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00:00You're a beginning skier.
00:02It was my first time ever skiing.
00:04You were going too fast, and you hurt her.
00:07No, Your Honor.
00:08There was a bunch of blood in the snow.
00:10Do you think she was faking her injuries?
00:12You were going too fast.
00:15Listen, I've only skied once in my whole life.
00:17That was more than enough for me.
00:19This is Judy Justice.
00:38Rachel Shuttle is suing snowboarder David Troop
00:43for medical bills and lost wages resulting from a ski accident.
00:48Court, come to order.
00:49All rise.
00:55Have a seat, please.
00:57Judge, case 4073, Chateau v. Troop.
01:01You're welcome.
01:03Chateau.
01:04Mm-hmm?
01:05Chateau, you're a beginning skier.
01:07Yes, it was my first time ever skiing.
01:09And on this first outing, you suffered a terrible accident,
01:14and you were injured, and you were injured,
01:16and claimed that Mr. Troop, who was snowboarding,
01:20was negligent, hit you, and you were severely injured.
01:25You want him to be responsible.
01:27Mr. Troop, who says that he was an experienced snowboarder,
01:31so you were really responsible for the accident, not him.
01:36So this incident happened, Mr. Troop, on what date?
01:40It was sometime in January, Your Honor.
01:42You see, you don't remember.
01:43I don't know the exact date.
01:45Were you injured?
01:46I was not, Your Honor.
01:47No.
01:47That's why you don't remember the date.
01:49What was the date?
01:50January 27th, 2024.
01:53And how long have you been snowboarding?
01:55About 10 years, Your Honor.
01:56And each time you've been on the mountain,
01:58you've been on the mountain, and you've been snowboarding.
02:00I have, Your Honor.
02:01How many times have you been on that mountain, Mr. Troop?
02:04I go when I can, Your Honor.
02:06I want you to give me a figure.
02:08More than 100 or less than 100?
02:10Less than 100, Your Honor.
02:12More than 50?
02:13Less than 50, Your Honor.
02:14Give me a number, sir.
02:15I'm not playing a guessing game with you.
02:17You've been snowboarding for 10 years.
02:18Do you go three times a year, four times a year, five times a year?
02:23Usually I'll go, like, once or twice, Your Honor.
02:25It depends on availability with work, Your Honor.
02:27Who are you?
02:28I'm his witness, Your Honor.
02:30Stand up.
02:31Move over there.
02:33What's your name?
02:34My name is Mark Gonzalez, Your Honor.
02:36How do you know him?
02:37We're co-workers, Your Honor.
02:39Were you skiing with him on that day?
02:41Yes, Your Honor.
02:42How many times have you snowboarded with him before?
02:45This is actually my first time with him, Your Honor.
02:46Were you with him when this accident happened?
02:49I was in the area, Your Honor.
02:51What area?
02:51Down by the lift, Your Honor.
02:52Go over there and show me where you are.
02:54Yes.
02:57So I was right here, right where this yellow figure is at, Your Honor.
03:01What I want you to do is I want you to show me the figure of your friend, Mr. Troop.
03:10Okay.
03:10Now I want you to show me where he was coming from.
03:14Up here.
03:15He was coming from straight?
03:17Or he had just gone over one of those mogul things?
03:21Uh, the ramps, Your Honor?
03:23The ramps?
03:23Yes.
03:24What's yes?
03:25Where was the ramp that he had just come over?
03:27Don't, let's not play with each other.
03:28It was on the trail, Your Honor.
03:30Show me up.
03:32You keep looking down.
03:33I don't understand what you're looking down for.
03:36I'm not sure, just because it's in a...
03:38You're not sure.
03:38Sit down.
03:39Not much of a witness, sir.
03:40He doesn't know where you are.
03:42He doesn't know where you were coming from.
03:43Sit.
03:44Yes, Your Honor.
03:45Now, she doesn't know what happened because she just got slammed.
03:49But you know what happened.
03:50I do, Your Honor.
03:51I want you to go over to that chart and show me where you were coming from.
03:57Do you understand what I'm saying?
03:58Coming from.
04:00Yes, Your Honor.
04:01Go.
04:04So, before the accident, I was coming down.
04:06No, no.
04:07That's a whole big hand.
04:08Take this finger and show me where you were coming from.
04:13During the accident, I was coming from right here.
04:15No, no, no, no, no.
04:16Before there, sir.
04:18Before the accident, I was coming from higher up.
04:20Keep going up.
04:21Keep your finger there.
04:22Finger there.
04:23Finger there.
04:24All the way up.
04:25See where the black line is?
04:27Yes, Your Honor.
04:28Now, take your finger and show me the route that you took.
04:35And then you hit the ramp and then you came around.
04:38Yes, Your Honor.
04:39OK.
04:41So, when you were up on that ramp, you didn't see the plaintiff.
04:44I did not, Your Honor.
04:45OK.
04:46Now go back.
04:49So, there were two ramps there.
04:52I do have photos and there weren't ramps nearly that close to where the accident was.
04:57May I see photographs, please?
05:01So, these are, this one is a photo of the ski runs and then these are photos taken just before.
05:12Now, I'm going to need somebody to take a pen and show me on here.
05:22Give her a pen and have her draw exactly where she was and where he was.
05:32And also, put a mark where ramp is.
05:36What do you do for a living, Mr. Troop?
05:38I'm an analyst, Your Honor.
05:40With whom?
05:41The people I work for wish to remain unnamed.
05:44How do you know that?
05:45They told me, Your Honor.
05:47Who told you?
05:48The public liaison's officer, Your Honor.
05:50Said that they didn't want you to mention their name.
05:53It's just separate from the incident, Your Honor.
05:55What?
05:55It's separate from the incident, Your Honor.
06:04Okay.
06:05You wrote D and R here.
06:07What does that mean?
06:08Yes.
06:08R for myself, Rachel, and D for David.
06:13You were going too fast.
06:15Speed is also, like, up to the perception and I came out uninjured from the accident,
06:19which isn't saying anything, like, to her disregard.
06:21But if I was speeding, like you'd imagine, I would have come out with bruises or a hurt
06:25shoulder or something.
06:26What do you mean?
06:26You think she was faking her injuries is my question.
06:29She's got the medical records.
06:30You think she was faking her injuries?
06:41Rachel's shuttle claims snowboarder David Troop is responsible for medical bills and damages
06:48after he crashed into Rachel while she was skiing.
06:51So is that where the accident took place?
06:54Approximately, yes.
06:56It was almost level at that point, did it look like it?
06:59Right.
06:59It was basically down almost to the bottom of the hill.
07:02Well, this looks, I mean, people are walking, practically walking here.
07:07Okay.
07:08Would you take this?
07:09I want you to show this to Mr. Troop.
07:18Is that where the accident happened?
07:20I don't believe so, Your Honor.
07:22That's not what I...
07:22Well, show me where you think it happened.
07:37May I see it, Kevin?
07:40Are you here?
07:41Yeah.
07:50By the way, it's flat.
07:52Your Honor, the terrain down near the lifts is flat.
07:54It's flat.
07:55You were going too fast.
07:58It's flat there.
07:59I could walk there.
08:00Listen, I've only skied once in my whole life.
08:02That was more than enough for me.
08:03You know, I'm at the top of a mountain.
08:05I wanted to be at the bottom of the mountain.
08:07I was freezing cold on top of the mountain.
08:09It was warm at the bottom of the mountain.
08:11I was all bundled up, which I hate to be.
08:14I could have been near the fire at the bottom of the mountain.
08:17I said, you know what?
08:18Some people want to put on 20 pounds of clothes, be freezing, and maybe get very hurt.
08:23So I went skiing once.
08:25But even I know, because I was the boot watcher for the family.
08:29I sat in the lodge and watched everybody's shoes, that this is flat.
08:33I could walk out here.
08:35And I'm looking at this because I remember that there were always certain wise guys,
08:40stupid people that came down too fast.
08:44You were going too fast at the bottom.
08:47You hurt her.
08:49You have to say sorry.
08:51I was sorry for the incident and I didn't text her.
08:54Yeah, of course.
08:55You should have been sorry.
08:56You were going too fast and you hurt her.
08:59Speed is also like up to the perception.
09:01And I came out uninjured from the accident, which isn't saying anything like to her disregard.
09:06But if I was speeding, like you'd imagine,
09:08I had to come out with bruises or a hurt shoulder or something.
09:11What do you mean?
09:11You think she was faking her injuries is my question.
09:13She's got the medical records.
09:15You think she was faking her injuries?
09:16Not at all, Your Honor.
09:17I didn't say that.
09:18Right.
09:19You work out five days a week or seven?
09:22Seven, Your Honor.
09:22Seven.
09:23Yeah.
09:24I mean, I could tell.
09:25I have food in my refrigerator that's older than you are, but I certainly have grandchildren.
09:29So I know when you work out, you work out seven days a week?
09:33No.
09:33So maybe that's one of the reasons why you didn't get hurt, but you hit her.
09:39You were going too fast.
09:42There's no question you were going too fast.
09:44Okay.
09:45Anyway, now that we've settled the case, now you can tell me what happened.
09:49I always like to do things a little backwards.
09:51It keeps it interesting.
09:52Okay.
09:53So you've got your skis, your boots.
09:56That's the boyfriend.
09:57Yes.
09:57Boyfriend skis?
09:58Yes.
09:59You like to ski?
10:01I do.
10:01You're a good skier?
10:03Yeah, I've been skiing for 25 years.
10:05And you like your girlfriend to ski?
10:06You would like to have a partner skiing.
10:08It was a very nice day.
10:10And she was being a good sport.
10:12She was being really, she was the best student I ever had.
10:13Been there, done that.
10:16Been there, done that, only once.
10:19Okay, so you're skiing for the first time.
10:22You went on the more advanced slope?
10:24No, I was with her, teaching her.
10:26Get up.
10:30First of all, your name?
10:31Robert.
10:32Robert what?
10:32Ellenberg.
10:33Robert, were you right behind her?
10:36I was adjacent, so I would have been between where the green and the black figure are,
10:40off to the side by the black line.
10:42Go over there and show me, please.
10:44You got it.
10:44It's so hard for me to follow.
10:45My pleasure.
10:47So I would have been standing right about here.
10:50Okay.
10:51Yeah.
10:51I had essentially been instructing her down the entire run.
10:55So I would stop, give her some instruction, she would go, and then I would catch up,
10:59and then we would proceed to do the same.
11:01So I had just given her some instruction and I was standing right over there.
11:06So you were watching it?
11:08I did.
11:09Did you see the accident?
11:11I did.
11:12Okay.
11:12Well, since he was going too fast and she didn't see him coming, why don't you tell me what happened?
11:18So I had essentially been teaching her to do slow turns to control her speed down the mountain.
11:24As is part of the code of conduct, you're always supposed to maintain control
11:27of your speed and you're also supposed to check up the mountain.
11:30Don't tell me you're supposed to.
11:31I want you to tell me what happened.
11:32Apologies.
11:34So I looked up the mountain, saw that it was pretty clear.
11:36Everybody was going slow as they were supposed to be.
11:38So I sent her to go do a short turn and then come back towards me.
11:42And as she was doing that, right as she was reaching the apex of her turn,
11:46a black flash just came in and there was a crash.
11:49It felt very, like, instantaneous.
11:51And then...
11:52Did you see him before he hit her?
11:54You didn't.
11:55For a millisecond, you know.
11:56Again, it was...
11:57I was looking at her, so he came out of my peripheral.
11:59But it was very instantaneous.
12:02Is it correct that the area where this took place was almost flat?
12:06Yes.
12:07That's what this appears to be.
12:09Yeah.
12:09Almost flat.
12:10Yeah, we had finished the run.
12:11It's the part of the slope where all of the trails come back together to take everybody back to the
12:16ski lifts.
12:18What happened after the accident?
12:20Afterwards, I woke up.
12:22There was a bunch of blood in the snow.
12:24I was very confused and disoriented.
12:28Someone who was actually an off-duty EMT happened to be right there.
12:32So he came over and helped and stabilized my head.
12:35Kept asking me questions, what my name was, what year it was, all that kind of stuff.
12:39Ski Patrol came.
12:40They put me on a toboggan to take me down to ski patrol.
12:45At ski patrol, they just kept asking me the same questions.
12:49After about five or ten minutes, I was fully regaining consciousness, able to be aware of what had just happened.
12:57They called an ambulance, EMTs came, I was taken to the hospital.
13:03I received CT scans.
13:05You have an report?
13:06Yes, I have.
13:07I see it.
13:08CT scans.
13:12I also have a photo of my face afterwards, and then this is all the medical records.
13:26I want you to explain this text to me.
13:30Per military standard operating procedure, I'm going to have to put this through my chain of command.
13:37Are you kidding me?
13:38No, Your Honor.
13:39Yeah, you are.
13:40And?
13:41You're pulling my leg and telling me it's raining.
13:53Rachel Shuttle is accusing snowboarder David Troop of owing damages and medical bills
14:00after they collided on the ski slopes.
14:03When after this incident did you next contact Mr. Troop?
14:07I contacted him on March 18th, and I basically sent him the bill and let him know that I would
14:16like him to pay for it since I did feel like he was at fault.
14:18What bill did you have?
14:19I had the medical, the hospital bill.
14:22And that was not covered by insurance?
14:24Correct.
14:25And I also had an ambulance bill.
14:27Okay.
14:28And what was the hospital bill?
14:29How much?
14:30The hospital bill was $2,932, and the ambulance was $1,496.
14:38Can I see your text chain with him?
14:55Okay, so, so far, Mr. Troop, what I'm reading is you were a nice guy.
15:01You felt terrible about what happened, about the accident.
15:05You followed up with him and said, how are you feeling?
15:08Until she sent you the bills and she explained the bills to you.
15:12And that was in March. And I want you to explain this text to me. You're David.
15:19Hi, Your Honor.
15:21Hey, Rachel, it's David. I just got out of the field for work.
15:26I got your message, which was with the bill that she would like you to pay.
15:32Per military standard operating procedure, I'm going to have to put this through my chain of command
15:38so they are tracking on the situation. What in the world does that mean, sir?
15:44What in the world does that mean?
15:46Basically, our command just wants to make sure that they understand what's going on in our personal lives.
15:50What?
15:52Um...
15:52Are you kidding me?
15:53No, Your Honor.
15:54Yeah, you are.
15:56And...
15:56You're pulling my leg and telling me it's raining.
15:59David.
16:01I've got to read that one more time.
16:03I've got to love it.
16:04Hey, Rachel, it's David. I just got out of the field for work.
16:08I got you a message. Per military standard operating procedure,
16:13I'm going to have to put this through my chain of command so they are tracking the situation.
16:20David, what a crock of crap. David, David.
16:26Then it doesn't seem like you answered her anymore.
16:30She keeps telling you, please tell me what this procedure is through the chain of command.
16:35And you couldn't figure out what to tell her.
16:39She says, I appreciate it's got to go through your chain of command, but you're ghosting her.
16:43It's pretty much what you did.
16:45I appreciate your apology.
16:47However, the financial impact and suffering due to the incident have been significant.
16:51Well, what happened when you put it through the chain of command, David?
16:55Why don't you tell me, David, what happened when you put it through the chain of command?
16:59Your Honor, after I talked to people and basically got advice.
17:03No, no. People. What people?
17:05You're talking about military chain of command.
17:09Did you speak to your mother?
17:11She was one of them, Your Honor.
17:12You spoke to your mother. Well, that's a military chain of command if I ever heard one.
17:17Okay. And did your mother tell you it was your fault?
17:22She didn't, Your Honor.
17:23Just I'm asking a question.
17:24No, she didn't.
17:24What?
17:25She didn't, Your Honor.
17:26Who else did you speak to, David?
17:28Just other people that are close to me in my personal life that I've been to respect.
17:31You mean in your personal life.
17:32So running it up the flagpole chain of military command was a crock of crap.
17:38No, Your Honor.
17:38Yeah, of course it was. You first told me a moment ago, if I'm incorrect, please correct me,
17:44that your command likes to know about your personal life is what some baloney that you gave me a moment
17:51ago.
17:51Well, Your Honor.
17:52And so it turns out that the command is your mother.
17:54How old are you, David?
17:55If I could, Your Honor, this is something that would take me out of work and is a massive part
18:00of my personal life.
18:01And so if it's going to affect where I'm going to have to let them know.
18:03Does your mother let you get away with that baloney?
18:05Does your mother let you get away with that baloney?
18:07My mom would not let baloney slide, Your Honor.
18:09Yeah. Your mother would be on my side probably.
18:12Okay.
18:13Well, her medical bills and the other injuries that she suffered were almost $4,000 and she lost some time
18:18from work.
18:19In addition to that, by virtue of your negligence, she was seriously injured.
18:23She was taken to the hospital.
18:25She had, did you see what her face looked like?
18:27I did, Your Honor.
18:28Okay.
18:28Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $10,000.
18:31Thank you very much.
18:32We're finished.
18:32This court is adjourned.
18:39I don't remember anything from the accident.
18:41I was just skiing along and all of a sudden woke up in the snow and with a bunch of
18:47blood in front of me and my face bleeding.
18:49So that's all I remember.
18:51I was doing pretty good, but I was definitely riding within my abilities.
18:53I mean, during the scene, he was saying that he was sorry and apologizing.
18:57It was pretty obvious that it was his fault.
18:59It wasn't really what was in my abilities, but since I was cutting across the lamp, cutting across the ramp.
19:04And when people were coming up to try and help me, they were like, what happened?
19:09And it's basically he hit me.
19:11So it's pretty, pretty simple.
19:13I looked up to make sure that the area would be clear and I wasn't putting anybody else in danger.
19:17And when I did that and she was in front of the ramp, I collided with her.
19:19I had a severe concussion. I had a lot of bruising and a lot of bleeding. Just took a long
19:26time to recover.
19:27I guess like I have like close to 100 pounds on her. So it definitely left an impact on her.
19:32I will not be skiing in any time future.
19:35Stay away from beginners.
19:37You know, the whole family skis and I still to this day don't understand.
19:44I understand golf. I mean, you're out there. You have a stick. It's a pleasant day.
19:50You go around. You talk to your friends. You can't. You're up at the top of the mountain.
19:56You're wearing goggles. Men have ice forming on their mustaches.
20:01You know, everybody, when they clump back to the lodge for lunch, they all look like they've been through two
20:08wars.
20:09Hair is all greasy and sweaty.
20:11We're more cabin people. We're more hold the lights table people.
20:16So I don't, I really don't get the allure of skiing. It's clearly, when I say a young person,
20:24Poppy skied until he was 88. But clearly, this young woman was trying to be a sport for her boyfriend.
20:33A good girlfriend.
20:35He skis for 25 years. And he was trying to teach her. She's smart. Stay off the mountain.
20:42Can't get hurt in front of the, in front of the. Ordering hot chocolate.
20:47Are you a victim of a scam? Go to judyjustice.tv
20:52Ma'am.
20:57Come right.
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