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Tribunal Justice - Season 3 - Episode 29: Lawnmower Sibling Spat EngSub
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00:01Sister suing brother.
00:03Now on Tribunal Justice.
00:05We're yelling back and forth.
00:07He grabs me and pushes me towards the door.
00:10Her husband pulled a gun on you.
00:12Yes.
00:13She was banging on the door really crazy.
00:15And they were just arguing.
00:16He's like, if you can't calm down, leave.
00:18Did you pull a gun on this man?
00:43Today's case was filed in Lamarck, Texas.
00:46Your Honor, this is case 3011, Williams v. McNamara.
00:51Thank you very much, Cassandra.
00:53You're welcome.
00:54You may be seated.
00:54So, sister suing brother.
00:59And the lawsuit is over a lawnmower.
01:02$2,500 plus $150 loan.
01:06You say that he agreed to pay you and he didn't pay.
01:09Other than $140, he still owes you $2,510.
01:14You said you did agree to pay her, but she came by,
01:17tried to repossess it, and in doing so, broke your screen door.
01:21So now you don't want to pay her.
01:22And, in fact, you're suing her now in a counterclaim to say that that screen door
01:27is going to cost you $1,600 to repair.
01:30Yes, ma'am.
01:31So tell me a little bit about your relationship,
01:33because I can't believe that two siblings would sue over a lawnmower.
01:37Were you close growing up?
01:38No, not really.
01:39I mean, he's always been sort of abusive.
01:42Um...
01:43No, ma'am.
01:43And then, I think he was like 16, my parents made him go to a different school.
01:48But I did notice that you did live next door to each other, right?
01:52Or on the same property?
01:53He was staying with me before he was living in that house.
01:57Um, him and his girlfriend had came down from Arizona,
02:00and he didn't have a place to stay, and then, so I let him stay with us.
02:03So you let him stay with you.
02:04So you had this relationship, and you went out, and in May of 2021,
02:08you bought a lawnmower.
02:10Yes.
02:10And we can see a picture of a lovely lawnmower.
02:14And it's a commercial lawnmower.
02:15I mean, I know this, it sounds like just a lawnmower, but...
02:18No, I get it.
02:18What state do you live in?
02:20Texas.
02:20Big lawns and all.
02:22Yeah.
02:22So I get it.
02:22Yeah.
02:22I understand that you need that, and it's important.
02:24So you buy this lawnmower, you take out a lease on the lawnmower.
02:28It's a 2021 lawnmower.
02:29Correct.
02:30And the lease value is a little over $6,000.
02:33Had you not taken out the lease, you would have paid like $2,800.
02:36Mm-hmm.
02:37And you had about 26 months to pay $98 every two weeks for that, correct?
02:42When do you finally pay it off?
02:43We paid it off September of 2023.
02:48When you move in May of 2023, you say you want to buy the lawnmower, right?
02:53Yes, ma'am.
02:54And the issue here is you say it was not for $2,500.
02:57You say you agreed to pay $1,500 for this lawnmower.
03:01Yes, ma'am.
03:01Correct?
03:02Yes, because there's damage.
03:03Of course, you say the agreement was that he was going to pay $2,500
03:06because you were paying the leasing company directly.
03:09It was $200 a month.
03:11$200 a month.
03:11That's basically our payment.
03:12Okay.
03:12I believe we have a text from him where he says,
03:15I'm working and whenever we get paid, I'll give you $100, correct?
03:19Yes, ma'am.
03:19At that point, he hadn't made a payment in over a year.
03:23Okay.
03:23So he agrees and this text comes to you, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, in August.
03:28Is that correct?
03:29And that's after he agreed in May that he was going to pay you for the lawnmower.
03:33And until that time, you made zero payments.
03:36Well, I got ill.
03:38I got bone cancer.
03:39When did you get sick?
03:42It was in April 2023.
03:45So you got sick before you agreed to buy the lawnmower?
03:49It was right at the same time.
03:51Is that correct?
03:52He's told me he's had brain tumors.
03:53He's been shot 10 times.
03:55No, ma'am.
03:55Well, you must have medical evidence of this.
03:57I didn't bring him any money.
03:59No.
03:59You know, because that's what your excuse is for not paying.
04:02I have pictures of the surgeries.
04:03Out of her own words, she told me when I get better, I can start paying.
04:07Yeah, you had a problem with your foot, as I understand it.
04:09Would that be correct?
04:10He had surgery on his foot.
04:11I guess the surgery didn't fix the problem.
04:14And then eventually, I think he started getting some sort of like skin issue from that surgery.
04:19Okay.
04:19And then he claimed that it was cancer.
04:22But we visited him in the hospital.
04:24They were treating him with antibiotics.
04:27Okay.
04:27Like you don't treat cancer with antibiotics.
04:29And of course, if this were your whole case, which apparently it is, you would have all of these medical
04:35records saying,
04:37cancer, cancer, cancer, bad foot, bad skin, bad foot, antibiotics, chemo, whatever it is.
04:43But you don't have that here, do you?
04:45No, ma'am, I don't.
04:46Okay.
04:46By the way, where is the lawn mower today, sir?
04:49I had to pawn it in two papers.
04:52For your cancer medication, right?
04:53Yes, ma'am.
04:54Which we don't have any evidence you have.
04:56So you pawn this.
04:57What do you get for pawning it?
04:59I got $1,200.
05:00So where is it now?
05:01Is it still with the pawn shop?
05:03Yes, ma'am.
05:03How long has it been with the pawn shop?
05:06Since June of this year.
05:07But you're making the payments because he's not paying you and you don't want them to repossess it as the
05:12contract indicates.
05:13Right.
05:13I had called him up and I said, you know, I get it.
05:16You're struggling.
05:17You know, because at that point I had sent him money on Cash App for gas and all kinds of
05:21stuff.
05:21You gave him $150 that you claim he gave you $40 towards for this loan that you gave him.
05:27Yeah.
05:27So I had called him, you know, and I was trying to be really sympathetic.
05:30You know, it's my brother.
05:32I love him.
05:32I got you.
05:32Let's move along.
05:33You're sympathetic.
05:34Bottom line is you go to the house on an occasion because you want to get the lawn mower back.
05:39He's hiding from you.
05:40Is that correct?
05:41Correct.
05:41He's hiding from you in the bedroom.
05:42So I knocked on the door.
05:45She had answered.
05:46I asked, where's Cody?
05:47She said, he's not here.
05:48At this point, I'm upset because I'm talking to her and she's like, like, it's funny.
05:54And I'm upset.
05:55So, I mean, I think it just fueled the fire.
05:58When we get in the living room, I hear something from his bedroom.
06:01I go to open his bedroom door and he's pushing against it.
06:05We're yelling back and forth.
06:07He's telling me to leave.
06:08And so I turn around to leave and he grabs me and pushes me towards the door.
06:13And did you push the door at that point?
06:16That's a lie.
06:16Yeah.
06:17That is, all that was absolutely a lie.
06:19Okay.
06:19I heard you say that.
06:20Just want to know, how long were you living in that house?
06:23A year and a half.
06:24And did you buy it?
06:25I'm buying the home.
06:26How old was it?
06:27Do you know?
06:28It was built in 1952.
06:30So that's like a 75-year-old screen door.
06:32It's not that old.
06:33The bottom line is you can see the pictures here.
06:35I wanted to show the picture because it's so old that the paint is actually peeling
06:41and cracking from age.
06:42So that just goes to the age of the door.
06:45But it wasn't new, right?
06:46No, it was not new.
06:48Judge Levy?
06:49So Mr. McNamara?
06:50Yes.
06:51So I'm still trying to figure out why it was in your answer that you said that in
06:55May of 2023, you bought the mower from your sister.
06:59She wanted $2,000, but you talked her down to $1,500.
07:03Is that still your position today?
07:05Yes.
07:06Okay.
07:06And there's a text message in April 29th of 23 that says make payments on 2K in payments
07:14if something happens to it, if it gets damaged while she was storing it there.
07:18But it also says she'll give me first chance to buy it at a cheaper rate.
07:23Right.
07:23And that was prior to you agreeing to take it from her, correct?
07:27Correct.
07:28What do you have to say about that, Ms. Williams?
07:30Because he said it was $1,500.
07:32This text message, you would agree, you told him it was $2,000.
07:36So, as he stated, this is before we actually agreed to purchase.
07:41After talking with my husband, that's not the number we came up with because it's, we paid
07:46over, I mean, at the end of this, we're paying over this grand.
07:48Okay, I get that.
07:48I get that.
07:49So what she's saying now, sir, is that prior to agreeing to sell it to you, you were discussed
07:56tentatively $2,000, right?
07:58Yes.
07:59I would not have bought it for $2,500.
08:00I agreed to $1,500.
08:02I know after the dispute, he had said $1,500.
08:06And I said, no, that's not $1,500.
08:08It was $2,500.
08:10And he had no response for that.
08:12That's correct.
08:13But that's...
08:14Cassandra, if you can please show this over to the defendant.
08:19Mr. McNamara, I'm showing you a document that was produced by your sister in which you indicated
08:24to her that the price for the lawnmower that you purchased was $1,500.
08:28She responded, that is not our agreement, that it was $2,500.
08:32The natural thing for you to have done was to say, that's not true.
08:35That's not our agreement.
08:37You would agree with that, right?
08:38Correct.
08:38But if you read the prior taxes...
08:40I read all the prior taxes.
08:41There was a bunch of arguing that I wasn't trying to participate in.
08:44I understand.
08:44So to me, anything I would have sent her would have continued the argument and harassment.
08:50I got it.
08:50I want to talk about this broken door, the counterclaim for $1,600.
08:54According to your counterclaim, sir, your sister kicked the screen door so hard she broke
08:59it at the frame.
09:00Her husband pulled a gun on you.
09:02Yes.
09:04Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
09:07Now, you're the girlfriend.
09:08You work?
09:09Yes, ma'am.
09:10How much money did you give him for this cancer treatment?
09:12Let's get it.
09:15I'm Daniel.
09:16And I'll see you soon.
09:18Uh...
09:18Mandy Williams is suing her brother, Cody McNamara, for over $2,500.
09:24The balance owed on a lawn mower and loan.
09:27Cody claims he doesn't owe anything, and is countersuing for $1,600, after he claims his
09:32sister kicked in his screen door. According to your counterclaim, sir, your sister kicked the
09:38screen door so hard she broke it at the frame. Her husband pulled a gun on you. Yes. And you
09:43filed
09:44a no trespass order against them the same day. Correct. Do you have a copy of that no trespass
09:49order? They didn't give me a copy. You provided us with the police report, correct? Correct. So
09:54narrative on Tuesday, August 20th, 2024, at approximately 12, 17 hours, this officer was
10:00dispatched. And it says that Williams was notified by McNamara that he had pawned the mower, which led
10:06to McNamara forcing her out of the residence. So I just want to be clear. You spoke to a police
10:10officer. Yes. And you spoke to the police officer about how she kicked the screen door so hard she
10:15broke it in the frame. Yes. And about how her husband pulled a gun on you. Yes. Okay. None of
10:20that was in
10:20the police report. You see, when you're talking about a complaint that someone threatened you with
10:25a gun, the police department typically put that in a police report. Are you the husband?
10:30Yes. Will you please step up? August 20th, 2024. Were you with your wife at the house? Yes. Did
10:37you ever pull a gun on him during that incident? No, sir. What did you see? What did I see?
10:43So I go
10:44inside with her. We look for the lawnmower. She's arguing with his girlfriend. He comes out of the
10:49room. They're arguing. And I'm like, okay, let's just get it. It's not here. Let's go. He doesn't
10:54want to go to the pawn shop to let us pay for it to get the item. Let me stop
10:59you right there for a
11:00second. This pawn shop, you knew that she and her husband still owed money on this lawnmower,
11:05correct? No. Did you discuss that with him? Of course you did. This text, it tells him that we
11:11are on the hook for the money. Read it. I said, hey, can Kenneth come get the lawnmower? I get
11:17that
11:17you might be struggling, but at the same time, we're on the hook for the money. I'm not working
11:22either, Cody. Matter of fact, we haven't gotten a payment in over a year. It's no hard feelings. I get
11:27you've been going through it, but if you can't pay, we got to sell it because we can't afford it
11:31either, especially when we don't use it. Does that help refresh your recollection? That's after the
11:36pawn. So I pawned this before she sent me that. If I'd have known that, I'd never pawned it. We
11:41didn't
11:41know it was pawn. It was discussed before that. And when we initially discussed him buying it, it was
11:46him, your monthly payment is what we're paying, $98 every two weeks. That was the discussion. I tend to
11:53agree, and I tend to believe that. You would have no reason to sell him without telling him
11:57that the money that you needed from him was going to be used to repay the lease. I get that.
12:02Last
12:03question before I pass it, Mr. McNamara. You say that you're countersuing for $1,600 to pay for the
12:08door repair, correct? Correct. Do you have a cancel check, Venmo, cash app showing that you actually
12:14paid that expense? No, I have an estimate of the people who- I don't care about an estimate. Do
12:19you
12:19still live at that address? Yes, I'm buying that house. No, he's not. So the damage you claimed to
12:24the door was in August of 2024? Correct. And you haven't paid for it yet? No. I have nothing
12:29further. Thank you. I just want to revisit a couple of points. You acknowledge, sir, that you had
12:35some obligation to pay her an amount which is currently in dispute. You say in your papers that
12:40it was $1,500. The plaintiff, you say that it was $2,500. We're clear there. How much money do
12:46you
12:46say that you did pay her? I've paid her a total of $640. Where's the evidence of that?
12:52You didn't submit any because you don't have it. Ms. Williams, how much money do you claim
12:57your brother paid you? So he paid $100 through Cash App and then he paid $40 cash and this was
13:06not long before I said I was going to pick it up. So you say $140, you say $600. There
13:12is certainly
13:13no dispute that at the time that you pawned the lawnmower, you knew you hadn't finished
13:19paying her for it. Correct. Tell me what you did with the $1,200 that you got from the pawn
13:26shop.
13:26I spent $800 in medication. What medication did you buy? I have the names of the medication. You
13:33have the receipt for the money that you spent on the medication? No, I didn't think I would ever
13:37need the receipt for the medication. Did you have insurance? My insurance, I ended up losing my
13:43insurance. What does your partner do, the witness? Can you take the stand? Yes, ma'am.
13:50Now, you're the girlfriend. Could you state your name for the record? Danielle. So Danielle,
13:55do you work? Yes, ma'am. How much money did you give him toward his cancer treatment?
14:00Nothing. Nothing. Let's just pawn the property that we don't really own. We weren't together then.
14:04Let's just pawn the property we don't own. Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
14:11The $1,600 that he's suing his sister for was to repair a door that is not yet repaired.
14:17You heard him say that. Was that the truth or was that a lie?
14:26Mandy Williams says her brother Cody McNamara owes over $2,500 for a lawnmower and loan,
14:33but Cody is countersuing for $1,600 over a screen door he claims she kicked in out of anger.
14:40So essentially, sir, your defense boils down to she came over because she was so mad because I pawned
14:47the property that I did not own and she kicked down my door. That's your defense? Yes. Now,
14:53I think that there's another version of what happened that day. And sir, could you take the
14:56stand again? Because according to them, let's assume that she did kick down the door. According
15:02to them, what else happened, sir? Didn't he push your wife? Yes. Yeah. And let me ask you,
15:09Mamet, where were you in relationship to the door when you allege your brother pushed you?
15:15So I was about maybe two or three feet from the door. His room isn't far from the front door.
15:21And I was
15:21sort of like in between that. And then he told me to leave. And then I see him getting upset.
15:25So I turn
15:26around to leave. And then he grabs me. Do you deny, do you deny frapping her? Flat out trying. You
15:32flat out deny it. Sir, did you pull a gun on this man? No, ma'am. You say that he
15:37pulled a gun on you.
15:39They say that you pushed his wife. Ma'am, tell me what you saw on the day of the screen
15:44door
15:44altercation. Um, she was banging on the door really crazy. And I walked up to the door. We have no
15:50people.
15:50So I just unlocked it. And as soon as I stepped back, she pushed through me and the door. And
15:55then she
15:55went straight to the garage. And then she was just like, where's Cody? Where's Cody? And I was just
16:00like, I don't know. And then she went to the room and Cody was right there. And he was like,
16:05what? And
16:05then started arguing. And then he stepped up the room. And there's like a little, the doorway from
16:11the hallway. And he was right here and the door's over here. And she was right there. And they were
16:14just
16:15arguing. He's like, if you can't calm down, leave. She's like, all right. All right. And so she goes to
16:19the
16:19front door and kicks it open. And she's like, come find me then. So whenever they started arguing outside in
16:25the
16:25front, it was just me and Cody out there. And I was just like, I just, I don't know. I
16:28was just
16:29standing there. And then he- So you say somebody's angrily banging at the door. I didn't hear it. And
16:34you're like, you know what? I'm going to go handle this. I got you. If it is that, it just,
16:38it just
16:39seems strange to me. And so let's assume that happened. You know what, Ms. Williams, I believe
16:44that something happened with that door. And you were pretty mad that day, weren't you? I was
16:48absolutely mad. You were pretty mad that day. Did you kick the door? I was never mad enough to kick
16:52the
16:52door. You did not kick the door. I mean, he's got me by like the back of my, my shirt.
16:58Did he push
16:58you out the door? Yes. He's grabbing my shirt and pushing. And like, I'm going the same time,
17:03like, you know, I mean, I'm sure I hit the door with like a little bit of force. I mean,
17:08I didn't see that it was even broken, but I would never run towards him or try to fight him.
17:14Judge Domingo. Okay. First of all, when all this was occurring, were you inside the home?
17:19Uh, yes. Before they went outside. Did you actually go outside with them?
17:23Yes. When you were outside, did you see him with a gun?
17:27Yes, ma'am. I ran inside because I was scared.
17:29Mm-hmm. So if he would have pointed a gun, the way you would have had the police show up
17:33was,
17:33as Judge Levy was pointing out, that's not what you told them. Even by your own testimony in here,
17:39you requested a no trespass order. So that goes to your credibility as well with regard to the gun.
17:45So when you were in the house and you say that she kind of kicked or pushed the door,
17:50how did she do that? Can you explain? Did she kick it at the bottom? Did she push it at
17:54the top?
17:55Did she, what did she do? It's kind of the middle,
17:57because like where the little handle thing is, where you could press it like that,
17:59and it was a little bit underneath it, because she just lifted up and just pushed like that,
18:02because she was walking, she went forward with it. She wasn't stopped.
18:05And that's what I wanted to know, because this door, this here is way up. It's at the door.
18:09So unless you're in the Rockettes and a good kicker, I'm going to guess you didn't get your
18:14leg up to push out this window, which already looks like it's been pushed out. And you have
18:19a $1,600 estimate for something that you've not fixed. I don't think I have any other questions of
18:24you. I don't know if anyone else does. Yes, I'm sorry. Judge DiMango just reiterated
18:29the position of your boyfriend, Mr. McNamara, which was that the $1,600 that he's suing his sister
18:35for was to repair a door that is not yet repaired. You heard him say that.
18:40Was that the truth or was that a lie? No, the door has not been fixed.
18:44It has not been fixed. No, sir. Okay. You recall signing a statement under oath
18:48and presenting it to the court prior to you coming in today?
18:51Which document? The signed sworn statement that you gave to us.
18:55Do you recall then giving the following statement? On August 24th, as Mandy was leaving,
19:00she kicked the screen door open and damaged the door in the doorframe. Yes?
19:05Yes, sir. A few days later, Cody had some people come to fix his screen door.
19:10I said that? Show it to her. I didn't say it.
19:17Take a look on the top. That's your name, is it not?
19:20Oh, it does say that.
19:22Thank you. I got nothing further. Okay. Thank you all. We're going to retire to deliberate
19:26it this time. Court is now on recess.
19:37She was very credible to me, and he was not.
19:40And anything that he could have substantiated that would have lent him some credibility,
19:44he didn't bring with him.
19:46Also, with regard to the medication, if you go to one of these stores, you know, the big stores,
19:50they'll print up anything for you and bring it out.
19:53Because I get it that he said, listen, back when I took it, I didn't know I was going to
19:56need it.
19:56And that rang true. But the reality is, all he had to do was go back and say, listen,
20:00can you show me my list of medications and so on? I just found her credible. I think she's
20:05entitled to the money, the balance that she sold him the lawnmower for. But I do want to say one
20:10thing. I did look up the value of the used lawnmowers. And even those that were from 2015,
20:162013 were well over $1,500. So I can't imagine that she would have given him such a great deal
20:24at less than $2,500. I think she's entitled to what she's asked for. And I believe that he gets
20:30nothing on his counterclaim. And one of the things, somebody would have told somebody about a gun.
20:34I mean, in an altercation like that, somebody would have said to the police, there was a gun
20:39involved and nobody did. None of that was in the police report. And the defendant was unable to
20:43explain why that was. I believe that the plaintiff has, in fact, met her burden with respect to the
20:49$2,500 agreement that they had. And she acknowledged that he paid $140 towards the purchase
20:55price, leaving her with $2,360 that he owes her for that. Tanya, I thought that your examination of
21:02him with respect to him knowing that he did the wrong thing when he pawned the lawnmower that he
21:08did not yet own because he had not finished paying it off was right on the mark. If he didn't
21:13think it
21:13was wrong, he would have told her he was doing it. But he never did because he knew that the
21:19leasing
21:19company was still taking payments on that. And for him to deny that was as silly as his girlfriend's
21:25statement was when she came in and say, oh yeah, I put that in my sworn statement that someone came
21:30and
21:31fixed it, but I don't know how it got there. They're just lying. Look, I think she's more than proven
21:35her
21:36case. I think if you look at all of the circumstances that gave rise to their showing up to the
21:40house in the
21:41first place, I think they were upset. And I think her brother did kind of want to get her out
21:45of
21:46there. I think he did. He has no receipts for payments. He has no receipts for medication.
21:50He has no evidence that there was ever any medication. I just find him lacking across the
21:55board. I would give her everything she's asking for, including the cash out payment. Yeah.
22:00Because I believe her. I do too. She gave him the money. So we're unanimous. We're going to give her
22:03the $2,510. Nothing to him. Court is now back in session. Parties are reminded that you're still
22:14under oath. Thank you, Cassandra. Well, you know, much of what happens in a courtroom is determined
22:19by credibility. And credibility is assessed by all of us, not by just what you say, but what you don't
22:25say. And not by the evidence that you produce, sometimes by the evidence that you don't produce.
22:30So when you say you don't have proof of a pharmacy bill, why not go back to the pharmacy and
22:36have
22:37them print out a receipt to show what you paid or what you didn't pay? When you say you call
22:41the
22:41police and you report a handgun being pointed, which is an armed felony offense, that brings out
22:47a different result. So I think you can tell by that, that the credibility issue, the weight, the 51%,
22:53the preponderance of the evidence goes to you. So as to your main claim here,
22:59the request for $2,510. We believe you that you agreed to $2,500. We believe you that he borrowed
23:08$150. And we believe you when you say he repaid $140 of that debt that he owes you. So to
23:14that extent,
23:15you've prevailed. Sir, you, on the other hand, we did not find what you said credible. And so as to
23:21the
23:21damages, the fact that it was not repaired, and we don't know if you will repair it, the bottom line
23:26here is we are going to dismiss your counterclaim. We wish that you both go on your way and spend
23:32your money wisely. Thank you. That's the unanimous verdict of the court.
23:36This case has concluded. All parties are excused.
23:45It's easy for me to look aggressive because I guess of my size. And she played that card.
23:50The guy's like 6'6", over 300-something pounds. Like, why would I? That don't make sense.
23:56I've never hit a woman in my life. Pushed a woman. This isn't the first time I've had this
24:00problem with him. There's no me and her after this, you know, to bring me to court and then lie
24:06the way she did. Yep. Just tell him to move on, family or not. What's done is done.
24:11Got family drama? Let Tribunal Justice decide your case. Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
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