- 3 months ago
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00:00This is the player, Lauren.
00:03She says the defendant, her ex-boyfriend, owes her rent money
00:07because he up and moved out in the middle of their lease,
00:10leaving her high and dry and unable to afford the place on her own.
00:14His name was on the lease.
00:16He had no right doing what he did
00:18without living up to his financial responsibilities.
00:21And she's seeking the $5,000 she's owed.
00:25This is the defendant, Robert Ozman.
00:31He says all the plaintiff did was fight,
00:34so he told her he was gonna move out.
00:36The plaintiff's brain doesn't work right, so she moved out too
00:40and left her belongings in the place so the landlord kept charging her rent.
00:44For six months, no one lived there.
00:46Now she thinks he's gonna afford the bill for her stupidity?
00:49Fat chance.
00:51He's accused of leaving a girlfriend high and dry.
00:55All parties, please raise your hand.
01:00You seated, come to order, please.
01:03Litigants have been sworn, Your Honor.
01:05Thank you, Dr. Lauren.
01:07You are suing Robert Ozman, your former boyfriend,
01:10who used to live with you for half of the rent and additional fees
01:13that you paid to the landlord when you broke a lease.
01:17What happened?
01:18So we were living there in that apartment for a year,
01:22and then we renewed the lease in June, and we ended up breaking up in July.
01:27So they ended up charging us a couple of fees that I ended up paying everything in full.
01:34Okay, so the breakup is in July.
01:36What do you do for a living?
01:37I'm the executive assistant to the CEO of a cancer center.
01:41How do you find the time to work out those arms?
01:43I don't know.
01:46They're menacing.
01:48Let me just say.
01:49That is, I can't take my eyes off them.
01:51Okay.
01:52Appreciate it.
01:53Wow.
01:54Okay.
01:55I was hoping she'd say, I'm a trainer.
01:56Well, of course, she's a trainer, you know.
01:58No.
01:59All right.
02:00So you guys break up in July?
02:01Yes.
02:02And when do you move out?
02:03It was, I have a storage unit I rented at the end of June,
02:06so I moved out before July.
02:08It was the weekend before the July weekend.
02:10Okay.
02:11When you're leaving, you know that you've signed,
02:13both your names are on the lease.
02:15So what was your game plan?
02:16Correct.
02:17I left it with her as, I'm leaving whether you stay or you go,
02:20and we'll deal with it.
02:21Yeah, but you have a lease.
02:23Right.
02:24Like I told her, I said, whether you're going to stay in the apartment
02:27for the remainder of the lease, you know what I mean?
02:30No matter what it was.
02:31If she said she was staying or leaving, I got my storage unit,
02:34took all my daughter's stuff and my stuff out.
02:36From that day on, this is the first time I've seen her in person,
02:39and we...
02:40Right, but what was your game plan with the landlord?
02:42Just to deal with it as if she took all her stuff out.
02:45What does deal with it mean?
02:46Did you ever call the landlord?
02:47I attempted, and they told me I needed to discuss the matters
02:50with my ex-girlfriend.
02:51Why?
02:52That's a good question.
02:53Right, but if you're willing to pay, why wouldn't they take your money?
02:56Your money's not green enough?
02:57No, I didn't say I was willing to pay them at that time.
02:59Exactly.
03:00So his game plan was, let's just wait until the landlord sues us.
03:04That was his game plan.
03:05Yep.
03:06All right.
03:07Right.
03:08And is his credit garbage?
03:10No.
03:11I mean...
03:12I have like a 760 credit score.
03:16Okay, why are you making faces?
03:18Because she wanted to save her credit.
03:19I don't check his credit score, so I mean, I can't say whether or not, but...
03:23But you sound like the kind of guy who might not have good credit.
03:25No, I'm fine.
03:26Your attitude is not to get out of the lease and negotiate something.
03:29Your attitude is, let them chase me.
03:30Whoa, catch me if you can.
03:31That's kind of...
03:32Well, that's the exact reason of why I paid everything,
03:34because I was worried that something was going to affect my credit in my life,
03:37so I paid everything.
03:38That's the reason why...
03:39Right.
03:40Now, let's talk about that.
03:41You know, what typically happens is people move out,
03:43and then you've reached the contract, and the landlord ends up re-renting it
03:48and doing something we call mitigation of damages.
03:51They re-rent it to somebody else.
03:52This is a big building?
03:53Yeah, it's a big complex.
03:54How many units?
03:55I don't know, a few hundred.
03:56So they re-rent it, and they're not out any money.
03:59All they can chase you for is what they're out, any damages and what they're out.
04:03They can't make double rent.
04:04They can't sue you for the year.
04:06But did you speak with the landlord?
04:08I did.
04:09So you're the only one willing to speak with the landlord.
04:11I was the only one that spoke with anybody.
04:12He's evil and savvy.
04:13He knows what I just said.
04:15You're naive and a good person,
04:18and you're trying to figure out what you can do to make things right
04:20because you're about to break a lease.
04:22And then the company told you what?
04:24I tried to ask them if there was any other option
04:27than me paying every fee under the sun to move out of an apartment,
04:31and they basically told me that this is a legal binding contract.
04:34You signed it.
04:35You knew the deal if you cancel the lease, and this is what you owe.
04:38And I cried to them on the phone for weeks because I didn't want to drop over $10,000.
04:45It was actually more than $5,000, and technically he owes me.
04:48Well, tell me how it went.
04:49When did you know he was going to move out?
04:51When was the fight that led to the conversation?
04:53Well, it was...
04:54I honestly think the day was like June 22nd where we like officially...
04:58Okay.
04:59So you feel that under no circumstances should he get out of paying his half of the rent?
05:03No, because we're both of our...
05:04We both renewed the lease.
05:05We both were on the lease.
05:06And at a minimum, you would expect 30 days to figure out what you're going to do.
05:10So then the company tells you that they're going to charge you two months penalty,
05:15which would be August, September, correct?
05:18Right.
05:19And then also, aside from that, another month consideration fee.
05:23What the heck is that?
05:24They told me that the consideration fee...
05:26Can I see the contract that you signed with them?
05:27Yeah.
05:30How long did you guys live together?
05:32Almost three years.
05:33You didn't have children together, right?
05:35No.
05:36No.
05:41So when he leaves in July, what's your game plan?
05:44Because this agreement is reached with the company in August.
05:47When we...
05:48We tried to cancel the lease so that it was... we'd be effective July 1st.
05:52And in the very rare occasion that I was able to speak to him, because my phone number
05:57was blocked, I...
05:59You know, he had told me...
06:00What was he so mad at?
06:01I don't know.
06:02What were you so mad at?
06:03I don't know.
06:04I don't know.
06:05I don't know.
06:06It's just how I felt.
06:07I mean, that's just how you roll?
06:09It's three years?
06:10Somebody's a part of your life, and then you blocked their number the next day?
06:13Well, yeah.
06:14We broke up on quick, bad terms, and I didn't want to talk to her, so I blocked her number.
06:17What was so bad?
06:18Nothing.
06:19It was just time, I guess, for us to break up.
06:21That's all.
06:22But she was around my daughter for three years, and didn't say goodbye to her, and just took
06:24off, and doesn't feel bad about that.
06:27I thought you were the one who took off.
06:29Right, but she never reached out to my daughter to try to say anything.
06:31How old's your daughter?
06:32She's gonna be six in November, so she was there for a good portion of her life, and just
06:36walked out.
06:37Well, maybe the fact that you blocked her number gave her the impression that you would
06:39not be amenable to her seeing your daughter.
06:41She could've...
06:42Can she see your daughter?
06:43Now, no.
06:44Oh.
06:45No.
06:46No.
06:47Okay, so you reached this deal in August, so July, middle of August.
06:52So what are you doing during July?
06:54What happened was, is that he told me that because we already put in writing that we
06:58were canceling the lease, that we don't need to pay July rent.
07:00So that was, he was under the impression that he wasn't paying it.
07:03You don't pay the rent in July either?
07:05Not originally, no.
07:06Okay.
07:07Then August 1st comes in, you also don't pay August 1st.
07:09Oh, I paid August 1st, because I figured out before August 1st that we owed July.
07:13So I paid July in full, plus all the other fees that we owed for not paying.
07:16And then I paid August by myself, and September by myself.
07:19Okay.
07:20So, you know, I asked you earlier, and I want to ask you again.
07:23When I'm looking at the agreement that you have with a company, and it purports to have
07:28his signature on the bottom of it, is it your testimony that he signed that, or did
07:32you sign it to get the deal done?
07:34We both signed the cheap to end the lease.
07:38No.
07:39And he had signed one before that one as well.
07:40Okay.
07:41So the agreement to cancel the lease.
07:42The one that says we'll owe you 10 grand, he agreed to that?
07:44Yes.
07:45And we both signed the one prior to that also.
07:47I'm not asking about anything prior to that.
07:48I'm not asking about the one that's in front of me, which obligates you and him to pay
07:53like a bunch of money to this company.
07:56I'm going to give you one more chance to come clean.
07:59Just tell me the truth.
08:00Welcome back to the People's Court.
08:01Harvey Levin here.
08:02So if two people are together, and they move into an apartment together, one signs the lease.
08:07Are both responsible to the landlord legally?
08:10Yes.
08:11Are they?
08:12Yes, because they're both living together.
08:13They are both living together.
08:14What do you say?
08:15I say no.
08:16Why?
08:17Well, legally bonding.
08:18Lease is a contract.
08:19One person has it, one person doesn't.
08:20So one person could just say sayonara without any...
08:23Now morally, they should be both responsible for it.
08:25You agree?
08:26Yeah.
08:27You agree with him?
08:28Legally and morally, yeah.
08:29I agree with him.
08:30Well, legally and morally are two different things here, according to him.
08:32Are they the same thing to you?
08:34No, I think legally...
08:35Because that would have super confused me if you said that.
08:37Going inside the courtroom.
08:38Did he sign that, or did you sign it for him?
08:40We both signed the sheet.
08:42So he said, this is his signature.
08:43No.
08:44We had no other...
08:45Hold on.
08:46This is his signature.
08:47This one.
08:48The plaintiff, Your Honor?
08:49Yeah, the plaintiff.
08:50Yes.
08:51I could show you my signature on another paper.
08:55It looks nothing like that.
08:57I...
08:58This is dated August 13th.
08:59Hold on, hold on.
09:00Go ahead.
09:01We both were in agreement to cancel the Lisa's lease, and there is...
09:03Of course, the Lisa's over your office.
09:04I don't know.
09:05I don't know.
09:06I don't know.
09:07I don't know.
09:08I don't know.
09:09Of course, the Lisa's over.
09:10Your relationship's over.
09:11You know, you want to break the lease.
09:13That wasn't my question over and over again to you.
09:15My question to you is, did he sign that?
09:17As far...
09:18I believe so, yes.
09:19I don't remember me ever signing anything for him.
09:21Because the guy's a jerk.
09:22He's not going to sign that.
09:23I know that man didn't sign that.
09:25I know you forged it.
09:26Because you think that that guy wants to agree to nothing.
09:29Who doesn't care to call the landlord?
09:30Who doesn't care to get out of anything?
09:32You think that guy is going to agree to 10 grand?
09:35No!
09:36You're the guy who agrees to 10 grand.
09:38And then, since they give you the paperwork, you probably just forged his signature.
09:41Because you really don't want your credit ruined.
09:43Does that sound more like it, maybe?
09:44I honestly really...
09:45We both signed...
09:46I signed so many papers and so did he.
09:48And we both...
09:49I don't...
09:50Did you sign this?
09:52Nope.
09:53It's dated August 13th.
09:54I haven't seen her since the end of June.
09:56I did not sign that paper.
09:57I have other signatures here with me that you can see it looks nothing like my signature.
10:01I have.
10:02I've already seen your license.
10:04I've already seen your other ID.
10:06I've looked at your signature on numerous places.
10:09I don't believe that that is your signature.
10:13I just don't.
10:15Because there's no way...
10:16He's not the kind of guy who would say,
10:18yeah, sure, I'll agree to all these terms.
10:20He's the kind of guy who says, ah, they'll chase us!
10:23That's who he is.
10:24Like you said earlier, I was the only one dealing with it.
10:28Which means you've committed perjury in front of me, which bothers me.
10:31Does it bother me as much as you thinking, ah, have him chase me,
10:35and leaving her footing the bill?
10:37No.
10:38But then what the question becomes, see, if I believed he signed that,
10:41he'd be forking over half the money.
10:43But if I don't believe he signed that, and I don't,
10:46then what I have to do is try to figure out what money should he be paying,
10:51what money would be his half of a fair and appropriate disposition.
10:55Which is what I said originally.
10:56Because what typically happens is that you move out and then they re-rent it,
11:00and usually they should be able to re-rent it sooner than four months,
11:04which is what you ended up agreeing to here.
11:07And in fact, if they didn't, a judge would look at them and say,
11:10are you kidding me?
11:12You know, what efforts did you make to re-rent it?
11:14There would have to be like a really special circumstance
11:16that would stop them from re-renting it.
11:18But if you think that you're going to just walk off and leave her with the bill,
11:21you're out of your mind.
11:22So number one, you owe half of July.
11:24Then how much of the rent should they be able to pin on you when you're leaving?
11:33Like in other words, what would be an appropriate amount of time
11:36to allow them to, quote, mitigate their damages?
11:38I think two months' rent is probably appropriate.
11:41The rent was $19.54 a month?
11:43Yes.
11:44Okay.
11:45I'm going to order based on what I have read in all of this paperwork,
11:48the defendants pay the following.
11:50The rest of July, or his half of the July payment,
11:53which of course does have to be paid, including late fees and building legal fees.
11:58His half of the two-month penalty, which I find to be appropriate
12:03because that's pretty much what most judges will give a landlord,
12:05especially a big landlord like this with hundreds of apartments,
12:09that's pretty much the most that a judge would end up allowing
12:14before they expect the landlord to mitigate damages.
12:17But I am ordering him then to pay the plaintiff $3,107.50,
12:24which represents his part of the big July fee and the two months in rent
12:30that he should expect to have to pay when he breaks a lease.
12:33That's my verdict.
12:34Well, the plaintiff prevails. She gets $3,107.00, $3,107.00.
12:43That's what you're going to have to give her. How do you react to that?
12:46I feel like it's fair. The judge made a ruling,
12:48and I just want everyone to move on and be happy from this.
12:50Because you kind of just washed your hands of the whole thing when you moved out.
12:54Listen, sometimes in life that's the way you have to deal with things.
12:57You said you argued all the time. Did that go on all three years?
13:01I mean, I'm sure a lot of people argue about a lot of things all the time.
13:04It's just if you want to deal with it or not.
13:06Then you didn't.
13:07After three years, I didn't.
13:08Okay. All right. Thank you very much.
13:11Now here comes Lauren, the plaintiff.
13:13You know, I'm really interested to know how you feel about the judge's decision.
13:17She looked at you and said she just simply didn't believe you.
13:19And in fact, called you a liar for not admitting that you had forged his name on that contract.
13:24It's fine. I just wanted to get back the big amount of money that he owed me.
13:29No, I know. But I mean, how did you react when the judge said that to you, that she just didn't believe you?
13:34I'm fine.
13:35You don't care?
13:36No, it's not that I don't care. I just know that we both signed papers and we both agreed to cancel the lease.
13:41So you didn't forge it?
13:42No.
13:43You're flat out saying that?
13:45No.
13:46Well, the judge sure certainly had that opinion.
13:49Okay.
13:50There's no love lost between you two, obviously.
13:52Zero.
13:53You're 21. You moved in three years ago. You moved in together at a very young age.
13:57That's a mistake.
13:58I think the question is, have you learned anything from this experience in living together?
14:01Definitely.
14:02What?
14:03Don't do things quickly. Don't make silly decisions.
14:08Thank you very much. Okay. Harvey?
14:11Okay. Look, when you break up, you have got to sit down with the other person and negotiate an exit plan.
14:17And that will do it for this case litigants for the next case on the way into the courtroom right now.
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