01x105 - 35K Labor Dispute

[bunniefuu]

- An employer owed you back wages.
- Yes, ma'am.

You want to sue them
for not paying you overtime,

for having to work during lunch.

[Sean] Yeah. He just said he was a lawyer.

He said he couldn't get on the bar.

- So he's not a lawyer?
- No, he's not.

Do you have any history

of working as a paralegal?

No.

I think you're operating
out of your league, sir.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer]
Retired Police Lieutenant, Charles White,

is suing security guard, Sean Gibson,

for advocacy services he provided to Sean.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

Be seated, please.

Case 1115, White versus Gibson.

- Thank you.
- [Kevin] You're welcome.

Mr. White, I'd like you to tell me
something of your educational background.

Yes, ma'am. I have a Master's Degree
in criminal justice.

- [Judge Judy] From where?
- St. Louis University.

[Judge Judy] Do you have any history

of working as a paralegal?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] None?

None.

Now, this case involves a claim,

you were hired by the defendant
to do the paperwork

that was necessary in a labor dispute
that he had

with a former employer.

That labor dispute involved some $35,000

in unpaid wages.

These are the numbers
that Mr. White came up with.

- [Judge Judy] He came up with the number?
- [Sean] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] According to what I read,
you met during a security job.

- [Sean] Yes.
- You were both doing security.

- That's correct.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
You're a former police officer?

Yes, ma'am. Police Lieutenant.

- [Judge Judy] And you?
- I'm a security guard.

[Judge Judy]
And during the course of that interaction,

you must have relayed, Mr. Gibson,
to Mr. White

that you felt an employer
owed you back wages.

Yes, ma'am.

- [Judge Judy] Another security company?
- [Sean] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
And in what years did you work for them?

I worked for them from 2017 to 2020.

And what period of time
weren't you compensated?

They did not pay me for any overtime.

- [Judge Judy] Overtime?
- Yeah, for my overtime.

I had to take working lunches,
unfair work conditions.

And they also...they sent me a 1099,

even though they've been taking taxes
out of my check all year.

Okay. And that was for the last year
you worked for them?

- Yes, ma'am.
- So you discussed that with Mr. White.

And Mr. White said I can help you
fill out the paperwork,

you're owed probably a lot of money.

Yeah. He said he did that.

He said uh he was a lawyer.

- And that...
- [Judge Judy] He said he was a lawyer?

He said he was a lawyer.
This is at that first meeting.

He said he was a lawyer...

- Where did that meeting take place?
- [Sean] While we were working.

[Judge Judy] You mean when you first
discussed it, it wasn't a meeting?

Yeah, it wasn't a meeting.
Yeah, we've just first discussed it.

He said he hasn't gotten on the bar
in California yet.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
So you knew he wasn't a lawyer?

Yeah. I found out. Yes.

- [Judge Judy] No, you knew that if he...
- Oh, yeah, at the time. Yes.

[Judge Judy] ...you knew at the time
that he wasn't a lawyer?

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

Did you make an arrangement with him?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] What was the arrangement?

[Sean] The arrangement was if he was able

to get some compensation for this,

if you fill out those paperwork
and do what he said he can do,

- then he would get 20% of the...
- [Judge Judy] Recovery?

Yes. Yes, ma'am.

So you told him to get started
with the paperwork?

- [Sean] Yes, I did.
- In exchange for 20%

- of whatever recovery you had?
- Absolutely.

[Judge Judy] And on what date was that?

[Sean] I believe December of 2019.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Mr. White, so far,
are we in agreement of the following

that you and Mr. Gibson
entered into a contract,

and that contract was that you would begin

to process his case

with the Labor Board
against the security company,

and you would be receiving
as compensation,

not a flat fee,

but 20% of whatever recovery he got,

- as a result of your efforts?
- Yes, ma'am.

And I assume you have copies
of everything that you did for him.

- Yes, ma'am.
- I'd like to see the initial forms

that you filled out
and sent on his behalf.

- [Charles] Okay.
- There were two forms.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Okay. One is a claim form,

and you say meal period wages

from September 7th, 2018

to March 28th, 2020,

$8,200 rest period wages,

'cause he didn't get rest periods.

So, you added that up, $20 an hour,
you came up with another $8,200.

Then it says others specify,

September 7th, '18 to March 28th, 2020,

$19,550.

- What was that for?
- That would include things such as...

No. Where is it in the form?

I see you write others specify,

but where is it specified
what the 19,500 is?

It says specify,

so just show me, I must have missed it.

- [Sean] Well, you didn't, ma'am...
- No. No.

Do I need help from you?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] So far.

I may need help from you.

No, ma'am.
I failed to include that in the packet.

Well, so the packet is incomplete,
so that more 50% of the claim

that you filed for him did not include

the reason that you were asking for money.

You, in total, asked for $35,000, right?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And you've got 8,000,



So, of the two documents
that you filled out,

one of them was worthless,

because it doesn't specify
what it is that you're suing for.

And the other one
is a single page December 13th,

is a letter that you sent to them,

that "...my services have been retained
as his employee advocate.

Mr. Gibson has signed this document
to vindicate this letter as well.

Please allow this letter to serve
as a request for his employee records

maintained by whatever company it was."

And you signed it.

- Did you sign it?
- Yes, ma'am.

Okay, so this...so far,
his is your work product.

What else did you do for him?

Because they must have sent that back
to you and said, it's incomplete.

- No, ma'am.
- They didn't?

[Charles] No.
I have a letter from the state

indicating that they accepted
and received the document

and his claim was in process.

[Judge Judy] What state is that from?

- California.
- Oh. [laughs]

This country is in such trouble.

You submit a form, that's...for a claim,

and you don't specify what the claim is.

And they accepted the form.

That's what he's telling me.
I'd love to see that letter.

It's gonna go in the Guinness Book.

- Ma'am?
- [Judge Judy] What?

I failed to include a copy of the details

of the other in this packet.

I did submit other with the claim,
otherwise they wouldn't approve it.

I just forgot to include it
with this packet today.

Well, that was necessary,
this is your day.

This is your day in court.

You wanna show me something
that's gonna help his case?

No.

- I do not.
- I don't understand you.

I'd like to see what he's got.

This is a piece of paper from the state

basically saying
that the other was not accepted,

and that he filed it in the wrong place.

So the first one you signed?

The first I signed.

This one you did not?

Yeah, the one
with all the calculations on it.

Okay. Did you in fact, Mr. White,

sign his name to this document?

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Retired Police Lieutenant,
Charles White,

claims Security Guard, Sean Gibson,

owes for the advocacy services
he completed

to help Sean in a labor dispute.

Mr. Gibson, on May 4th of 2020,

that's two weeks later,

after you file these papers
telling Mr. Gibson,

"I'm a deputy assigned to your case.

I've attached the claim filed.

I have removed Mr. White from your case.

Please answer a few questions.

Did you sign this form?

Did Mr. White represent himself
as an attorney?

Do you wish to pursue this case?

Please note the section on other

is mostly not applicable
to this department."

What else did you do for the defendant?

Show me pieces of paper that you did file,
research, whatever you did.

[Charles] Those are papers showing forth
of Mr. Gibson's payroll records.

I took his payroll records
based off his information,

and calculated
how many rest breaks he missed,

the amount that he should have been
paid for in both categories.

I asked you a question,

- what other papers did you file for him?
- Oh, those only two papers.

I thought you said
what work did I do for him.

[Judge Judy] Did you ever sign his name

- to a document?
- No.

[Judge Judy]
Did he ever sign your name to a document?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Which document did he sign your name to?

[Sean] It was to the wage claim.

The letter I just gave you
when she was asking...

did I sign this and do I wanna continue,

the reason why I got that from her

is because I...he never gave it to me.

I asked him several times
to give me a copy of it.

- He absolutely...
- Oh, you mean the one that says other?

I'll take that back.

Do you know which one
I'm talking about, Kevin?

Yes.

You're talking about this.

[Kevin] Yeah.

So the first one you signed?

The first one I signed.

This one you did not?

Yeah, the one
with all the calculations on it.

- With these?
- [Sean] Correct.

- I did not...
- Eighty-two, Eighty-two,

- and nineteen...
- [Sean] Never seen it.

- Never signed it.
- Never saw it?

[Sean] Never saw it.
I asked him several times for it.

- He refused to give it to me.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Did you, in fact, Mr. White,

sign his name to this document?

No, ma'am.

- Can I add somethin' to that, Judge Judy?
- [Judge Judy] Uh-hmm.

Not only did I not sign his name
to that document.

Mr. Gibson also had signed
a notarized authorization

that if I needed to sign his name
to a document,

that I could sign his name.
In that situation...

[Judge Judy] I'm just asking you
whether or not you signed his name.

- Okay. No, ma'am.
- Yeah, I think you did.

- [Charles] I did not do...
- And let me tell you what I'm looking at.

I'm looking at his sworn to answer,

which he seems to put a dot

in between the first letters
of his last name.

He did the same thing

in December of...13th of 2019

when he signed the request
for employee records,

those signatures are the same.

The one for payment of wages,

you claim you didn't sign,

is different from those two.

So the one that was signed today,

and the one that was signed
December of 2019,

they're the same signature.

But the one that was filed in 2020,
and rejected,

is not the same signature.

So, if what you're telling me

is he signed a power of attorney

allowing you to sign his name,
that's one thing.

But if what you're telling me
is that this is his signature,

I don't think it is,

based upon the two reasons
that I just told you.

Okay. When did he fire you?

He fired me on April 21st, 2020.

[Judge Judy] And it would be fair to say

that up until April of 2020,

you had filed two documents,

one in December,

- and one document in April of 2020...
- Can I add a statement, ma'am?

- Uh-hmm.
- Okay. I'm not sure what Mr. Gibson

presented to you a email from somebody,

but what I presented was actually a letter
from the state with a seal on it

that stated that they received
the document, the wage claim,

and was in process.

Mr. Gibson present with you an email
for somebody that may not be legitimate.

[Judge Judy] Oh, I think probably it is.

But I'd like to see the document
that you have.

Do I have it here?

Yes, the paper that the state
accepted has

the California State seal on it.

- And it's directly from the state...
- [Judge Judy] Just says,

"Dear Sir/Ma'am,
your wage claim has been received

by Van Nuys Claim Adjuster Service."

Would you show this, please, to Mr. White?

[Charles] Thank you.

[Judge Judy]
The letter that you show me, sir,

is dated April 21st of 2020.

In May, the same person
sent Mr. Gibson that email

removing you as his attorney.

Now I'll have it back.

Mr. Gibson requested
that I be removed from his claim

on April 21st of 2020

in a letter from his self,
and also his attorney,

I have those letters here. So...

I'd like to have them.

So Ms. Thompson [indistinct]
responded to...

- Just a second. Just a second.
- Oh, okay.

Okay. Now Mr. Gibson,
I'm gonna get to you.

Clearly, at some point,

- you retained a law firm.
- I did.

But you had several matters

- at that time.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] What kind of matters
did you have at that time?

At the time, uh, when I first hired him?

It was a TRO hearing.

Filed by whom?

[Sean] By my former employer,

filed four days after Charles

had submitted the letter
that, um, I intended.

- [Judge Judy] You were suing him?
- Yes, ma'am.

Okay. So, were you the plaintiff
or the defendant of the TRO?

- TRO is a Temporary Restraining Order.
- [Sean] Yeah. Yeah. It's...

Somebody had to request it.
Who requested a restraining order?

- [Sean] My employer.
- [Judge Judy] Your employer?

They said I threatened my coworkers.

- And they fired me.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So, you hired this law firm
to represent you on that matter?

Yeah, I hired the law firm to represent me

after going round and round with Charles

about getting me the wage claim
and stuff like that.

Then once they filed this TRO on me,

and I said you can't help me with this.

Very good. Now, on what date

was this matter settled
with the security company?

It's still ongoing.

So, you haven't received any money?

Not a penny.

It was closed. As far as the wage claim,

the wage claim was withdrawn.

And as far as me suing my former employer,
that's still ongoing.

What are you suing the employer for?

Wrongful termination.

Right now, he hasn't collected anything.
What are you suing for?

The contract wasn't fulfilled.

- Now I'll hear you.
- Thank you.

[Judge Judy] No, no, no.
You respond to me.

- Oh, yes. Um...
- Did he collect anything?

- He told me he did. Yeah.
- Oh.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Retired Police Lieutenant,
Charles White,

has accused Security Guard Sean Gibson

of canceling his service contract
without paying him.

Sean says Charles forged his signature

on an official document.

Now, do you have any proof
that you withdrew the wage claim?

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

Thank you.

Yeah, he withdrew the complaint

involving the State of California
Department of Industrial Relations,

Labor Commissioner Office.

So, I don't know what this is about.

But, Mr. White,
this is a very simple matter.

You are suing him for $7,000.

As you relayed your contract to me,

he agreed to pay you


as a result of his claim.
Do you understand?

Put your hand down.
That's what you told me.

That's why I have Whitney here.

- [Charles] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Correct?

He has not recovered anything
unless you can prove the contrary to me.

If he has a settlement,

you may be able to put a lien
on that settlement,

because just because his lawyer says
you're fired,

if you had a valid contract with him,

and you did work on that contract,

and a subsequent lawyer
took over the case from you,

you might have some sort of a lien
as an advocate

against some portion of that settlement.

But right now,
he hasn't collected anything.

What are you suing for?

The contract wasn't fulfilled.

Now I'll hear you.

- Thank you.
- No, no, no, you respond to me.

- [Charles] Oh, yes. Um...
- Did he collect anything?

He told me he did. Yeah.

[Judge Judy]
Oh, you mean you can't verify that?

You're an advocate.
You can't verify with the state

- how much he received?
- Once he removed me from the claim,

I had no more authority to inquire
about the details of the claim.

- So he's trying to...
- Did you collect any money

- from the wage claim?
- No, I withdrew the claim.

Anything that had his name on it,
I withdrew.

Just a second. Did you collect any money?

- No, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

But the case that you have
is still ongoing.

[Sean] Not the wage claim case,
that's dead.

[Judge Judy] But you are proceeding

with regard to a wrongful
termination case.

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

Do you understand?
You weren't advocating for him

in a wrongful termination case,

you were advocating for him
for three things.

One thing, I don't know,
because you didn't put it in the papers.

And that was other.

I know lunch breaks and overtime.

Do you understand?

So your case is dismissed, we're finished.

- What?
- On my contract

between me and Mr. Gibson,

it states that I will be paid
either 20% of the amount recovered

or $2,000, whichever is the higher.

Show me.

Just a second.
What you just told me is that presupposes

there was some sort
of financial remuneration

coming to the defendant.

- Page two on number...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

- I'm gonna read it.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] Okay, Mr. Gibson,
did you sign this contract with him?

- I don't know. Which one?
- [Judge Judy] I'm gonna show it to you.

And then I want you to look
at number six under compensation.

I want you to look at this contract,
and tell me if you signed it.

[Sean] No, ma'am.

I don't even know what this is exactly.

- [Judge Judy] Did you ever see it?
- [Sean] I don't recall it.

But I know that's not my signature.

[Judge Judy] Can I have that, please?

I also have a e-sign confirmation

that he did receive that
and send that to me.

Yes, ma'am. His email
to my email signed by Adobe Sign.

It shows service agreement
at the very bottom.

[Sean] If I could, Your Honor,

the reason why I fired Mr. White
outside of just forging my name

on documents is this was the type of stuff
he always did.

He always lied, confused,
and tried to change things.

[Judge Judy]
Well, just a second. Mr. White,

the signature on this document
that you give me

is not the same signature
of the defendant's,

either the initial document that was his

or his answer today.

Look, he never collected any money.

The lawsuit on which you base your claim
is an unfulfilled contract.

If in fact, he did sign that contract,
then I'm not so sure.

If Mr. White, Mr. Gibson,

had in fact retained another attorney

on the same matter
that he retained you on,

as I said, and he got money,
you would have had been, in my view,

entitled to a portion of that money
consistent with the work that you did,

which was two pages,
one page that you filed,

and one document that you filed,

which was inaccurate and incomplete,

and on which you actually did forge
his signature.

So, I would have to base it
on that one page document

that you did in fact file for him.

But there is no indication
that he ever received any money

with regard to the wages claim

that was the thrust
of what you were hired to do for him.

So, your case is dismissed.
We're finished here.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

He signed an affidavit, notarized,

and stated that I could
make a signature if I needed to.

Plaintiff, fraudulently signed my name
on two different documents.

Some of those were e-sign documents
and the e-sign

was different than his wet signature,
and that's all it was.

When we first met,
he said he was a lawyer.

He couldn't afford the attorney
for his criminal cases.

But he does not do lawyer.
He doesn't...hasn't passed the bar here.

So, he went ahead and he gave me
award percentage through the attorney.

I fired him immediately,
soon as I find out.

I've actually already
changed them slightly,

but everything
should work out pretty good.

You know, but that's what it is, you know,
you're right...you lay down with dogs,

you wake up with fleas.

[Judge Judy]
You know what I've always said, Sarah,

- that people should stay in their lane?
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy]
It was clear to me in that case

that the plaintiff was out of his lane,

because I'm certainly not an expert.

I don't know what you know
about filing wage claims.

But when half of your claim
is about other specify,

- [laughs] and you don't do that...
- Uh-hmm.

- ...you're supposed to stay in your lane.
- Major oversight.

[Judge Judy] Yeah. And clearly,
the defendant got a lawyer

who convinced him that these claims

were gonna be dismissed
because they had no validity.

And the only real claim that he might have

- is wrongful termination.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] I have a feeling
there's a whole lot more to that case

with Temporary Restraining Orders,
and everything else.

I was already dizzy with the case itself.
In any event,

I didn't believe
that the contract was fulfilled.

He filed two pieces of paper,
one was wrong,

one single piece of paper
certainly wasn't worth $7,000, or two.

Exactly.

[announcer] Want justice?


[theme music playing]