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00:00Your dog bit her.
00:01That's not true.
00:03As soon as I walked in, I was yelling, get your dog,
00:05get your dog.
00:06Your dog bit me.
00:08Did the dog have its rabies shot?
00:10I don't have the shot record with me today.
00:13Why?
00:13Where didn't you think you were going, to the beach?
00:16This is Judy Justice.
00:36Wendy Braxton is suing her neighbor, Ira Lovelace,
00:41for medical bills and damages from a dog bite.
00:44Court come to order.
00:46All rise.
00:49Have a seat, please.
00:51Judge case 4052, Braxton versus Lovelace.
00:55You're welcome.
00:55Ms. Braxton, your case alleges that the defendant's dog
00:59bit you.
01:00Yes, ma'am.
01:01The defendant doesn't deny his dog bit you.
01:03It was in his apartment.
01:05Yes.
01:06And his defense is that there is a sign that's
01:08clearly on the door.
01:10Please don't enter unless the owner lets you in,
01:14which you ignored.
01:16That's incorrect.
01:17So I'm telling you what his defense is.
01:19OK.
01:19In any event, you were neighbors.
01:21Yes.
01:22And he invited you to his home for a barbecue.
01:25Correct.
01:26On what date?
01:27That was on 6-3-2024.
01:31Had you been in his house before?
01:33Yes.
01:33How many times?
01:35Multiple, more than 10.
01:3620?
01:37More than 10.
01:38More than 10, less than 20?
01:40Or more than 20, less than 30?
01:42More than 10, less than 20.
01:44So let's say you've been in the house 15 times.
01:46And you've been in the house 15 times, and you know he has dogs.
01:48Yes.
01:49What kind of dogs does he have?
01:51I don't know the breed.
01:52I just know it's one small dog and then a big dog.
01:55What kind of dogs do you have?
01:55It's a German Shepherd mix and a Yorkie mix.
01:59So one big, one small?
02:01Yes.
02:01They are service animals.
02:03No, they're not.
02:04For whom is the Yorkie a service animal?
02:07My son.
02:08He was going through an emotional crisis.
02:12He always wanted an animal, so as me being dad, I went out and got him a service animal
02:20to help him out with what he was going through.
02:25You already had the German Shepherd?
02:27No.
02:28Afterwards, I also...
02:30Just a second.
02:31Yes.
02:32Of course, the Yorkie didn't bite you, right?
02:33No.
02:34No, ma'am.
02:35Okay.
02:35So the Yorkie didn't bite him.
02:37So now, your son has a service animal.
02:40Yes.
02:40You only had one dog.
02:42Later, you got the German Shepherd.
02:44I got the German Shepherd.
02:45In what year did you get the German Shepherd, sir?
02:48It was within this year.
02:50A march.
02:51So in 2024?
02:52Yes, ma'am.
02:53Was the German Shepherd a puppy, or was it a grown dog?
02:58When I got the German Shepherd, it was one.
03:00So it was a full grown dog.
03:02It was a year old.
03:03Yes.
03:04Yes, ma'am.
03:04Right.
03:05Do you work?
03:06I do.
03:07What kind of work do you do?
03:08I'm a D.C. Special Police Officer for the D.C. government.
03:12So now I want you to tell me why you needed a service animal.
03:16You said they're both service animals.
03:18What was the Shepherd a service animal for?
03:21For myself, I needed the service animal for emotional support.
03:25And so I went and got the German Shepherd for myself because I have some things, some personal
03:33things that I'm going through in my personal life.
03:35Let me ask you this question, sir.
03:37You had your dog certified as service animals?
03:40Yes, ma'am.
03:40Listen to me carefully.
03:42You had your dog certified.
03:44Was that an online application?
03:46It was an online application.
03:49Oh, OK.
03:49And the doctor and the person, whoever it was online, helped you fill out a form for a fee.
03:55And it was that medical person who never met your son but communicated through the Internet that recommended him.
04:04They asked me.
04:05So, shh!
04:06I'm just asking you a question, sir.
04:08Yes, ma'am.
04:09OK.
04:10So your son got an online Yorkie service dog?
04:13Yes.
04:14Right.
04:15OK.
04:16Now, let's move on to the German Shepherd.
04:18Then you work for the police department, and then you decided that you also needed an emotional support dog.
04:24My problem with you is not having a Yorkie and a German Shepherd, sir.
04:28I don't find anything unusual about that.
04:30And I actually don't find it unusual that you have a teenager who you felt had some issues and could
04:37benefit from having a small dog.
04:40What I'm questioning you about is nobody comes here and says they got an unusual dog, a chihuahua.
04:47A shih tzu, a Pomeranian, as a service dog.
04:53Certainly, it's not helping them see, smell, whatever.
04:57It's an emotional support dog.
04:58Sir, I have a small dog.
05:01Yes.
05:01I actually use that dog for my emotional support.
05:05I hug her, and I kiss her, and I don't have children in the house anymore.
05:10And with the exception of this one, I don't have a bunch of grandchildren living with me.
05:15So I have this small dog, right?
05:17And I need to outpour all this natural maternal instinct that everyone knows that I have.
05:27So I have this small dog that I love, and I smell, and I let her sleep with me, and
05:34she is just a second.
05:36But she helps me emotionally.
05:38I would never, ever in my life say that I have an emotional support dog that I would take into
05:47where dogs aren't supposed to be unless they're a true support animal.
05:51I would never go into a grocery store and say, well, my shih tzu is a support animal.
05:56I have a paper from an online, and that's how I can also perform marriages, because I'm in an online
06:02ministry.
06:04Do you understand?
06:05I do.
06:06That's nonsense.
06:10Are you saying something to me?
06:12No, I was saying I object to what she's saying, Your Honor.
06:15I don't care what you object to, sir.
06:18You'll have your opportunity to tell me your story.
06:20There's nothing to object to.
06:21She didn't say anything that was hearsay or inadmissible.
06:24She told me her version of the events that happened that day.
06:27What's there to object to?
06:38Wendy Braxton claims her neighbor, Ira Lovelace, owes for medical bills after his German Shepherd bit her.
06:46Ira is countersuing, claiming Wendy is extorting him for money.
06:51Do you understand what I'm saying?
06:53In my mind, a German Shepherd can be a support dog.
06:56You can see them walking around with people, helping them cross the street.
06:59Yes.
07:00So, let's get off the emotional support dog for a moment, please.
07:04Let's get back to you.
07:05You were invited to a barbecue at his house in June 3rd of 2024.
07:11He invited you.
07:12It was actually June the 4th.
07:14June 4th?
07:15Yes, ma'am.
07:15That's the day I was invited.
07:16That's the day you sent the invite.
07:18Okay, but the party was June 4th.
07:20The party was on the 4th.
07:21Yes.
07:22Okay, and what time did you get there?
07:24I believe it was around 4.
07:27Negacy.
07:27Don't interrupt her.
07:29You think it was around 4?
07:30It was 4ish.
07:31When you got to the door, was the door open or closed?
07:34It was locked.
07:35What did you do?
07:36I knocked on the door.
07:37Is there a buzzer?
07:39No.
07:39Yes.
07:42So, you knocked at the door?
07:44I knocked.
07:45And what happened?
07:46Someone opened up the door and let me in.
07:48They unlocked the door and let me in.
07:49Do you know who it was?
07:51His cousin.
07:51Have you seen him before?
07:53I've seen him before.
07:54Mm-hmm.
07:54Okay.
07:54Does his cousin have a name?
07:56I don't know his name.
07:57What does he look like?
07:59He's an African American male, about 6'3".
08:02I believe he has hair, like braids.
08:04How do you know it's his cousin, by the way?
08:06Because I've been over there for different events,
08:09like cookouts or stuff like that.
08:11And he's been there before?
08:12And he's been there, yes.
08:13Okay.
08:13When you got in, what happened?
08:14You go in?
08:15And I proceeded to walk in.
08:16Where did you walk in to?
08:18The living room slash kitchen area.
08:20And?
08:21As soon as I walked in, the dog walked up to me and growled at me.
08:24The shepherd?
08:25Yes.
08:26Then what happened?
08:27When I walked in, the dog walked up to me and growled.
08:29And when she growled at me, because I thought she just wanted me to pet her.
08:32She growled at me, and then I yelled out to him.
08:34I was like, Lovelace, come get your dog.
08:36He was outside, so I guess he didn't hit me.
08:38Outside where?
08:39And he was cooking out on the deck.
08:40I yelled it again.
08:41And as soon as I yelled it, I backed up from the dog.
08:45And she came towards me, and then she bit me.
08:48And he came out and grabbed the dog.
08:51And I was yelling, get your dog, get your dog.
08:53Your dog bit me.
08:54Where did the dog bite you?
08:55On my leg, on my right calf.
08:57OK.
08:58What happened next?
08:59Then he was trying to get a hold of the dog, and he was having issues.
09:02The dog was jumping around from him.
09:04He had a spiked leash on the dog.
09:06You don't mean a spiked leash.
09:07You mean a spiked collar.
09:09Yeah.
09:09He had this metal collar with spikes on it, and he was trying to get a hold of the dog.
09:15He eventually got the dog together by the leash and took it in his room and put it in the
09:19little kennel he has for it.
09:22And then he came out to assist me.
09:24I was just like, I'm not going to pull down my pants in your house to look at the dog
09:29bite.
09:29I'll go downstairs and look at it, and I'll send you a picture.
09:32He was like, OK.
09:33So I went downstairs.
09:35Are you saying something to me?
09:36No, I was saying I object to what she's saying, Your Honor.
09:40I don't care what you object to, sir.
09:42You'll have your opportunity to tell me your story.
09:44There's nothing to object to.
09:46She didn't say anything that was hearsay or inadmissible.
09:49She told me her version of the events that happened that day.
09:52What's there to object to?
09:53Because she said the dog had a spike on the collar.
09:56The dog...
09:56No, that's what she remembers, that the dog had a spiked collar.
09:59If you're going to tell me when you tell me your version of the story that the dog didn't have
10:02a spiked collar, you'll tell me that.
10:04That's not an objection.
10:06Go ahead.
10:06So I went downstairs.
10:08Did you take a photograph of it?
10:09I did.
10:09I'd like to see it.
10:13And...
10:13Not an and.
10:14That's showing me a picture.
10:15Yes, ma'am.
10:17Did you send him the picture?
10:19Yes, ma'am.
10:20OK.
10:30OK.
10:30And you sent him that picture that day?
10:32Yes, ma'am.
10:33On the 4th of June.
10:34Your Honor.
10:34What?
10:35I have it right here.
10:36It's the same picture I have.
10:38OK.
10:39Go ahead.
10:39So I sent him a picture and then later on that day I asked him, well, a few hours later
10:45I just asked him, did he have the shots for the dog?
10:47He said he did, but he didn't have them with him.
10:49He would get them for me.
10:50So later on that day...
10:52That day?
10:52That was June 4th?
10:53Yes.
10:53So you asked him if the dog had its shots?
10:56Yes.
10:56So I went to the emergency room because my leg was throbbing.
11:00You know, I didn't know for sure if he had the shots or not because I heard him the day
11:04before telling me that he didn't have all of the shots for the dogs because it was expensive, but he
11:08was about to finish getting their shots.
11:10So I wasn't sure.
11:11Just a second. Did the dog have its rabies shots on the 4th of June, 2024?
11:15Yes, Your Honor.
11:16Up to date. Let me see.
11:17I don't have the shot record with me today.
11:21Why? Where did you think you were going? To the beach?
11:22No. No, Your Honor. I accidentally left it.
11:26If you don't have it, it doesn't exist, sir.
11:29Yes.
11:29I gave her the shot records on June the 6th. I put the shot records on her door. I have
11:36a picture of that, but I don't have the physical copy of the shot records.
11:40I would like to see what you say you posted on the door on the 6th, which is two days
11:45after she went to the emergency room.
11:47I just want to see that the dog had its shots at the time.
11:51It really doesn't help you if you didn't have the record at the time, sir, because once you're bitten and
11:57if you're not sure whether or not the dog potentially is rabid, then you have to have it treated as
12:04if you have no shots.
12:06Correct.
12:06Right.
12:07Did he post something on your door two days later? He did.
12:09He did. You don't have to look for it anymore.
12:11She acknowledges two days later you posted something at the door which indicated that the dog was up to date
12:17and its rabies shots.
12:18Well, I can't confirm that the dog was up to date because I really didn't look at the paperwork.
12:23I would like to see what he says he posted on her door.
12:38It was a whole packet.
12:39It doesn't say anything here, sir.
12:42That's what I gave her.
12:44Just a second. It doesn't say anything. It says medical records and then there's nothing there.
12:48Yeah, it's a packet. It's a packet all together. We're stapled together.
12:53Do you understand what I'm saying to you?
12:55I do understand.
12:55This is evidence of zero?
12:57Yes.
12:58Okay, good. Evidence of zero.
13:01Okay, so you went to the emergency room and they cleaned up your wound.
13:05Yes.
13:05Did they give you a tetanus shot?
13:07I got a tetanus shot.
13:08Okay.
13:08And?
13:09They had to pull my skin back up over the wound.
13:11Okay.
13:11And then they taped it up.
13:13I got it.
13:14Yes.
13:15They told me to, you know, try to get the records so that I won't have to get a lot
13:18of other shots.
13:19Well, you didn't have to get another one.
13:21I didn't.
13:21You didn't get another one.
13:22No, ma'am.
13:23Okay.
13:23Do you have any of the medical records there?
13:26No.
13:26She didn't express how she knocked at the door and the dogs barked.
13:32Sir, Mr. Lovelace, I want you to understand something.
13:35You invited a guest to your home.
13:37Pay careful attention to me.
13:39You invited a guest to your home.
13:42If your dog bit that guest in your home, you're responsible.
13:49Mr. Lovelace, you work for whom?
13:51The D.C. government.
13:53Did you say you work in Washington, D.C.?
13:56Yes.
13:56Is that where you work?
13:57Yes.
13:57Maybe they accept this nonsense in Washington, D.C.
14:00Not where I come from in Brooklyn.
14:11Wendy Braxton has accused her neighbor, Ira Lovelace, of owing for medical bills and damages from a dog bite.
14:19Ira is countersuing for extortion and pain and suffering.
14:24Mr. Lovelace, I want you to understand something.
14:27You invited a guest to your home.
14:33If your dog bit that guest in your home, you're responsible.
14:38When she came late, though, Your Honor.
14:39I want you to pay attention to me.
14:42Yes.
14:42She is an invitee to your home.
14:46Yes, absolutely.
14:46She came into your home.
14:48You were outside in the back.
14:50She came at six.
14:52She didn't tell the truth.
14:54I did.
14:54She came at six-ish, which was late, two hours late.
14:58I had other guests and I had family members that was in my home.
15:02They wanted to play with the dogs.
15:04They wanted to be around the dogs.
15:05My dogs is no harm.
15:07She says your six-foot-two cousin opened the door and she came in.
15:12That's negative.
15:12Explain why you don't understand what I'm saying to you.
15:15I do.
15:16You invited a guest to your home.
15:20At four o'clock.
15:21I don't care whether you invited her at four or at five.
15:24At four o'clock.
15:25The dogs was caged up in the cave.
15:28Mr. Lovelace, you work for whom?
15:30The D.C. government.
15:32Did you say you work in Washington, D.C.?
15:35Yes.
15:35Is that where you work?
15:36Yes.
15:36Maybe they accept this nonsense in Washington, D.C.
15:39Not where I come from in Brooklyn.
15:40You invited a guest to your home.
15:43It doesn't matter whether she showed up a half hour late or an hour late or two hours late.
15:48She was an invitee to your party.
15:50And she came in.
15:51Don't try to talk over me, sir.
15:53That's what people in Washington, D.C. maybe do.
15:56Not here.
15:57What I'm telling you is she's an invitee to your home.
16:01Someone let her into your home.
16:03I didn't see that.
16:05I don't care whether it was you or not.
16:07You just said to me your house was full of guests, friends, family.
16:12You wanted to play with the dog.
16:13Someone let her into the home.
16:14You weren't present when it happened.
16:17Your dog bit her.
16:19There is no question that your dog nipped her.
16:22Didn't take off a limb.
16:24Didn't take off a finger.
16:25But your dog bit her and you are absolutely responsible.
16:30You may not be $10,000 responsible, sir, but you are absolutely responsible for your dog biting her.
16:37That's not true because it's a sign on my door telling everybody what they supposed to do if I don't
16:45open the door.
16:46I have a ring doorbell camera at the door that she can press and it go directly to my phone.
16:54Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling.
16:56Is anybody awake in there?
16:57There's two cells not rubbing yourselves together.
16:59My door was...
17:00Don't answer me.
17:01My door was open.
17:03Just a second.
17:03She says your six-foot-two cousin opened the door and she came in.
17:08That's negative.
17:09You weren't there.
17:10You weren't there.
17:13You were in the back on the patio.
17:15You don't know what happened.
17:18Maybe your cousin knows what happened, but you chose not to bring your cousin.
17:22You chose.
17:24No.
17:24I didn't...
17:25That's not...
17:25That's inaccurate.
17:26I didn't choose not to bring him.
17:28I asked him to come because of work reasons.
17:31No, no, no.
17:32Let me explain something to you, sir.
17:34You had somebody that you knew that you knew she was going to say let me into the apartment
17:41because you just said I asked him to come.
17:44So clearly you knew he was a witness.
17:47Clearly you knew he was a witness.
17:49To witness over who you had control.
17:51Because he saw...
17:52Try not to talk over me, sir.
17:53Yes.
17:53I don't like it.
17:54Yes, ma'am.
17:55I don't like it.
17:56She's an invitee to your house.
17:59She's not a trespasser.
18:00She's an invitee.
18:02Your dog bit her.
18:03Now, whether the dog has a choke collar or not is irrelevant to me.
18:07Right.
18:08Is irrelevant to me.
18:09Okay.
18:10So now the dog bit you and I'm looking at the medical record.
18:13I have it in my phone.
18:14I had the paperwork and I left it at the hotel.
18:18Oh.
18:18Well, that's useless.
18:19No, it's in my phone.
18:20I have a picture of it.
18:21Okay.
18:22Does it have an explanation from the doctor?
18:24Yes.
18:24Then I'll take a look at it.
18:32Okay.
18:32You have a bill?
18:33I do.
18:34I'd like to see it.
18:35So this is...
18:36Just give it to me.
18:37Sure.
18:46These two prescriptions were filled one month and two months after the incident.
18:51Because so...
18:51Not because.
18:52So they...
18:53These two prescriptions.
18:54Yes, ma'am.
18:54One was filled July 26th, which is almost two months after the...
18:58Yes, ma'am.
19:00And one is filled on August 16th.
19:02So I had to take two weeks' worth of antibiotics and then another...
19:04Well, I don't know.
19:05You have to understand something, madam.
19:08This is irrelevant to me.
19:09That's fine.
19:10They gave you on June 5th amoxicillin.
19:14And then they gave me a two-week prescription.
19:17Yeah, but this has nothing to do with that.
19:19It did.
19:19Well, I don't know that.
19:21But I still had...
19:21You have to understand.
19:22That may be.
19:23However, you have to have some medical nexus between those two things.
19:28And unless you have a medical professional that will tell me that three months after the incident,
19:33you had to take another antibiotic because in June you took an antibiotic
19:38and your body reacted to it a certain way.
19:41You can't tell me that.
19:42Okay.
19:42Do you understand?
19:43There's not a medical explanation for three months later you're taking a different antibiotic.
19:48Do you understand?
19:49You were on amoxicillin.
19:51That's part of what's here.
19:53Yes.
19:54What's prescribed here.
19:55And that whole visit was $1,835.
20:00Yes.
20:00Was any of that covered by insurance?
20:02That's the portion that wasn't covered.
20:04But you have insurance.
20:06Just a second.
20:07What do you mean it's the portion that wasn't covered by insurance?
20:10That's the bill they sent me in the mail.
20:11I'm not sure if they covered any other part.
20:14That's just what they sent me.
20:15They said that I...
20:15Donna, she told me that she wasn't paying for her hospital bills.
20:21She told me that she was going to make me pay because I told her that she had to...
20:29You said I should have put alcohol on her.
20:30Don't speak.
20:31No, I did not.
20:32Ma'am.
20:32No, don't speak.
20:33He's talking now.
20:34Sure.
20:34Now you have to be quiet.
20:36Go ahead.
20:36She said she wanted you to pay the medical bills.
20:39She said she wanted me to pay the medical bills.
20:42And she said that because I told her that she had to have done something to the dogs to make
20:50the dog have nipped her.
20:52And she got mad at me.
20:54And she said, well, since you feel like that, you're going to pay the medical bill.
20:58And so?
20:59I told her, no, I'm not.
21:01Yes, you are.
21:03Yes, you are.
21:05Yes, you are.
21:06I told her, no, I'm not.
21:06Yes, you are.
21:07You're responsible.
21:08You're responsible.
21:09Listen carefully, sir.
21:10Mm-hmm.
21:11Well, she left out some stuff.
21:13I'm going to let you tell me what you saw.
21:16Okay.
21:17You were in the back of the house on the deck.
21:20Right.
21:21You didn't see her enter your house.
21:23I read your answer.
21:24Okay.
21:25Okay?
21:25So now you're going to tell me about what you saw on June 4th.
21:33Her hands were full.
21:35One hand, she had a drink.
21:37Lovelace, Lovelace, get your dog.
21:39Before I can get to Tokyo, Tokyo had already had nipped her.
21:43Before you got there.
21:44I was right here on the steps.
21:46I was right there on the steps.
21:47You know, don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining, sir.
21:50You did not see the dog bite her.
21:52You're so annoying.
21:57Are you having a family dispute?
21:59Go to judyjustice.tv.
22:20There's another nine, I'll see you on the spot.
22:34Woo.
22:38Each agency.
22:42It's okay.
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