People's Court Blog - 10 8 2012 - Monday

Atiya And The Adult Party

Atiya is suing Tangey for $1165.00. This is for the cost of pole dancing lessons and damages to her house. Atiya is a really fun person! For her 35th birthday, she had plans for the most amazing party. Atiya calls it an OPP party. This stands for overnight, passion, pole party. Wow, I would like to be one of her friends. Atiya invited 10 friends over to celebrate her 35th birthday. The party was all women and included sex toy demonstration and pole dancing lessons. Unfortunately, Tangey the pole dancer, did not follow through. Atiya hired her and paid $435.00 for her to give pole dancing lessons at the party. This really sounds like fun! Tangey got to the party late, could not set up the poles in a secure way and disappointed the birthday girl and her friends. Besides causing disappointment she also damaged the ceiling and the floor while she was trying to set up the pole. Not to the tune of $730.00, which is the amount Atiya is asking for. Atiya will get back the cost of the pole lessons and $300.00 for the damages. In total she gets back $735.00. I think Tangey should stick to having parties at the studio. It seems like a major liability to set up the pole in people's homes. What do you think?

Thomas And The Scratched Car

Thomas is suing Rick for $1192.50. This is for the damage to his car while it was parked in Rick's parking lot. This is a parking lot for an airport. Thomas left his car in the lot over Christmas week while he flew home to visit his family. When he returned and picked up his car he noticed scratches to the back door panel. Thomas showed it to someone right away and took pictures of it. This was the right thing to do. Never ever leave the lot before checking the car. If there are damages they need to be shown to someone before leaving. Thomas did this, but Rick still does not believe him. I do not understand this. How else would the damage have occurred? It was not there when Thomas left his car, it was there when he picked it up. Very straightforward. Rick should have done the right thing and paid for the damage when it was brought to his attention. Thomas definitely proves his case and is awarded the entire amount he is suing for. Why don't people do the right thing? Why do they need to be taken to court? I would hope in the future Rick treats his customers better! What do you think?

John And The Ungrateful Girlfriend

John is suing Joella for $487.52. This is for a loan to Joella to help her pay for furniture. These two people have dated on and off for ten years. Joella describes how John has helped her through the years giving her money when she needed it. He never asked for it back. Wow, what a nice guy! Unfortunately this will not be in his favor. He has given money to Joella throughout the years and did not expect it back. Now he wants his money back. Why is this time different? Well, they broke up and Joella moved on. She started dating someone and moved in with the guy, She dated John for ten years on and off and they never lived together. John wants Joella to pay him back. It is not going to happen. The Judge finds in favor of Joella. It does appear that she has taken advantage of this very nice man's generosity. She should pay him back because it is the right thing to do. She is not going to pay him back because legally she does not have to. What a shame!

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

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You can't start the next chapter of your life, if you keep re-reading the last one.

~Anonymous

People's Court Blog - 10 1 2012 - Monday

Welcome October 1, 2012!

The first day of the month. A day to make a resolution, make a change! Resolutions do not have to wait until January 1st. I like to think the first day of each month can be a day for new beginnings. Just as each day can be the first day of the rest of your life, each month can be a time to take stock and set a new goal. My goal for October is to post my blog the same day as the show. Stay with me and keep me on track. I challenge you to set a goal for the month and share it in the comments. We will succeed together!

Latisha And The Hit And Run

Latisha is suing Antoinette and Amy for $2935.27. This is for damages to her car from a hit and run accident. Antoinette and Amy are countersuing for the same amount of money. One night Latisha heard a loud noise in the front of her house. There was a car driving away from her house after hitting her car that, he had to stop and return home. He was able to describe the car as a dark red impala with tinted windows and a  spoiler. He was not able to see the license plate number.

5 days after the accident, Latisha saw the car parked at a house near her home. She called the police. They investigated and determined this was the car that caused the accident. In court, Antoinette, the owner of the car, explains the damage to her car was from a previous accident. She  also has pictures of a car that looked like hers and has body damage. This car was parked at a house in the area. She did not turn this information over to the police since she just saw it the day before court. Hello "My Cousin Vinny"!

The Judge is not able to find in favor of Latisha because there is a chance Antoinette was not responsible. Oh and the countersuit for the exact amount Latisha is suing for...Antoinette claims she was falsely accused and wants to be compensated. She does not get any money. The police investigated and they concluded she was responsible for the accident. Latisha was using the expert opinion of the police to bring Antoinette and Amy to court.

Latisha was trying to find the person responsible for the damage to her car. It is possible it is the owner of the car that Antoinette found. Hopefully she follows up and finds out if that is true. The person responsible should be held accountable for the damage they caused. What do you think?

Thomas And Bella

Thomas is suing Sharon for $1600.00. He purchased a puppy from her and he wants to be compensated for the purchase price and various other expenses. Thomas has "the puppy" in court. She is full grown now and is gorgeous. She is an Old English Bulldog named Bella. I have to say, Bella stole the show. What an amazing face, what a gracious and sweet dog!

They are in court today because Bella has hip dysplasia. Thomas would like the breeder to assume financial responsibility for her condition. There is one big problem, he would have to exchange Bella in order to legally resolve the issue. Thomas is not about to do that. Bella is his constant companion. He is a truck driver and is very proud to tell the court that Bella has been to 27 states with him. He obviously loves Bella very much.

One day Bella may need surgery to correct her condition. When this day comes, Thomas is going to do everything he can for her. He will not get any financial help from the breeder. This is a shame, but it is what is legal for the state Bella is from. Maybe the breeder should step up and work  with him, but to her this is business. To Thomas, Bella is family and he would never give her up! I hope Bella and Thomas have many many long years of travelling the open road together!

Jack And The Concealed Weapon

Jack is suing Julia for $1250.00. This is for a security deposit and additional money for stress. Jack rented a mobile home from Julia for one year. After the year lease was over, Jack rented month to month. When he decided to move out, he let Julia know. He spent 40 hours cleaning the mobile home before the walkthrough. When Julia met him for the walkthrough, she had a gun with her. Why did she bring a gun? She has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Why does she carry a gun? She tells the court, because she can. That is a great answer! Did she think she would need it? She did not get a chance to find out. After she refused to give Jack the security deposit back, she called the police. When they arrived, they took the gun away from her.

Julia claims the mobile home was filthy. She has pictures that show there was some clean-up needed. Jack's pictures showed a clean mobile home. Julia also says that Jack was supposed to maintain the gardens around the mobile home. She is trying to keep $750.00 for cleaning and for weeding. The Judge reviews the pictures and the costs involved and awards her $150.00. Jack gets back $600.00. He does not get an additional $500.00 for stress. If he was that stressed out by the gun he should have left. Instead he stayed and did not leave until the police told him to.

Jack seems very intent to explain that he did not do a good job cleaning because he is a man. Really! I do not think it matters whether you are a man or a woman. Cleaning is cleaning! Jack needs to wake up and smell the coffee and then wipe it up when it spills!

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

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You may delay, but time will not.

~Benjamin Franklin

People's Court Blog - 9 27 2012 - Thursday

Devon And The Third Floor Store

Devon is suing Gizelle for $800.00. Gizelle is countersuing for $3900.00. Devon rented a room in the building of Gizelle's beauty salon. He thought he would have customers to sell DVDs to. Unfortunately he was on the third floor of the building. The customers that came to the salon did not go past his store. Since he was not able to make enough income to justify the amount of the rent, he moved out. The $800.00 Devon is suing for is the security deposit. The money that Gizelle wants is from unpaid rent for months after Devon moved out and damage done to the room. Yes, you read that correctly. Devon had already moved out. There was no written agreement for this rental. Devon shows the receipts for the monies paid for rent and the security deposit. Gizelle shows pictures of shelves that were installed and glass display cases that were broken. Devon admits to installing the shelves and leaving them there. He claims the glass display cases were broken when he rented the room. He cannot prove they were broken. Also, since there was no written lease, Devon is not responsible to pay rent for months after he had moved out. A verbal agreement does not work in this type of situation. especially when both parties tell different stories. 

The Judge finds that Gizelle is entitled to the damages. Since Gizelle has no proof of value, the Judge assigns a value to these items. Also, after the Judge reviews the payments made to Gizelle, she finds there was $900.00 provided for the security deposit. Gizelle needs to pay Devon $450.00 back. This will satisfy her countersuit. Gizelle says she will never rent to anyone ever again. If she had a written agreement this would not have been so difficult. Also, it is very important to keep track of all payments for security deposit and rent. I do not understand why people make agreements without putting them in writing. Also, why give someone money without documenting the payment. People claim it is because they are too trusting, but is this really the reason? What do you think?

Tatiana And The Car Fire

Tatiana is suing Paul, owner of an auto center, for $4850.00. This is for the cost of a used car she bought from her fiancee and parts and labor for fixing it. After Tatiana purchased the 2000 Audi A6  from her fiancee, she took it to Paul to have work done. After having work done to the tune of $1850.00, she drove it for several days and then parked it in a garage for 2 weeks. The day she took the car out of the garage and drove it, the car caught on fire. Thank goodness, Tatiana pulled over as soon as she noticed the smoke. She got out of the car quickly. The car went up in flames. Tatiana is very lucky to have gotten out of the car quickly. She shows a video of the car on fire. It is really scary to watch. There were good Samaritans who tried to put the fire out. They were lucky not to have gotten hurt, The police and fire departments responded. The fire department put out the fire. Tatiana was told the cause of the fire was electrical. The reason she is suing Paul is because he was the last one to do work on the car. Paul explains that he did not do any electrical work on the car. Since Tatiana has no proof that the work done by Paul could have caused the fire, the Judge finds in favor of Paul.

It is very important to be have evidence to prove someone is responsible for a situation. Tatiana is very fortunate to have gotten out of the car and that no one was hurt by this major fire. Tatiana did suffer nightmares after this happened. She says that she would dream that she died in the car fire. This was such a traumatic event to go through. Sometimes people do need professional help to deal with the aftermath of a near death experience!

Lynn And The Disney Vacation

Lynn is suing Thomas for $491.60. Thomas is Lynn's daughter's, Chrissy,  ex-boyfriend. Lynn and her family were planning a vacation to Disney. Thomas was invited. He agreed to pay his share of the trip, the airline ticket and the hotel room. Lynn fronted the money with the agreement that Thomas would pay her back before the trip. Thomas and Chrissy broke up before the trip. For some reason, Thomas did not feel he needed to pay his share. The airline ticket could still be used by him, but the hotel room had a cancellation fee. Thomas said he was willing to pay for the airline ticket, but did not think he should have to pay the entire cancellation fee for the hotel room since he  was going to be sharing the room with Chrissy. Did Thomas pay for the airline ticket? No, he did not. Did he pay half of the hotel room cancellation? No, he did not. Now in court, he is found responsible to pay for the airline ticket and the entire cancellation fee for the hotel room. The reason he is responsible for paying the entire amount for the hotel room cancellation, is because he chose to cancel. The room was not needed since he was not going on the trip.

It seemed that Thomas was still welcome to go on the trip, even though they had split up. It is possible Chrissy and Thomas might have gotten back together. At this point they both say the breakup was mutual and have both moved on. Good luck in your future relationships!

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

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People's Court Blog - 9 24 2012 - Monday

Thomas And His Soulmate

Thomas is suing Kathleen for $10,000. The two of them met at a singles dance. Thomas loved to dance and he saw Kathleen and asked her to dance with him. They were on the road to becoming soulmates, even though Kathleen finds it difficult to explain what a soulmate is. The two of them had so much in common. They decided to buy homes, renovate them and resell them. Oh and when Thomas says they were going to buy houses, he means Kathleen pays for them and then they  split the profit 50 - 50. Kathleen does not remember it this way. She thought Thomas was helping her because he liked her. Thomas felt his time was worth $8.25. Kathleen never agreed to pay him by the hour. She never agreed to reimburse him for the money he spent on gas for all of the driving he did. After they broke up, Thomas decided he should be paid for all the work he did and all of the money he spent on gas. Since they did not have a contract or an agreement, they Judge decides in favor of Kathleen. 

The really sad thing is that Kathleen was not breaking up with Thomas. The day of the "altercation" as the two of them refer to the breakup day, Kathleen was moving Thomas's belongings from one mobile home to hers. She wanted to sell the mobile home he was staying in. When Thomas returned home from a doctor's appointment, he saw all of his belongings outside of the mobile home. He left and did not speak to her again. If Thomas was delayed that day, none of this would have happened or would it?

Nelson And His Mistress

Nelson is suing Pristine and Clean car wash for $1115.09. This is for the cost of an antennae and a mount for his mustang. He tells us that his friends and family refer to his car as his mistress. Really, is this necessary to tell us? Nelson noticed the mount and the antennae were missing after he returned home from the car wash. Why didn't he check his mistress right away? He went back to the car wash 2 days later. Why didn't he take his mistress back right away? Raul explains that there was video surveillance of the mustang and they did not save it. Why not? So many questions and very few answers! The clincher for this case is that Nelson did not check the car right away and then he waited 2 days to go back to the car wash. This is no way to treat a mistress! Oh well! The Judge finds in favor of the car wash. It is very important to deal with issues right way. Nelson would have had much more credibility if he checked his mistress before he left the car wash or at very least returned immediately after he noticed the antennae and mount were missing!

Leonardo And The Suspended License

Leonardo is suing Ramonita for $3368.81. Ramonita is Leonardo's insurance broker. At the end of December Leonardo went to her office and wrote a check to the insurance ompany for one year coverage on his car. In mid January he received a cancellation of service letter from the state of New York. When he showed the letter to Ramonita she said not to worry about it. Then Leonardo received a second notice and Ramonita gave him a temporary insurance identification card. Since he did not respond to the letters and did not make sure he had car insurance, his driver's license was suspended. He relied on Ramonita's expertise to ensure all was well. This backfired on him. Why would Ramonita lie to him? She says she called the insurance company and verified there was no problem. Getting the letters of cancellation was a very good indication there was a problem. The insurance company went out of business. Ramonita would have found this out when she called them. Leonardo's check was never cashed. He finally put a stop payment on it in April. Leonardo should have realized the check was not cashed and he did not have insurance coverage.

Leonardo wants Ramonita to be responsible for all the expenses he incurred as a result of his suspended license. He has to take some responsibility in this matter. The Judge finds in his favor for some of the expenses. and he receives $1221.81.

The real curious part of this story is why Ramonita did not explain to Leonardo what was happening. She would have known that the insurance company went out of business. She could have sold Leonardo insurance through another company. Someone needs to learn how to do their job. There must have been other clients that were affected by this insurance company going out of business. Hopefully Leonardo will learn from this experience and be more aware of the status of his finances. What do you think?

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

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~Milton Berle