01x120 - Emotional Title w*r/Tenant/Landlord Drama

[bunniefuu]

I wanna see evidence of a loan.

Who gets a receipt
from their girlfriend for a loan?

[laughing] Smart people do.

Am I correct that
you were living together as a couple?

- That means I should pay everything?
- [Judge Judy] Shut.

I don't answer questions. I ask questions.

[announcer] This is Judy justice.

[theme music playing]

Ann-Marie Rogers is suing
her ex-boyfriend, Ian Davis,

for the cost of a car
and emotional distress.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

Be seated, please.

Well, Judge,
case 1067, Rogers versus Davis.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Okey-dokey now. Ms. Rogers,
you and Mr. Davis were a couple.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And I assume

during the course of your relationship,
there was a time that you lived together.

There was, yes.

Wanna give me the dates of that?

[Ann-Marie]
We started dating in June of 2020

and it was a month or two after that,

we moved in together.

[Judge Judy] So let's say August of 2020.

And you lived together until when?

May of 2021.

[Judge Judy]
During the course of living together,

- an automobile was purchased.
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] When you started
to live together in June of 2020,

- did you have an automobile?
- I did not.

- Did you move into his apartment? Was...
- I did, yes.

[Judge Judy] In June of 2020,
did you have an automobile, sir?

Yes, I did.

- [Judge Judy] What kind?
- Uh, BMW.

- [Judge Judy] How old?
- It was an older model, um, 1999.

So, 22 years old?

It was just 22 years old. Two...
it was a little out of shape.

[Judge Judy] And there came a point
after the plaintiff moved in

that according to what I've read,

you started to use the car

- for delivering for DoorDash.
- Correct.

[Judge Judy]
And you were using his 22-year-old car?

- [Ann-Marie] Yes.
- That was not in great shape?

Correct.

[Judge Judy] So another car was purchased.

And the car that was purchased was what?

[Ann-Marie] It was a 2009 Toyota Camry.

[Judge Judy] And I gather that
that was the only car

that was for the use of the household.

Yes, ma'am.

- No, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] There was another car?

His... he still used his car.

- [Judge Judy] The old BMW.
- [Ian] It was broken down.

But you got the car

because it was continually
giving you difficulty.

He didn't find it safe
for me to drive his car anymore.

[Judge Judy] Well,
that's what you'd like me to say

because what happened was you broke up,
he bought this car,

I assume that all the money
that was paid for the car,

which was how much?

It was $2,200.

[Judge Judy]
Was paid for by the defendant?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And because he,
for whatever reason,

either because of insurance
or because of whatever or...

you would like me to think
that he gave you the car,

- both names were put on the car.
- They were.

[Judge Judy] And when you broke up,

first, you took the car from him,

and there was an argument about the car.

And then he found
where you would park the car

and he took the car back?

- Yes.
- Twice.

[Judge Judy] Where is the car now?

- I...
- I do not know.

- [Judge Judy] You have...
- I've... I've since sold the car.

[Judge Judy]
Okay. Sold the car to a private party.

Correct.

For how much? Just curious.

[Ian] Uh, $2,500.

But when I sold the car, it was in...

only in my name, not in her...
not in both of ours.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You're suing him for $2,625,

money for selling a car without permission,
and for emotional distress.

Correct, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
Well, somebody is going to own this car.

And you're not married to each other,
never were.

- Correct.
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] And so this...

no marital property, joint property,

so if he hadn't sold the car,

let us make believe
he hadn't sold the car,

you would come here and say,

"Well, he gave me the car
and he made a gift to me of the car?"

He did, Your Honor.

Yeah, I don't think so.

[Ann-Marie] He...

- even told my daughter that.
- I don't think so.

Yeah, I don't think so.

And I don't care
what he told your daughter

and I'm not gonna ask her to lie.

Whatever it is, you're not married,
he paid for the car.

It was like he bought a washing machine
and put it in the house.

It's not your washing machine,
it's his washing machine.

I have to make a judgment based upon
when two people are living together.

You know, if you brought a sofa
into the house and wanted to take it out,

and he said, "Well, she made
a gift to the household of the sofa."

I would say he paid for the sofa,

he gets to take the sofa.

It's not difficult.

So if the car was still here,
I would say that the car was his.

Now the second part of your issue...

He also forged my name,
Your Honor, off of the title.

[Judge Judy]
That's a very bad thing to do.

- [Ann-Marie] And I have proof.
- He's gonna tell me... he... just a second.

That's a very bad thing to do.

And I think that if you wanna pursue that,

you should file criminal charges
against him.

- Didn't have...
- [Judge Judy] Before... just a second.

I think, Ms. Rogers,

if you wanna do that,

because the car is no longer in existence

and if you think that
that's a case that you wanna be part of,

I think that you should report it
to the police.

They either will accept it
or will not accept it.

I'm not dealing with it.

I'm just saying based upon the fact
that he paid for the car

in a short-term relationship
and you broke up

and he took the car and sold it,

I'm not dealing with that.

That's a criminal action.
You want police to follow up with that.

As my grandmother would say,

"[speaking in foreign language]
Go in good health."

I haven't used that one before.

[audience laughs]

Now we have nonsense here on your part.

- We have money owed for loans.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Proof of loans,

- household expenses.
- [Ian] Yes, ma'am.

Because you promised to pay
for household expenses.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] And she didn't.

- She did not.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Did that happen during the course
of her living with you?

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

- And she promised to pay?
- Yes, ma'am.

And you share the same bed
all during this time?

- [Ian] Yes, ma'am.
- I'm not interested.

Okay.

[Judge Judy] Now, I'm interested
if you can demonstrate to me

- a loan...
- [Ian] Yes, ma'am.

- A loan.
- [Ian] Yes.

She has a loan
for, um, a lawyer for her divorce.

[Judge Judy] Hold on.

Tell me when you gave her money
for a lawyer for her divorce.

[Ian] Around March 30th.

Around the same time I bought the car.

[Judge Judy]
Did you need a lawyer for your divorce?

No, no.

I have proof of that in her...

in her own handwriting
what she needed money for.

- Can I see it?
- [Ian] Yes, ma'am.

This is it.

it's highlighted there, sir.
Y-Your Honor.

She had...

Shush.

It does not say loan anywhere.

- [Judge Judy] Nowhere.
- No, ma'am.

- Next! Next!
- [Ian] She didn't have a job.

[Ian] How is she gonna pay
those moneys without a job?

[Judge Judy] I don't care whether she...

- [Ian] I was the only one who had income.
- Put on a Santa costume.

[Ian] I paid for her storage, her lawyer,
her pretrial diversion for other case.

Just show me evidence of a loan.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Ann-Marie Rogers
claims her ex-boyfriend, Ian Davis,

is responsible for the cost of a car
he wrongfully sold.

Ian is countersuing for unpaid loans.

What is this from?

[Ian] This is a daily list
of chores to do the next day

that... in her own handwriting which states...

- [Judge Judy] Chores for her?
- For both of us.

Mine are on the top,
hers are on the bottom.

Yours are on the top. [sighs]

So she writes this out what she has to do
and what you have to do?

Correct.

[Judge Judy] Kevin, just for giggles,

would you show this to her please
and just...

- Yes.
- have her identify

whether this is her handwriting.

- [Ian] I don't see how she'd even...
- [Judge Judy] Shh!

I just wanna know
if that's your handwriting.

- Yes, it is, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- Give that back to him. He has a pen.
- [Kevin] Thank you.

I want him to circle anywhere
where it says loan.

It does not say loan anywhere.

- [Judge Judy] Nowhere?
- No, ma'am.

- Next! Next!
- [Ian] She didn't have a job.

[Ian] How is she gonna
pay those moneys without a job?

[Judge Judy] I don't care whether she...

- [Ian] I was the only one who had income.
- Put on a Santa costume.

It doesn't say loan.
You say you have proof, like...

I have over $1,500 worth
of statements here...

- Listen to me very carefully.
- of money given to her.

Listen to me, sir.

- Giving her...
- I paid for her storage, her lawyer,

her pete... or... pre... pretrial
diversion for her other case.

[Judge Judy]
Just show me evidence of a loan.

- [Ian] I have...
- I don't care what you pay for.

I have evidence of... I have evidence
of Cash App with her name on it...

- [Judge Judy] I know.
- to her, to her, to her, to her.

[Judge Judy] I don't care.

Don't you understand?
I want you to listen.

Who, who gets a receipt
from their girlfriend for a loan?

[laughing] Smart people do.

- [Ian] Well, yeah, from now on.
- [Judge Judy] Dumb people don't.

- [Ian] From now on...
- Dumb people end up there

where you give her money
and there is no contract

between you that says,
"This is a loan and I will play."

There's plenty... there's plenty. I... I...

Just a second. You keep talking.

- And you're not listening.
- [Ian] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] I'm telling you
I wanna see evidence of a loan,

not that you gave her money.

[Ian] I have evidences where she states,
"I will pay you back.

- I will pay you back."
- That... that... just a second.

If you have evidence of a specific amount

where she says, "I will pay you back."
I would love to see that.

- That is evidence of a loan.
- [Ian] She promised to pay...

Just stop... don't speak, just hand.

Kevin.

- That's it.
- [Kevin] Thank you.

[Judge Judy]
"I'll be able to pay you back soon.

I am pretty positive
I'm gonna start a job on Monday."

Yeah, which was several times.

That's January 27th,
I assume, of this year.

- Yes.
- Yes.

Okay. Not much, but it's something.

Do you remember writing this to him?

Yes. He actually picked up
some medicine for me

and brought it over to my mother's
where I was staying.

And he brought us cigarettes

and put $40 in my cigarette pack for me.

- [Judge Judy] And that was in January?
- [Ann-Marie] Mm-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
"I'll be able to pay you back soon.

I'm pretty positive
I'm gonna start a job on Monday."

[Ian] She moved in August.

- I... she moved in August.
- What's he talking there, Your Honor,

what he's talking about there
is $30 that

- [Ian] She moved in in August.
- I had borrowed from him...

January's way after August.

One night when I was dashing

and it was for $30.

- [Ian] No, it's was over $1,500...
- [Judge Judy] I'd like...

I'd like to see
the rest of your evidence, sir, of a loan.

- This isn't doing it for me.
- [Ian] I have no...

I have one more... one more page
with a loan on it which covers...

I'd like to see.

[Ian] It's just a withdrawal
for her storage fees when she moved in.

- I had [indistinct] dollar storage fees...
- [Judge Judy] Just a minute.

Shut, shut, shut, shut, shut, shut,
shush, shush.

[indistinct whispering]

Who wrote the word loan here?

[Ian] I wrote... I... I just... I just file...

- This doesn't say...
- [Ian] That's just the day that I...

that I pulled it out of... of the ATM.

[Judge Judy] Mr. Davis, it's over.

You have no claim against her.

You sold the car,
the car didn't belong to her,

the money that you gave her
during the course of your relationship,

unless it was memorialized into a loan
where she actually says,

"I owe you $1,500,
I owe you $3,000,

- I owe you $12."
- [Ian] She says several times

[Judge Judy] "I owe you..."
- that she's gonna get a job and pay me back.

- Gonna get a job and pay me back.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

- Gonna get a job, pay me back,
gonna get a job, pay me back.

- [Judge Judy] I...
- She never got a job and paid me back.

Every time she tried to get a job,
it fell through.

[Ian] Then she started DoorDashing,
she say she's gonna pay me back.

Every time she went DoorDashing,
she either went out drinking

- or spent the money.
- Then he sold the car and I couldn't...

- Dash.
[Judge Judy] Shh. Just a sec. Just a sec.

- She never bought a...
- [Judge Judy] Just a...

- she might have bought cigarettes
once, put gas in the car, maybe

- [Ian] 20 bucks, uh... uh... total.
- [Ann-Marie] [laughing]

- [Ian] She's never done anything...
- [Judge Judy] Oh...

- [Ian] to... to contribute.
- [Judge Judy] Right.

- [Judge Judy] And during all of that time,

you were living together as a couple.

- Am I... Just a sec!
- [Ian] Yeah, we're...

- [Judge Judy] Just... am I correct
that you were living together as a couple?

- That means I should pay everything?
- [Judge Judy] Stop!

I don't answer questions. I ask questions.

Yes, ma'am.
We were living together as a couple.

- We're trying to build a life...
- You were living together

and building a life together,

so when she needed money,
you gave her money.

If it was a loan,
she was supposed to pay it back.

If she didn't pay it back

and you continued to give her money
for cigarettes,

for medicine, for cash for a lawyer,

for just cash and you kept...

- [Ian] All the promise to pay back...
- with the... I'm speaking.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] You soon lost
your expectation of being paid back

while you were both enjoying
the luxury of living together.

You have no case, sir.
You have no case, madam.

- [Ann-Marie] Ma'am...
- Say goodbye to each other, we're done.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I think it was, uh, I like her decision
as far as the car went.

I guess it's fair. She's the judge.

Not paying anything for 10 months
while living with somebody

is a little greedy and trying to sue me
for a car afterwards is very greedy.

He wasn't.

I have the same,
um, cash app transfers in my phone.

She was not the person she made out to be.

That's just the way he is.

When she didn't come home
because she was too drunk with my car

at another guy's house.

Oh, my best friend's house, yes.

I just never wanna see her again.

It's time for a fresh start.

[Sarah] One thing that's so important
for people in relationships,

especially in my age group
to understand is

if you want something to be a loan,

and that's your intention
when you give it,

you need to have the proper
legal documentation to prove that

because it's easy after the fact

when people are bitter and angry

and no longer sleeping
in the same bed together,

it's easy to call a gift a loan
after the fact.

So if that's your intention
from the start,

it's important to have that legal document
in writing signed

to show that it was a loan
that you expect to be paid back.

And I know that it might not be
the sexiest thing,

- um, in a relationship
- Right.

to sit down with your partner
and write out a contract

- between the two of you but...
- [Judge Judy] That's true.

People in your age group
are much more sophisticated.

They know about prenuptial agreements,
and they getting married later.

- [Sarah] Mm-hmm.
- And accumulating property of their own

and I think that they know things
that in my generation and the next one

we really didn't think of
- [Sarah] Mm-hmm.

because we got married
when we were 20 years old and had nothing,

but now in situations like you saw,
it's a very good learning experience.

You're absolutely correct.
That's a great line.

It may not be sexy, but it's smart.

And it's important.

Case 1061 Scott versus Hernandez.
Please step forward.

[announcer] Monesha Scott

is suing her former landlord,
Estalina Hernandez

for a security deposit
after she was forced to move out.

Okay, we're not gonna make
this case more difficult than it is.

- You rented a room, or two rooms...
- Yes.

...from a house that
the defendant was renting.

You rented it in what month and year?

February 4th of this year.

[Judge Judy]
Who moved in to the two rooms?

Myself, and my daughter's father,
and my daughter.

- When did you move out?
- [Monesha] July 23rd.

- [Judge Judy] What was your rent?
- A thousand.

[Judge Judy] There's some indication that
your daughter's father left at some point.

- [Monesha] He did.
- When?

[Monesha] I don't remember
to be honest. I have it in my phone.

- [Judge Judy] Did anybody else move in?
- [Monesha] Later on after.

[Judge Judy]
Well, how much... how much after?

Like three, four months after.

[Judge Judy] You weren't living there that long.
- [Monesha] Um...

You were only living there
for five months.

So all together now we've got six months,

so let's try to figure it out.

When she moved in, in addition
to the rent,

- did she give you a deposit?
- Yes, she did.

- How much?
- Six hundred.

Where is it?

I put in the lease
that it was non-refundable. I...

I don't care what you put in the lease.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Monesha Scott claims
her former landlord,

Estalina Hernandez,

wrongfully kept her security deposit.

There's some indication that
your daughter's father left at some point.

- He did.
- When?

Um, I don't remember
to be honest. I have it in my phone.

Did anybody else move in?

Later on after.

[Judge Judy] How much after?

Like three, four months after.

[Judge Judy]
You weren't living there that long.

You were only living there
for five months.

- I was...
- [Judge Judy] So all together now

we've got six months,
so let's try to figure it out.

- Um...
[Judge Judy] You moved in on February 4th,

with your daughter,
- Mm-hmm.

- and your daughter's father

Month that he left.

[Monesha] Um, I could check.

- [Judge Judy] Check.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy]
Do you know what month he moved out?

Yeah, I think I wanna say
the end of March, beginning April.

It wasn't very long after moving in.

How much after that
did someone else move in?

I wanna say three,
three weeks to a month later.

Yeah, she's right.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
So the end of March, he moved out.

- Months later, you moved in another guy.
- [Monesha] Mm-hmm.

- [Judge Judy] You found a new boyfriend?
- He was a friend.

He wasn't my boyfriend.

Is he your boyfriend now?

- No, I'm not with him.
- Were you?

[Monesha]
Like we're not friends, cut it off.

[Judge Judy] But you moved him in.

Uh... he was stayin' there
like when I was off of work,

like he'll come and visit
and then I'll drop him back off at home

before I go to work. So it...

like he'll spend a night sometimes.
It was like...

[Judge Judy] So that's what I wanna know.
Did he spend the night there?

He wasn't staying there.
He wasn't living there.

- Yeah, yeah, he was, Your Honor.
- He wasn't even on the lease.

I don't care
if he was on the lease or not.

[Monesha]
No, he wasn't staying there, Your Honor.

- Okay. How many rooms did you have?
- Two.

[Judge Judy] You have a daughter.
How old is your daughter?

Four.

- [Judge Judy] Does she have her own room?
- No.

[Judge Judy] Where does she sleep?

[Monesha] In the main room,
which the room that I rented out

and then my baby daddy had the other room

and it was a storage room.

- It was connected.
- [Judge Judy] Where did you sleep?

Where did you sleep
when you were there with...

[Monesha] It was the main room.

- [Judge Judy] With your daughter?
- [Monesha] Mm-hmm.

[Judge Judy] Even when you were
living there with her father?

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

- You all stayed in the same room?
- Same room.

Okay. So the three of you
stayed in the same room.

[Monesha] In the same room. Mm-hmm.

How many beds are there in that room?

There's one literally bed in that room.
One bed in that room.

[Judge Judy]
So you all sleep in the same bed?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And when this friend came
to stay overnight, where did he stay?

- In the room.
- [Judge Judy] In the main room?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] All in the same bed?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

But he slept... no, he slept on the floor.

Me and my daughter slept in the bed.

[Judge Judy] If that was the situation,
was your friend paying any rent

- when he slept on the floor?
- [Monesha] He, he was.

- To whom?
- To Estalina.

- [Judge Judy] To her?
- [Monesha] Mm-hmm.

[Judge Judy] So he was paying rent
in a place that he didn't live...

[Monesha] Because he was helping me
because I needed the help.

- And she was looking for somebody...
- [Judge Judy] Just a sec.

Sorry.

My question is,
how much was the total rent

on the rooms that you, your daughter,
and your daughter's father

were renting in February
when you first moved in?

- What was the total rent?
- A thousand.

[Judge Judy]
And when the old boyfriend left

and the new boyfriend moved in,

because you said he was paying rent,

how much was he paying?

[Monesha] She added
two-fifty and a hundred dollar deposit.

So then you were paying 1,250?

Basically she was paying more
for a different person.

- [Judge Judy] Just a...
- But same situation.

[Judge Judy] Just a sec.
When he moved in, she raised the rent?

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] To 1,250?

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] Is that correct?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Did you ever get 1,250?

No, I charged her
a thousand dollars for rent

and then I made him pay
a hundred dollar deposit

for moving in because he moved in
the last of the month.

And what I told her was, um,
I actually started making her pay 150

for utility, so that was different.

I never got one... twelve-fifty.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You moved out in July as well?

- [Estalina] Correct.
- Because?

[Monesha] Because the rent was too high.

I was falling behind on utility bills.

I had stayed there originally just to keep
my daughter in the school that she was in.

[Judge Judy]
So you also had a child living with you.

[Estalina] Correct.

[Judge Judy] When she moved in,
because I'm gonna keep this simple.

When she moved in,
in addition to the rent,

did she give you a deposit?

- Yes, she did.
- [Judge Judy] How much?

Six hundred.

Where is it?

[Estalina] I put in the lease
that it was non-refundable. I...

[Judge Judy] I don't care
what you put in the lease.

A deposit is to ensure
that there is no damage.

Did you pay security deposit
to your landlord?

- Yes, I did.
- [Judge Judy] How much?

Thirty-two hundred.

- How long had you been living there?
- Four years.

[Judge Judy] Did you get any part
of your security deposit back?

[Estalina] No, I did not.

- Did you break the lease?
- No.

[Judge Judy] Well,
where did you get the $3,200 from?

Because it wasn't
just me living there prior.

I had lived there
with my ex-girlfriend and her family.

How much did you put in as a deposit?

Not your ex-girlfriend?

[Estalina]
A thousand dollars out of the thirty-two.

It was shared among people.

[Judge Judy] You have proof
that you put in a thousand dollars?

[Estalina] No.

[Judge Judy] And if you didn't break
the lease, do you have

anything from your landlord indicating

that they withheld you a thousand dollars?

- Um, no, I do not.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- I was not the main person on the lease,

so she refused to give me my copy of it.

[Judge Judy] That's not a problem.

You have to return her $600 deposit to her

unless you're claiming any damage.

Are you claiming any damage?
No. She gets her 600...

[Estalina] She paid for it.

[Judge Judy]
Just a second. She gets her $600 back.

[Estalina] Mm-hmm.

We're done here.

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

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

[Monesha] Um, I'm happy.

Um, I knew I was gonna win. [laughs]

As far as I knew,
it was kind of greed

but I mean I guess I understand now.

No excuse. She just didn't give it back.

I guess she felt like it wasn't...

I didn't deserve it back.

Uh, that... her deposit, I mean I guess
it should have been non-refundable.

I just don't wanna do
the roommate thing anymore

because I have to...
their situation becomes my situation

and I just don't like to, like...

It's a no-go. [laughs]

control somebody else's home
in the way, you know,

like the way they're living and stuff,

like just let them live
the way they wanna live.

No, no roommates from now on.

Some cases are hard, some cases are easy.

This was an easy one.

It really shouldn't have
taken up court time. I don't know.

I think that the pandemic
probably brought out the worst

in a lot of people and placed them

in some very difficult situations,

probably very unfortunate field

most unfortunate usually for children.

In this case,
both of these women had young children.

I don't think that it was a healthy envi...

I have a feeling that it wasn't
a healthy environment there.

[announcer] Have you been cheated?