01x78 - Nasty Breakup/Flipping Twins

[bunniefuu]

After the breakup,

he vandalized both your house
and your car?

Yes.

He does a lotta drinking, he was
drunk.

It got to the point we're yelling.

I'm done, I'm going to my mama house.
I can do what I wanna do.

And you just left?

Yes.

I was escorted out by the, uh,
police.

Well, that's not a "just left."

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Danielle Lovett
is suing her ex-fiance,

Mario Griffin,

for vandalism and emotional distress.

[Kevin] Court come to order, all
rise.

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case 1078 Lovett versus Griffin.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Lovett, from what
I read from your complaint,

it is your allegation that the
defendant,

who was your boyfriend and for
a period of time you lived together,

after the breakup of the
relationship,

he vandalized both your house
and your car.

That's what you're suing him for?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] The defendant
sort of acknowledges

that he lost his temper once

and he broke some windows in your
house.

He acknowledges that he did it
and he said he paid you $400

for the broken windows.

As far as the other things
are concerned, he denies

that he caused any damage
whatsoever to your car.

And he says, as an addition,
when you were living together,

he purchased certain items for the
house.

He is no longer in the house
and he wants those items back.

And in addition,

he says that you filed a false
police report against him

which we'll get to in a moment.

That's what the case is about,
so you have a counterclaim?

Yes.

So I need some dates from you
first.

Tell me the month and year

that the two of you moved in
together.

It was September 2017.

[Judge Judy] Did you move
to his apartment,

did he move to your apartment,

or did you move into an apartment
or a house together?

We moved in together.

[Judge Judy] So you found
an apartment together.

Where had you been living previously?

[Danielle] He was stayin' with his
mom

and I was stayin' with mine's.

[Judge Judy] And in 2017
when you moved in together,

was the lease in both your names
or in one name?

Mine's.

[Judge Judy] Is there any reason for
that?

I mean, it's a good...
actually, it's a very good idea

and one that I support

because if things don't work out

then somebody knows they have to go

rather than being a joint lease that
you both involved in.

Okay. Well, with his background,

he wasn't, um, eligible to get on a
lease.

He couldn't pass the background
check.

[Judge Judy] Oh, okay. Is that
correct?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] So lease it

and you still, as a couple,
living in this apartment

- when the breakup took place?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
And the breakup took place

what month, day, and year?

[Danielle] January 25th, 2021.

[Judge Judy] And it was not
an amicable breakup,

- so he left quickly?
- Yeah.

He still had time to get his things.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Had you discussed breaking up?

No, he just left. Left on his own.

[Judge Judy] On January 25th,
tell me what happened.

- She said you just decided to leave.
- [Mario] Okay.

January the 25th, uh,
we did have some issues.

I'm a truck driver.

So, I'd be over the road driving
trucks and Danielle would call me

while I'm over the r...road disturbing
me,

asking me if I'm on the phone
with females, asking me...

[Judge Judy] Okay. So she's being
jealous?

- [Mario] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

[Mario] And like I say, um, you know,

it was a big distraction
and it's kind of frustrating

'cause I have to focus on this road,
I'm a driver.

[Judge Judy] Okay. I got it
that you didn't want a distraction,

m-but you've been together now
four years and living together

in the same place for four years.

I'm asking these questions
and there's a reason for it

- based on your counterclaim, sir.
- [Mario] Okay.

[Judge Judy] Had you planned on
leaving?

Well, we talked about it.

We had some conversations, and I was
like, "This is not working."

- And...
- On what date

did you tell her that it wasn't
working?

January the 25th.

[Judge Judy] Is that when
you came home from a job?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] So you were at home?

- [Mario] Yes.
- And you just left?

[Mario] I was escorted out
by the, uh, police.

[Judge Judy] Well, that's not
a "just left."

- [Mario] Right.
- I mean,

I don't remember
because I'm old but, you know,

I've been in various relationships
but I don't remember

ever calling the police
to escort somebody out.

Well, that was the plan was to me

to just leave like that but she got
mad

and she felt like
I was grabbing some of my things,

and she called the police
and lied and said...

Okay. Just a second.

So that the plaintiff called the
police?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Ms. Lovett,

on the 25th of January,
do you want to tell me

why you called the police?

The 25th of January,
the police wasn't called.

We had been arguin' and...

previously, and on that day,

he does a lotta drinkin', he was
drunk,

and he just decided
to, like, start wit' me.

It got to the point we're yelling,
you know,

neighbors worryin' about
what's goin' on, he left.

He got this things, he left, he told
me to keep whateva, you know,

"Don't worry about nothin', I'm done,

I'm goin' to my mama house,
I could do what I wanna do."

[Judge Judy] Okay. So he left and he
said,

"I'm going to my mother's house."

[Danielle] Yeah. That time,
the police was not called.

When were they called?

It was a previous time
before that, in 2020.

That's not when the police was
called.

Okay. But let me...

- [Danielle] He left willingly.
- You know, sometimes

people need their recollection
refreshed.

Does it refresh your recollection,
sir, that the police were called

- in the year 2020?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Not January 25th, 2021
when you just left?

[Mario] But also then, so.

[Judge Judy] You have any proof
that they were called that day?

No, I don't have any proof

and I can also say they was
called again on, um, like, May 25th.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

But, you said you were leaving?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And between January 25th

and May of 2021,

did you and the plaintiff
have any contact?

Yes. I actually moved back in...

- [Judge Judy] When?
- [Mario] End of February, March.

- Is that right?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] So we took a breather?

- [Danielle] Yes.
- And you took him back?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And that didn't work
out

and there was an incident in May?

Yeah. It's...it be a lot of incidents.

- [Judge Judy] Oh, yeah, well...
- So...

- Just a second.
- [Danielle] In May, we're not...

- Wait, just a...wait, wait, wait.
- [Danielle] In May...

[Judge Judy] One second.

He only brung a mattress back,
not the box spring.

He sold the mattress to his friend
last year for $50.

Well, I cannot believe

I went to 10 years
post graduate school for this.

Yes.

My father would be proud.

[announcer] Later...

There was no agreement or
understanding

from the very beginning to the time
he sold the house behind my back

that he had anything to do
other than live in the house.

- [Judge Judy] Smothers?
- Yes.

Let me read to you what you wrote in
your sworn complaint.

[tense music playing]

[announcer] Danielle Lovett claims
her ex-fiance, Mario Griffin,

vandalized her car
and caused emotional distress.

Mario is countersuing
for his belongings and an as*ault.

Is what you're saying to me, Ms.
Lovett,

that between January 25th,

you and the defendant
continued to have contact

and he moved back in
at the end of March, of 2021?

Yes, he moved back in March.

- [Judge Judy] Until when?
- March till, uh, August 3rd.

[Judge Judy] Well, then I'm confused
and I'm confused because of this.

You claim in your complaint that the
damage you're complaining about

happened on February 11th.

- [Danielle] Yes, he left...
- Sh...just a second.

And then after that damage to your
windows and/or your car,

you resumed living together in March?

Yes. That's when he came back in
March.

You continued living together
for several months?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Sleeping together?

- [Danielle] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Eating together?

[Danielle] Yes.

- Socializing together?
- [Danielle] Yes.

Then quite frankly, I don't care
what happened in February.

And neither does any court care
what happened in February.

You two were keeping house.

There's a word in the law
called condonation

and that means that if something
happens between a couple

and they have a fight,
and a spat, and they break things

and they call each other names,

and they call their in-laws names,

and then they go back
to living together as a couple,

the courts don't care about it

'cause you evidently
didn't care about it,

you didn't care about it enough

not to [chuckles] resume your
relationship with him.

So quite frankly, I don't care

and I'm not going to assist you
in fixing things

that he may have broken,

that he may have done
while you were separated

if you took him back
and you continued to live together.

So your case is dismissed.

Now, I'm gonna get
to the counterclaim, that's easy.

Did he buy the following things,
a deep freezer?

We purchased together.

- Is that correct?
- [Mario] No.

[Judge Judy] Prove to me
that you purchased it alone.

I have the receipt here

and it's paid for with my bank
account and, um...

Okay. I'd like to take a look at it.

Okay.

Here's the receipt that [indistinct]

receipt [indistinct] system.

Now...

what was purchased at Home Depot
was $151.80,

and do you have the receipt for
the surround sound system?

- Um, I wasn't able to...
- That's either a yes or a no.

- No.
- Okay.

Do you have a receipt
for a sectional sofa?

[Mario] Yes, I have.

I'd like to see it.

[Mario] Okay. Hold on,

take that there and this
just...

'cause I financed it
but it's a paper in here

that just says paid in full.

That one's...yeah, that's the one
that said paid in full.

What is this?

This is a lease to own.

[Mario] Right. It's just a paper
up there that says paid in full,

zero for the amount of the...the
furniture

and the sectional
and the queen size bed.

Okay. And this was

- 15th of December of 2017?
- [Mario] Yes, well it was paid...

[Judge Judy] This is a customer
receipt.

- [Mario] Yeah.
- Well, let me ask you

the following questions before I go
through all of these things.

So this is all old stuff.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And the iPhone
that you say you bought her...

- [Mario] Yeah.
- ...you say you bought her

- and then you turned off service?
- [Mario] Yes.

Which is you have every right to do.

And then what year
was the iPhone 11 purchased?

The iPhone 11 was purchased 2021.

[Judge Judy] In what month?

[Mario] March 27th.

[Judge Judy] When you moved back in?

Yes.

- [Danielle] No.
- [chuckles] Okay.

Did you give it to her as a gift?

No. I have a business account

and by me eh...having a business
account,

I'm able to get business phones

and so I said, "Hey,
I can get a extra iPhone."

[Judge Judy] Great.

All right. Do you have your iPhone?

- Yeah. I still have it.
- [Judge Judy] Great.

Great. Great.

Did you put it on a new payment plan?

[Danielle] I switched
my phone number to it.

That's either a yes or a no.

I can't do anything with it.

He cut it off,
took my phone number, and...

Just a second.

So you can't do anything with it.

Well, he's not gonna pay for it.

So now you have it, frame it,

I don't know what you wanna do with
it, okay.

When you lived together,
did you have a joint bank account?

- No, we did not.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Can you tell me,
I have just a couple of bills,

one is for a four-year old bedroom
set.

- Right.
- [Judge Judy] Which I know

that the two of you used
and one is a receipt for

$151.80 for a deep freezer.

He says he paid for it.

You said we purchased it.

Explain that to me.

I gave him, like, $50 on it.

We purchased it together,
as far as the deep freezer.

What about the bedroom set?

The bedroom set, he moved out.

I have a receipt where I purchased
my own furniture set right here.

He brung his back.

Um, his is broken, his bed, he sold.

He only brung a mattress back,
not the box spring.

He sold the mattress
to his friend last year for $50.

So, the bed isn't even there.

[Judge Judy] I'm not following you.

When did you buy a new bedroom set?

[Danielle] I bought a bedroom set
'cause he moved out once

and he took what he bought.

So this was January 2018,

- I bought a sectional and a bed.
- Okay.

[Danielle] He brung his back
broken.

J...j...just a second.

So you were living together in 2018,

and separated for a period of time,

- is that what you're saying?
- [Danielle] Yes. He...yes.

And when you separated back in
January of '18 for a period of time,

'cause I got that this was a
back and forth,

you're saying he took his bedroom set
with him...

- [Danielle] Yes.
.....and you purchased another one?

Purchased another.

[Judge Judy] Is that what you're
saying?

Does that have
a ring of familiarity to you?

Your Honor, when I moved
my furniture out and bedroom set out

at the time, at...in January...

- Yes.
- [Mario] ...yes, uh, we ended up

gettin' back together,
and it's a two-bedroom apartment,

and she bring the furniture back,
bring everything back,

bring the TV back, um, this and that,

- we back together.
- [Danielle] We didn't.

[Mario] So I bought all my furniture
back,

I bought everything back to the
apartment.

She did purchase another bed
and another furniture set section...

That the two of you used together?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Well then let me ask you this,

so what you're telling me is
that the bedroom set,

which is really the only thing
I'm interested in,

I'm not interested
in a two-year old freezer

that cost a hundred dollars,

the bedroom set that you purchased
was in the second bedroom?

No, it was in our bedroom and r...so
the...

And what did you do with the one
that she purchased?

[Mario] It's in the second bedroom.

[Judge Judy] Oh, I cannot believe

I went to 10 years post graduate
school for this.

Yes. [laughs]

My father would be proud.

You sold the house for $27,000.

And then the next buyer
sold it for $108,000.

I feel like you stole that
whole amount from me.

It doesn't matter what the next
buyer did.

[Jon] It wasn't your profit selling
it.

If you sold it,
you should've at least told me

before you bought another house.

Are they getting it out of their
system?

Yeah?

[tense music playing]

[announcer] Danielle Lovett has
accused her ex-fiance, Mario Griffin,

of vandalizing her car and
harassment.

Mario claims Danielle refuses
to give back belongings he purchased.

Let me put it to you this way,
do you have any of his bedroom...

Nothing. Nothing is there.

- [Judge Judy] Nothing is there?
- Nothing.

- [Judge Judy] Nothing, she has
nothing. - Not bedroom...

- She has nothing.
- [Mario] She's lying.

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- No bed. Couch is there, broken.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

The couch is there that he
purchased?

[Danielle] Yes.

[Judge Judy] And it's in your
apartment?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Great.

So you have five days to get it out,
do you understand?

- Okay.
- [Judge Judy] If you don't get it

out of her apartment
with a mover within five days,

on notice to her
as to what day you're coming,

you will have considered
the sofa abandoned,

do you understand?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Yes.

- Can I...
- [Judge Judy] Perfect.

Then I have resolved this case.

- Your claim is dismissed.
- [Mario] Yeah.

Because of the reasons that I stated.

You have my judgment, do you
understand?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Perfect. Thank you.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

Well, it wasn't fair
because he did the damages

but he's still gonna pay for it.

Um, I kind of think
it's a m...money thing, you know.

You know, whether we get back
together,

he still did it
so that was not fair at all.

[Mario] I'm a truck driver,
so I make a little money and...

He could kick rocks.

He could kick rocks.

She could use it for her benefits,
you know.

He's a narcissist.
He could find a next victim.

Glad it's over with and hey,
I'mma move on, you know.

That's basically it.

[Sarah]
So can you just explain a little bit

why if he did damage the home or the
car

while they were together,

is getting back together
enough of an out for him

to not be responsible
for that sort of damage?

[Judge Judy] Well, I took a term
that I learned in law school

which is called condonation

and when you sue for the damage
that your mate,

your spouse did
during the course of a marriage,

you may use a course of conduct
as a reason for a divorce,

but courts can't go back
and rewrite history.

- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
- Now she's going back six months

and say, "Well, he broke
the windows in my house

and he smashed the window in my car."

Well, evidently you weren't upset
about it enough

not to let somebody
who had that propensity...

- Uh-hmm.
- ...back into your life

and back into your bedroom.

So, uh, you know, there's a good
lesson for everybody,

especially for women, leopards don't
change their spots usually.

Anyway, condonation, be smart.

Case 1088, Smothers versus Smothers.

All parties, please step forward.

[announcer] John Smothers is suing
his twin brother Chad Smothers

for his portion of profits
from selling a house.

Mr. Smothers, this is your brother,

it is your claim that he owes you
your share of the profit

- f...from flipping a house.
- Yes, Judge.

I read your complaint, I read the
answer,

and it appears that you purchased
two houses at auction.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] In what year

did that take place?



[Judge Judy] And the purpose
of purchasing the houses

was for you and your brother
to refurbish them

and sell them at a profit?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Do you have a written contract
with your brother?

I have no written contract.

[Judge Judy] So this was an oral
agreement with regard to real estate?

There was no agreement.
I bought the houses.

The only reason he came to the
auction

was to put the house in his
name.

[Judge Judy] Just a...listen,
he put the houses in his name,

the houses are in his name,
that means he owns them.

If you say there was no agreement
between the two of you

to flip these houses, which I
actually thought you said there was,

then houses were purchased in 2012,

they were put in your brother's name,
so he owns the two houses.

[Chad] Your Honor,
we did have an agreement.

We, we agreed we would work together
on the two houses

together at the beginning

and one would be his
and one would be mine.

[Jon] That's not the agreement
whatsoever.

I bought the houses for me and her

to keep...live in one
and invest and sell the other one.

He had no nowhere else to live, he
had nowhere to go, he's lost his job,

so he moved into a house that was

for all intensive purposes,
unlivable.

There was no agreement or
understanding from the very beginning

to the time he sold the house
behind my back

that he had anything to do
but...other than live in the house.

- [Judge Judy] Smothers?
- Yes.

You're the complainant, J. Smothers?

Yes, Jon.

[Judge Judy] Let me read to you
what you wrote

in your sworn complaint.

"Chad is my identical twin brother.

I was in the military
and when I was done, I lost my home.

I was good at building and renovation
so I had the idea

to start buying cheap properties,
fix them up,

and then flip them for profit."

That's what you wrote,
that's your signature.

"First time I did this,
I went to an auction

with my children's mother and Chad."

That would be you,

"I had to put the houses
in my brother's name

in order to avoid some pending
erroneous leans.

I bought the two houses.
I was going to live in one

and Chad and I were going to
renovate both properties."

That's what you said. Uh, were you
mistaken when you said that?

- After...no, I was not mistaken.
- [Judge Judy] J...just...think,

think about what you just said

and what I just read to you that you
wrote in your sworn complaint.

The houses were purchased
for my, my plan, my idea.

He had nowhere else to live, yes, I...

eventually when he moved in to the
house,

I agreed that if he's gonna live
there and do work on it,

with no, no rent, no payment, no
nothing,

that he would be able to eventually,

if, if we...when we sold the house
together,

that, yeah, he would get some of the
money

but it wasn't his house to sell,
it was my money, my plan,

my investment, he just put his hand
up

during the...during the, the auction.

- He did.
- But...

- Then we did sell the house...
- He took $2,700 into the house.

- [Judge Judy] Keep going.
- And I made it worth enough to sell.

You sold the house for $27,000

and then the next buyer sold it
for $108,000.

I feel like you stole that
whole amount from me.

It doesn t matter what the next
buyer did.

It wasn't your property to sell
and if you sold it,

you should've at least told me
before you bought another house.

You bought a whole another house

and didn't even tell me
and I found out through a friend

that you have this money now

and that you didn't g...give me
a single nickel off of it.

Now maybe we didn't a exact
agreement

of how much you should get or how
much I should get

but I didn't know you even sold the
house

and you only got 30 grand for it.

[Chad]
It got nowhere near 30 grand, but...

Are they getting it out of their
system?

Yeah? Goodbye

You...case is barred by the statute
of limitations, we're done.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

He was living in a house.

2017 and he sold it and didn't tell
me that he even sold it.

I put all my blood, sweat, and tears
into fixing that house up.

He did put an initial investment
into it.

I should've been able to at least
get half of the money

from the profit
from him selling that house.

No, not everyone always
gets a return on their investment.

Sometimes people lose money
on their investments but...

I don't have a brother.

I wish this didn't keep us
from being brothers

but maybe we can work it out later.

Yeah, blood is thicker than water

but blood will hurt you just as worse
than anybody else.

So there is a perfect example

of why courts insist
that you bring your actions

if there's a breach of a contract,
if there's an accident,

if there's a claim of negligence,
whatever the claim is,

within a reasonable period of time

but the theory of it is
that memories are fresh,

documents are fresh,

this guy couldn't even remember
from when he signed his complaint

to the story he just began to tell
me.

So there is a reason why courts
insist

that a case be fresh
because memories are clear.

And they were far outside
of that fresh period.

[chuckles] Far outside the fresh
period.

[announcer]
Are you having a family dispute?



[theme music playing]