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Tribunal Justice - Season 3 - Episode 30: Good Deed or Bad Roommate?
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00:00You have your daughter's boyfriend move in with you.
00:04We talked about sharing the rent.
00:06Every month when he didn't pay, he'd ignore me.
00:08He was taking advantage of your kindness.
00:11But your daughter would be responsible for 50% of what he was paying.
00:15No.
00:16She paid the phone bill, groceries, and the weed.
00:19Does anybody find it curious that the weed budget comes a little higher than the rent budget?
00:24Now on Tribunal Justice.
00:49Today's case was filed in Lamarck, Texas.
00:52This is case number 3044 on the calendar in the matter of Benner v. Thompson.
00:57Parties have been sworn in.
00:59You may be seated.
01:00Thank you, Bert.
01:00You're welcome, Judge.
01:01Ms. Benner, the defendant is your daughter's ex-boyfriend.
01:05Although at the time that the events giving rise to this lawsuit took place, he was not then an ex.
01:10You were all living together.
01:11And you're now suing him for $10,000 for unpaid rent.
01:15Mr. Thompson, your defense is that you paid any amounts that you were obligated to pay.
01:20And further, you maintained that you signed the lease not as a tenant but as a cosigner.
01:27That is correct.
01:28You'll have to explain that distinction to me.
01:31But we'll get there momentarily.
01:33Ms. Benner, as I understand it from your complaint, there were two homes that you shared together.
01:37So right now, let's talk about a home number one.
01:40In fact, can we put that up, exhibit one?
01:43So you were going through a divorce, needed some help with the rent.
01:46He moved in.
01:47What was the understanding about how the monies were to be divided?
01:50The understanding was we had a conversation and we talked about sharing the rent so I didn't have to cover
01:56everything.
01:57I came out of a divorce where I didn't pay the rent normally.
02:01You working at the time?
02:03No.
02:03Business with my husband and stay-at-home mom.
02:06So most of the money was, you know.
02:08Tough transition.
02:09Yeah.
02:09Tough transition.
02:10And the rent on that first property was $2,200 a month?
02:14Correct.
02:15And I note on that first agreement that you are Sandra.
02:20Who's Janelle?
02:21Janelle's my daughter.
02:22And that was his girlfriend at the time.
02:23But on that first lease, he is in fact named as one of the tenants.
02:28And you actually initialed portions of that lease.
02:30Yeah.
02:31So I'm going to give you an occasion now to explain to the court what you mean when you say
02:36you signed the lease as a co-signer and not as a tenant.
02:40Because as I read that lease, you are Nathan Thompson, are you not?
02:43I am.
02:44And you lived there, did you not?
02:45I did.
02:46So how on earth are you not a tenant?
02:48Well, she didn't work and the youngest daughter didn't work as well.
02:52The only people that worked were myself and my ex, Janelle.
02:56So she's not going to be able to get any sort of agreement on leasing a home without any source
03:02of income.
03:02So I told her I would do my best to helping her out and her family out.
03:07And where I was living prior to that, I was living fine.
03:09And while it's very noble, all well and good, that you put your credit on the line, you also put
03:16your name on the line.
03:17Right.
03:17So that makes you a tenant.
03:18Okay.
03:19And in fact, did you not agree that you were to pay $900 a month?
03:22I agreed to I would pay as much as I could month to month.
03:25Okay, I would like to direct your attention to, I believe it is Plaintiff's Exhibit 3.
03:32There's a text message from you, sir, challenging the plaintiff's position that you're responsible for utilities because you say the
03:39agreement was $900 a month.
03:42So where in that text message do you say, or whatever I could pay?
03:47Well, in that text message, it was agreed upon that I would try to pay $900.
03:53I actually didn't see that you said, I am going to try to pay $900 a month.
03:57You said the agreement was $900 a month.
04:00You were paying $900, Janelle, your daughter, your then-girlfriend, she was supposed to be paying for groceries and weed,
04:07and then you had to pick up the groceries and weed expenses, so you didn't have money for rent.
04:12Correct.
04:13Does anybody find it curious that the weed line item in the budget comes a little higher than the rent
04:19line item in the budget?
04:21I do.
04:22Yeah.
04:22I didn't know about the weed part until that text message, but the agreement was that she was to pay
04:27for their groceries and their phone bills.
04:28That was her contribution.
04:30Were you at home during the day, or were you working outside of the home?
04:33I was home most of the time.
04:35My income at the time was my husband contributing to the agreed spousal support to help me with rent, and
04:42my younger daughter, she had just barely turned 18.
04:44That's really a key part of his position, is that you were actually overcharging him, because then in a later
04:49communication, he actually says that there are four people, I was always overpaying.
04:54I should have only been paying $5.50.
04:56There were four of us in the home.
04:57What's your response to that?
04:59Well, honestly, $900 for two people isn't even half the rent, if you're going to split it up between four
05:04people.
05:05No, the rent was $2,200, right?
05:06Exactly.
05:06It's not even half.
05:08Because my daughter needed a place to live as well, with me having to move out and get, you know,
05:12a place to live.
05:13They had talked about moving out in that area a couple of years before, so it just kind of worked
05:17out that we all went together.
05:19And then in December, you all moved to another home.
05:22Can we put up home number two?
05:24In this home, there was another lease, and that was for a one-year term, correct?
05:29Correct.
05:30And you signed it in December.
05:31Correct.
05:32And when did you move out?
05:33July.
05:34July.
05:35So that left five more months on the lease.
05:37Correct.
05:37Now, if I'm just looking at the letter of the lease, why shouldn't I hold you liable for that?
05:42Your name's on the lease.
05:43Well, considering the circumstances of me leaving her daughter, I'm not going to pay for a home one I'm not
05:51living in.
05:51I have to go now find my own place to live, and I'm not going to stay in a home
05:55with that kind of uncomfortability of being in this home and having to pay that amount of money still.
06:01So it sounds like you're suggesting that you were constructively evicted because of the tumultuous nature of your relationship with
06:08the plaintiff's daughter.
06:09Is that where you're going?
06:10Yes.
06:11So tell me about what happened that resulted in your having to leave.
06:15We weren't getting along.
06:17We were starting to resent each other a lot.
06:19There was a lot of tension within the household.
06:21Was there any violence?
06:23I wouldn't.
06:23Threats of violence?
06:24There was never any physical violence or anything like that.
06:27Arguing, yelling?
06:27Arguing, crude, verbal words.
06:30It just, for me, was too toxic to stay.
06:33And then it got to a point to where I just started sleeping on the couch while she slept in
06:38the room.
06:38I was avoiding the whole concept of just being around her.
06:41And so just to be clear, when you say she, you're not talking about the plaintiff.
06:45No, I'm talking about my then-girlfriend.
06:48You know, yeah.
06:48And so how long did this go on before you started?
06:51About a month and a half until I finally called it quits and decided it was time for me to
06:55just leave.
06:57Sometimes your sanity is better off when you leave the toxicity.
07:01Correct.
07:01However, every toxic relationship does not provide an excuse for breaking a lease.
07:06And you ended up paying the rent, yes?
07:07Yeah, I mean, the problem started in June of 2023 when his car broke down and he had to get
07:13a new car, which I understood.
07:15And that's why I was trying to be understanding.
07:16And my daughter helped him pay with the deposit on the car.
07:19And that's when that was the beginning of not getting the agreed amount.
07:23Yeah, I think, Mr. Thompson, I mean, you know, if you're going to be fair about this, because of her,
07:30you didn't have to pay full rent every month.
07:32Just like because of you, they were able to get income qualified for this home.
07:37But because of her, she was subsidizing you.
07:40So she carried you.
07:41Judge Domingo?
07:42I have to say, I think you've got a raw deal here.
07:44First of all, you were one person paying $900 to three family members of hers.
07:50So you were covering $1,100, $1,200 for three of your family members.
07:55How old is Janelle?
07:57Twenty-eight.
07:58Okay, she's 28.
07:59You are how old, sir?
08:01Thirty-two?
08:01Thirty.
08:02Just turned 33.
08:03And you are 62.
08:05Correct.
08:05So you have your daughter's 32-year-old boyfriend at the time move in with you.
08:12You're not working.
08:13If it weren't for him, you and your two daughters would be out on the street because it's his income
08:19that helped make you get through your application process.
08:24Why weren't you working?
08:27Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
08:30What was your arrangement with Janelle?
08:31Anything?
08:32Just that she paid the phone bill and picked up the groceries and the weed.
08:36Something had to give.
08:38I mean, I doubt you want to give up food.
08:40Right.
08:40Especially now that they're smoking all the weed.
08:41Yeah, let's give us.
08:47Sandra Benner says her daughter's former live-in boyfriend, Nathan Thompson, was a deadbeat tenant and owes $10,000 in
08:54back rent.
08:55But Nathan says after splitting up with her daughter, he was forced to move on because staying became a nightmare.
09:02It's his income that helped make you get through your application process.
09:08Why weren't you working?
09:10Well, after 10 years of marriage, I gave up my career to help support my husband.
09:13What was your career?
09:14I was a legal assistant.
09:16I gave up my career to help support my husband with his business.
09:20He's an electrical contractor.
09:21And be a stay-home mom.
09:22I mean, I'm still having the problem with him paying $900 as one person and you only paying, what you
09:29say in your papers, $1,100, even though your rent was $21, for three people.
09:32No, the $900 was supposed to be for him and Janelle.
09:36That was their thing.
09:36So then it's your daughter that was responsible for 50% of what he was paying.
09:42Your daughter would be responsible for $450.
09:45She would have been.
09:45But you chose not to sue your daughter.
09:47No, they agreed that he would pay the $900 and she would pay for their groceries.
09:51How much were your groceries and your phone bills?
09:54Well, the phone bill I know was, my portion of it was $70.
09:58$70.
09:59And that was between two.
10:02And then grocery bills I'd probably say less than $200 every two weeks.
10:07How long were you dating the plaintiff's daughter before you moved in together?
10:11Just under seven years.
10:12Under seven years.
10:13Don't pull the trigger too fast on a wedding, all right?
10:16And what was your arrangement with Janelle?
10:18Anything?
10:19Just that she paid the phone bill and picked up the groceries and the weed.
10:26Something had to give.
10:27I mean, you should have given up something.
10:28I doubt you want to give up food.
10:30Right.
10:30Especially not if they're smoking all the weed.
10:32Yeah, I was going to say, smoke weed.
10:33That's a lot of groceries.
10:34I mean, I'm always amazed that this is even part of a conversation.
10:38Right.
10:38When you're talking about, I can't afford to live, but I could afford to get high.
10:42Then you want to complain that you can't live.
10:44Well, did you have ups and downs in your relationship with Janelle?
10:47Oh, plenty.
10:48Were you witness to any of those ups and downs?
10:51So you knew it was a difficult relationship.
10:53Yeah.
10:53You know, and I love the term, it's complicated.
10:55It was complicated that he now has to stay in this home.
10:59And not only are you asking for, I believe it's five months of back rent, and you're asking
11:05for four months of future rent because he left the lease prematurely.
11:11And unless we find that it was a toxic, intolerable, untenable relationship.
11:16And what if your daughter got a new boyfriend?
11:18I'm not so sure I would be comfortable imposing on him an obligation to pay the balance of the
11:24lease.
11:24Especially that your husband has been pretty diligent in pay.
11:28Do you have a court order for maintenance?
11:29Just now as of December, and he hasn't been that diligent.
11:33I was basically living off of my savings after money I got when my mom passed away, too.
11:37I think this is a very unusual situation for a landlord-tenant breach.
11:41And I'm going to pass it on to Judge Levy.
11:45So, Ms. Benner, when was it that he stopped paying rent on the first place, when his car
11:51crapped out and he had to buy another one?
11:53Yeah, June of 2023.
11:55So you know that he's having financial difficulties in June of 2023, July of 2023, August, September,
12:03October, November, December.
12:05He's not paying you rent, right?
12:08Correct.
12:08And then you thought it was a good idea to move out of that house and go from a house
12:12you're paying $2,200 to $2,800 to, and you let him move in with you despite knowing that
12:20he did not pay the last six months because he didn't have money.
12:23Do I have that right?
12:24Correct.
12:25In your complaint, you say that you believe that the defendant took advantage of your kindness.
12:31Mm-hmm.
12:31All right, so when you had to get out of your house with your two daughters in December of
12:352022, you were in the middle of the divorce.
12:38You needed to find a place ASAP, right?
12:41Yes.
12:42Why not just get one yourself without him?
12:44I tried to.
12:44I actually tried to move to Arizona, but because I couldn't prove that I could make three times
12:48the rent, my daughter had talked about moving in the area.
12:52Oh, yeah.
12:53Hold on one second.
12:54You couldn't rent a place.
12:55That's his whole point.
12:56Without him, you couldn't get on a lease.
12:58So you got a $2,200 house that you all agreed to rent together.
13:03How many bedrooms?
13:04Three.
13:05Uh, yeah, three.
13:06You're right.
13:06You had one, your younger daughter had one, and he shared one with your older daughter,
13:11his girlfriend.
13:12Who had the biggest bedroom?
13:14I did.
13:15You had the master.
13:15Is that why you paid more in rent?
13:17Generally, yes.
13:18Okay, well, so let me ask you this.
13:19If you have $2,200, and if you divide it by just the number of bedrooms, that equals $734
13:26per bedroom.
13:27So if you're just charging rent based upon common areas and bedrooms, it would be $734 each
13:34a month.
13:34Your bedroom and your younger daughter's bedroom was $1,468 a month when you combine it, and
13:40he would have paid that much less.
13:42Why weren't you paying $1,468 a month?
13:44I never thought of doing the math that way, to be honest with you.
13:47How do you not think about doing the math?
13:48You got three bedrooms.
13:49We weren't doing it by bedroom.
13:50Whoever gets a bedroom has to equally split the rent.
13:53Otherwise, he's subsidizing you.
13:57Only reason why I bring it up is because you said that you felt as though he was taking advantage
14:01of your kindness.
14:03How do you figure that?
14:04Well, every month when he didn't pay, and he wasn't contributing, and he'd ignore me,
14:07and I kept putting up with it.
14:09And while he's going out frisbee golfing, and golfing, and fishing, and doing other things-
14:13All of this makes sense, which is exactly why there's a theory in the law that says, you
14:17know, that if you, as the plaintiff, know there's no reasonable expectation that he's
14:21going to be able to pay, then your decision to allow him into the second house is a you
14:24problem, not a him problem.
14:27Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
14:29Your husband wasn't paying $19.50, he was paying over $5,000 a month, right?
14:35That's what you said under oath.
14:37Did you lie to the judge, or were you lying to us?
14:44Sandra Benner is suing her daughter's ex-boyfriend, Nathan Thompson, for $10,000 in back rent when
14:50they all lived together.
14:51Nathan says Sandra used him to get the lease, and after breaking up with her daughter, he
14:56had no choice but to leave the toxic environment.
14:59So now you move into the second house $2,800 a month, and you hear and you see the arguing
15:05that's going on between your daughter and him, right?
15:07Yeah.
15:08What you're saying is that he still had an obligation to pay his rent.
15:11Yes.
15:11So why not tell your older daughter, move in with me in the master bedroom so he can have
15:15the other bedroom by himself?
15:17Because that's fair.
15:18Why didn't you do that?
15:19I didn't think of it at the time.
15:20Of course not, because what you were doing is you figured you could, because you with your
15:23legal background figured you were just going to let the rent keep going and going and
15:27eventually you were going to send him that letter like you did, the 60-day notice.
15:32And when he didn't respond to you, you went to his job, didn't you?
15:35No, I didn't know if he got the email.
15:37I didn't know if he would.
15:38So you waltzed yourself down to his job.
15:42I need to speak to Mr. Thompson about the fact that he skipped out on rent.
15:47How do you think that that was going to make him look to his bosses?
15:49I didn't approach it that way, first of all.
15:51Well, listen, there's a lot of things that you didn't seem to approach that are logical
15:54to everybody else.
15:55How much was your husband paying in expenses, by the way?
15:58Because that seemed to be a big part of your income.
16:00How much was he paying in expenses, say, in 2022?
16:03Well, sometimes I get $1,950, sometimes I get $900.
16:07So he was only paying sometimes not even $2,000 a month in 2022?
16:11Correct.
16:12Okay.
16:13Show this to the plaintiff, please.
16:15I'm showing you what's been identified as an income and expense declaration.
16:19See your signature on the bottom?
16:20Yes.
16:21June 28, 2022.
16:22Yeah.
16:23This is a document that you filled out with respect to the divorce proceeding with your
16:26husband, correct?
16:28Yes.
16:30$5,429.
16:31So your husband wasn't paying $1,950.
16:33He was paying over $5,000 a month, right?
16:38That's what you said under oath.
16:39Did you lie to the judge or are you lying to us?
16:41No, I wasn't lying to the judge, and this was based on what he told me our income was
16:46for that year.
16:46That's not income.
16:47Income is at a completely separate spot.
16:49Income is on page two.
16:50This was, unfortunately-
16:50I'm asking you about, listen, what are you claiming poverty to him for?
16:54That's exactly what you're doing.
16:56That's what she did.
16:57And not for nothing, you're not off the hook either because you owed that $900 until that
17:02first lease was up as far as I'm concerned.
17:04And your efforts to try to undermine that to Judge Acker, not good.
17:07I have nothing further.
17:08Just so we're clear, from December 2022 until February 2024, you were getting $900 a month.
17:19Yes.
17:19And then when you had that $500 increase, you didn't increase his portion.
17:24No.
17:24You were expecting $900 a month.
17:26Mr. Thompson, let's just say I'm with you about the time that you moved out.
17:31You're still living there in March 2024, correct?
17:35Yes, Your Honor.
17:35You paid $20.
17:37Do you think that's fair?
17:38In April, you paid nothing.
17:41In May, while you're still there, you paid nothing.
17:44In June, still there, nothing.
17:47July, you moved out.
17:48Yes, Your Honor.
17:49What had happened was I had lost my job at Coca-Cola, and I told her I was going to
17:55be
17:55getting a severance pay, and I was going to be getting some other pay, and I'd give her
17:59as much money for that that I could, and I gave her that in cash.
18:02I think it was like $1,000 or something.
18:05Did he give you $1,000 cash after he got his severance?
18:08I don't recall getting $1,000 unless it's on that ledger.
18:11Well, I don't recall doesn't mean no.
18:13No, I don't.
18:13It's not on the ledger.
18:14I don't have anything further.
18:16Where is your daughter, your ex-girlfriend, where is she now?
18:20Why isn't she here on behalf of one of you?
18:22She's at work.
18:23So she could have taken a day.
18:25How come she's not here?
18:26How come she's not here for you?
18:27I understand.
18:28She didn't want to see him.
18:29I mean, I'm not sure how the equities look like they're falling evenly here, and I don't
18:35have any other questions.
18:36Would it be fair to say that as a paralegal, you know that you have an obligation to mitigate
18:40your damages, right?
18:41So if a tenant leaves, like the defendant did, you have an obligation to go out and try
18:45to find another tenant to make up his shortfall, right?
18:49Right.
18:49So you would agree that you had absolutely no interest in mitigating your damages because
18:55that would require a complete stranger to come in and live in a room with your older daughter.
18:59Did you do that?
19:00No.
19:00Right.
19:01I have nothing further.
19:02We're going to retire to deliberate at this time.
19:04Thank you both.
19:05Court now stands in recess.
19:16On the one hand, I kind of agree with you, Patricia.
19:20You know, it wasn't the best deal for him, but I'm not going to revisit the deal they
19:23made.
19:24He said $900 a month, fair or unfair, that's the deal.
19:27I credit him with giving her that $1,000 that he said at the end, because when someone
19:32says, I don't recall if I received it, you got it, right, exactly.
19:36I credit him with that $1,000 where I think her case really falls flat is, as you pointed
19:42out, Adam, she made no effort to mitigate.
19:44So for me, the issue is, does that duty arise the month after he left?
19:49Because I'd actually keep him on the hook for one month.
19:52But 30 days would have been enough time for her to try to find another roommate.
19:56Or is it a month and a half before when the relationship became so toxic?
20:00That's what I would do, because that would be constructive eviction.
20:02That's where I would go with that, because I really feel that it was ridiculous for her
20:06to think that she's got a young daughter and a boyfriend that's been in a relationship
20:09seven years, had been up and down and toxic.
20:12He should be let out from the point that the relationship was bad, because really, they
20:16would have been on the street were it not for him.
20:18So I wouldn't give her any future money.
20:20I would go about a month and a half or whatever before the trouble started.
20:24My only thing is, does he owe the back rent?
20:27Because if you think about it, the new place, he was in arrears from the last place, 2980.
20:32Almost $3,000, which would be, for the time he lived there, she kept taking money out,
20:38which would be about $500 a month, which really is what he should have been paying in the first
20:41place.
20:42I would like to personally give her nothing.
20:45The first house, where they were paying $2,200 a month, the relationship with his girlfriend was okay at that
20:51point.
20:52Yes, he might have been getting the short end of the stick, but that was his agreement.
20:55He has to pay the $900 a month for that entire period.
20:59So what we need to do then is to look and see when he moved into the second home with
21:04them.
21:04He was paying rent in the second home, and she was applying it, rightfully so, to the...
21:09They were even on that last...
21:12Is that right?
21:13I know you...
21:13So I just asked that at the end.
21:15So the first home, they were square.
21:17Yeah.
21:17The second home, he paid everything, and he stopped paying until March.
21:23So December, January, February, he paid $900.
21:27March, her ledger shows $20.
21:30But if we credit him for that $1,000, that's a credit toward April.
21:33That's April.
21:34Yeah.
21:34Right.
21:34And then you're talking May and June, and that's the time when the relationship started
21:39to sour.
21:39I would not be interested in giving her anything above and beyond.
21:42But let me ask you both this.
21:44What evidence of toxicity did we get?
21:47Because I took pains.
21:48I know you did.
21:48I said, give me your best shot.
21:50And we don't let people out of leases just because they have arguments with their girlfriends
21:54and sleep on the couch.
21:55She didn't want to say the heavy feeling you get walking in that house.
21:59It's almost cruel to leave them in.
22:00It's the stress that you feel walking in that house.
22:03It's not just that he felt, but sleeping on the couch.
22:06She didn't dispute that.
22:08Can I just say one thing about that?
22:09She said her daughter didn't even want to come to court to see him.
22:13That's it.
22:13So if the daughter...
22:14She doesn't want to see her ex-boyfriend.
22:15Well, the point is, and we were going to force them to all stay in the same house?
22:18I mean, think about what we're suggesting.
22:20If we say you're in an up-and-down relationship, you move out, and so we're just going to
22:23leave the person who you left on the hook.
22:26I don't think that's what we're saying.
22:27I think we're saying under these circumstances, we have a mother who brings in a boyfriend
22:31to help get a rental, charges him over and above what he should be paying, has a daughter...
22:37Well, I mean, I'm sorry to interrupt.
22:39But you can say whether he should be paying, but he's a grown man.
22:43He's 32.
22:43He's not 12.
22:44But you're asking...
22:45He made a deal.
22:45Fair enough.
22:46Fair enough.
22:46This is my reason why I am not comfortable giving her anything and accepting the fact
22:50that he should be not responsible for anything at this point with regard to rent.
22:54Where are you, Adam?
22:56Because we don't have a verdict.
22:57If he moved out July 3rd, I'm going to credit his testimony with the relationship got
23:02sour the month before that.
23:03That would be June.
23:03So I would say that he would not be responsible for June, July, August, September, October,
23:08November.
23:08So you're taking basically the same position I'm taking.
23:10It's untenable to live in a home where it's just too uncomfortable.
23:14It's too uncomfortable to even show up and see him.
23:16So I say June 1st.
23:18And I say August 1st.
23:20I say nothing.
23:21And you say nothing because of the untenable position that was in.
23:24Yeah, because...
23:25The untenable position...
23:26You think starts in June.
23:27June 1st.
23:29And I'm crediting his testimony with that and the mother's testimony.
23:32June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
23:36So five months is what we're saying in the courtroom is what he would owe in back rent,
23:41but not future rent.
23:43Five months minus the $1,000 that he gave.
23:46Basically four months rent.
23:47So he would owe four months rent.
23:49He would owe four months, which would be $3,600.
23:53Right.
23:53I don't think she's entitled to anything.
23:55I'll compromise to give for the $3,600.
23:58Okay, so you two now are on the same page.
24:00We have a verdict at a dissent, $3,600.
24:02$3,600.
24:03Very good.
24:07Court is back in session.
24:08I remind both parties you're still under oath.
24:10Thank you, Bird.
24:12We've deliberated.
24:13We've reached a verdict.
24:14Our verdict is not unanimous.
24:16Judge Domingo is dissenting from this verdict because she thinks that when things became so toxic
24:21between the defendant and your daughter, that it's just unfair, unequitable, and that he
24:26essentially was constructively evicted long before he moved out.
24:29So she does not join in this verdict.
24:32Judge Levy and I do believe that you have some legal obligation to the plaintiff.
24:37And I will say that my colleagues actually made some very good points for you because they
24:43reminded me that you were sleeping on a couch for 30 days, during which time I became convinced
24:49that it's not fair to hold somebody to the full amount of rent when they can't even use
24:53the bedroom that they're paying for.
24:55But we've looked at the lease and we conclude that we are only going to hold you liable for
24:59the rent through June because it was after that period that you can't even sleep in your
25:04bedroom and that you ultimately moved out.
25:07We also credit your testimony that you gave the plaintiff $1,000.
25:11I note, ma'am, you didn't dispute it.
25:13You just said, I don't recall.
25:14So we're crediting you with that $1,000.
25:17And it is therefore the judgment of this court that you pay the plaintiff $3,600.
25:22That's our verdict.
25:23Everybody be well.
25:25This case is now concluded.
25:27Parties are excused.
25:28You may step out.
25:32I figured if I can help them, help them.
25:35I paid the Wi-Fi, the water, the trash, the renter's insurance, the move-in costs.
25:41Just the whole whose is what and what is where and how much is this and how much is that,
25:47it just became way too financially difficult.
25:50No more roommates.
25:51No.
25:52It just got really bad.
25:53Got family drama?
25:55Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
25:58Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
26:02And then, let's go.
26:27Let's go.
26:27Let's go.
26:27Let's go.
26:27Let's go.
26:28Let's go.
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