says that Samuel is stalking her. She has a restraining order against him. Samuel was arrested and spent a month in Rikers Island prison. Hilda is afraid of him. She says she is living in a shelter for battered women. The Judge tells Samuel that he has an unhealthy obsession for Hilda. He needs to forget about her and move on. Samuel says he has moved on and is even engaged. The evidence that Hilda has presented is proof that Samuel wanted her to have the truck. He has no basis to ask her after the breakup for payment. Hilda does not have to pay Samuel for the truck. In the hallway, Hilda says she is glad it is over, wants to be left alone and has moved on. I hope she can find peace and happiness in her life. 

Shaniqua And The Parking Tickets

Shaniqua is suing Clarence for $337.04. This is for parking tickets that Clarence got while driving a car that was registered in Shaniqua's name. Clarence is counterclaiming for $1960.00 for the towed and missing car. Shaniqua and Clarence were friends for a very long time. When Clarence bought a car, he was not able to register it. He only had a driver's permit. Clarence asked Shaniqua to register the car in her name. She should have said no. Letting someone else, with only a driver's permit, drive a car in your name is a huge liability. Clarence started getting parking tickets and did not pay them. He did not even tell his very good friend about the tickets. Shaniqua found out when she received a notice in the mail. Shaniqua says it is 3 unpaid tickets, Clarence says it is 1 unpaid ticket. It does not really matter how many unpaid tickets there are. What matters is that there are unpaid tickets. Shaniqua takes the license plates off the car. After one week, Shaniqua had the car towed. During the week when the plates were removed, Clarence did not do anything to resolve the problem. It is Clarence's fault that the car was impounded. Clarence is not able to prove that he paid the tickets. He is found responsible to pay Shaniqua the $337.04 for the outstanding tickets. Since it is Clarence's fault that the car was impounded, he does not get any money on his counterclaim.

These two people were friends for over 19 years. What a shame that it ends over a situation like this. Shaniqua thought she was being a good friend by doing this favor. I hope she learned her lesson and never does this again. Clarence should not have asked Shaniqua to do this for him. It is a huge  responsibility to put yourself in this position. Clarence did not appreciate what Shaniqua was doing for him. If he did, he would have gotten up earlier and moved his car to avoid the parking tickets! What do you think?

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

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September 11, 2001 - We will always remember  - We will never forget!