01x79 - Sisters Roommate Nightmare

[bunniefuu]

It got to be nasty
between two sisters.

[Vincent] They just started screaming
at each other.

Aunt?

I heard my aunt.

She was gonna send her dogs on her
cats so that they could k*ll them.

I didn't see anything. 'Cause I was in my
room trying to avoid it.

Sounds like
a holy uncivilized way to live.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Latisha Nichols
is suing her sister,

Lilia Rubio, for the destruction
of her property

and the return of rent.

[Kevin] All rise.

Be seated, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.
We have case number 1004,

- Nichols versus Rubio.
- Thank you, Kevin.

Thank you.

Ms. Nichols, I've read your
complaint. This is your sister.

- Yes, it is.
- [Judge Judy] And there came a time

when you and your family moved in
with your sister.

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
Can you tell me when that was?

- That was in October.
- [Judge Judy] Of what year?

Of 2020.

And how many were there in your
family?

There were seven of us.

- You, your husband, and children?
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] Where had you been living
prior to moving in with your sister?

Uh we lived in our own home in Barstow.

Is it a home that you rented
or owned?

- We rented.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So tell me what was the reason

that you and your family
moved in with your sister?

You're gonna give it to me
from your perspective.

I know, but tell me your perspective

on why your sister welcomed you

and five children into her house.

We were asked to move in
or she was gonna lose her house.

She could not afford it on her own

since she was about
to go through a divorce.

She came to us
and she asked us to move in.

She said her income was only $1,400.

Her mortgage was $1,900,

and she wouldn't be able
to keep the house.

Okay.

Ms. Rubio, is that
your understanding of the reason

that your sister and her family
moved in with you in October?

- Yes, it is.
- [Judge Judy] How large is your home?

It's a five-bedroom, three bath.
It has two masters.

- Who in your family was living there?
- Myself and my two children.

And I assume your sister is correct
when she said, at the time,

around October,
you were going through a divorce.

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] And prior to that,

your husband lived with you?
He was employed?

- Correct.
- Are you still in that house?

- Yes, ma'am.
- And it's a house that you own.

Yes, ma'am.

It is your claim, Ms. Nichols,

that at some point, your sister evicted
you from the house.

She harassed us.

You say she harassed you
but your claim

is that she really evicted you
from the house

and as a result of that eviction,
you suffered certain losses.

You had to go to a hotel.

Your children was separated.

Uh, those were all things
that flow from that.

She did not bring
eviction proceedings against you.

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- You lived there in October.
- [Laticia] Uh-hmm.

- Paid rent.
- [Laticia] Uh-hmm.

- What was your rent?
- It was $1,500.

And are you employed?

I receive disability.
I'm about to be cut off.

I had some surgeries
and gonna be going back to work.

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- And I also receive...my children

have survivor benefits from their
father.

- Who is this?
- This is my son.

- Where is your husband?
- My husband's at work.

Are any of the five children,

the children of your current husband?

I don't have many children with him
but his daughter

was residing in the home.

- Okay. So you have four children?
- Me? Oh, I have...

- [Judge Judy] You...
- I have four children.

[Judge Judy] You have four children
with your now deceased husband.

- [chuckles] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Got that?

- Yup.
- Okay. And they receive

survivor benefits.
And how much does each child receive

- from survivor benefits?
- Eight hundred.

- [Judge Judy] Eight hundred a month?
- [Laticia] Uh-hmm.

So there was a period of time you
were receiving $3,200 a month from...

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] ...survivor benefits.

- And you were receiving disability.
- [Laticia] Uh-hmm.

- How much did you receive?
- A thousand thirty-two, currently.

- And your husband was working.
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] This is
what I gather from your complaint

is the gravamen of your case
for eviction.

There came a time,
some time in December of 2020,

because you lived there,
paid rent in October.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] I assume

if I asked you the same question,
you live with your sister

- and paid rent in November.
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] An incident occurred
in December

between your sister and your husband.

First, between me and her.

About what?

I moved in, I wasn't told that her
income

was gonna be $1,400 a month.

And then I see that she's breeding
dogs on the side as a side hustle,

making thousands of dollars,

so I questioned this,

"Why am I paying $1,500
of your mortgage

and you're only paying $400
when you just made all this money?"

And so it became an attack.

"You're just jealous and insecure,
looking to see what I have."

And it just escalated from there.
There was tension in the home. Um I

- paid her the money, regardless, but...
- [Judge Judy] Well, Ms. Nichols,

my question to you is, you had
an arrangement with your sister...

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] ...that you were going

to pay $1,500 a month...

[Laticia] Based on the 1,400
that I knew was her income.

I don't care what you knew.
You had an agreement with her

to pay $1,500 a month.

And if she hit the lottery
and got a million dollars,

[chuckles] you're still obligated
to pay $1,500 a month for yourself...

- [Laticia] Yes.
- ...your husband,

and five children,
four of your own and one of his.

- That's your obligation.
- And I did.

[Judge Judy] So if she's making money

because she's breeding puppies
and selling them,

that has nothing to do with you.

I mean, you said that it began
with the two of you over money,

but I'm just letting you know that that's
not a sympathetic argument,

because it wouldn't be
a sympathetic argument

if you were getting
a thousand forty-five dollars

in disability
and then you went back to work

and you were earning $3,000 a month.

And she said, "Well, now
that you're earning $3,000 a month,

you have to pay me
$2,000 a month for rent."

You had an agreement,
and the agreement was $1,500.

[Laticia] Yes. And I understand that.
It was just supposed...

- meant to be a conversation.
- I mean, it was my understanding

that the difficulty arose
with your husband and the defendant,

and you who indicated,

"You know, between the two of us,
we had a problem first."

Yeah. I think we're getting
a little bit ahead of ourselves,

because there was some incidents
that happened that same day,

- earlier that day...
- [Judge Judy] What day?

- ...that led up...December 8th.
- Were you at home?

Me and my children were home
and they witnessed it.

I was out that morning to go get
everybody in the home breakfast.

So you didn't witness
any incident on December 8th?

With my belongings? With my things?

- Well, is that what started this...
- [Laticia] Yes.

Okay. Did you witness it?

I have text messages of her.

I don't...I didn't witness
with my eyes but I have the threats

- and the follow...through pictures.
- Did you...do you have a witness?

- Yes.
- Is that your son?

- [Laticia] Yes.
- Okay. Tell me his first name.

Vincent.

[Judge Judy] Vincent,
could you step up, please?

Vincent, you were home
on December 8th?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] About what time

did you witness an incident
that you felt was disturbing?

I don't remember what exact time
but it was early in the morning.

Okay. Where was your mother?

She was out getting food for
everyone.

Okay. And tell me what you witnessed.

I was gonna go to my mom's room,
but then I saw all of...

like our Christmas stuff were just shoved
in front of her door.

- And that was on December 8th?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] So when you say
Christmas stuff,

tell me what you're talking about.

Like decorations to put outside
or like around the house.

Okay. And it was put
in front of your mom's door.

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] And?

Well, I mean, I kind of...
that was it until um she came home.

[Judge Judy] Okay. So what you saw
were Christmas decorations

that were supposed to be...

that you thought was supposed to be
put around the house

- and they were...
- They were thrown.

- They weren't like neatly put down.
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] Just a...just a second. They
were in front of your mother's door.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Now, you can sit down, Vincent.

Okay. So the Christmas decorations
are in front of your door.

Now, let's move on with this,

'cause this really doesn't have much
to do

with why you're not
in your sister's house anymore.

Well, after that,
she comes out of her room...

and they witnessed this.

- All my children witnessed it.
- [Judge Judy] No. No. Don't.

You can't tell me
what all your children witnessed.

- Am I not finished with Vincent yet?
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] Vincent,
after you went to your mother's room,

and I forgotten why you went
to your mother's room.

Well, I was just wondering
where she was.

You said, "She was out getting us
food." That's what you...

Well I didn't know that at the time
until she came back with food.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You went to look for your mother.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And when you went

to look for your mother,

you saw the Christmas decorations
in front of the door.

What did you do next?

I think I just went back to my room
and then told my brother about it.

Okay. And what happened next?

- We kind of just wait until she...
- [Judge Judy] No. What did you do?

You just waited
until your mother got home?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

So you didn't witness anything else.

You waited with your brother
until your mother got home.

- Yeah.
- Okay. See anything else that day?

I mean, a lot of stuff happened
whenever she did get home.

I grabbed my phone
to call the police.

He took it out of my hand,
threw it, breaking the pantry door.

- Did you finally get to the police?
- I did call the police.

As a result of that incident, were you
granted an order of protection?

Yes, ma'am.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Laticia Nichols claims
her sister, Lilia Rubio,

wrongfully evicted her
and destroyed her property.

Lilia is countersuing for utility
bills and property damage.

Well, what happened
when she got home?

Well, when she came home,
me and my brother,

we were trying to point out to her
that her Christmas decorations

had been thrown in front of her door.

And then Lilly came out,
she just started arguing.

[Judge Judy] And?

They just started screaming
at each other.

Vincent, was your mother's husband
home?

- Not at the time.
- When did he come home?

Sometime around 5:00.

Were you at home when he came home?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Did an incident happen

between your aunt
and your stepfather?

- Well, I believe there was at one point.
- Don't tell me what you believe.

- I only wanna know what you saw.
- I didn't see anything.

I heard it, 'cause I was in my room
trying to avoid it.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Tell me what you heard.

[Vincent] I heard Lilly
say that she was...

- [Judge Judy] That's your aunt.
- Yeah. My aunt.

I heard her say she was gonna send
her dogs on our cats

so that they could k*ll them.

That doesn't sound like a good
situation.

Does not.

[Judge Judy] Prior to moving
in with your aunt,

were your mother and stepfather
getting along?

[Vincent] Yeah. There wasn't
any problems I was aware of.

Ms. Nichols, prior to you moving
in with your sister,

were you and your husband
in any sort of counseling?

- We were in marital counseling, yes.
- Okay.

And that martial counseling

was because of a couple
of incidents that occurred.

It was due to communication.

Helping us communicate better
with each other.

How long had you been in counseling?

I would say probably three,
four months at the time.

What incident precipitated you
and your husband going to counseling?

I want you to think carefully.

What incident precipitated you
and your husband going to counseling?

I don't think
there was a specific incident.

I think it was just the way
that we talk to each other,

learning how to use the tone,
how to say things.

And we were both communicating,
getting frustration.

And so we both decided
to do something to better that.

Was there ever a time that the police
were called to your house?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Did you and your sister

have a discussion about she had dogs,
you had cats?

How many cats did you have?

We had two.
We did have a discussion about that.

- [Judge Judy] When?
- Before we moved in.

How many dogs does your sister have?

Uh well, different ones at different
times, depending on what...

[Judge Judy] In December of 2020.

[Laticia] Um, I think
she had two or three.

Okay. So now let's get back
to December the 8th.

You could sit down now.

Was that the date
that you moved out of the house?

No.

[Judge Judy] On what date
did you move out of the house?

I was back and forth in the home.

As long as you had clothes there,
you were there?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] On what date

did you move your property out?

We came for the first...the U-Haul
load was December 21st.

And then the last of it
was the last day of the month.

- And was your rent paid for that time?
- It was.

[Judge Judy] So there was an argument
between your sister and your husband.

And that argument escalated,
and the police were called.

- Were you at home?
- I was in the laundry room

- so I didn't witness anything.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

You wanna tell me what happened
with your brother-in-law?

Do you want me to tell you
from the beginning on that day?

- Yes.
- [Lilia] Okay.

So all this time, my sister, she would
complain constantly by texts,

"Do this, do that."

And I'm going through depression,
going through divorce.

I'm grieving. I'm angry.

I'm just going through a lot of
emotions.

And I lay in bed a lot.

I'm not doing well, mentally.

So I wake up to the messages,

"Turn off the heater. I'm not going to pay
for a high bill."

And previously to that, on December


she had decided to take the Christmas
decorations off of the tree

which was petty,
and I didn't...I just laughed it off,

but then by that day, I was fed up.

She had put them on the tree?

[Lilia] She put...she decorated
before Thanksgiving.

And then on December 2nd,

she decided to take the decorations
off of the Christmas tree.

- Just the tree.
- Was the tree inside or outside?

[Lilia] Inside. In the living room.

[Judge Judy] So you had a tree set up
in the house.

She, she and her husband
had set it up.

They decorated the whole house
inside out.

And she took down the decorations?

- Correct.
- Where did she put them?

In her room,
on her own Christmas tree?

Was there ever a time
that you took decorations

and put them in front of her door?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Tell me.

Where did you get those decorations?

So I got up. It was about 11:00 AM.

And I wanted to go talk to her,

because she always decided
she wanted a text,

never actually talked to me.

So she wasn't there.

I'd had enough, and I got the rest
of her Christmas decorations

from...in the living room
and I put them in front of her door.

I went outside
and got her Christmas decorations

that were hers in the front

and I put them next to her boat
on the side of the house.

You did have a Christmas tree
in your room?

- I did.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Did there come a time
on the 8th of December

or before the 8th of December
that you decided

to take some of those decorations
off the family Christmas tree

which was in the living room,

put them on your Christmas tree
in your room?

- That's either a yes or no?
- Okay. Yeah.

I took them off
and put them in my room.

Okay. That's all. Okay.

So on the 8th, you took the rest of the
decorations that she had put on.

It sounds like a holy uncivilized way
to live.

All right. Get to what happened
with your brother-in-law.

So she came home,
saw that I had moved her decorations.

When she had her children
or anyone else around,

- then she wants to...
- [Judge Judy] No, no, no.

- ...argue. Okay.
- I recognize

from listening to the two of you,
that this was not a good situation.

I could have told you that that it's hard
to live with anybody else.

How long had it been
since you lived with your sister?

- Years.
- [Judge Judy] Years.

And it was a stressful situation
for you

without five other children
and your sister

who is not happy that you're selling
puppies, whatever.

But I want you to tell me, what happened
with your brother-in-law?

Okay. I decided that instead
of always locking in myself in my room

to distance myself,
I was gonna enjoy my house, my home.

So I sat in the living room
watching TV with my dog.

He has a collar on.
He's sitting next to me on the couch.

And she's walking back and forth.
It's about 7:00 PM.

She's walking back and forth,
telling the kids

how I need to get on my feet,
how I need to be taught a lesson.

And then someone opened the front
door and one of the cats came in,

and I grabbed my dog
by his collar and I said,

"Come and get your cat
before my dog gets it."

So she's walking in and out still.

She goes, comes out of her bedroom,

and she comes behind me on the couch.

It's an open kitchen.
She's in the kitchen area.

And her husband's like walking
five steps behind her.

and he walks very closely to me.

And I just freeze.

I grabbed my phone
to call the police.

He took it out of my hand, threw it,
breaking the pantry door.

Did you finally get to the police?

I did call the police.

[Judge Judy] As a result of that incident,
were you granted an order of protection?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Was there a trial

or did the plaintiff's husband
consent to the order of protection?

He showed up and requested a
continuance

which was granted
and then he did not show up.

So the order of protection is,
according to you for two years,

and it was granted on default?

It is for until 2024.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
May I see that please?

You didn't want your kids
to be involved in the nastiness

that was going on in that house

and she didn't want her kids
to be involved in the nastiness

that was going on
between the two of you

for whatever reason.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Leticia Nichols
accuses her sister, Lilia Rubio,

of wrongfully evicting her
and destroying her property.

So I am correct that the only person

who was the subject
of that protective order

is your husband, is that right?

I guess so.
He never received anything but...

I don't know
whether he received anything or not.

He absolutely received something
because he showed up in court.

Was he removed from the house
on that date?

He was served at his job.

No. Was he removed from the house
when the police came?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

No. The day the police came,
he was not removed from the house.

On what date was he removed
from the house?

[Laticia] Two days later,
after she filed a restraining order.

- I had shown the police...
- Just...don't. Just a second.

- He was removed two days later.
- [Laticia] Uh-hmm.

- [Judge Judy] Where did he go?
- To a motel.

You were not served
with a protective order?

- No, I was not.
- He's the...

Her children are on the protective
order as well.

[Judge Judy] Are they? Can I see it?

[Sarah] Yeah. Subsection three.

Thank you.

You have a 13 and 14... your
children?

- [Lilia] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Thirteen, fourteen?

Thank you.

After your husband was removed
from the home two days later,

so that would be December 10th

you and the five children,
including your four

and your husband's one
was still in the house?

Yes. We were still in the house.

I was going back and forth,
you know, between the house

and where he was at the hotel...
or the motel.

When you say
you were going back and forth,

what does that mean?

Between the house that we lived in
that we paid for and at the room.

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- And then she moved six people in

on top of our kids
and they were on their stuff,

sleep in the beds that she said
that they could sleep on.

It was my parental duty
to remove them from a traumatic...

just everything that was going on.

Let me understand this, Ms. Nichols.

You felt because
it was a tumultuous relationship

- that you had with your sister...
- Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] ...and you didn't feel
as if your children

should be involved
in that tumultuous relationship

and in that atmosphere,

you removed yourself
and the children from the house?

After a few days of going
back and forth

and still having to hear her say
something to me,

"You need to move this.
You need to do this.

You need to do that," it-it was just
getting to be too much.

So they went to a friend's house
for a few days.

And they couldn't stay there forever

so we ended up having
to rent two motel rooms.

I had two adult children
who were still in the home

dealing with all this mess

and all the people in the house
that she moved in,

and it just wasn't getting
any better.

And they, they didn't
wanna be there either.

- And they're 22 and 21.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah.

I don't...you can't tell me...
you can't tell me what they wanted.

They were, in fact, there.

The last of your stuff
was out on December 31st.

You did in fact live,
you and your children,

lived in the house until December


You weren't removed from the house.

Your husband was removed from the
house

because the court found
that the defendant

was entitled to an order of protection
against him to vacate the house.

So a court granted
that order of protection.

Your case is what you describe
as constructive eviction.

She never forced you out of the house
or locked you out of the house.

I have text messages
and I was...I contacted a lawyer.

[Judge Judy] No. No.
You contacted a lawyer.

- You're here.
- [Laticia] To get advice.

To get...to get legal advice,
because she...you...

I'm entitled to have a quiet...
um I was her tenant.

- I should have peace...
- No. You're...no.

You are her sister.

And it got to be nasty
between two sisters.

And it got to be nasty
between your husband and your sister.

And you had kids. And she had kids.

And you didn't want your kids
to be involved in the nastiness

that was going on in that house.

And she didn't want her kids
to be involved in the nastiness

that was going on
between the two of you

for whatever reason.

Why do you think courts
have to be involved in this?

You moved with five children
and you moved with your husband.

I assume the two of you
are still together.

- Uh-hmm.
- Is that an uh-huh?

- Yes or no?
- Yes. Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
And I assume that you're happier

than you were living
in your sister's house?

Were we happier living with her?

I said are you happier now living...
that you're all living...

[Laticia] Oh, we're happier now, yes.
Absolutely.

[Judge Judy] Great.
So why are you annoying all of us?

Why did you contact a lawyer?

I mean, I do...I'm not following
why you think everything...

why some people think that everything
involves a legal case?

You didn't get along
with your sister.

Happens to be that you had five
kids, she had two.

You have cats. She has dogs.

It was a disaster looking to happen.

And it was a mistake. It lasted October,
November, December.

You were gone. Over.

Tell me what brings you to court.

What brings me to court
is the fact that she was told...

I have police reports of them
telling her not to touch my things

and she did so anyways.

We sold our furniture because she's
like,

"Oh, I have these extra beds
that were her husband's kid's beds."

And just sell your washer
and do...and your couches, and we...

[Judge Judy] Well,
you're a grown-up lady.

You had four children.

She doesn't tell you what to do.

You're a grown-up lady.

You wanna move in with her
and you see her how it works out.

You haven't lived together in years.

Put your stuff in storage for a month
or so and see how it's working out.

Had I known she was gonna make
all this money on the side,

I would never agree to move
in with her.

Yeah. You know, but that comes

under the category
of shoulda, woulda, coulda.

You moved in. You knew she had dogs.

You moved in.
She knew you had cats or vice versa.

I still don't understand why you think
everything involves a court case.

Look up the term constructive eviction
would you please for me, Sarah?

I know that that's what it says here
that she constructively evicted you

which is a term that... did the lawyer say
constructive eviction?

- Is that...
- No.

They told me that the landlord
could not harass you.

They're not allowed
to touch your property,

to make it an unenjoyable...
you should be quiet...

[Judge Judy] Yeah. Yeah. Quiet
enjoyment.

[Sarah] So a situation where a
landlord does not do something

that they must do by law,

causing the property
to be labeled uninhabitable.

For example,
shutting off the heat or water,

then a tenant has a claim
against their landlord.

Okay.

She changed the password to the Wi-Fi and
she...she didn't shut off the water,

but um we paid half the...of all the
bills, including, including the Wi-Fi.

Are you happy your sister is gone?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Are you happy
that you're gone?

Yeah? Are you in a house now?

- Of course.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Your case is dismissed, Ms. Nichols.
We have no case.

Listen, you, you have a counterclaim.
That's nonsense.

For half the utilities for the two
months

which she didn't pay you,
a couple of hundred dollars.

Are you happy she's gone?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] We're done here.

Thank you.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

When I was growing up
and I went into the system,

she was the only one
that was there for me.

She's money-hungry.
She's looking for a way to get money.

It takes two people
and it takes admitting.

She's really jealous about
whatever I had that she didn't.

And I have apologized
for the things that I've done.

There's no future for us.

[Judge Judy] Sarah, you have a sister
who's younger than you are.

- I do.
- She is cute as a bug's ear.

Could you imagine living with her
on a full-time basis?

It'd be tough. It'd be tough.

It's hard to live
with somebody that you love.

With anybody.
Let alone someone you love.

And these are two sisters,
certainly the defendant

didn't love her sister's husband.
[chuckles]

The fact that they were living
together for economics

made it even more difficult for
somebody who's already under stress.

The only lesson to take away from
that is

before you put kids in a situation

where they are gonna be involved
in domestic disputes,

- you really have to think twice.
- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.

You have to say, "I'd rather live in
a... in a studio apartment alone

than with ten people in a
four-bedroom."

Anyway, sad.
I hope they get back together again.

[announcer]
Are you having a family dispute?



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