01x91 - Bitter Break-Up; Dissatisfied Tenants

[bunniefuu]

You were in a relationship.

She broke up with you.

Yes.

What appliances did she take
when she left the house?

She took the washer,
the dryer, and the fridge.

I pay for everything.

So what gives you the right to take them?

She kindly offered me for my birthday.

You're a grown-up lady. You're not a baby.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Denyse Cruz is suing
her ex-girlfriend, Brenda Cardona,

for mortgage payments,
the cost of appliances,

and the balance on a car.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

Be seated, please.

Hello, Judge.

Case number 1132, Cruz versus Cardona.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Cruz, you and Ms. Cardona
had been friends years ago.

Twenty years.

[Judge Judy] And according to what I read,
sort of lost touch.

Ms. Cardona married?

Yes.

But divorced her husband in what year?

It's been, uh, about four years almost.

[Judge Judy]
And how long were you married?

About 13 years.

- [Judge Judy] You have kids?
- Yes, I do.

- [Judge Judy] How many?
- I have twins.

My daughter is here.

My son is not here today.

[Judge Judy]
After Ms. Cardona is divorced,

the two of you sort of reconnected,

and you reconnected
in a romantic way and you began dating.

Shortly thereafter,
you purchased another house.

You had lived according to what I remember
at least you lived in Porter Ranch?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
But you bought another house where?

In Perris, California.

- [Judge Judy] Paris?
- Perris, P-E-R-R-I-S. Perris.

[Judge Judy] And that's about
how far from Porter Ranch?

It's about an hour and a half.

[Judge Judy]
And Ms. Cardona and her family

moved into that house, is that correct?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] In what year did you move
into that house with your children?



And you and Ms. Cardona, Ms. Cruz
were a couple from when to when?

Well, we started dating
in December 15th, 2018

until March 21st, uh 2021.

[Judge Judy] Then you separated.

And you in fact told Ms. Cardona that
you wanted her to move from the house.

She eventually did several months later.

It was September 26th
I believe when she moved out.

When did you move out of the house,
Ms. Cardona?

I left last month.

- [Judge Judy] So in September?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy]
Okay. So your claim is for several things.

You claim she still owes money
on a car that you purchased

that she was paying off.

You claim that when she left the house,
she took appliances from the house

and you say that she owes
for household expenses,

which she had been paying,

but she stopped paying
as of March or April until...

April 26th.

[Judge Judy] Until she moved out.

Ms. Cardona says with regard
to the appliances, they were a gift.

Is that what you're saying to me?

Yes. Yes.

No, they were not a gift.

[Judge Judy] With regard to the car,

she says she finished paying it off.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And with regard

to the household expenses,

you've been paying the mortgage
according to you, is that right?

- Yes, I...
- [Judge Judy] Just...

- It's either a yes or no. And if not...
- Yes.

...how much was that?

- Fourteen hundred.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And according to you,
you stopped paying the mortgage

because you wanted to save money to move.

That is correct.

[Judge Judy] Well, you can't do that
'cause if that was your agreement

that you pay the mortgage, you have
to pay the mortgage, so that's easy.

- Do you understand that?
- Yes, ma'am.

Okay. And how many months did you
live there without paying the mortgage?

- Four months.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Now, let's deal with the appliances.

What appliances did she take
when she left the house?

She took the washer,
the dryer, and the fridge, Your Honor.

Who paid for them?

[Denyse] I pay for everything. Yes.

I have the receipts from Costco.
I bought them from Costco.

[Judge Judy] Is this correct Ms. Cardona

without my looking at her receipts
that the plaintiff

paid for the washer, dryer,
and the refrigerator?

Half of it, yes.

[Judge Judy] She only paid half?

Yes.

I paid her already half.

How much did you give her
towards your half?

[Brenda] I gave her 1,200.

[Judge Judy] For what?

For the washer, dryer, and fridge

that, uh, she kindly offered me
for my birthday.

[Judge Judy]
Oh, listen, I don't wanna hear,

- "Kindly offered you for your birthday."
- [Brenda] Yes.

[Judge Judy] I don't wanna hear,
"Kindly offered you for your birthday."

Okay.

So what gives you the right to take them?

Again, it was a gift that she gave me.

[Judge Judy] No, it wasn't a gift.

It wasn't a gift
if you paid for half of it.

If you split
the cost of the washer and dryer,

- then if I believe that...
- Yes.

...then you have to pay her

for half of the cost
of the washer and dryer.

You don't just take 'em with you.

After we broke up,
I was going to pay her the rest.

But she kicked me out of the house
with my kids

and I didn't have money
to give her the half.

But, I agreed with her
that I was going to give her payments.

That's a lot of doublespeak.

You wanna doublespeak?

I...how old are you?

Eighteen.

[Judge Judy] It's embarrassing
to doublespeak in front of your daughter

because the doublespeak
that you're giving me was,

"The other half
she kindly gave me as a gift."

And then you just told me,

"I didn't have the money
to give her the other half.

I was going to make it
for her in payments."

So that's two different things
that you just told me.

Am I crazy?

No.

[Judge Judy] Do you understand?

One defense, either it was a gift...

It was a gift.

[Judge Judy]
...which I'm gonna ask for or...

well, then what was this,

- "I was gonna her pay half..."
- [Brenda] It was a gift...

"...but I didn't have the money."

[Brenda] ...but when she broke up,

she charged me
for those appliances once we broke up.

[Judge Judy] She broke up with you.

It was her house.

Sure it was a good deal
for you and your children

because you're paying for the mortgage.

- That's it.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy]
But what did you expect her to do?

You're no longer in a relationship.

What did you think she should do?
Give you the house?

- I never asked...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

- I never asked for that.
- [Judge Judy] What did you...

so she told you
she wanted you out of the house.

- [Brenda] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] You didn't leave the house.

- I paid the mortgage up to...May...
- [Judge Judy] May?

...was the last...
the last time that I pay.

- [Judge Judy] Okay. So you stayed...
- May.

[Judge Judy] ...but you broke up in March.

So you had March,

April, and May,

you had three months
to find another place.

She didn't get a marshal to come
to throw you out with your children.

- Uh-hmm.
- And then you stopped

paying the mortgage
because you wanted to save up money.

I didn't have money
to leave at the moment...

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- ...Judge Judy.

I didn't have money.

When you say, "I didn't have money,"

if you said to me and said to her,

"I wanna be able to save some money
before I move out

because we've been here
for several years."

[Brenda] Yes.

So, I'm gonna give you
half of the mortgage,

but not to do anything

because you wanted to save money.

Who was supposed to pay the mortgage

while you and your girls were living?

She's not related to you.

You still have the appliances?

Yes.

You wash your clothes
in the washing machine,

you dry them in the dryer,

you put food in the refrigerator,

you have to pay for that.

You're a grown-up lady.

You have two 18-year olds.

You're not a baby.

[announcer] And later today...

She could do whatever
she wants with her property.

You're on a month-to-month tenancy.

If you don't like that
she's going to build additional units

that she has a right to build
on the back of her house, uh move!

[theme music playing]

[announcer]
Denyse Cruz claims her ex-girlfriend,

Brenda Cardona,
owes for the cost of appliances

and the balance on a car.

Who was supposed to pay
the mortgage when you didn't?

I don't know whether she has
a mortgage on her other house.

Do your daughters work?

No.

- [Judge Judy] Do you work?
- I do.

Who was supposed to pay the mortgage?

She works.

So you have to pay her.

The months you didn't pay is $5,600,
is that correct?

$5,600.

You have to pay for the mortgage.

Now, let's get to the car.

No, appliances.

Did she agree
to pay for half of the appliances?

- Yes, Your Honor. I even have a...
- May I see?

...text in here of May 18th

and she's saying, "Okay,
fair enough Denyse. I'll, I'll pay as..."

- What was...
- [Denyse] "...I always do."

But she never did.

What was the $3,845.54 for?

The 3,845 was the money that she owed
for the...for the car and the appliances.

She says, "Okay, fair enough Denyse.
I will pay you as I always do."

- [Denyse] Uh-hmm.
- "Have a blessed day." That was May 19th.

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

So as of May,

you agreed that you owed her

$3,845.54

because you say, "Okay, fair enough..."

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] "...Denyse.

- I will pay you as always."
- [Brenda] Yes.

- Basically...
- [Judge Judy] Not basically.

Basically is a filler word.

Any money that you sent to her
after May 18th I will look out.

That's either an, "I sent nothing,"
or, "Here it is."

No. I, I have the proofs here
that I don't own her anything

besides the other half of the appliances.

Just, just pay careful attention to me.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] I want to see any payments

that you made to her after May 19th.

- No. It was before...
- [Judge Judy] Just say none...

- It's before. None.
- [Judge Judy] Just...

then you owe her $3,845.

Now after May,
you did not pay the mortgage

that you were supposed to pay
and you lived there.

That's an additional $5,600.

Do you understand?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Good.

That's 9,445.

Now, you know,
people break up all the time.

Half the marriages in this country fail.

Put down your papers.

She's not responsible for you.

She's not responsible for your children.

I understand that you work

and that you have children
as a responsibility,

but you are not her responsibility.

So, it's a debt.

Do you still have the car?

Just...put your hand down.

Do you still have the car?

Yes.

You drive around the car?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

And you still have the appliances?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] You wash your clothes
in the washing machine.

You dry them in the dryer.

You put food in the refrigerator.

You took them even though,

according to you,
you only paid for half of them.

You have to pay for that.
You're a grown-up lady.

You have two 18-year-olds.

You're not a baby.



Thank you very much.

The court is adjourned.

I broke up with her.

She paid until she got somebody else.

I'm dating someone
and she couldn't handle that.

And then she stopped paying.

She cannot move on.

Everything went sour after that.

Sarah, they appear to be two nice women

and you had to be somewhat
sympathetic with the defendant.

She's trying to do her...you know,
her best because she's got two kids.

They had an agreement,
even though it wasn't a written agreement.

Fortunately, sometimes texts work.

[Sarah] Yeah.

Memorializing what your agreement is,

even if you don't do it
by a formal contract.

The texts that she wrote to her and said,

"This is what you owe."

And she said, "I agree."

Uh-hmm.

"I will pay you as always.

Have a blessed day,"

was enough of a contract
to acknowledge that there was a debt.

If you can somehow
memorialize an agreement,

and not just
a one-way agreement, not, "This...

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] "...is what you owe me,"

but there needs to be a response

and acknowledgement of that debt.

That will usually work.

Yeah, you're gonna be held to that.

Case number 1112,
Fawcett, Hester versus Bawaney.

All parties, please step forward.

[announcer]
Lauren Fawcett and Patrick Hester

are suing their former landlord,

Sehel Bawaney,

for breaching their lease,

a security deposit,

property damage, and a utility bill.

You are Patrick Hester?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] This is your wife.

And you were tenants of a duplex

that is owned by the defendant
from 2016 until recently.

Late 2015 until May 2021.

And I assume that you were on

after your initial lease
on a month-to-month lease?

Correct, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] You're suing the defendant
for a whole bunch of things.

For money owed for damages

arising from a breached lease, number one.

Number two,
the return of security deposit,

you may have an issue with regard to that.

Property damage
and the rest is a utility bill,

which I'm not dealing with at all.

Okay, so this is what I gather
from your complaint.

You had a month-to-month lease,
you were good tenants.

You initially had a 12-month lease

that turned into a month-to-month tenancy,
so far accurate?

Yes, Your Honor.

So that means that you could move out,

given 30 days' notice which would be nice.

And she could tell you
to get out on notice,

same 30 days.

That sound reasonable to you?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Sure.

And this place had a yard.

Somebody have a picture of it to show me?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
I'd love to take a look at it.

Okay.

So, this is the basic story.

The county or whatever
governmental authority,

gave the defendants
the right to build additional units

in the back of the property,
which she wanted to do.

She wanted to exercise her right
to do that, which is her right.

And she could have said to you,
"It's been nice knowing you.

I'm adding units to my property,
my property.

So you can either stay or go
during the construction.

It's gonna take a year."

- Right?
- Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
I mean, you don't own the property.

Correct.

[Judge Judy]
You're renters, not even with a lease.

So, part of the thing that had to go

was a tree in the backyard,

and you didn't want the tree to go
because that's where you get shade

and your kids like to play,
I don't know what it was.

So she sent people over to remove the tree

to start the process
of constructing on her property,

something that would add
additional value to her property.

So far, am I missing anything?

- No.
- No.

[Judge Judy] No.

So, raise your hand,
who was the one who interfered

with them taking down the tree at first?

Either of you?

That would be you.

And then they finally
did take down the tree,

somebody called the police.

I don't know who that was.

Raise your hand if you called the police.

That would be you.

Police said, [laughs] "You can't stop them
from taking down the tree.

It's their...it's their property."

Did you find anything unusual about that?

It was our understanding
with the initial lease that we signed

and that we understood that we were...

I don't care what you understood.

I don't care what was in your mind.

She could do whatever
she wants with her property.

You're on a month-to-month tenancy.

If you don't like
that she's gonna build additional units

that she has a right to build
in the back of her house, uh move!

There are tenant's rights
and there are landlord's rights.

And she doesn't have to leave property
that she has fallow

if she can generate income
from her property

because you like a shade tree.

That's why they kept your security deposit

'cause you didn't pay rent.

You live there, yourself,
your wife, your kids,

you live there and you didn't pay rent.

What were they supposed to do?

How are they supposed to get their rent?

I don't know.

[theme music playing]

[announcer]
Lauren Fawcett and Patrick Hester

say their former landlord,
Sehel Bawaney,

owes for breaking their lease,

property damage,
and the return of their security deposit.

Now, your first cause of action
is for a breached lease.

First of all, you had no lease.

You had a month-to-month tenancy.

So what lease did she breach?

The way that we read the law
when we had talked to a few people

that gave us some guidance on the matter
said that the lease

would be the initial lease that we signed.

So, you think every month
you had another year?

No, just the terms of that lease.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Who did you speak to initially
and when about the addition

that the defendant
wanted to put on the property?

I spoke with her husband.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

You spoke with her husband.

That would be you.

[Rizwan] That would be me.

[Judge Judy] In what month?

[Patrick]
I can't recall, Your Honor. January...

[Judge Judy] What month?

January 25th to be exact.

[Judge Judy] January 25th, 2021?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] When did you move out?

- May 31st.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So four months later?

Correct, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
So you were advised by your landlord

that they were gonna build
these additional units

four months before you moved.

So now you had thirty days' notice
of that, right?

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] When you spoke
to her husband, did he in fact say to you,

"For any inconvenience
that you had during construction,

if you wanted to stay
during the construction,

he would reduce your rent."

Did he say that to you?

- Yes, and I...
- [Judge Judy] Yes...just a second.

The answer is he told you
he was building these things

and he said, "You have a choice.

You can either stay
and I'll reduce your rent by $400

or you can go.

" Which means February 25th, 2021.

What did you tell him when he said,

"I will reduce your rent
if you choose to stay?"

I said I need to talk to my wife.

Did you talk to your wife?

No, I didn't get to talk to my wife

because she was having medical issues
going on.

Just a second.

Baloney.

Did he also say to you,
you are an electrician by trade?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Did he also say to you,
Not only will I reduce your rent,

but I'll let you do the electrical work
for the new units."?

Yes, he offered.

[Judge Judy] Yes.

The answer is yes.

He said, "I'll reduce your rent
for the inconvenience.

I'll also for the inconvenience,
because you've been good tenants,

I will offer you the contract

to do the electrical work on the new units
that I'm going to put in."

He didn't have to do any of that for you.

He could have tacked the 30-day-notice
on your door and said,

"Vacate in 30 days. Begone by March 1st."

They chose not to do that.

Now, return of security deposit.

How much security deposit
did you give them?

Two thousand dollars.

[Judge Judy] And that was in 2016?

'15.

[Judge Judy] 2015.

Did you return their security deposit?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] How much?

We returned $250.

[Judge Judy] Why?

Because they didn't pay us
the last month's rent.

Oh. What was their rent?

So the reduced rent
I believe we had already...

since we'd taken that tree down,
we decided we would go ahead

and reduced the rent as promised
that they had agreed to.

So what was their reduced rent?

Seventeen hundred dollars.

[Judge Judy] And it had been $2,100.

Yes.

And according to you,
you moved out May 31st.

Correct.

[Judge Judy] Did you pay May's rent?

No, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Well
that's why they kept your security deposit

'cause you didn't pay rent.

You lived there, yourself,
your wife, your kids,

you lived there and you didn't pay rent.

What were they supposed to do?

How are they supposed to get their rent?

I don't know.

I don't know.

You do have a claim here
for property damage

and the property damage that you allege

was a broken trampoline?

Yes, Your Honor.

So let me see the trampoline
that you are alleging that they broke.

When you say they broke it,
do you know who broke it?

The tree contractors.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

And the tree contractor broke this?

[Lauren] Correct.

And this?

[Lauren] Yes.

Made holes in it.

Yes, ma'am.

Did you notify them that this was broken
by the tree contractor?

- Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Did you notify them?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] When did you notify them?

I believe it was the same day
that the tree was...

Did they notify you
that the tree contractor

had damaged their trampoline?

Yes, Your Honor.

But we notified them
prior to the tree contractor

coming to remove anything
that might get into the way

of the tree contractor.

They did not...

Explain that to me.

[Sehel] I'm sorry.

And, and I believe they didn't...

No, they did not notify us.

They didn't notify us that it was damaged.

But prior to that,
we did notify them to remove any property

that might be theirs
that might be in the way.

Do you have any proof
by way of communication,

text message, letter
that you notified them to remove

this trampoline
because the tree was going to come down?

Do you have any proof of that?

- The answer is either...
- Well, I have...

[Judge Judy] ...yes or no.

Yes, but it's through text message.

- That's okay.
- [Rizwan] Okay.

I can do text messages.

[Sehel] Also, Your Honor,
prior to even asking them

to remove the trampoline,

they're not supposed to have a trampoline

for insurance reasons,
because it's a dangerous item

on our premise,
and it could hurt our tenant.

So we had asked them to remove
the trampoline to begin with.

Is it correct that they asked you
to remove the trampoline?

- They have...
- It is true.

- They were...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

Yes. Sorry.

When did they ask you
to remove the trampoline?

Before the tree was cut down, Your Honor.

Okay. Your case is dismissed.

We're finished. Thank you very much.

You don't have to look for anything else.

- Goodbye.
- [Kevin] Court is adjourned.

Thank you.

Oh, I feel relieved.

This was so stressful for us.

She made it, that's it.

And move forward.

Every single time, it was like more money,
more money, more money.

We tried and that's it.

We had to place all of that on hold
because of the situation.

But we're gonna move forward.

You know, Sarah,
most landlords are in business.

They own property.

They wanna keep it in good shape.

These were perfectly lovely people.

Perfectly reasonable people,

they gave the people who had lived there
for five years alternatives.

More than reasonable,
offered them the contract to make money

- in his own business...
- Right.

...as an electrician.

- Or they could move in 30 days.
- Yeah.

So they stayed,
they didn't pay their last month's rent,

and then they sue 'em for thousands
and thousands of dollars.

For something that they were way
within their rights to do...

- [Judge Judy] To do.
- ...as property owners.

And it's probably because she says,
"We asked a few people."

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Well, that's ridiculous.

Landlords have rights.

[Sarah] Uh-hmm.

Tenants have rights,
but courts have to be in the middle.

And I don't know when that happened
that the word "landlord"

became synonymous with evil
or used in the pejorative.

That's really too bad.

- Can't pigeonhole people.
- Yeah.

That's what these plaintiffs tried to do.

Anyway, they didn't.

[announcer] Want justice?



[theme music playing]