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00:00Your son was tragically killed.
00:02So I asked him if he would be willing to split it,
00:06the funeral expenses.
00:07There was insurance that covered your son's funeral.
00:11Yes.
00:11I don't want the money.
00:13I wanted it for her.
00:15It has nothing to do with you.
00:17That's between she and her father.
00:19This is Judy Justice.
01:00You and Mr. Moten were married and divorced many years ago.
01:04When were you divorced?
01:052007.
01:06And you had children together?
01:08Yes.
01:08How many?
01:09Two.
01:09Boy and a girl?
01:10Yes.
01:11Your son was 23 when he was tragically killed in an automobile accident.
01:16When was that?
01:17June 21st.
01:19Of this year?
01:19Yes.
01:20And at the time of this terrible accident, he had been employed?
01:25Yes.
01:25According to what I've read, I think unbeknownst to you or to his father,
01:29he had an insurance policy.
01:31Yes.
01:32And it's unclear from the papers whether the insurance policy named beneficiaries
01:37or there were beneficiaries by law, which means he didn't put a beneficiary down.
01:43But the law says that since he didn't put a beneficiary down, the proceeds of the life insurance policy
01:51will be divided between his two parents.
01:54Yes.
01:54Well, before I go on, would you tell me whether or not the insurance policy named beneficiaries?
02:02No.
02:03The lawsuit is about this.
02:04That was evidently from the insurance policy.
02:07You received $19,000 and your son's father, the defendant, received $19,000.
02:14And you allege that there was an agreement, a verbal agreement, between you and your former husband
02:22that he would return $10,000 to you to cover some of the funeral expenses
02:29and to distribute to his sister because that's what he would have wanted.
02:35In any event, that's what the case is about.
02:38And the defendant says that there was never such an agreement
02:41and he was not consulted about the funeral or the expenses for the funeral
02:45and he doesn't feel as if he has to return that money at all.
02:49Okay.
02:51You did receive the $19,000?
02:53Yes.
02:54And so did you.
02:54Yes, ma'am.
02:55Okay.
02:56Now you're going to tell me about the discussion about him giving you money from his $19,000.
03:05So, um...
03:06Look here, please.
03:07About a week after his passing, I went to his place of work and we discussed, I said, um...
03:15Did you have an appointment to see him?
03:17No.
03:17You just went there?
03:19He works at a bar that I frequent.
03:20And that's after you received a letter from the insurance company indicating he would be receiving $19,000?
03:27Yes, ma'am.
03:28Okay.
03:28So tell me about the conversation.
03:30So I asked him if he would be willing to split it, all of the expenses occurred around the accident
03:37and then the funeral expenses.
03:39What are all the expenses surrounding the accident?
03:42So he hit a poll and I wasn't sure if the city would have a bill for that as well.
03:48Your insurance should cover that.
03:49It's liability.
03:50So at the point, I didn't want to go through my insurance because there was a policy
03:54and I was just going to pay it out of there because I didn't want the insurance to go up.
03:58Well, that's your choice.
04:00Yes.
04:01That's your choice.
04:02That's not his responsibility.
04:04You have insurance for your car.
04:05Your son was driving your car.
04:07Yes.
04:08And the insurance would cover any damage that your son did to public property or anybody's
04:13personal property.
04:14Yes, ma'am.
04:15How much was it, by the way?
04:16They never charged me.
04:17Okay.
04:18So that's not an issue anymore.
04:20Correct.
04:20So the only expense there was was the funeral expense.
04:23Correct.
04:24So at the time, you were asking for other expenses, which I just told you that I don't
04:28feel you would be entitled to.
04:30Yes, ma'am.
04:30Because you had insurance if there was a claim by either a private person or a governmental
04:37agency for damage that your son did with the car.
04:39Funeral expenses are another thing.
04:41So let's talk about that.
04:43And what did he say to you?
04:45He agreed.
04:46He said he didn't see a problem with paying half of everything and then splitting.
04:50I would give his surviving sibling a portion of it, the life insurance policy, and he would
04:59as well.
04:59And the reason we did that was because he stayed amongst the three of us, me and his
05:04two siblings.
05:05So I felt it was...
05:06You have a daughter?
05:07How many children do you have?
05:08I have three.
05:09I have another son.
05:10This is not his father?
05:11Correct.
05:11Okay.
05:12So what you're telling me is that you had the conversation about funeral expenses.
05:18Do you remember that part of the conversation about the funeral expenses, sir?
05:22I do, Your Honor.
05:24Okay.
05:24And tell me what you agreed to do with regard to the funeral expenses.
05:29In the beginning, I did not agree to it.
05:31I felt like if the kids needed anything, they can come to me and ask me for it.
05:35Not the kids.
05:36I'm talking about his funeral expenses.
05:38I'm sorry.
05:38My daughter, if my daughter needed something, she can come and ask for it.
05:41I wanted to give her some money out of my pocket.
05:44Well, that's your...
05:45I didn't want to agree to anything.
05:47He agreed.
05:47I'm talking about the funeral expenses only now.
05:52I was told that the funeral expenses were covered by the insurance.
05:56By what insurance?
05:57The life insurance policy.
05:59Were the funeral expenses covered by the life insurance policy?
06:03Not his policy, no.
06:05I have a separate policy that it was covered for it, but at the time...
06:08Just a second.
06:09What kind of policy do you have that your son's funeral expenses were covered from?
06:14Through work.
06:15I had a life insurance policy on him.
06:17On your son?
06:18Yes.
06:18On all three of them.
06:19This was a separate policy other than his?
06:22Correct.
06:22And how much was that policy?
06:24$10,000.
06:24So you had a $10,000 life insurance policy through work, and it was through work, so I assume that
06:33the cost to you was either zero or minimal.
06:36Correct.
06:36Correct.
06:36And you did receive $10,000 from that policy?
06:40Yes.
06:41And did you receive the $10,000 from that policy in addition to the funeral expenses?
06:47No.
06:47The policy deducted the expenses of the funeral, from the funeral home.
06:53Okay.
06:53And the funeral expenses were $5,000?
06:56Correct.
06:57And so on that policy, you received $5,000?
07:01Yes.
07:01Okay.
07:02And you received, in addition to the $5,000, $19,000?
07:07Yes.
07:07From your son's policy?
07:10Yes.
07:10Okay.
07:11So you were not aware of the fact at the time that there was insurance that covered your son's funeral?
07:17No, I was not.
07:18Okay.
07:18Well, there was, so we don't have to deal with that.
07:20Would you agree that if there was not insurance that paid for that, it would be right for you to
07:25cover half of the funeral expenses?
07:27Absolutely.
07:28Okay.
07:31I'm telling you, if he wants to give money to his daughter, that's between she and her father.
07:36She wants to have a discussion with her father, and her father wants to help her?
07:40That stuff has nothing to do with you.
07:42And later today.
07:43Is there a bathroom in the basement?
07:45More like a half bathroom, just a toilet.
07:47Sink?
07:48It's not like a sink is called a sink.
07:50It's considered as a sink.
07:51You can use it as a sink.
07:52I don't care what you can use.
07:53A sink is a sink.
07:54I don't understand what you're talking about.
08:05LaTosha Burnley claims her ex-husband, Willie Moten, agreed to give insurance money to their daughter and pay half of
08:13their son's funeral expenses.
08:16Okay.
08:16With regard to giving you $10,000, which is what you're suing for, to disperse to the other children, why
08:25would I do that?
08:26He was only supposed to do it for his daughter.
08:28Well, that's up to him.
08:29And he agreed to it.
08:30Then let him do it.
08:31He didn't do it.
08:32If he wants to give, that's a gratuitous thing that I'm not getting involved with.
08:37There was also expensive money.
08:39What I'm telling you is with regard to money for his daughter, that's between he and his daughter.
08:46He inherited some money.
08:48If he wants to share it with his other child, he can do that.
08:52Do you have any other children other than the boy and the girl?
08:55No.
08:56Okay.
08:56So he has now one child, and if he wants to give her some money out of this money that
09:02he got from this tragic accident, he can do that.
09:07That's not a lawsuit.
09:08What other expenses do you think that he's responsible for?
09:11The venue, the flowers, the cost of his suits that we had to put him in, all of the other
09:18things that was not...
09:19You had a $10,000 life insurance policy on your son.
09:23Clearly, all of those expenses didn't reach $10,000.
09:27He agreed to pay for half of everything.
09:30No.
09:30So he doesn't have to...
09:31Madam, I'm not even going to ask him that question.
09:34What your request is, is unreasonable.
09:37He does not sound like a foolish man.
09:41He said if...
09:41We have messages that he said he would do it.
09:44Well, I'm telling you, if he wants to give money to his daughter, I'm telling you, that would be lovely.
09:50If he wanted to make a gift to her of money, that's fine.
09:55He's not giving you any money.
09:57I don't want the money.
09:58I wanted it for her.
09:59Just a second.
10:01That's between she and her father.
10:02How old are you?
10:0327.
10:04That's between she and her father.
10:06She wants to have a discussion with her father and wants her...
10:08And her father wants to help her?
10:10That has nothing to do with you.
10:12I would certainly have entertained an application for your expenses and would have tried to prevail upon the defendant that
10:21it was the right thing to do.
10:22If this was the only money that was generated to pay for anything, and if it was insufficient to pay
10:29for the funeral, then it would have been...
10:30You would have agreed right for you to pay for half the funeral.
10:34Yes.
10:34But it was covered by insurance.
10:36The whole thing was covered by insurance.
10:38Am I wrong about that?
10:39Was it more than $10,000?
10:41No.
10:42Okay.
10:42Your case is dismissed, madam.
10:44We both have my sympathies.
10:45It's a tragedy to lose a child.
10:47Don't make it more difficult.
10:48That's all.
10:49This court is adjourned.
10:55I don't think it was fair.
10:57He agreed to pay for half of expenses, regardless if there was a policy for it.
11:01I feel like justice was served today.
11:04He agreed to give half of it to his daughter, which he still did not.
11:08I hope she grows up and matures.
11:10And understands and comes to me correctly, and then maybe we can resolve the issue.
11:14He's not a man of his word.
11:16Moving forward, I got a lot of things in the works.
11:19I'm turning my life around, and I'm trying to make a better person out of myself.
11:25In her complaint, there was no information or suggestion that she had a life insurance policy for her children that
11:34had to have been designed to pay for funeral expenses.
11:37And she had it through work, and she said she paid either nothing or minimum afford.
11:42I'm not sure whether it was at the daughter's request or if the plaintiff's mother was so angry that he
11:51benefited financially in any way.
11:53And it's clear also from the papers that he was not an involved parent for a good number of those
12:00years.
12:01He said he was renewing his relationship with his son.
12:04You know, emotionally, you may understand why the plaintiff said it's not fair that he in any way financially benefit
12:13from this tragedy.
12:15But she did in the same way.
12:17She did, but she says, I raised him, and he did not participate in that.
12:22So she feels differently.
12:23I think an important just little piece of that case is if you have a life insurance policy, I know
12:29the son received it from his work, list a beneficiary.
12:32If you know you have one parent that really took care of you your entire life, and you're just starting
12:36to rekindle with your secondary parent, list the first parent as the beneficiary, and then none of this would have
12:42happened.
12:43And people should actually know whether or not they have a life insurance policy.
12:47This kid maybe didn't even know that his work offered this policy, and since he didn't name a beneficiary, because
12:56probably nobody, when he signed on to work, said you have to name a beneficiary.
13:00Anyway, it's interesting.
13:01Young people don't think about that.
13:04And maybe the right thing to do for young people, as soon as they have anything of value, is to
13:11create a very short document saying what you want to happen in the event something happens to you, so that
13:18you don't end up with situations like this.
13:22Case 4058, Diallo versus Momo.
13:24All parties, please come forward.
13:27Mr. Diallo is suing his former tenant, Aloha Darasimi Momo, for property damage caused by his vandalism.
13:36Mr. Diallo, you purchased a home where?
13:41East Orange.
13:42In New Jersey?
13:42New Jersey, yes.
13:43Do you live in the home?
13:44Uh, no.
13:45So you purchased it for business?
13:47Business, exactly.
13:48It's a business, and you rent out rooms or space in the home?
13:51That is correct.
13:52How large is the house?
13:53It's the two family with an attic and a small basement.
13:56How many people do you have generally as tenants?
14:01Nine.
14:02Nine total.
14:02Is that correct?
14:03I'm sorry, Your Honor.
14:04It's probably more than that.
14:06Is this one of your tenants?
14:07No, he's just a plumber.
14:09In any event, this is what your lawsuit is about.
14:10So now I understand the house.
14:12There are a whole lot of people there, and they're living in a lot of different little spaces, nooks and
14:16crannies.
14:17Your case alleges that you rented the defendant a space in your house.
14:23You describe it as a corner of the basement because he was paying you initially $100 a week.
14:30Correct.
14:30Now, in the basement, how many people live in the basement?
14:33It's only him and the super.
14:35They were sharing a space.
14:37So two people in the basement.
14:39Yeah.
14:39Is there a bathroom in the basement?
14:41Uh, more like a half bathroom, just a toilet.
14:44Is that right?
14:45Did you have just a toilet?
14:46Yeah, there was just a toilet right there.
14:48Sink?
14:49No.
14:50Just a toilet.
14:51Just a toilet.
14:51No, actually, there was a sink.
14:53There was a sink where the one that he broke, that's the, that was the, it was not like a,
14:57it's not like a sink.
14:57It's not a sink.
14:58Shh.
14:59Like a tub.
14:59It's considered as a sink.
15:01You can use it as a sink.
15:02I don't care what you can use.
15:03A sink is a sink.
15:04I don't understand what you're talking about.
15:08He says to you, you could have did that when I was there, waiting until I'm not there.
15:13He says to you, and your response to him is, never touch my stuff, bitch.
15:20I just want to know what that meant.
15:32Abdullah Diallo claims his former tenant, Aloha D'Arasimi Momo, is responsible for property damage after he vandalized the basement.
15:42Okay, so he had a space in the basement with the manager of whoever you have, managing all these people
15:50who were living in the house, paying you $100 a week.
15:53And it is your claim that he caused some serious damage to the property.
15:59Tell me on what date he did that.
16:01August 1st, 2024.
16:02Tell me what happened.
16:04So on that day, I'm on my way to New York, to my family home, and I just get a
16:07call from my super.
16:09He was sounding very frustrated.
16:10He was telling me.
16:11You can't tell me what he said to you.
16:12That's hearsay, unless he's here.
16:14Okay, well, I got a phone call, you know, and I've.
16:16And as a result of that phone call, what'd you do?
16:18As a result of that phone call, I had to call the police right away.
16:20But when I called the police, they said, well.
16:22You can't tell me what the police said.
16:24So first thing you did, you called the police.
16:26What did you do physically?
16:27Did you go to your family?
16:30No, no, no.
16:30I actually had to do a U-turn and head back.
16:32Tell me what you found at the house.
16:34So when I went back to the house, I met with the cops there, you know, and they was finishing
16:39a report.
16:40Was the defendant there?
16:41No, he was gone by that time.
16:43And what's next?
16:44So I went downstairs and I saw the damages.
16:46I saw that the water was splashing all over.
16:48I got a video for that.
16:49And they also gave me the police report.
16:51The police report is right here.
16:52I'll look at the police report.
16:53So then pretty much my super, you know, he's not here.
16:56But, you know, she sent me the video he took earlier when the water was splashing all over the place.
17:02I don't care if the water's splashing all over.
17:04And the damages was messed up.
17:05Listen to me, I so far don't have any evidence that the defendant did anything.
17:10So I assume that you have either a witness or a video showing me that the defendant caused any damage
17:18to the house.
17:19I sent the defendant a message.
17:21I said, hey, why you didn't do that when I was there?
17:24I'm going to take you to court.
17:24You destroyed my property.
17:26He said, go ahead.
17:27If what you're saying is that he confessed to damaging your property, then I'll see the video and I'll see
17:34that confession.
17:35All right.
17:36If all he said was, go ahead, that's not a confession.
17:39So, so far I have no evidence that he caused any damage to anything.
17:43I'll take a look at the video while you're looking for a text message.
17:47But I have to have proof.
17:48I look to see if there's damage.
17:50You have to connect that damage to the defendant.
17:53Correct.
17:54I got you.
17:54Okay.
17:54So now let me see.
17:56I hope it gets better.
18:10Hold the sally of the water coming.
18:12Check it out.
18:12I can sell, I can sell the water because the barbule over here is broke to the hole.
18:18The, the barbule over here and the signal work.
18:20If for that, I can sell the, I can sell the barbule.
18:24But you have to do something to that guy, man.
18:26For real.
18:27I don't tell you what's coming up to that guy.
18:30But you don't want to listen when I talk to him, man.
18:32You see now, he's telling me he got, he got a knife for me.
18:36And I got my, I got my, my tooth.
18:39Okay, so now I see that there's water and there's damage to, I don't know what it emanated from.
18:45Now you have to somehow connect the defendant to the damage in the basement.
18:50This is the messages that I text him.
18:52Mr. D. Allen, I want you to take a pen that Kevin is going to give you and make a
18:56circle around what you claim is a confession by him that he caused damage to your property because you were
19:06texting him.
19:19Mr. Moma.
19:20Yes, ma'am.
19:20The first thing that you say to him, he says, you're going to get sued for what you did.
19:25I hope you're ready to pay up.
19:26I'm going to courts tomorrow.
19:27You say, go ahead.
19:29And then he says to you, you could have did that when I was there, waiting until I'm not there.
19:36He says to you, and your response to him is, never touch my stuff, bitch.
19:43Yes.
19:44I just want to know what that meant.
19:46Okay.
19:47So on August 1st, like you said, I went to work and then I got back.
19:53Yes.
19:53And then I sent my stuff out in the living room where everybody walks around.
19:58What stuff?
19:59My, my luggage, my bags, my everything.
20:01Everything in the living room.
20:02So it was, just a second, so your stuff was in the living room.
20:05Yes.
20:05And then what happened?
20:07I took my stuff and I left.
20:09Okay.
20:09So you didn't cause any damage to the basement.
20:12No.
20:13Is that what you're telling me?
20:14Yes.
20:15Well, Mr. Diallo, I don't know whether or not the defendant caused damage to your property,
20:21but it's your responsibility.
20:23You're the plaintiff.
20:24You have to bring a witness.
20:25And instead of bringing the plumber, the person who took that video seemed to have information
20:31about who caused damage to the basement.
20:34Correct.
20:34Why didn't you bring that witness?
20:36He works for you.
20:37I mean, I, you know, I did try to bring him, you know, unfortunately he couldn't make it.
20:40So what I did was, again.
20:41Well, unfortunately then he couldn't make it.
20:43He couldn't make it, you have no case.
20:44I mean, again.
20:46Not I mean.
20:46He's going to, he's going to say, he's going to say he did it.
20:49I know he's lying.
20:50He's going to be lying, of course.
20:51You understand.
20:51Nobody's going to say they did something they did.
20:53You're trying to talk over me, sir.
20:54You understand exactly what I'm saying to you.
20:56Yeah, I understand what you're saying.
20:57You need more proof.
20:57This is a court.
20:58Right.
20:58Not you need more proof.
21:00You need proof of who did the damage.
21:03Correct, correct.
21:03So you're back to this disgusting place that you rented to him for $100 a week.
21:08Yes, I understand.
21:08And you chose to bring somebody who has no proof.
21:11And you have an employee who works for you, who lived in the basement, who you could have brought.
21:20Well, so there's a doctrine in the law that if you have a witness or evidence that you failed to
21:27produce in court,
21:29there's a legal presumption that works not in your favor, because you have the evidence and you chose not to
21:36bring it.
21:37All right.
21:38First of all, Mr. D...
21:38And, Your Honor, can I not say something?
21:40Why would you want to say anything?
21:42You're not losing.
21:42Right?
21:43Yeah.
21:44Case is dismissed.
21:45Thank you very much.
21:46We're done.
21:46This court is adjourned.
22:15I understand that she's doing her job.
22:18He texted me telling me, oh, I did something, and I'm like, no, I didn't.
22:22I wish the one that actually was there at the time that gave me the video could have made it,
22:26but unfortunately, he couldn't make it.
22:27But I'm happy I'm not living there anymore.
22:31That was a pretty sad place to live, in the corner of the basement.
22:36I don't care flood or no flood.
22:38And the plaintiff bought the house for that purpose, so there were at least nine people living there.
22:45I haven't used that negative inference or negative presumption in a long time.
22:50You remember it from law school?
22:51A little bit.
22:52It's a little far off.
22:53If you have evidence or documentation as a party to a civil litigation, and if you choose not to bring
23:01that evidence, then the finder of fact, in this case it's me or the jury, can assume that if you
23:08had brought it, it would not have been favorable to you because you have control over it.
23:14So in this case, the plaintiff had an employee who clearly he had knowledge of what was going on.
23:20He chose not to bring him.
23:22But at the end of the day, it is the plaintiff's burden to show the connection, and here, he didn't.
23:27And he tried to make a leap with the text messages, but I feel like an innocent person could have
23:32texted those same messages, so...
23:34He did not meet his burden, and his burden is a small one, but he didn't meet it.
23:42Are you having a family dispute?
23:43Go to JudyJustice.tv.
24:02Are you guys stuck in a second movie right now?
24:22We've got some challenges, so...
24:22...I don't know if anyone is trying to lie toby his fellows.
24:22You
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