01x66 - Retaliatory Vandalism: Part 2/Playing House Together

[bunniefuu]

You vandalized her house.

It wasn't me.

In the first video,
you can actually see him kick the door.

It's not me, Your Honor.

You stated that you were in Chicago?

Yup.

Doing what?

Um...

probably anything other than that.

I believe that you did it.

You're the judge.

I am.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Previously on Judy Justice.

What I'm saying is in order
to park in one of the spots

that's designated for a resident,
you needed a sticker...

Well, she didn't tell me that.
She didn't relay that to me.

[Judge Judy] I...listen.

I'll let you talk.

Right now, you have to understand,
I don't believe you.

Again, that has nothing
to do with the slots.

[Judge Judy]
You don't get rewarded for that.

Now, we're gonna get to your counterclaim.

You have a counterclaim.

It is your claim
that the plaintiff burglarized your home.

Yes.

Did you see him there?

I did not, but I have video footage.

I'd like to see it.

[announcer] And now the conclusion.

Quincey Shegog has accused
his former friend with benefits,

Regina Monegan, of driving his truck
without a license and totaling it.

Regina claims he vandalized
her house in retaliation.

Now, did you come to her house July 17th?

No, I did not.

[Judge Judy] Where were you on July 17th?

In Chicago.

Did you see him there?

I did not, but I have video footage.

I'd like to see it.

Video one.

[Judge Judy] Sarah, you're gonna have
to help me look at those, darling.

'Cause I could never see these things
on these...

- Oh, I touched something...
- [Sarah] I got it. I got it.

Yeah, thank you.

[Regina] It, it, it says video one.

I also have still frames
of the same video.

[Sarah]
You want me to pause it at that point?

Yeah, I would like to see a face.

See if you could find a...face for me.

There are still frames
of the video that I took.

Here, it's frame by frame.

Could you turn your head
around a little bit?

[Quincey] Which way?

So I can see the back of your hair.

I'd like to see those, Kevin.

[Sarah] There's two videos, Your Honor,
so the second incident,

I'm not sure if you wanna hear
about it first, or...

Okay. So, he came...

according to you...alone, on this video.

Uh-hmm.

Where did these pictures come from?

I got them
from when I filed a police report.

Um, I was released the actual disc
to the Minneapolis Public Housing.

So, I took still frames off of it
and printed them.

I had them printed out.

Can I see the second video, Sarah?

[Sarah] Spray painting.

[Regina] Uh-huh.

The second video is only him breaking
the back window and tagging my house.

And spray painting it?

[Regina] Yeah, and tagging my house.

There's something,
breaking the window, it looks like.

That's not me, Your Honor.

Don't speak.

Now, on July 17th,
you stated that you were in Chicago.

Prove it.

What do you mean prove it?

[Judge Judy] Prove it.

Just what I said to you, prove it.

You know what she's accusing you of.

She's accusing you
of vandalizing her house on July 17th,

and again on August 19th.

Well, I was doing
a Windy City Smokeout in Chicago

around the same time I did
over in two weeks.

Okay. In what event?

Sarah is gonna look them up.

Chicago Windy City Smokeout.

July 17th, 2021.

It was July 9th until July 11th, 2021.

[Quincey]
Yeah, we set up and tear it down.

That's all right, July 9th to July 11th.

We're talking about July 17th...

That's the event...
that's the event we have to tear down.

- [Judge Judy] I understand that.
- Okay.

So that took a long time.

So, so far, we have July 9th to July 11th.

Where were you on August 19th?

[laughs] Probably still in Chicago.

Doing what?

Anything other than probably that.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

So, what you're telling me,
Mr. Shegog, is the following.

That in 2019 and 2020,

you visited with your daughter
every two weeks,

according to you,
in Minneapolis, twice a month.

- [Quincey] Right.
- [Judge Judy] But in July of 2021,

you were at an event that takes you a week

to break down
and takes you a week to set up.

You want me to believe
that you didn't go in July,

different from 2019,

different from 2020, but in July of 2021,

you didn't go twice a month
to see your daughter.

Is that what you want me to believe?

My daughter was down
in Florida at the time.

You didn't go to see your daughter?

No, I did not.

[Judge Judy]
Who did you leave her with in Florida?

My sister.

I, I have my daughter for the summer,
but by me working,

that's why I went down there
to let, let her

have, um,
with my sister so I can go to work.

Why didn't she stay with her mother
so that you can go to work?

Because her mother
has her twenty-four hours,

seven days a week already,
and I don't get to see my daughter.

Why would you just take her...

- [Quincey] Because it was only...
- ...to dump her with your sister?

...because it was only a two week project.

Yeah. You see what your problem,
Mr. Shegog,

if you tell the truth,
you don't have to have a good memory.

I don't have any reason to lie to you.

[Judge Judy]
What was the damage to your house?

I had two TVs broken,

um, a PlayStation 4,

I've had a printer, a HP printer broken.

[Judge Judy]
Oh, oh, the only thing that I saw

was him tagging your house

and breaking the window.

In the first video, you can actually
see him kick the door, and then...

That's okay. I didn't see him coming out

with anything, breaking anything.

- I have...
- [Judge Judy] I didn't see him...

...pictures of all the damage
that was done.

I believe that there was damage.

I just have to connect him to it.

And it wasn't me.

[Regina] I have police reports.

I don't believe you.

[Quincey] I don't have no reason...

But I, I don't believe you,
but that doesn't mean she can prove it.

I have police reports.

- [Judge Judy] I'd like to take...
- You don't believe me the whole time.

[Judge Judy]
...a look at the police report.

Like I'm sitting here,
I ain't lying to you for some reason.

[Judge Judy] I'm...

I ain't gotta lie to you, ma'am.

You lied to me when you say
you leave her with the keys.

Okay. You're the judge.

[Judge Judy] I am.

It's a very detailed narrative
by the Minneapolis Police Department,

what was on the footage.

[announcer] And later today.

She's gotta get your permission
to sell it and give you half the proceeds.

She didn't wanna live
in the mobile home to begin with.

But if something happens to her,
it belongs to you.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Defendant Regina Monegan
is countersuing Quincey Shegog,

claiming he burglarized
and vandalized her property.

Quincey says he was not in the state
at the time of the incidents.

[Judge Judy]
Now, the police outlined what happened.

It clearly shows the plaintiff,

who they described to a T,

and who appears in the footage

going in the house
and coming out of the house.

Now, you moved out
of that apartment complex?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] So any damage
that was done was done but you moved?

- I'm not gonna ask you...
- I was forced to move.

Well, there were a lot of things that
were going on there that were not right.

And he damaged some of your property.

Yes.

- And you drove his car, right?
- Yes.

And you weren't supposed to drive his car.

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
Because you have no driver's license.

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
So, you're asking me for some help, right?

- Yup.
- [Judge Judy] Yup.

And there isn't a question in my mind
that you vandalized her house.

So, you want me to help you?
Courts don't do that...

Why would you think I...

why would you think
that was me that did that?

[Judge Judy] Oh, because I saw pictures.

That's...

And I don't have to have proof
by beyond a reasonable doubt

that you damaged her house, sir.

I have to have more evidence
than not that you vandalized her house

and damaged her property.

And based upon
what I've heard from both of you,

there's more evidence than not
that I believe that you did it.

If I were in a jury,
and it was a criminal case,

and I had to prove
by beyond a reasonable doubt

that it was you,
I don't know if I could do that.

Fortunately, for me,
my quantum of proof here,

in small claims courts is just
more proof than not that you did it.

So, I don't help you, likewise, you.

You had absolutely no right
to get behind the wheel of a car,

and your description of the events

of the 26th of June,

how this accident happened
and what you were doing,

driving around the block,
is all too vague for me.

So, it was the wrong thing for him to do

and it was equally the wrong thing
for you to do.

And courts don't have time
to help wrongdoers.

And I assume you haven't had anything
to do with him for a while?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Great.

Goodbye and good luck.

Keep it that way. We're done here.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

A situation happened
where I was in an accident

and he couldn't understand that.

There was not a me and him for a while,
so this is it.

So after reading
the complaint and the answer,

I'd say that was a pretty even wash

because what he was claiming
the value of his car was

and what she was claiming
the damages that he caused.

The car was worth between...

Between 3,000 and 5,000 for...

- [Judge Judy] So...
- ...a private party sale.

- Right.
- [Sarah] So, I think you both...

[Judge Judy] And she was...

...do the wrong thing
and you can't be enriched for that.

Both did the wrong thing. [chuckles]

Uh-hmm.

I didn't believe him at all,

and I think that maybe
she was a little tipsy

when she was driving and she shouldn't
have been driving anyway.

Driving without a license
is a serious offense.

Yeah. And evidently, she's done it before.

- [Sarah] Yeah.
- She gets tickets

for driving without a license, please.

Case number 1156, Ivie Sr. versus Cohens.

All parties, please step forward.

[announcer] Courtney Ivie, Sr.

is suing his ex-fiancee, Denise Cohens,

for her half of mortgage payments
and the value of his property.

Mr. Ivie, how long have you
and Ms. Cohens been together?

Probably the last eight years.

[Judge Judy] Were you ever married?

No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Not to her, to anybody.

[Courtney] Yes. I was married
to my daughter's mother.

[Judge Judy] For how long?

[Courtney] Sixteen years.

In what year did you
and Ms. Cohens start to live together?

Probably, about eight years ago, um...



[Courtney] 2012.

[Judge Judy]
Women know that sort of thing.

Do you remember when in 2012
you started to live together?

He retired, so that was in...

July when he moved from Minnesota

and came to live with me in Michigan.

Had you known each other before?

Since I was eight.

[Judge Judy]
So you retired in July of 2012?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And you sort of
kept in touch with each other

and decided to live together?

Now, you moved in with her?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Was it her apartment?

Yeah. Her father had left her a duplex.

- [Judge Judy] So it was her home?
- [Courtney] Yes.

[Judge Judy]
When you moved in with Ms. Cohens,

did you help with mortgage?

She didn't have a mortgage,
so I went to work

and I started paying
all the utilities at her house.

Okay. So, you lived together as a couple,

starting in 2012, you got a job,
paid your own expenses.

Yes, ma'am.

As if you were married, but not quite?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Now, at some point,
the two of you, together,

as a couple, left the townhouse.

In what year did you leave the townhouse?

'12.

- 2013.
- 2013.

Thank you, again.

Did you sell the townhouse?

[Denise] No, ma'am.

I gave it to my daughter
since my father gave it to me.

[Judge Judy] Father gave it to you,
you gave it to your daughter,

and moved back to Minnesota?

I never lived in Minnesota.

[Judge Judy]
You moved with him to Minnesota?

Yes. He came to Minnesota first

to get the apartment
and everything set up.

I stayed in Detroit to pack up
my home for three months.

[Judge Judy]
You took an apartment in Minnesota?

Yes, ma'am.

How large an apartment?

One bedroom.

[Judge Judy] And that was in 2013?

Yes, ma'am.

You lived in that one-bedroom apartment.

Was that lease
in both of your names, or just...

[Courtney] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Both.

From 2013, you lived in this
one-bedroom apartment, until when?

[Courtney] Until two years ago.

[Judge Judy] When did you leave
that one-bedroom apartment?

It was January the 16th, 2019.

[Judge Judy]
And January 16th, 2019, where did you go?

I was looking for a mobile home
to retire in and we bought a mobile home.

[Judge Judy] And then, at some point,
the relationship ended.

And this is what your lawsuit is about.

You say you want her
to return money that you spent

towards the mortgage on a mobile home?

Eighteen months.

Do you still have the mobile home?

Yes, I do, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Is it in both of your names?

Yes, it is.

It, it is until...

Right now, it's in both your names?

Yes, 'cause I refinanced it, so...

[Judge Judy] Doesn't make any difference.

It's in both your names?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And if you wanna sell it
at any point, you have to get half.

Otherwise, you don't sign your name.
[chuckles]

Now, you refinanced it,
but in order to refinance it,

because that's interesting, Ms. Cohens,

didn't they need his signature
to refinance it?

I'm the borrower, he's the co-signer.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

When did you refinance it, in what year?

[Denise] Just four months ago,

when he claimed he was moving out,
the relationship...

- [Judge Judy] Just a sec...
- ...was over.

[Judge Judy]
Just a...so, four months ago, he left?

No, he was still in the household.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

The relationship was over?

Yes.

He moved into the guest room.

[Judge Judy] Fine.

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] I'm a bank.

You have a mobile home that's owned
by two people, so two people's names.

You wanna take more money
out of that mobile home,

more cash, so you refinance it.

You need his signature on that.

Just a second,
that's either a yes or a no.

No, I didn't wanna take cash out.

[Judge Judy]
You just wanted to refinance it?

To lower my mortgage payment
since he was moving out.

Okay.

But he had to sign that.

[Denise] No.

He didn't have to sign any papers?

- [Denise] No.
- For you to refinance the mortgage?

No.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

So Mr. Ivie, the two of you lived
together as a married couple

but you weren't married.

You lived together for a long time.

And there are no courts
for almost marrieds.

If you are married,

you live in probably a state

that is a community property state

or a state that says we're gonna split
everything down the middle.

But you're not married.

So, you lived in a place
and you paid a mortgage on the place.

I understand what you wrote.

She stopped paying the mortgage,
so you had to pay the mortgage...

[Courtney] Excuse me, Your Honor,

she never paid the mortgage for 18 months,
I did.

Plus, you know, I tried to split
everything down the middle.

- That's a lie.
- [Judge Judy] Uh, yeah. Just a sec.

And she refuses anything.

[Denise] That's a lie.

[Judge Judy] Listen, listen to me, sir.

It doesn't make any difference,
to me or to any court.

You two people lived together,
as a married couple,

but you weren't married.

If you chose to pay the mortgage,
good for you...

But we had an agreement.

Now, courts don't care

when you share a bed
what your agreement was.

We don't care.

I don't care.

We decided that we'll
get a boat, so we can go fishing.

I allowed...

Put your hand down.

She refuses to give anything back
and refuses to give me any compensation.

She just wanna take everything and run.

Put your hand down.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Courtney Ivie, Sr.
claims his ex-fiancee, Denise Cohens,

owes for her half of mortgage payments
and the value of his property.

Denise is countersuing,

claiming Courtney
defamed her on social media.

Now, you lived together,
you now moved out.

And you moved out
and bought something of your own?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] What did you buy?

I bought a home.

[Judge Judy] Great. Who do you live with?

Me.

Even better.

And if she sells this mobile home,
your name is still on the title?

Yes, it is.

[Judge Judy]
She's gotta get your permission

to sell it and give you half the proceeds.

- Well, I asked her for...
- [Denise] Ma'am...

Just a second.

I can't force her to do that.

She didn't wanna live
in the mobile home to begin with.

It was you who wanted
to live in the mobile home.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
That's what I gathered from the papers.

Did you get used to the mobile home?

The one that I'm in? I picked out.

[Judge Judy]
Okay. So you got used to living...

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] ...in a mobile home.

- Love it.
- [Judge Judy] Now you love it.

So, you're not gonna sell it anytime soon?

No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

But if something happens to her,
it belongs to you.

Same difference.

What I'm most interested in
is the return of property

because what you say
is that she has certain property

that belongs to you,

and if you own property
that she refuses to give you,

that's what I wanna hear about.

[Courtney] Okay.

I bought a, a lawnmower,
a snow blower when we first moved

into the mobile trailer,
on her Home Depot card,

and I paid off, cash,
so they actually belong to me.

That's a lie.

Don't speak.

- [Courtney] Now, I also...
- [Judge Judy] When...just a second.

When did you buy the lawnmower
on her Home Depot card?

Last year.

And when did you buy the snow blower?

Last year before winter hit.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

I also don't wanna know about that.

That's when you were living together
as a couple,

you put it on her Home Depot card,
but you paid it off.

Who cares?

I wanna know about your property
that she refuses to give you.

- The snow blower, the lawn...
- [Denise] No.

- The, the furniture...
- [Judge Judy] No. That's...

[Courtney] Half of the furniture.

She paid half, I paid half,
she refuses to give anything back

and refuses to give me any compensation
for anything that I've done,

and she just wanna
take everything and run.

- I don't think that's...
- No. That's a lie.

[Judge Judy] Did you...just a second.

Don't...you're not married.

That's true.

[Judge Judy]
There's no division of property

that courts do for people living together.

If you said to me,

"She has my clothes,

she has my computer, she has my boat."

She has that, too.

- Our boat.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. Just a second.

Different story.

I thought
I recalled something about a boat.

Tell me about this boat.

We bought a boat, when COVID first hit,

when they said that we had to be
six feet apart and do social distance.

We decided that we'll get a boat
so we can go fishing.

I love to fish...

[Judge Judy] Put your hand down.

I'm sorry.

I love to fish and when she came along,
I don't even know if she knew how to fish.

[Judge Judy] Just a sec...I don't care.

You bought a boat when COVID struck?

Right.

[Judge Judy] Do you recall how much it...
put your hand down.

I'm gonna get to you in a sec.

- [Denise] Okay.
- [Courtney] $1,500.

It's a small four-footer.

Do you recall
whether you paid for that jointly

or whether you paid for that
out of joint funds?

No, I deposited 1,200 into my account,
withdrew a thousand.

She had 700 from somewhere,
we put it together and we bought the boat.

We registered the boat in my name
and my name only.

Okay.
Do you have a copy of that registration?

[Courtney] No, ma'am.

I didn't have time to go to the state
to get the copy.

Okay. Do you have a copy
of the registration, Ms. Cohens,

of the boat?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] I'd like to see it.

- Kevin?
- [Kevin] Yes.

- [Denise] Can I speak, Your Honor?
- No.

Okay.

[Judge Judy] Oh, yeah.

Courtney Eugene Ivie.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] It's your boat?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Go pick it up.

- Five days.
- [Courtney] Thank you.

- No. Your Honor...
- Thank you very much.

Five days from today,
he's picking up the boat.

Your Honor, I put the first...

[Judge Judy] I don't care.

- ...$700 on the boat.
- [Judge Judy] Listen.

- He didn't know the guy.
- [Judge Judy] Listen.

- I found the boat.
- Listen to me, carefully.

The boat is in his name.

It's his boat.

Now, I'm gonna ask you
a couple of questions.

When he moved out of the mobile home...

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
...did he take any furniture with him?

[Denise] No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
Did he take the lawnmower with him?

No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
Did he take the snow blower with him?

No, ma'am.

Did he take anything else with him?

No, ma'am.

He's picking up the boat in five days.

- Okay, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Perfect.

Yes. It is.

- I tried to give it to him at first...
- [Judge Judy] Got it?

Just a second.

That doesn't require an answer from you.

- [Denise] Oh.
- That's my judgment.

Okay.

[Judge Judy] Picking up the boat.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Five days.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] We'll give you an order.

What else is there that's your property?

The only thing else that would be there
that's considered

just my personal property would be my, um,

tighter machine for my back,
that's about it.

[Judge Judy] Did she ever use it?

No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You know what he's talking about?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] You're gonna pick that up
when you go and pick up the boat.

Yes, ma'am.

And we're going to make certain
that the boat is in good shape

because there are certain funds
that we're going to hold

until he gets the boat, do you understand?

Oh, he got the key it to it,
so I can't...I can't even get into the...

[Judge Judy] Perfect.

Now, you have a counterclaim
and your counterclaim

is a relatively a simple one
and easily dismissed.

It's for defamation.

And you say he put on the internet
that I stole his home.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Am I right?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] In his view, you did.

And there would be 50% of the community
that would believe

that you bought this home together,

it's in both your names, he left,
you still have it,

you refinanced it, he put money into it,

as did you,
and he doesn't have it anymore.

So, in his mind,
there's a reasonable interpretation

of what you did, is she stole my home.

So, your case is dismissed.

Your counterclaim.

He's gonna pick up his boat
within five days from today

along with his back machine.

We're done.

Thank you very much.

Goodbye. Good luck.

Have a happy life.

Enjoy your new home.

- Bye.
- Thank you, Your Honor.

- [Kevin] The court is adjourned.
- Thank you.

We just lost interest with each other.

I got tired of her and left.

Him not giving me attention,
I'm not giving him attention,

it was...it was a lot of little things.

She's just conniving and she's...

The same thing that should
have happened four months ago

when I offered to give him
the boat and he go head on...

Threatening,
and loud-mouthed, and everything else,

and I got tired of it and left.

- They were lovely people.
- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.

And, you know, Sarah, it looked to me like

they had a decade together that was nice.

But those types of relationships
are so hard to hear in court

because as you said, time and time again,
when you're not married,

there's no real legal remedy
that we can use to help them.

Yeah.

And people who live together really have
to understand that when you co-mingle...

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] ...and you're not married,

and things become that intertwined,
as their life...

- Uh-hmm.
- ...financially was intertwined,

you can't say,
"Well, I paid for half the furniture

that we've used for a decade."

Uh-hmm.

- So it comes down to big items.
- Uh-hmm.

- Car.
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] Boat, in whose name is it.

Now, he doesn't want the mobile home
because he's bought his own.

Uh-hmm.

And when you read the complaint
and the answer,

she was a reluctant person
when it came to moving into a mobile home.

She's now come to like it,

and I'm glad he's getting his boat back

because he feels as if he got something.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] You know...

Makes it feels more equitable.

- It makes it feel more equitable.
- Uh-hmm.

Sometimes that's all we can do...

- [Judge Judy] Sometime...
- ...when we're constrained.

Right. Sometimes that's all you can do.

[Sarah] Yeah.

[announcer] Want justice?



[theme music playing]