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00:00You are her mother.
00:02I went to prison for two years.
00:04You moved in with your aunt?
00:05Mm-hmm.
00:05We're trying to make her grow up, be a great human.
00:08She abruptly left my house one night because she didn't like the roles.
00:11I was not leaving until they told me to block my mom or move out that night.
00:15Your aunt was providing food, shelter, clothing, and above and beyond.
00:19So, Mom, I need to understand why you're suing her instead of thanking her.
00:25Now, on Tribunal Justice.
00:50Today's case was filed in Pasadena, Texas.
00:54Judge Domingo, this is case number 3005 on the calendar in the matter of Matchett and Redd v. Smith.
01:01Probably as I've been sworn in, Judge.
01:03You may be seated.
01:05Ma'am, have a seat, please.
01:06All right, let's try to get out the relationships here.
01:09Plaintiff number one, you, young lady.
01:12Yes, ma'am.
01:12Your name is Ms. Matchett.
01:15Ms. Redd, you are her biological mother.
01:18Yes, ma'am.
01:18And ma'am, you are her aunt.
01:21Although you're not a biological relative, you are her aunt.
01:23And the situation is, at some point, you move in with your aunt.
01:28During the time you're living there, you graduate high school, and you get a car.
01:32That car was in the names of both you and your aunt.
01:35You have some falling out with her.
01:37And during the course of that refinance, there are monies that are returned to you from the financing company.
01:44You get four checks returned.
01:46$1,100 from the dealership.
01:47$3,500 from the dealership.
01:50The car payment that was returned for $462.
01:53And the insurance money, $1,000, which you say your aunt has not returned or paid to you.
01:59Ma'am, your position here is that you helped contribute to the purchase of that vehicle that brings you into
02:04this.
02:04And you, Ms. Smith, you say that you owe her nothing for the vehicle.
02:08Any money you kept was due for rent.
02:10And, in fact, you've interposed a counterclaim, a laundry list of different things, money that you paid out,
02:16totaling probably close to $18,000.
02:18You're asking for our court maximum $10,000.
02:20So let's start with you, Mom, Ms. Redd.
02:23Tell us a little bit about why your daughter was basically placed in foster care at age 7.
02:29In 2016, I had made some bad decisions.
02:32I was mentally unstable to take care of myself, much less my kids.
02:37So I turned them over to family members.
02:39And while I went to prison, I went to prison for two years.
02:42I got out.
02:42I've been clean and sober ever since.
02:44And that's why my kids were not with me at that time.
02:46So how long ago did you come out of prison?
02:49I got out of prison in 2017.
02:512017.
02:51And you've put your life together basically since then
02:54and have been acting in a maternal capacity to your daughter, correct?
02:59Yes, ma'am.
02:59By the way, what are you doing now?
03:01I'm a journaling license in the state of Texas, an electrician.
03:04Okay.
03:05As to you, before you lived with this aunt, you lived with an uncle, correct?
03:09Correct.
03:10And why didn't you live with him after a while?
03:13He officially adopted me when I was 13, and I had two brothers that he also adopted.
03:18We never really got along with him.
03:20Why did he ask you to leave?
03:21We didn't like the rules that he had in place.
03:24Like what?
03:25We had to be at every single church service that we had.
03:28He wanted to bring you up in a religious fashion.
03:31Right.
03:31You couldn't have your phone past nine o'clock.
03:33You couldn't have your phone down the hallway.
03:35We had to wait until we were 17 to get our license.
03:40Yeah, this doesn't seem kind of strict to me.
03:42You basically didn't want to follow house rules, correct?
03:45Mm-hmm.
03:45So how old were you when you moved in with your aunt?
03:4817.
03:48And are you going to school?
03:50Yes, I went to school.
03:52And at that time, did you have a car?
03:53I did.
03:54What kind of car was it?
03:55A 2008 Nissan Altima.
03:57You decide when you graduate, Mom, you decide that she should get another car.
04:02Yes, I wanted to help her get her a better car.
04:04The car that she had needed a lot of work to be able to even be registered.
04:06Not a problem.
04:07So you want to get her a new car.
04:08And you're 17 years old, right?
04:09Were you working for a living at the time, ma'am?
04:12I was working.
04:13So you were working.
04:14Mm-hmm.
04:14Now, when you turn 18, when you graduate, Mom says, I think you should have a better car.
04:19Mm-hmm.
04:20And in order to get that car, you sold your Nissan, correct?
04:24Correct.
04:24What did you get for that car?
04:25I got $2,500 for that car.
04:27Mom, you say you wanted to have a better car.
04:29And I'm saving this for a minute because she's 17 years old.
04:33And for her high school graduation, what was it?
04:36A 2020 Cadillac.
04:37But I didn't get to go down there and pick that out.
04:39A 2020 Cadillac.
04:41So there's the car.
04:43You gave her how much money for that car?
04:45$6,000.
04:46So you gave her $6,000 to buy a car.
04:48Yes, very happy.
04:49Now, how much was the total value of this vehicle?
04:51$23,000.
04:52$23,000.
04:54And did you go down with her to buy the car?
04:56I did.
04:57So the vehicle was financed, so you own it.
05:00That amount you paid per month was how much?
05:03$436.
05:05$436 a month.
05:06Were you making that kind of money?
05:08Yes, ma'am.
05:08Back to you.
05:09What do you do for a living?
05:11I work in the OR, in the hospital.
05:14So you had the income.
05:15If I'm a financed company, I'm going to trust her to pay me.
05:18So I'd rather her be the named person because she's the one with the money, not you.
05:22But at some point, you left your aunt's house.
05:25Why did you leave your aunt's house?
05:26Because one night, I was at a friend's house and there was alcohol there.
05:29How did you get to your friend's house?
05:30I drove.
05:31And what were you doing at your friend's house?
05:33I was hanging out.
05:34We were in the hot tub in the pool.
05:35Drinking?
05:36I was not drinking that night.
05:38We have a video where it appears that you were drinking that night.
05:42Let's see the videos.
05:45Well, it's hard to tell.
05:46And I don't know if you could pause it.
05:49This is a picture of her the same night, not drinking in the pool with the beer in her hand.
05:53So you were drinking that night?
05:54No, ma'am.
05:55You were just holding the beer can?
05:56I was holding the beer can for a picture.
05:57I don't believe that for a second.
05:59You mentioned to her mother that she was drinking.
06:02You say, are you sure she was drinking?
06:03And she shows you a picture still.
06:05Yes, ma'am.
06:06There's no denying that I seen that that was a twisted tea.
06:08I mean, any mother would be concerned.
06:10Yes.
06:10You don't know whether she's going to drink and drive, how much she's drinking.
06:12The only thing that I was confused about is they had let her go out to the same friend's house
06:16and drink multiple other nights.
06:17So I didn't understand what the difference was this night.
06:20I supported Katie and them.
06:21Anything that y'all need for Kelsey, I'm here for y'all.
06:23Everything was good.
06:24But then you refinance the car.
06:26You take it out of her name.
06:27You get a good deal, which means they're going to return some checks to you.
06:31Two are made out to you.
06:33Yes, ma'am.
06:34Two are made out to both of you.
06:36Two are sent to your home.
06:37Two are sent to yours.
06:38You cashed those checks.
06:40What entitles you to cash those checks?
06:42They had my name on them.
06:43I sacrificed my credit to buy the car.
06:46But you didn't lose any credit.
06:48No, I didn't.
06:49You didn't lose anything.
06:50I still hit my credit.
06:51I gave her the better interest rate.
06:54I gave her the better note that she could afford.
06:56And so I thought that those were entitled to me.
06:59Okay, so that's your position.
07:00You have them, you kept them.
07:01But you still have the two that were sent to you.
07:03The car payment, that was returned for $462.
07:07You have that.
07:08I do.
07:08But you couldn't cash them because it was in both names.
07:11The $1,100 from the dealership, do you have that?
07:14No.
07:15You have that.
07:15You cashed that.
07:16Yes.
07:17$3,500 from the dealership, who has that?
07:20You have that.
07:20So you cashed a chunk of this.
07:22You're the one that did that.
07:23And the insurance money that you were supposed to turn over to Hub, which was reimbursed to you,
07:27you have not turned over at this point, or you have?
07:30There was no reimbursement of insurance money.
07:32What about the $1,000 in discussion here?
07:35Insurance is still not corrected.
07:36You have not corrected that.
07:38So you have not returned to her the money that she would be entitled to.
07:41But then you have this list in your counterclaim that you should be reimbursed for.
07:46You fed her, you clothed her.
07:48Why do you think you should be entitled to those things?
07:50I feel like I stepped up as her mother.
07:53You did?
07:53At the time, yes.
07:54She didn't force you to, believe me, she didn't, I know.
07:56I felt like she left my house on a much better foot than she came to my house with.
08:00She's still using the phone that I bought her, the bedroom set that I purchased.
08:03But what about the food, clothing, and shelter?
08:05Why do you feel you should be reimbursed for that?
08:07She's 18, she can help pay.
08:10I'm just kind of not so comfortable with some of what you're asking for, if it won't, maybe.
08:15Judge Levy?
08:17Ms. Matcham, you say that you purchased the 2008 Nissan?
08:20Yes, I did.
08:21And where did you get that money from?
08:24Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
08:27She abruptly left my house one night because she didn't like the rules.
08:30What rules were those?
08:31The rule was walk your mom or move out.
08:37Kelsey Matchett and her mother, Ashley Redd, say Kelsey's aunt, Caden Smith,
08:42refuses to give them nearly $7,000 in refund checks.
08:46Caden says the checks are in her name and that they owe her after caring for her niece,
08:50so she's countersuing for $10,000.
08:53Ms. Matcham, you say that you purchased the 2008 Nissan?
08:57Yes, I did.
08:57And where did you get that money from?
08:59I worked at a, I worked for a lawn care company and I weeded it in Moda Cemetery from the
09:05time
09:05I was 14 until I was about 16.
09:06And then I worked at a convenience store and then I worked at Smoothie King.
09:10So I worked since I could to save up money to be able to get a car.
09:14All right.
09:14And you should be congratulated for that.
09:15That's not easy.
09:17So now you take that money from the 2008 Nissan and then you use that as a down payment for
09:22this new car.
09:23Yes.
09:24Okay.
09:24And then you had $6,000 from your mom.
09:26Yes.
09:27And then Ms. Smith, you were the title donor.
09:29Yes, sir.
09:29When you went to go purchase the car, plaintiff went with you?
09:32Yes.
09:33And was the insurance, was it in your name or was it in both your names?
09:37My name.
09:37We used my insurance because I was already established for insurance and that's what we used.
09:42How come you didn't just get insurance for yourself?
09:44You want to be an independent young lady.
09:46I mean, I guess I could have, but it wasn't really a thought.
09:49I was living with her.
09:50I figured it would be easier just to get on her policy.
09:53I didn't really.
09:54Really?
09:55Mm-hmm.
09:55So that was a benefit that you received as a result of your aunt signing that insurance.
10:00Right.
10:01Now, Ms. Matcha, there came a time that you actually moved into a friend's house, correct?
10:05No, sir.
10:07When she left my house, yes.
10:08Ms. Smith, tell me about that because in your answer, you said Kelsey decided she was going
10:12to move in with a friend she was drinking and partying with.
10:15Mm-hmm.
10:16She abruptly left my house one night because she didn't, again, like the rules.
10:21What rules were those?
10:23The rule was block your mom or move out.
10:26And we sat there and argued about it and I said, okay, then I'm leaving.
10:28I wasn't going to block my mom.
10:30I had just got her back.
10:31I had just gotten in contact with her.
10:33You tell me block my mom or leave tonight, I'm leaving tonight.
10:35Ms. Smith, does that sound about right?
10:36We told her she couldn't.
10:38It wasn't a co-parenting relationship between us and Ashley.
10:40We were providing everything for Kelsey.
10:43So if Kelsey would get in trouble at our house, she wouldn't be in trouble with Ashley because
10:47she's her mother.
10:49So she could be able to go-
10:49I don't know what that means.
10:50Why are we air quoting mother?
10:52Oh, because she's the mother.
10:53She's a biological mother.
10:53She's the mother.
10:54She stated that she's the mother.
10:56She should be able to, in trouble at my house, go with Ashley in return and go shopping,
11:01go to Jelly Roll concerts, go get piercings.
11:05I just want to take her out to eat and do all these things.
11:07She's in trouble.
11:07She can't do that.
11:08So when it became an issue-
11:10Give me an example of something that she would do that would get her in trouble,
11:13that she would then go to her mom because her mom was a little more lenient.
11:17The drinking thing.
11:19We told her, you do not go to a friend's house and go drink.
11:22And then we see the videos and the pictures of her drinking and then she's denying it.
11:26And so then it comes about, like, Ashley wants to see her one weekend.
11:29She's not going with you.
11:30She's in trouble here.
11:31She's not going.
11:32And then it's back and forth between her and Ashley playing against my husband and I.
11:36Your aunt was providing food, shelter, clothing, above and beyond,
11:39to the tune of some $18,000.
11:41And do you believe that based upon that contribution, when you decided to leave,
11:46that when a check comes to her in her name for that vehicle, that she had a right to cash
11:51it?
11:51Absolutely not.
11:52And why not?
11:53Because that was money from the car.
11:55That was not money for while I lived there.
11:56And you're driving that car under whose insurance?
11:59Hers.
12:00Cadences.
12:01And so you would agree that the liability that she faced-
12:04I'm just looking and seeing what was it that she contributed to, right?
12:07Because at the end of the day, the check's in her name.
12:10She didn't commit any crime by cashing that check.
12:12And what she's saying is that, listen, it was in my name.
12:15I cashed it.
12:16Because quite frankly, if I get you right, you didn't like the fact that she left under the circumstances that
12:21she did,
12:21which was running away from you and your reasonable rules of your home.
12:25Correct.
12:25I didn't mind the rules.
12:26I was not leaving, did not plan on leaving, until they told me to block my mom or move out
12:30that night.
12:32Judge Ackman.
12:33Thank you, Judge Levy.
12:34Ms. Redd, I heard you interrupt one of my colleagues.
12:39And the point I believe you were starting to make was, well, they let her go to other places and
12:43drink,
12:44so I don't understand why this was such a big deal.
12:46Did you really say that?
12:47I didn't say I didn't understand.
12:49I didn't understand which night this was, if she was not supposed to be out there drinking or if she
12:52was supposed to be drinking.
12:53Because my impression from you is that the rules were not that she can sometimes go out and drink and
12:58sometimes not go out and drink.
13:00Correct?
13:00The rules were, if you were drinking, communicate with me.
13:03I want to know.
13:03I want to make sure you're safe.
13:04So you don't get a DUI.
13:05Exactly.
13:06Just communicate.
13:08My husband went and picked her up as someone literally placed him in his arms because she was passed out.
13:14We stayed up all night.
13:15You picked her up and your husband had to carry this passed out, drunk child home.
13:22And in fact, in your answer, you were also concerned about her having an eating disorder.
13:27Yes.
13:27We noticed that she would lose a lot of weight.
13:30Like, I mean, she just lost a ton of weight, which is wild.
13:33We have tons of food in our house.
13:36I thought maybe it was attributed to staying up on her phone way too late at night.
13:39And then she didn't want to wake up early enough to make herself breakfast before going to school or any
13:43of those things.
13:44So I told her, hey, like, we need to figure this out.
13:47You are insanely nasty skinny.
13:51And we stayed up late at night talking to her.
13:53Hey, what can we do?
13:54Like, how do we get to the bottom of all the problems?
13:56Because I don't think that it's just eating.
13:58I think that it contributes.
13:59So why the conflict with her mother?
14:01Because if somebody had looked after my child, I'd be really grateful to that person.
14:08So why the conflict with mom?
14:11Um, I think because when it got hard, poor Kelsey had to face the consequences.
14:17She didn't agree with them.
14:19We're trying to make her grow up, be a great human.
14:22Go to school.
14:23I want you to go to school.
14:24It's a conflict between somebody who says, I am raising you to be a responsible human being in the world.
14:29And a conflict.
14:29And somebody who says, I haven't seen you in a long time.
14:31Let's go have fun.
14:32Let's go see Jelly Roll and get tattoos.
14:34Let me throw all this money at you.
14:35Come be with me.
14:36Let's do your hair.
14:38So, mom, I need to understand why you are suing her instead of thanking her.
14:46Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
14:48I was texting her, hey, I don't have these checks.
14:50Did you happen to get checks?
14:51She says, there's no checks here with your name on them.
14:53She knew what checks I was talking about.
14:54I said, this should.
14:55She absolutely knew.
14:56So, Ms. Smith, what do you have to say about that?
15:02Kelsey Matchett and her mother, Ashley Redd, are suing Kelsey's aunt, Caden Smith, for pocketing Kelsey's car refund checks totaling
15:10over $6,900.
15:12Caden says the checks are in her name.
15:14And she's countersuing for $10,000 for Kelsey's living expenses.
15:19I need to understand why you are suing her instead of thanking her.
15:24Because if you go back and look at these text messages, I was very thankful for her for helping my
15:28daughter.
15:29You know, she wanted Kelsey to live there.
15:31Kelsey wanted to live there.
15:32I really didn't get to start talking to Kelsey until after she had already started living there.
15:36Everything was good.
15:38Never did she ever tell me Kelsey was losing weight, being on her phone, out drinking or anything.
15:43Everything was good up until the week after Kelsey got this car.
15:46That's the first time that she had ever told me that Kelsey was in any trouble.
15:49Up until then, nothing was ever wrong with Kelsey, though.
15:51Her grades were great.
15:52She was going from school, going home, going to work.
15:54Nothing was ever wrong with her.
15:55She got kicked out of your relative's house, and that's after being in foster care.
15:59Those are situations that create trauma.
16:02So, I'm having a hard time understanding your analysis.
16:04I'm having a hard time of, like, why she all of a sudden had lost so much weight, why that
16:07wasn't ever seen and mentioned to me.
16:09Weren't you hanging out, you never saw her?
16:10I had only seen my daughter the three times that y'all were mentioned to the Jolly Row concert for
16:14school shopping and for that Thanksgiving on my daughter's birthday.
16:17It was the only three times that I had seen my daughter the whole time that she had.
16:19I think it's wonderful that you were able to clean yourself up and be involved in her life.
16:24I don't think anybody disputes that.
16:26I think you were in an impossible situation.
16:29Was anybody giving you a good gosh darn dime for taking care of this child?
16:34Nothing.
16:35No money from the state, no foster care money, and why did you take her in?
16:39I loved her.
16:40You took her in because you loved her.
16:42I'm going to be candid.
16:43I just think you were treated abominably and really disrespectfully.
16:47So, Kelsey, what do you want to do in the future?
16:50I'm going to school for nursing.
16:52For nursing.
16:53Yes, ma'am.
16:53Oh, that's great.
16:54Your aunt here is in the OR.
16:55She could have been a great mentor to you.
16:57I don't have anything further.
16:59Fun mom.
17:00That's what you want to be.
17:01You want to compensate for what's happened to your daughter and giving her up over the years.
17:05You know, here's $6,000 for a car.
17:08Here, let's go to a concert.
17:10And you lied to us.
17:12You said you didn't know anything about the fact that she was losing weight when the defendant in text messages
17:18exchanged with you said repeatedly she's lost 21 pounds in a couple of months.
17:25She weighs 93 pounds.
17:27That was the first time that I had heard about it, and that was after this fact.
17:29Oh, so I understand what your testimony in here was.
17:32I never heard that.
17:34Never.
17:34Everything she said to you for the benefit of your daughter, you threw mud at, as though she was trying
17:40to hurt your daughter.
17:41The woman that took her in, and you came in here with a chip on your shoulder and an attitude.
17:45What were you thinking here?
17:48About the car.
17:48I mean, it's all the money.
17:49I just wanted to go back to the car, which is what I brought it for, for her make-a
17:52-stray days and holding her head up high.
17:53And what mother thinks that a 2020 Cadillac is a car that an 18-year-old should have for doing
17:59what everyone in the world does today, graduate high school?
18:03Is there anybody that has anything further?
18:05I just want to go over these checks real quick, please.
18:07Can we please put up 07?
18:09Ms. Matchett, why don't you tell us about that?
18:12These are checks that were canceled for Gap and extended warranty thanks to the dealership that I had purchased for
18:17the car.
18:18When I refinanced the car, I canceled everything so I could get it at the new place that I was
18:23financing.
18:24And I was approved for an apartment four days after I left.
18:27And I think they just came too fast for the system to update, and they were sent to her address.
18:32Now, obviously, even if they would have came to my address, they have her name on them.
18:35I couldn't have cashed them.
18:36I would have reached out to her and said, hey, I have these checks.
18:39Could we meet and maybe cash them?
18:41Same like I did with the first ones I received.
18:43And she said, no, unless you give me half of the first one.
18:47She cashed them.
18:48I was texting her, hey, I don't have these checks.
18:50Did you happen to get checks?
18:51She says, there's no checks here with your name on them.
18:53She knew what checks I was talking about.
18:54I said, this should...
18:55She absolutely knew.
18:56So, Ms. Smith, what do you have to say about that?
18:59So, this kind of goes back.
19:00We chaperoned prom for her.
19:04We went to a beach house with 13 other teenagers.
19:06It was our last commitment to Kelsey before we were basically done, right?
19:10She had already moved out at this point, so she comes to prom.
19:14She has a date, calls another guy over, and goes upstairs and was with this guy the rest of the
19:20time.
19:21Instead of saying goodbye, see you later, it's been a nice prom.
19:25She sinks out, and I obviously am very upset.
19:28She's left me in a house with 13 other teenagers.
19:30I don't know any of them but one, and she's gone with another guy.
19:35I'm messaging her.
19:36I get no response, don't talk to her for months.
19:39The next thing is, can we rekindle this?
19:41By the way, I need these checks cashed, and I'm like, what?
19:45So, I tell her, I will cash the checks that's in both of our names, but they're in both of
19:49our names, and she wanted no part of it.
19:51If we can go, please, to 09.
19:54Do you see these?
19:56Ms. Matcha, what are those?
19:57Those are checks that are cancellations from the payments that I made to Ally while the car was being refinanced.
20:03And so, if they have both your names on them, why don't you just deposit them yourself?
20:07In the state of Texas, we both have to sign them.
20:09Because there's the and sign, not the or.
20:11So, what are you going to do with those?
20:12I mean, I asked her to meet me and sign them, and she wouldn't unless she got half of the
20:17first one.
20:18And I was like, you didn't pay for the car.
20:20That money was money that was literally I was going to cash that and put it back towards my car.
20:24I'm not suing her to be malicious.
20:27I am thankful for what she did.
20:28I really am.
20:29And I tried to express that.
20:31It may have been too late, and I get that, and I did.
20:33I have apologized.
20:34But you understand what she did and what she put out financially for you,
20:38only to have you leave in a huff and go back to someone who, quite frankly,
20:41she viewed as someone who wasn't in your best interest to spend as much time with as you were.
20:47Not to say that you shouldn't spend time with a biological parent.
20:50You absolutely should.
20:51But the security and the structure you had in that home kept you out of trouble for the most part.
20:55Absolutely.
20:56I have nothing further.
20:57Do you think you owe her any money at all for what she's done for you?
21:00I do.
21:01I mean, I do.
21:02What do you think you should be paying for?
21:04I told her I'd like to sit down and discuss it with her.
21:07I don't, I mean, I don't have anything in my mind that I think, oh, I should pay this amount
21:10for this.
21:11How do you feel about her?
21:12I love her.
21:13I want to hear you say that.
21:15All right.
21:16We're going to retire you to deliberate.
21:18The court now stands in recess.
21:20This case will be recalled.
21:29The whole situation is sad, and I don't think that Kelsey has really appreciated what her aunt has done for
21:35her.
21:35So in looking at the monies that she's requested, the point made that the insurance goes up, as we all
21:41know, because she's tacked on an 18-year-old or a 17-year-old.
21:44So what do you think about the $1,000?
21:46Because I think we should just let the aunt keep the money on the insurance.
21:49I agree with you.
21:50Me too.
21:50Okay.
21:51With regard to the four checks, two of them were cashed by the aunt.
21:55They were made out in her name alone.
21:57I mean, I know that Kelsey's point is, well, I want to use this for the car.
22:00But if she had $500 and she thinks that she owes her aunt money, well, then that's the money that
22:05she turns over.
22:05She doesn't have to use it for the car.
22:07She could pay her aunt back for some of the things that she's done.
22:10So you're looking at it as an equity offset?
22:12Correct.
22:12Yes.
22:12She provided Kelsey the opportunity to get this car on the terms that she did.
22:17Correct.
22:18Are we good with that?
22:19I agree.
22:19As to the checks in both names, it bothers me that I would have to return any money to the
22:25plaintiff money that she thinks her aunt owes her.
22:28I think that if we're going to look at this as a straight equity case, and at the same time,
22:33we're looking to hopefully preserve something of this relationship and allow both of them to appear, at least to walk
22:40away, as though they're half winning, I'd say that we go along with what they were going forward with, split
22:46it 50-50.
22:47It's very Solomonic.
22:49Very judicial, I must say.
22:54I don't have a problem with that.
22:56We're going to split the two that are in both names because that's really how it was meant.
23:00So now I'd like to look over at some of the things laid out, requested by the aunt on her
23:05counterclaim for things laid out above and beyond.
23:09I mean, listen, I'm not going to give her anything for food, clothing, shelter, because she agreed to take on
23:13this child, basically.
23:14And just understand, the aunt had no reasonable expectation of ever getting these things back.
23:20That's not even why she filed this.
23:22No.
23:22She filed it because she's mad.
23:24But there were things here like manicures, pedicures, monthly trips.
23:28She didn't get that girl pedicures because she thought she was going to get the money back.
23:31She did it because she loved her and she wanted her to be cute.
23:33So we're going to split the two checks that they have, and we're going to dismiss the counterclaim, and that
23:38kind of makes our whole...
23:39Very good.
23:44Court is back in session.
23:45Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
23:47Thank you, Bird.
23:48Mm-hmm.
23:49Kelsey, you've got two women who love you and two women who I think ultimately do want to see the
23:55best for you.
23:56But I think sometimes, Mom, you know, it's good to show that you can rise and pick yourself up from
24:03being low and on the bottom,
24:05but it's actually better to show a child that you should not fall in the first place.
24:12And that starts with parties, drinking, lying, being deceitful.
24:17So, Kelsey, get the right message from each of them.
24:20So now we're going to start with the counterclaim.
24:23We wanted to see in there something that would have been something that you would have expected a 17-year
24:29-old to agree to repay you.
24:31We viewed the nails, the dinners, the trips, the jewelry, all of that were gifts that you gave her, not
24:38expecting reimbursement.
24:39And so we had to dismiss your counterclaim, and we all agreed to do that.
24:43However, we did feel that there were ways that you could, in fact, be given consideration for the time and
24:50the effort and the money and the love that you put out for your niece.
24:54And that comes through the monies that you've asked for.
24:58With regard to the $1,000 insurance that she's asking that you return to her, we unanimously agreed that you
25:04would not have to return that
25:06because your insurance went up by keeping someone her age, so there's no need for you to reimburse her the
25:11$1,000.
25:12As to the two checks that you cashed, they were in your name.
25:15They were sent to your home.
25:16She agreed she would love to pay you some money so you can keep the monies in that, and we
25:20all agree.
25:21With regard to the two checks that went to your home that are in both names that you have with
25:25you in this courtroom,
25:26we're going to be very judicial Solomon-like, and we're going to go by what they say.
25:31You're each entitled to the money of that check in equal proportion, so we've added them up,
25:36and you then, ma'am, would be entitled to $657, the other $657, of course, with the defendant.
25:45And we hope that that, in some way, makes you all feel that you can continue to what should now
25:52be almost like co-parenting
25:54because you do have each other's best interest for Kelsey in mind.
25:58And by the way, if either one of you ladies believe that she has an eating disorder, don't close your
26:04eyes to it.
26:05Get her help immediately.
26:09Immediately.
26:10And that's the unanimous verdict of the court.
26:13This case is now concluded. Parties are excused. You may step out.
26:20I told her that we are not a co-parent with her mother.
26:23It was about either block her or leave.
26:26We are her guardian at the time, and her mother can be a friend that she talks to when she
26:30moves out.
26:31That isn't a place that she needs to be if they're going to make her have to choose like that.
26:34I can't say she has a seat at my table anymore.
26:36Kind of disappointed, but it works out.
26:38Are you being sued?
26:40Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
26:43Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
26:48Let's go.
26:53Let's go.
27:17Let's go.
27:22Transcription by CastingWords
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