People's Court: 6-8-12: Contracts

More stories today that make you say - Really!!!!. A woman is buying a car from a family friend. He claims he tries to talk her out of it, yet he still sells it to her. They have a very detailed contract of sale. He retains possession of the car, while she is making payments. She wants to "borrow" it for the weekend, but has no intention of returning it in a timely manner. This does not go well and becomes the beginning of the end... Then she claims that he wanted to trade sexual favors for the car. He denies this also. The contract they have agreed to is binding. Why do they think they can change it now? 

Next there is a lawyer who does not provide a retainer agreement to a client. He tries to bill her for many hours of telephone calls. It seems she was picking his brains so she could file paperwork on her own. They both were wrong and seem to deserve each other. This man should know better since he is an attorney. Why would he do business this way?

The last case seems to be such a waste of everyone's time. A recently purchased used vehicle breaks down. It is still under the warranty. When the young man calls the dealer, he is told they do not pay for nor provide tow service. Why would be wrong in recommending a tow company? What has happened to common courtesy?

Please let me know what you think about these situations.

Thank you for joining me today.

Remember:

Laugh when you can,
apologize when you should,
and let go of what you can't change.
Life's too short to be anything... but happy.
- Anonymous

People's Court: 6-7-12: Consequences

People do not seem to realize their actions have consequences. A landlord moves around a tenant's belongings. Things are broken and missing. She is responsible since she had no right to touch anything. They have a contract and she does not abide by it. She does not seem to understand that she had no right to be so involved in her tenant's living situation. I felt terrible for the tenant, he was in school and was constantly having his life disrupted.

A man buys a car for the mother of his child. Several years later she takes him to court for child support. It is awarded along with back support. He takes the car back. He is angry that she took him to court and does not admit that is the reason he took back the car. It is very apparent from the timing that he was being spiteful. It is a shame that these people do not get along. They are raising a child together. 

A woman hires a contractor to replace the roof of her garage. She is very happy with the work. He returns some of the materials to Home Depot. For some reason, the store gives her the receipts. She has no right to the extra materials or to the money. The contract she signed was for a set amount, including materials and labor. He did the job and that should have been the end of it. She did not even pay him the full amount. He did not file a countersuit, why? His explanation is lack of time. I think he should still file a countersuit, he did the work and is entitled to the money.

When striking a deal with someone, a written contract is very important. People need to understand what they are getting and what they are providing. Please let me know what you think.

Remember: Today is the first day of the rest of your life!

People's Court: 6-6-12: Why?

Are people ever going to take responsibility for their own actions?

A woman lends her boyfriend money over and over again. He promises to pay her back and does not. Yet, she still keeps lending him money. Does she deserve to get the money back?

When are people going to learn from their mistakes?

Also, why would he buy a car and put her name on it? None of this makes sense. When they break up, she takes the car because she has the legal right to do it. She trades it in. He does not get anything back, he wanted the deposit he put on the car, He does have to pay back some of the money he borrowed since he admitted to it. These situations get very messy in a relationship. People have to be very careful to understand whether it is a gift or a loan. Remember to also get it in writing.

Then we have a man riding motorcycles with friends through a free range town. A horse runs into him and injures him. The police reports appear to support this theory even though the horse owner says he was speeding and he hit and injured the horse. The horse did need to be seen by a vet. The owner of the horse admits the horse broke out. He has fixed the fence and the gate since the incident. It seems fairly straightforward. For some reason, the owner of the horse keeps saying they were riding Harleys and the injured man says it was a Honda. Why would the type of bike matter? 

A young man moves out of his apartment claiming it was uninhabitable. He did not give notice and does not want to pay what is due. He can not prove that he notified the landlord about any problems. It is very important that all communication with landlords are documented. They need to be given the chance to fix a problem. Why wouldn't he just send an e-mail?

These cases seem to raise even more questions about how people behave.

Please let me know what you think. Thank you.

Remember: Life is good.

People's Court 6-5-12: Proof Positive

What have we learned today on People's Court? A few friends are out drinking. A young woman's purse disappears. She is very fortunate that the surveillance tapes show someone picking up the purse and putting it under his jacket. Even with photos with this evidence, the young man who has been identified, claims it was an innocent mistake. He was getting the purse for one of his friends. Why didn't she say it was not hers? Why, when he was arrested, he did not ask his friend for the purse back? He could not answer these questions. Also, he said he was guilty when he was arrested. An innocent person does not plead guilty. Much credit is to be given to the boyfriend. He did his research and found this person on Facebook. The young woman did not get her purse back, but did get reimbursed for the cost and everything in it since she had receipts. It is very important in court to have proof.

The second case is about a woman taking a job as a verification specialist. We learn this is to check properties to see if they are vacant. The pay is based on volume. She was not effective in the job according to the employer, so they stopped giving her work. They did owe her money, but not the amount she was asking for. She wanted them to pay for her car, cell phone, cell phone plan and a gps. She claimed she would not have made these purchases if she did not take the job. The employer never said they would reimburse her for these items. She did get paid for the work she completed. In the hallway, she says it was a good job, but did not pay enough. She knew the pay when she took the job!

The last case was sad. A dad suing his ex for overpaid child support. He found out his daughter was not going back to school and had moved into her own apartment. He checked if this was grounds to terminate support and found out it was. He went to court to have the child support order changed. It was granted and backdated to when the young woman moved out on her own. The interesting aspect of this is that the ex did not feel she had to pay the money back since she turned it over to her daughter. The daughter's parting words was that she should not have to pay it back since it was for her. Really!!! Maybe her dad would help her out if she asked him. She did not even talk to him. That is the sad part. There was no relationship between them. Maintaining a relationship with both parents is so important for a child of divorce. Once they are old enough, they can make their own decision regarding the level of the relationship with their parents. It is sad when the parents make that decision for the child.

Please comment on these situations. I would like to know what you think.

Remember: Everything you can imagine is real - Pablo Picasso

People's Court: 6-4-12: Responsibility

Watching People's Court is very educational on many levels. The legal aspect of it is very informative. What I find to be fascinating are the people. From all walks of life, the interactions are awesome. I learn so much every single day. I started this blog last week. I enjoy watching the show and I wanted to share my reactions with you. Please join me on this journey of discovery: learning about others and ourselves.


Today's cases all involve people needing to take responsibility for their actions. In the first case, friends move in together to help each other out. It is not a good situation and quickly falls apart. The arrangement explodes and the shenanigans start. The lack of maturity is embarrassing for all of the adults involved. No one has taken responsibility for their actions. 


In the second case a contract is not honored. The photographer does not get paid for his services. Now so much time has passed and the photo provided has been published. The photographer does not feel this was an agreed upon use and wants more money. The contract was not specific to the use of the photo provided. The contract needed to be more specific. Both parties need to take responsibility for the contract they agreed upon. 


The third case involves children. I do not like to see children in the courtroom. The judge makes it very clear that the 7 year old is not responsible for losing the nintendo game. Also, the mother is not responsible for her son's actions. It is unfortunate the parents did not take the responsibility as parents to keep their sons out of a courtroom. The more important issue here is that I hope the mothers put their feelings aside and let the boys remain friends.


Thank you so much for joining me. Please let me know your thoughts on these situations.


    

Remember:

Continue to smile and enjoy your life.

12-12-12 People's Court Blog: Family Blues

What an amazing date - 12-12-12! Every time I wrote it today I felt like it was something special. Life is special and we need to treasure every day and every experience. I do not want to look back and have regrets. 
Since it is a week of repeat episodes, here is a blast from the past. On June 2nd of this year, I wrote this, but did not post it. I do not know why! 
Enjoy!

Thank you for joining me today.

Family members suing each other on People's Court can be so sad. A father buys a car and tells his daughter he will transfer the title after it is paid off. After several late payments, he gets the police involved and takes the license plates off the car. After that he will only talk to his son-in-law and not his daughter. She does not like this and stops talking to her father. She will not let him see his grandchildren. Why must the children suffer when the adults fight? This is a recurring theme and is so so sad. The father and the daughter also exchange vile text messages. He is so immature, even the Judge tells him to grow up and act like an adult.

They seem to reconcile in the hallway, telling each other that they love each other. Hopefully, this is sincere and they can be a family again. The grandchildren should not miss out on a relationship with their grandparents.

The next case is a rental situation. The tenant is renting retail space. He feels threatened by the landlord and does not renew his lease. There was a mix-up with one month's rent being paid twice and the landlord tried to claim this was an automatic renewal of the lease. The lease had some very specific clauses that the tenant followed to the letter. He got back his rent, did not have to renew the lease and even had his attorney's fee reimbursed. This is why it is very important to read the lease and understand it.

The last case was about a friend lending her car to another friend. What amazed me was how the young man who borrowed the car behaved. He totally dismissed his responsibility for the damages, even though he was at fault. The insurance covered the damages and he was being sued for the deductible and the rental car. He was very flippant and did not even care that his friend had laid out the money. His response was that she lent him the keys so she was responsible. He lost - no surprise. It was so sad, in the hallway interview it was so clear the girl had a crush on him and this incident did not seem to have any effect on her. I get the impression she would do this again under similar circumstances. We do need to learn from our mistakes. 

Please let me know what you think about these situations. 

Thought for the day:

We are responsible for our own happiness

Knowing Yourself

Thank you for joining me today...
Family situations on People's Court are so interesting. Such a sad case, a mother suing her daughter. The mother believes her daughter stole her jewelry when she moved out. The daughter says she was kicked out and denies stealing the jewelry. The daughter moved back in when she was pregnant. The family is so shattered, the daughter now lives with the maternal grandmother. No one is speaking to each other. The baby will never know her grandmother. The mother is so angry, she left a text message for her daughter's friend that she hates her daughter and would not even attend the funeral of her own mom when she passes.
How do things get this bad? This family needs counseling, not court.
A woman purchases a pellet stove. The installation is done incorrectly. A fire occurs. No one is hurt, thank goodness.The contractor will not admit there were mistakes, even though it is documented. He continually interrupts the judge and is kicked out of the courtroom. What has happened to respect? He did not like that he had to "just" answer questions and could not explain his case. That is what testifying is - the judge asks, you answer.
A dog in an apartment does damage. The damage is so obvious in the pictures. The tenant continually tries to minimize it. The landlord has pictures. It is so true that a picture is worth a thousand words. The tenant does not get back her security deposit. It is very important to show that you have left the apartment in the same condition you received it. Pictures before and after are essential.
I think the family situations are so sad when they leave the courtroom and it is obvious they are not going to patch things up. This is one of these cases where it would be so nice if there was a family counselor waiting outside. Many times the judge will discuss the future of the family, pushing people in the right direction. In this case, the damage is so deep and raw, she did not even attempt it. Sometimes, there is no possibility of patching things up, People can only take so much and when you are hurt by those that you have spent your life with, it is time to let go. That is a great lesson for today - recognize when it is time to walk away.

Thought for the day:

Be true to yourself.