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00:00Barton is suing 20-year-old student Stephanie Chandler for totaling her Honda Prelude during
00:05a test drive. Stephanie says the accident wasn't her fault.
00:14This is case number 161 on the calendar in the matter of Barton v. Chandler.
00:18Thank you, Barton.
00:18You're quite welcome, Judge. Parties have been sworn in, Your Honor. You may be seated.
00:21Gentlemen, have seats, please.
00:23Ms. Barton, you were selling a car.
00:25Yes.
00:25The defendant came to look at the car, and she came with a friend, and you allowed
00:30her to take the car out for test drive. She had an accident with the car, and you want
00:35her to pay for your out-of-pocket expense. Ms. Chandler says that your insurance company
00:40should have taken care of it, so she doesn't know why she's here. Is that right?
00:43Yes, ma'am.
00:44Okay. What kind of car were you selling, Ms. Barton?
00:47It was a 1994 Honda Prelude. This is what it looked like at the time.
00:50And how much were you selling it for?
00:52At the time, when she had talked to my husband about buying the car, I think they had agreed
00:56on $6,500.
00:57What date did she come over to take a look at it?
00:59On August 8th.
01:00And who did she come with?
01:02With the both of the two boys that were there.
01:03With these two young men?
01:05And a little girl.
01:05Whose little girl?
01:06Jason's.
01:07How old is your daughter?
01:09She's five now.
01:10Did they all take the car out for a test run?
01:12No, just her and the first one there.
01:15What's your name?
01:16Jesse.
01:17Jesse what?
01:18Kerbo.
01:18What time did they take the car out?
01:20It was in the evening, probably around 5 or 6 o'clock.
01:25Did you ask her if she had a driver's license?
01:27I asked and she said she had a driver's license.
01:29She said she worked actually at a car dealership moving their cars around.
01:33And I actually asked her to leave the car that she came in and one of the people with me.
01:37I was actually more worried about maybe them just taking the car.
01:40Okay.
01:41So she left the car that they came in and she left this young man and his five-year-old as hostage.
01:46Yes.
01:46And they came back how much later?
01:52They did not come back.
01:53What happened?
01:54After about a half hour, when I was very worried, he finally managed to get a hold of him on their cell phone and they said that they had run the car into a ditch.
02:01So I borrowed my sister's car and went looking for them.
02:05And when I found them, actually they had run off the road probably 50 feet and the car was about three feet off the ground stuck between two trees.
02:12And it was completely totaled.
02:14Did you report it to your insurance company?
02:16Yes.
02:17And I actually have a police report and pictures.
02:19Okay.
02:19There's no question that she totaled the car.
02:21Is that right, Ms. Chandler?
02:23There's no question that you totaled the car.
02:25Okay.
02:25Now you can tell me what happened with your insurance company.
02:27Okay.
02:28The first thing we did was we filed it with her insurance.
02:30And her insurance said that in our state, insurance follows the car.
02:34Well, our insurance company was going to pay us for the car and then file for segregation and get the money back from her or her insurance.
02:41Correct.
02:41But after several months of dealing with the insurance company and after they had already paid for the car, they found out that also, again, with the Georgia law, because she had permission to drive the car, our insurance company could not get money back from her and we had to do it ourselves.
02:54Right.
02:55And our premiums have gone up and the wreck is on our record.
02:59We can't even get written with another insurance policy.
03:02Right.
03:02Your insurance company is absolutely right.
03:06So why are we here?
03:07I just don't feel that it's right that she could take my car in a reckless manner, destroy it, and just walk away from it and say sorry about that.
03:13I don't disagree with you, Ms. Parton.
03:16First, let me hear from Ms. Chandler.
03:18What happened when you took the car out for a test drive?
03:20Tell me about this ghost car that made you have an accident.
03:24The van's a pretty big ghost car.
03:26It was a big white van.
03:28Yes.
03:28And it was coming around the corner too fast and he was in my lane because he couldn't make it.
03:32He couldn't make the turn.
03:34And I went to the side of the road.
03:36The road was uneven.
03:37It caught the tire, spun me in the other lane, which was the failure to remain in the lane.
03:41And then I oversteered and it went into the woods.
03:44Nobody noticed any skid marks or anything else of another car.
03:47They didn't stop.
03:48They kept going.
03:49They just came around the corner and just kept going.
03:52How old are you?
03:5320 years old.
03:54You ever been in an accident before?
03:56No, ma'am.
03:57Ms. Parton, let me tell you what your problem is.
03:59You did give her permission to drive the car.
04:02You do not have any hard evidence that she was driving in a reckless manner.
04:10What?
04:10The pictures will show that.
04:12The pictures.
04:13I'll take a look at what pictures you have.
04:14And the police report says that she was on the wrong side of the road.
04:17That may be.
04:17The police weren't there.
04:19These are the pictures of the damage to the car.
04:21The police weren't there, Ms. Parton.
04:24And the police took the report.
04:26Your car is totaled.
04:27I gather your car is totaled.
04:28I see your car is totaled.
04:30What does that have to do with anything?
04:31They totaled your car.
04:32Yes.
04:33And she didn't apparently even hit the brakes.
04:35She just went off the road 50 feet and never even stopped.
04:38Ms. Parton, do you think that she intentionally, with her and a passenger, almost killed herself?
04:46No, I don't think.
04:47Do you think she intentionally did that?
04:48I don't think she did it intentionally, no.
04:50But she wasn't driving too fast.
04:52She was speeding.
04:52She may have been driving too fast.
04:54I didn't see what's going on.
04:54And if you, listen to me.
04:55It says too fast for conditions.
04:56Ms. Parton, you have to listen to me, madam.
04:59And if she were driving too fast, and instead of just totaling your car, if she hit another
05:05car and killed somebody, you know who would be liable?
05:10You.
05:11When you give a stranger permission to drive your car, you assume the risk of how that stranger
05:19is going to operate your vehicle.
05:21And you had a choice, Ms. Parton.
05:22I'm not excusing the fact that she may, may have been going too fast, that she may have
05:27been in another lane, that she may have negligently driven this car.
05:31I don't believe she recklessly drove it, because she doesn't look like a nut, and she doesn't
05:35look like she was trying to kill herself.
05:37Judge Judy continues in a moment.
05:39And later today.
05:40You still do that kind of work?
05:42Yes, I do.
05:43It's a terrible idea.
05:44It pains well.
05:45The whole business smells.
05:49Real cases.
05:50Real people.
05:51Judge Judy.
05:52Rachel Barton says 20-year-old Stephanie Chandler totaled her Honda Prelude during a test drive.
05:58Rachel is alleging that Stephanie drove the car recklessly.
06:02Okay.
06:03So, the only out-of-pocket expense that you have now are the raised premiums, which is
06:08really what you're suing for.
06:09And the deductible.
06:10What was the deductible?
06:12$500.
06:13Well, that's a different story.
06:14That I believe Ms. Chandler is responsible for.
06:17Your Honor.
06:18What?
06:18I have the Kelly Blue Book value, and I have the amount that the Bartons received.
06:22And they received over $1,500 over the Kelly Blue Book value for their vehicle.
06:25Let me see.
06:28Otherwise, you would be responsible for the $500 deductible.
06:33Wouldn't you say that that was fair?
06:34We offered it in the beginning.
06:35And then refused to pay when I called her and told her that our insurance was not going
06:38to cover that.
06:39You received $7,097.55?
06:43Yes.
06:44Well, you just told me that you were going to sell the car for $6,500.
06:49So you got $600 more than that.
06:52Yes.
06:53Ms. Barton, you have to accept responsibility that when you turn a car over to a stranger,
06:58you are placing yourself and your bank accounts and your property at risk.
07:04If she's in an accident, you are responsible.
07:06And your insurance company paid you because they knew you were responsible, and her insurance
07:11company didn't pay because she had permission to drive your car.
07:15And absent a showing that there was no issue, that she recklessly drove the car, which I
07:22don't believe you've been able to establish.
07:23You don't have a case, Ms. Barton.
07:25And you got more for the car than what you were planning to sell for.
07:28So I'm not going to charge her for the deductible.
07:31I don't believe she's faultless.
07:33But I think that if she did offer to give you the $500 deductible, that was at least
07:38a showing that she felt as if she did the wrong thing, or that she was at least partially
07:42responsible.
07:42But that's what we have insurance for.
07:44Okay.
07:45That's all.
07:46If I was excused, you may step out.
07:49I really don't think it was fair that she was able to destroy my car and not have to
07:52pay one cent.
07:53I oversteered, trying to catch the car from where it dipped off the road.
07:58She was totally responsible and had got to walk away scot-free.
08:01I thought I was going to kill my boyfriend.
08:03I told her at the time I was glad there was no issue.
08:04Neither one of them had a scratch on him, and I was glad for that.
08:07That would have just made it more complicated.
08:09I was in love with that car.
08:11I thought I was taking it home that day.
08:12It was a fast little car.
08:13After all this, I don't feel bad at all.
08:16And now, the next case.
08:18All parties in the matter of Monroe versus Monroe.
08:20Step forward, please.
08:2129-year-old credit card marketer, Stephanie Monroe, is suing her ex-husband, Michael Monroe,
08:27for the return of promotional T-shirts and a digital camera belonging to her company.
08:32Stephanie says after she hired Michael, he quit his job and took the items with him.
08:38Ms. Monroe, the defendant is your former husband.
08:41And according to your complaint, after your divorce, he fell behind in his child support payments.
08:46So you decided to help him out by getting him a job with your company.
08:49As part of the job, he was given a promotional kit, which included boxes of T-shirts and a camera.
08:56The job didn't work out.
08:57He was supposed to have returned the promotional items.
09:00He didn't do it.
09:01And you now are being charged for those items, and it's coming out of your pay.
09:05That's what you say.
09:06That is correct.
09:07Okay.
09:08When did you get him this job?
09:09I offered him the job in August of 2003.
09:13What kind of job was it?
09:15It's credit card marketing.
09:16What does that mean?
09:17We go out and market credit cards to students at colleges.
09:21I don't understand how that works.
09:23You'll have to explain that to me.
09:23Well, we go out to colleges and universities, and we market credit cards, and they sign up for them, and we get paid.
09:30You get paid by the credit card company.
09:32Yes, we do.
09:34That's a terrible idea.
09:36Do you still do that kind of work?
09:38Yes, I do.
09:39It is a terrible idea, you know.
09:41It pays well.
09:42Well, it pays you well.
09:43Unfortunately, it gets most of the college kids in a great deal of trouble because they can't afford credit cards, and they build up debt.
09:48And by the time they graduate from college, very often they're in a situation where they owe $10,000, and their credit is shot and will be shot for years to come.
09:56So, you go out to universities, and you're given so much money for every teenager that you get to sign up for a credit card, right?
10:05Well, they're not teenagers.
10:06They're over 18, right?
10:08No, 18 and 19 are teenagers.
10:09Sure.
10:10Okay, well.
10:11Who are in school, who don't have any source of income other than their parents.
10:14Okay.
10:15Right.
10:16Most of them.
10:16Yes.
10:17And school loans.
10:18Sure.
10:19Mm-hmm.
10:20Good.
10:21Perfect.
10:22But that's not why we're here.
10:23We're here because it's part of the whole thing.
10:25You give them T-shirts.
10:25What do the T-shirts say?
10:27They just have different ones.
10:31They'll have college written on them.
10:33They're geared just towards what a college student might find attractive.
10:38It'll say...
10:39Give me an idea.
10:40Okay.
10:40Well, there'll be like a bottle.
10:42It'll just say absolute college.
10:45What else do they say?
10:47They had one of Curious George with a bottle of ether.
10:50Curious George with a bottle of ether.
10:52Yeah.
10:52What is that?
10:53Passed out.
10:54My friend doing the ether.
10:55I don't make the T-shirts, Your Honor.
10:58I just...
10:59I don't.
11:00What else?
11:00Curious George passing out, snorting a bottle of ether.
11:03What else?
11:05They had one with...
11:06They had one with, I guess, from South Park, Kenny.
11:11It says, College Killed Kenny.
11:13I mean, there were some different various T-shirts.
11:15Okay.
11:16College Killed Kenny.
11:17Yeah.
11:17College students like that.
11:19And there was a camera that was part of this.
11:21Yes.
11:21What was the camera used for?
11:23The digital camera is to take pictures of their student IDs to verify they are students
11:27at the universities.
11:28And you were a rep, I assume.
11:30Right.
11:30You work on commission.
11:31Yes.
11:31I'm a manager in the company.
11:33Okay.
11:33When did you start working?
11:35I believe it was August 2000.
11:372003.
11:382003.
11:38I'm sorry.
11:39Did he sign a document that he would return these promotional items?
11:42Well, yes.
11:43For the camera, we do have a document.
11:44Oh, okay.
11:45So can I see the camera?
11:46It's not the actual contract, but through our parent company, it states that he is liable.
11:51Did he sign that?
11:52There is no signature of his on this.
11:55They have the contract.
11:56They just, they wrote out a statement saying he did sign a contract.
12:00I never signed a contract.
12:01They wouldn't provide me with the actual contract.
12:03So the answer is you do not have a signed contract with his signature on it indicating he
12:08would return the camera.
12:09I do not have that.
12:11No.
12:11Okay.
12:12Let's not deal with the T-shirts.
12:14Okay.
12:14That's even according to you, the contract, if you had it, would not talk about the T-shirts.
12:19That's correct.
12:20It was pretty much a verbal contract.
12:22Pretty much a verbal contract isn't a contract, Mr. Monroe.
12:25So let's deal with the camera.
12:27Okay.
12:27Because Mr. Monroe says his excuse when he left the company, you left the company, I don't
12:33know why and I don't care quite frankly, you say that the camera was stolen.
12:37So you acknowledge that you were supposed to have returned the camera.
12:40Yes, I do.
12:41So this is an easy case because I like to keep things easy.
12:43Now, what is the cost of the camera?
12:45The cost of the total camera was $485.
12:49Do you have a receipt for it, a bill for it, something?
12:53I have this, Your Honor.
12:54It states how much it was.
12:58And that's from the company that it came directly from.
13:01That's our parent company.
13:05It basically...
13:06Well, this doesn't say anything.
13:08This says that the agreement states that Michael will be charged for the full amount of $485
13:12if he fails to return the camera.
13:14You don't have the agreement.
13:15So this is hearsay.
13:16Take it back.
13:17What kind of camera was it, Mr. Monroe?
13:19I don't recall the brand name.
13:21I think it was like Sony or something.
13:23Okay.
13:23And it was a digital camera that took photographs of these ID cards.
13:27Yes.
13:28Okay.
13:28So it might have been a good camera.
13:30Is that right?
13:31It was used, but yeah.
13:32All right.
13:33Now, tell me why you didn't return the camera when you left the company.
13:37Because you acknowledged that you were supposed to have returned the camera, sir.
13:40Right.
13:40I mean, she lives quite a distance from me.
13:42And basically, I just never got the chance to return the camera.
13:46And it was stolen before I got the chance to return it.
13:48Stolen from where?
13:49From my home.
13:50Did you report it to the police?
13:51Can I see the police report?
13:52No, I did not.
13:53Full of baloney?
13:55No.
13:55And it's a very stupid thing to have said.
13:57Because if something is stolen from your home, you mean somebody came into your home and stole just the digital camera?
14:02Your honor, I live with my brother.
14:04And it was one of his friends.
14:05Someone came into your home and stole just the digital camera?
14:09Only that piece?
14:10No, actually, they stole a couple other items.
14:12But it's my brother's house.
14:13And he refused to press charges because he knew who the person was.
14:17That doesn't mean that you can't press charges, sir.
14:19True.
14:20So I don't believe you.
14:22That's fine.
14:24Good.
14:24So then you are responsible for the camera.
14:27You didn't take good enough care of it.
14:29You didn't put it in a safe enough place.
14:31If it was, in fact, stolen, which I don't believe, but either way, you're responsible for it.
14:36Anything else you want to tell me?
14:37Just basically, he was explained that he would be responsible for all the premiums that were fronted to him plus the camera.
14:44Who explained it to him?
14:46Myself and also my fiancé, Jeremy.
14:48That is what you are.
14:49Okay.
14:49And he helped explain the business to him because he's my manager.
14:52What did you do with all the T-shirts?
14:54How many T-shirts did you have?
14:56I don't know how many were actually left over.
14:58When I moved back to St. Louis, I left the T-shirts at my old apartment.
15:03Basically, I'd received a letter from the parent company stating that the shirts could not be used shortly after I started using them, about three weeks after I started using them.
15:11They said that they weren't actually approved to be used.
15:14So here I was stuck.
15:15They expected me to pay for shirts that I couldn't use.
15:17Why couldn't you use the shirts?
15:19Because the credit card companies decided that they were putting up their own products, and we weren't allowing a lot to provide our own products for them.
15:27Okay.
15:27So you weren't allowed to provide T-shirts, these kinds of T-shirts.
15:31What did you tell him to do with the T-shirts?
15:32Actually, I said to Mike if he couldn't use them just to ship them back, and he failed to do that.
15:36What did you tell him?
15:37Because your eyes...
15:38Sorry.
15:39What's your last name?
15:40King.
15:40Mr. King, your eyes faded over here when you told me that you told him to just ship them back.
15:46Your eyes sort of went like this.
15:48You told him to ship them back to whom?
15:52To us.
15:53Your eyes moving, they're moving around again.
15:55I'm sorry.
15:56I told him to ship them back to us.
15:58And did you tell him who was going to pay for that?
16:00He would have to pay for that.
16:01Why?
16:02Because it's just how our company works.
16:05When we request something to be shipped to us, we're liable for that once we receive it.
16:09Okay.
16:09So these were unauthorized T-shirts, is that right?
16:12Correct, yeah.
16:13And you're her boss?
16:14Yes.
16:15And you're an independent contractor?
16:17Correct.
16:17So how are the T-shirts...
16:19I'm just curious.
16:20How are the costs of the T-shirts being deducted from your salary?
16:23Who's deducting them?
16:24Him?
16:25Actually, the owner of our company.
16:27Who's the owner?
16:28His name is Mr.
16:29Mr.
16:31Baloney.
16:33I don't want to hear any of this.
16:35First of all, the whole business smells.
16:36I don't like when you try to put young people in a situation where their futures are placed
16:42at risk because of ensuring that they're going to graduate from college with lousy credit.
16:47I understand, but I mean, I'm not asking them to use it and spend lots of money on their
16:53card, though.
16:54What you're doing is you're going out and soliciting something.
16:57You're dealing with young, impressionable, stupid kids who are in college, away from home
17:01for the first time.
17:02And if their parents wanted them to have a credit card, they would have given them a
17:04credit card.
17:05If they don't have a credit card, there's a very good reason for it.
17:08And they're 18 years old, and they hardly have enough sense to get up in the morning.
17:12Many of them don't get up in the morning.
17:14But now they have a credit card where they're building up debt, and they have no way of paying
17:17it off.
17:18Now, having said that, you have to pay $200 for the camera.
17:22I don't know if it was worth $435.
17:24I doubt whether it was a new camera that you got.
17:26Probably you used one from somebody else.
17:28But you acknowledge the fact that you were supposed to have returned the camera.
17:31I don't believe the fact that it was stolen.
17:34I think you're probably still using it.
17:35You're just annoyed at this whole lawsuit.
17:37I don't know what you were supposed to do with the T-shirts.
17:39There was also sunglasses.
17:41I'm sorry.
17:43The T-shirts were not provided by the parent company.
17:46They were provided by the two of you.
17:48So I don't believe that from your salary is being deducted the cost of the T-shirts.
17:53Don't believe it.
17:54But he was hired by my company, not our parent company.
17:59What company?
18:00You have your own company?
18:01No, I'm sorry.
18:03My boss's company.
18:06It's not my company.
18:07Get it together.
18:08Judgment for the plaintiff, the amount of $200.
18:10Goodbye.
18:11How did God squeeze when they stepped out?
18:13I think it was just.
18:14I'm just very upset, actually.
18:15I didn't feel like she had to pay for shirts.
18:17That's the basic act.
18:18...of her ex-boyfriend's wife, Lavinia Carter, for damages to her car.
18:23Lavinia is countersuing for damages to her vehicle.
18:29Order.
18:30All rise.
18:35Now, this is case number 574 on the calendar, the matter of Ross versus Carter.
18:39Parties have been sworn in, judge.
18:40You may be seated.
18:41Ladies, have seats, please.
18:42Miss Ross, you and Miss Carter have been having trouble for a very long time.
18:47You want to tell me how you know each other?
18:49Okay, it all started with an ex-boyfriend that I used to have.
18:52Me and him just got into it too many times, so I told him to go back to his baby mama.
18:56That's her sister, Amete Carter, the witness.
18:59And how long ago was that?
19:01It's been an ongoing thing between me and him, but he's now, you know, now in jail.
19:05So, it's been two years me and him having been messing around.
19:08All right.
19:08You have a problem with his sister.
19:10No, it's my ex-boyfriend's girlfriend's sister.
19:13Ex-boyfriend's girlfriend's sister.
19:17Right.
19:18That's you.
19:18That's me.
19:20In any event, according to what I read here, the two of you have mutual restraining orders
19:24against each other because there's evidently been a past history of acting out behavior
19:29on the part of both of you, and you, Ms. Ross, claim that on a particular date, the defendant
19:35harassed you, damaged your car.
19:38She says you were harassing her.
19:41You damaged her car.
19:42There is a claim and a counterclaim.
19:45Tell me how long these mutual restraining orders have been in effect.
19:49Since January the 2nd of 2002.
19:52And tell me about this date when you claim that your car was damaged.
19:56On March the 6th, 2002.
19:58Two.
19:59All right.
19:59Now I'm going to let each of you tell me your version of what happened.
20:03Go.
20:03Okay.
20:04I was leaving my mother's house because I just got off of work.
20:07I was going to take my kids to go get them some tennis shoes.
20:10I was on my way to my grandma's house to let my aunt know that I was coming this weekend
20:14to pick up my table.
20:15So next thing I know, I reserved, I reserved, you know, this little green car behind me.
20:19I was like, okay, why is she behind me?
20:22So then I got out of my car and I took her picture.
20:25Why did you do that?
20:25For evidence.
20:26And the police always told me to make sure I have had evidence of her harassed.
20:30I was lost inside a novel.
20:33So she was behind me.
20:34She stopped you calling.
20:36Jump out.
20:37Go click the click.
20:38When you walked through the silence.
20:40And sealed my sudden fate.
20:43Flew around.
20:43Everybody else tried to get in front of me.
20:45So at that time, she finally got out of my story.
20:47Slowed down.
20:48So I slowed down.
20:49So I slowed down.
20:50Just the soft, quick rhythm of simple honesty.
20:55She sat at the stop sign.
20:56Just sitting here.
20:57Your fingers drummed the sugar packet.
21:00A syncopated sound.
21:03The sweetest interruption.
21:08That I'd ever found.
21:10It's a catholic conversation held between two separate minds.
21:17So I'm going to get one around.
21:18A quiet, nervous dance of the kind the heart always finds.
21:23So the music's in the background.
21:27The boss of Nova beat.
21:29And next thing I know, I'm still watching her coming past me.
21:32And suddenly the ordinary feels perfectly complete.
21:37So I ended up jumping into my car.
21:39We trade a glance, a question mark.
21:42A subtle, nervous blush.
21:45And then after that, this gentle, sweet beginning.
21:49In the afternoon run.
21:51So I'm going over to my sister's house, which is here.
22:03It's a broad grandmother's house.
22:06I'm out of my business because it happened on a Wednesday.
22:10I'm just supposed to go to surgery and have things done.
22:13We talk to traveling.
22:15I'm supposed to comfort both me and my sister.
22:16And this condition that we have.
22:18You know, I just wanted to comfort their people.
22:20I'm avoiding all the subjects that we truly want to say.
22:24I'm blocking the hat up.
22:25She gets out of her car and takes my picture and calls her.
22:27My tea is getting colder.
22:29Your espresso's almost done.
22:32And I got out of my left lane and got in the right lane to make a right to go to my sister's house.
22:36So I was not following her.
22:38I don't know where she's getting this following and harassment stuff from.
22:41Ms. Ross follows me up there.
22:42She takes the turn.
22:44I got out of my car and I took a picture of her.
22:46And I told her, are we going to take Kodak pictures of each other all night?
22:49I was like, leave me alone.
22:51No, you didn't say that.
22:51I got in my car.
22:52There's a four-way stop sign.
22:54So I let the other cars go thinking that maybe she was going to go where she had to go and mind her business after this little, you know, after the picture taken.
23:00She done stopped her car, got out of her car with her car door open and started kicking my car.
23:06I stopped my car and I got out of the car.
23:08And I asked her, why are you kicking my car?
23:10Why are you messing with me?
23:11She gets scared because I'm about to approach her because I was going to break her neck.
23:15She gets in her car and she jumps the curb and hit my car.
23:19She then, when I'm going to my car, I hear, she hit my car.
23:22She hit my car.
23:23I'm looking back.
23:24She's on the cell phone calling the police like I did something.
23:27So I went up the street to my sister's house and called the police.
23:29No, I did not.
23:30You don't speak to each other, speak to me.
23:32So I went to my sister's house and I called the police and the police came out there and made a report.
23:36Okay, now which one of these witnesses doesn't know either one of you?
23:41I don't even know her.
23:42Okay, so I'll hear you first.
23:46Tell me your name.
23:47My name is Chantel Pittman.
23:48Ms. Pittman, you don't know the plaintiff?
23:51No, I don't.
23:51I never saw her before this date in March.
23:53Right, I didn't meet her until that day.
23:55Okay, tell me what you observed that day.
23:57Well, me and Ms. Brookings was in Ms. Brookings' car and we were waiting for my daycare van to come to pick up my kids.
24:05And we seen the headlights coming.
24:08And we looked in the rearview mirror and we was like, she just hit her car.
24:11Did you just see her hit her car?
24:13Well, tell me exactly what you saw.
24:15The black car was here parked.
24:18We seen the green car come around and hit the black car on the driver's side.
24:23And she pulled up behind Ms. Brookings' car, got out of her car, left her door open, walked around to her passenger side to check to see if she had anything in her car, got back in.
24:33And when she took off, she almost hit Ms. Brookings' car on the passenger side.
24:37Would you step up here?
24:38Tell me your last name, please.
24:42Doretta Brookings.
24:43Ms. Brookings, who was driving that day?
24:45I was.
24:46And you waited around to give information to the police?
24:48Correct.
24:49That was very nice of you.
24:51If I were to ask you the same questions that I just asked the previous witness, would your testimony be the same?
24:57Yes, it would.
24:58Okay, thank you.
24:59You may be seated.
25:00Do you have the police reports?
25:01Yes.
25:02Let me see the police report, please.
25:05That's both of ours.
25:06And can I see the damage to your car?
25:08And the estimates, please.
25:10Your Honor?
25:11Yes.
25:11Can I say something?
25:12Sure.
25:13Ms. Ross is stating that I'm harassing her because of my sister-husband.
25:17And I don't see how and why is it every time that something happens, I'm always in the middle of it.
25:23Because I don't do anything to her.
25:25I'm not the only person that Mrs. Ross also harasses due to a man that she hasn't been with for the last 10 or 15 years.
25:32Does she want to know that she won't go to the police files?
25:34Listen to me.
25:34Listen to me, Ms. Carter.
25:36It's clear to me that you were responsible for damage to the bumper on her car.
25:41I'm dismissing your counterclaim because I don't believe she hit your car.
25:44The question is, are you totally responsible?
25:47And the answer is, I do not believe you are totally responsible.
25:50I believe that both of you acted badly.
25:52However, you started the trouble.
25:55You started the trouble by getting out of your car and starting to take her picture and calling her a couple of names.
26:02Instead of, you saw the green car behind you.
26:05Make sure you don't go anywhere near where she's going.
26:08But two of you engaged in conduct that was so childlike.
26:11You jumped out of your car first, starts snapping a picture.
26:14Then she starts snapping your picture.
26:16Then you snap her picture.
26:17Then she snaps your picture.
26:19And to make matters worse, you have children in your car acting like a fool.
26:24If you really feel as if she's harassing you, drive over to the police station.
26:27Drive directly over to the police station.
26:31See if she follows you there.
26:32And if she follows you there, she's a fool.
26:34And if she doesn't, then you've avoided conflict.
26:36What you didn't do was avoid conflict.
26:38Well, can I show you something else?
26:40Yep.
26:41This is how much she is a troublemaker.
26:43I have her little record of her history of how much of assault and battery and her.
26:49I don't have no assault and battery.
26:50Listen to me.
26:51All may be true.
26:53Ms. Ross.
26:54I mean, I'm looking at your claim now.
26:55The damage she caught was only $700.
26:57The $1,000 you wanted.
26:59For the harassment.
26:59For the harassment.
27:00Just listen to me.
27:01If you told me that you saw her car, so you drove directly to the police station in order to avoid any possible conflict in front of your children, and she followed you and she hit your car, I would rule entirely differently.
27:17But that's not what happened.
27:19You engaged her.
27:21You engaged her.
27:21And you started the engagement by getting out of your car, taking her picture, and exchanging words with her.
27:28That doesn't excuse her conduct.
27:30But that's saying to you, you're not really being smart.
27:34If you were afraid of her.
27:36You drive over to the police, and she does the same thing.
27:40I mean, she's sitting there smiling.
27:42She does the same thing.
27:43As I said, I'm dismissing the counterclaim.
27:45But I'm also dismissing that part of your claim of $1,700 that asked for $1,000 in harassment.
27:52And I'm only attributing half of the damage to your car to her.
27:56Because as far as I'm concerned, you should have kept on driving.
28:00I did.
28:00I was going to my grandmother's house.
28:02She should have never turned down my street.
28:03No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
28:04You weren't.
28:05You should have kept on driving.
28:06You got out of your car, placing your children at risk to take her picture.
28:11Okay, why did she get out of her car?
28:13Listen, life is very short.
28:15You'll get lecture 304 now.
28:17Life is very, very short.
28:19You can either spend it fighting, or you can spend it loving.
28:23The two of you are never going to love each other.
28:25But if you want to devote your energies to this kind of nonsense, I mean, what are you laughing about?
28:31How old are you?
28:32I'm not laughing.
28:33Yes, you are.
28:33How old are you?
28:34I'm 25.
28:3525.
28:35How old are you?
28:3631.
28:37Well, so you're young.
28:39You're not supposed to create friction in your lives.
28:42That's just stupid.
28:43Do you know what happens when you spend your life in conflict?
28:47You end up looking old much too soon.
28:50It's over.
28:51There's no reason for you to have any contact with each other.
28:54End it.
28:55Yes.
28:55Don't be stupid.
28:56Don't be stupid.
28:56Don't be stupid.
28:57Put your hand.
28:57Do I need you?
28:58I don't need you.
28:59I don't want you.
29:01Don't be stupid.
29:02End it.
29:03Put a period.
29:04No man is worth it.
29:06Husband, brother, boyfriend, whatever, especially one that's in jail.
29:11Even if they're not in jail, they're usually not worth it.
29:15So put a period and move on.
29:17That's all.
29:18Goodbye.
29:19No excuse.
29:20You better step out.
29:21She just needs to go on by her way and stop being ignorant and childish and stupid and
29:24just leave me alone.
29:25She's mad because I'm with a man that don't want her, ain't never wanting her, and she
29:29just sick with it.
29:30She got problems.
29:32She's trying to take up her scissors better, but like I said, if I catch her, I'm going
29:34to get her.
29:35She's 31.
29:35She needs to move on.
29:37Move on with her later.
29:38Bye-bye.
29:38And now, the next case.
29:40All parties in the matter of Griffiths versus Giles.
29:43Step forward, please.
29:45Alan and Tanya Griffiths are suing former friend, 32-year-old bartender Ken Giles, for stealing
29:51their honeymoon money.
29:52Ken says he didn't do it.
29:54All right, Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths, according to your complaint, the defendant, who had been
29:58either a friend or an acquaintance of yours, agreed to be the bartender at your wedding.
30:03On the wedding bar, according to you, there were two jars.
30:06One contained a jar for tips for the defendant, and the other jar was something called a honeymoon
30:11jar, where guests would come and put money, I assume, for your honeymoon.
30:15Yes.
30:15Is that right?
30:16And it is your claim that the defendant helped himself to your honeymoon jar.
30:20Yes, ma'am.
30:21To the tune of $1,500.
30:23Wow.
30:24So let's get to this very quickly.
30:26Prove it.
30:26Well, here's a list of just the ones that I could get a hold of, what they had put in
30:31there, their phone numbers.
30:32And my witness here also seen him putting money in places where not the jar.
30:37You never saw anything?
30:38Not as far as him taking anything personally.
30:40Okay, good.
30:41Step up.
30:42Name?
30:43Trisha Good.
30:43All right, Miss Good.
30:44Tell me what you observed with regard to this can.
30:46I saw Ken put money under the can.
30:49And then later on, I seen him putting money in his pockets earlier before.
30:53No, no, no.
30:53Let's go slowly.
30:54You saw him putting money underneath the can.
30:57He's standing behind the bar.
30:59Mm-hmm.
30:59Where did he get the money from?
31:00The people at the wedding.
31:02You mean people would hand him money?
31:04They all knew that it was...
31:05Don't tell me what anybody else knew.
31:07I'm asking you for your observations.
31:09Yes.
31:09Do you understand?
31:10Yes.
31:11You saw guests hand him money.
31:14Yes.
31:14And you saw him place the money under the can.
31:18Yes.
31:18How many times did you see that?
31:20Once.
31:21What else did you see?
31:23Earlier, before that, he didn't have gas money.
31:25And then later on, he had money in his pockets.
31:27There was also a tip jar, was there not?
31:29Yes, there was.
31:30And people gave him tips?
31:32I don't know.
31:33But they might have.
31:34They could have.
31:34And that could have been the money that he used for gas.
31:37Could have been.
31:38Right.
31:38So what you actually saw was somebody hand him money.
31:42Did you see how much money they handed him?
31:44No.
31:44You saw a bill, more than one bill.
31:46I didn't see.
31:47I just seen green.
31:49You just saw green.
31:50So you don't know if it was a dollar or ten dollars.
31:52Yeah.
31:52But his tip jar was at the front of the bar.
31:54They wouldn't have handed him the tips.
31:55They would have put their own tips in there.
31:57The donation for the honeymoon was behind the bar.
32:00So that nobody could reach that jar.
32:02Yes.
32:03Nobody.
32:03Except for Ken.
32:04Or Susan.
32:05Okay.
32:06Now, let's hear.
32:07Well, first of all, Your Honor, as far as the honeymoon jar, it wasn't a donation.
32:12What they were doing was charging $2 for mixed drinks.
32:14No, you were charging for mixed drinks.
32:16You were selling.
32:16Yeah, you were.
32:17They were charging $2 for mixed drinks.
32:19So we got there, and there was no money whatsoever to bartend with.
32:23I had to ask my girlfriend here to borrow some money so we could make change for people.
32:30Okay.
32:30That's a lie.
32:31So when we got there, she gave me ten ones, and I put it in the jar there or whatever.
32:37What jar?
32:38The actual bar jar.
32:40Okay.
32:40We're talking about two different jars.
32:42We're talking about two different.
32:43What was for your tips?
32:44Yes.
32:44They assumed that that had a sign on it that said tips.
32:46Yes, ma'am.
32:47And the other one was a can, a coffee can.
32:48Yes, ma'am.
32:49Did people hand you money and say to you, put that money in that can?
32:53No, ma'am.
32:54The only reason they ever handed me money was either for a tip or because they had bought
32:59a drink.
33:00Okay.
33:00Did you ever take any money out of the can?
33:03Yes, I did.
33:04I took back the $10 that Susan had given to us.
33:09Sit down.
33:12Go ahead.
33:13Also, I'd gone to the store twice, which I brought back receipts for Mr. Griffith.
33:17And during the course of the evening, I also informed Mr. Griffith that Tricia had been
33:22going back behind the bar and just totally cleaning it out.
33:25She'd done that two or three times.
33:27Well, just a second.
33:28Mr. Griffiths and Mrs. Griffiths, it's very possible that he did.
33:30I don't know.
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