02x14 - Pit Bull Kennel Fail

[bunniefuu]

I told her, "You trespassing."

I never rented her none of my building.

He had an...a blade
he was swinging on me.

This one knocked me down.

He wants us to go, he has to evict us.

No. I am evicting you.
I am evicting you!

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Denise and Deborah Carter
are suing their former landlord,

Charles Ashley,
for sabotaging their business,

vet bills, and an as*ault.

[Kevin]
Court, come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case #2036.
Carter versus Ashley.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

- [Judy] You're sisters, is that correct?
- Yes.

You decided, according to your complaint,
to go into a business,

some sort of a doggy daycare.

In what month and year did you
decide to go into that business?

This year, two months ago, uh, May.

Do you have any dogs of your own?

- [Denise] Yes.
- [Judy] How many?

I have a poodle and two pits.

- [Judy] And you?
- I have four pit bulls.

[Judy]
Do they all live in your home?

Um, they did, yes.

- [Judy] They did?
- Yes.

The two of you decided to go
into this alleged business

and needed some space, according to you,
and went to the Defendant,

who was renting a house.
Is that right, Mr. Ashley?

No, it's not a house.

- [Judy] What is it?
- It's a building.

What kind of building?

It's a commercial building.

Okay. On this commercial building lot,
there's a backyard or a back?

Y-Yes.

Empty space.

- And it's an open space with a fence?
- Yes.

- [Judy] So, it's not a home.
- No.

What arrangements did you make
with the Carter sisters

to rent them that space?

I made arrangement with Deborah Carter.

May I see it?

[Kevin]
Thank you.

- [Judy] Deborah Carter?
- Correct.

- [Judy] That's you?
- Yes.

[Judy] When, for the first time,
did you meet Deborah?

I think it was round the 4th of June.

And she wanted to bring
some dogs onto your property?

[Charles]
Correct.

How many dogs did she
want to bring on your property?

She didn't tell me.
She told me she had a kennel,

and when I got there, she had
the dogs there, in two cages.

It was seven dogs, seven pit bulls.

[Judy]
In cages?

[Charles]
Yes, and they're there today.

- [Judy] They're still there?
- Yes.

[Judy]
May I see them, please?

I don't have 'em, uh...
I didn't know what to get together.

Okay. I'd like to see
what pictures you have, sir.

Yeah.

This is the 30-day notice
that I've given them,

and those are the pictures
where she damaged...

Miss Carter,
sometime after June of this year,

did you place dogs in this fenced-in,

open space, in cages?

Yes.

Loud. You hear the way I'm talking?

[Deborah] Yes.

And how many dogs
did you place in the cages?

At that time, it was seven.

Seven adult dogs?

No, there's three adults
and four puppies so far.

[Judy]
How old were the puppies?

They were six months, five or six months.

- Who did the dogs belong to?
- Me.

- So, all those dogs...
- [Deborah] Well...

Ju-Ju...
Let's get it right the first time.

This is not gonna get easier.
This is gonna get harder, Miss Carter.

So, the seven dogs that you...
Stop playing with your papers.

The seven dogs that you placed
in the cages were your dogs?

Mine, my sisters and, um,
some other friend, another friend.

[Judy]
How many were yours?

- You had four pit bulls.
- [Deborah] Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
Were your four pit bulls there?

Uh-huh, yes.

Yes, that's a yes. So, your four.

Your sister has
two pit bulls. Were her...

- [pounds bench]
- Look at me.

Your sister has two pit bulls.
Were her two pit bulls there?

Yes.

So, that's six, and somebody else had one.

[Deborah] Mm-hmm.

Who was the person who had one?

They're not here. It's a friend.

We were watching their dog there.
They have a dog.

Okay. So, you put your four pit bulls,
your sister's two pit bulls,

and a friend's pit bull in two cages?

- No.
- [Judy] How many cages?

There are four cages, but, uh...

Okay. I'd like to see pictures
of the four cages.

- [Denise] Here you go.
- There you go.

And that's just to separate 'em... by sex.

[Charles]
Your Honor, when she...

[Judy]
Shh... Just a second.

Prior to meeting the Defendant,

where did you keep your four pit bulls?

In the yard at my home.

Was it in a backyard
that you kept the four pit bulls?

Yeah, they had space in the backyard,
but they stayed in the house.

And then, when it's time
to do their thing, they go outside.

They stayed in the house,
in the living room,

So, they were house dogs.
And what about your two pit bulls?

I stayed in the front, in the front house.
They stayed in the house with me.

On what date did you
bring your pit bulls to the yard?

- June 4th?
- June 6th. June 6th.



- And you paid him for a month?
- Mm-hmm.

- Is that right?
- Yes.

[Judy] How much did you pay him
for the month?

- Five hundred.
- And the three puppies

that were six months old,
what did you intend to do with those?

- Um...
- We had people that wanted them.

- We were supposed to move...
- [Judy] Just a second.

Were they yours or hers?
Who did the three puppies belong to?

- Me.
- They belong to you?

- Uh-huh.
- So, don't speak for her.

- Okay.
- Good.

- I've been speaking for her all my life.
- Just a second.

I don't care what you've been doing
all your life.

Right now, I'm getting answers
from someone

who may or may not be
swift enough

or savvy enough
not to tell me the truth.

Did you ever have
more than seven dogs in the yard?

- No.
- Okay.

So, this is what
I'm sort of confused about.

Of the seven dogs
that you kept in his yard,

six of them were pit bulls
that belong to you.

And what you're suing him for is,
you say because of him,

you lost your kennel business
where you want...

Well, that's what it says here.
You lost your kennel business...

[Denise]
Day care.

- What?
- It's a dog day care.

There's no dog day care.
They were your dogs.

No, we were supposed to be inside.

We were only supposed
to be outside for a week.

The business is a business, like you said.
It has a storefront,

it has a middle section. The storefront
is where we take the small dogs.

When you come in,
we'll greet you, assess it,

bring in the small dogs.
If you have bigger dogs,

he has a middle section. We were
supposed to split the building half.

He never split it.

He never cleaned
the inside of the building.

We had to go in there, power wash it
ourselves. We bought our own paint.

We were only supposed to
be outside for two weeks

until his people
cleaned the inside for us.

Okay, is that what
you were supposed to do?

No, Your Honor, they are lying.

[Denise laughs] Okay.

The building was a motorcycle shop.

They ain't brought no paint.
They ain't cleaned nothing in it.

It's still not clean.

Okay. Just a second.
- [Charles] They didn't have no money.

How much, in total,
did they give you for rent?

Five hundred dollars.

Is that correct?

- Yes.
- For the first month.

Did you give him any more than $500?

No.

Did you have any other dogs,
other than your six dogs,

and somebody else's one pit bull,
ever on the premises?

- No.
- [Judy] No.

Don't speak, I'm speaking to her.

So, whatever business you were,

your investment in this business was $500.

No. I worked for him
May 25th to June 1st.

I cleaned out 25 refrigerators. Um...

I don't care, that's not in here.

[Denise]
That was... Yes, it is. Uh, uh...

[Charles]
She didn't work for me.

[Judy]
Just a second.

I sent it to you guys.

Just a second. Miss Carter,
there is absolutely nothing here

that says that you worked for him
and he owes you for that.

Well...

Let me tell you
what your complaint states.

Your complaint says "money owed
for sabotaging of business,

vet bills," 'cause one of your dogs
was injured.

- And...
- I'm not saying...

..."actual and punitive damages
for as*ault."

That's what you're claiming?

I'm just saying that
I cleaned those appliances.

He said that that was a payment for rent.

So that was for the second month of rent.

- It was $500.
-She's lying, Your Honor.

He was supposed to pay me every day,
but I just told him

- to put it towards the rent.
- Okay.

And that's what we agreed to.

So, the first month and
the second month was paid for.

[Judy] Listen to me.
My question is simple.

- Yes.
- [Judy] Any...

There's only one attitude here, madam.
Stand up.

Are your dogs still there?

Some of 'em.

Get them off his property.

- Why is that?
- It's not his property.

Very easy.

You want to keep dogs in a cage like this?
I can't control that.

I am certainly not putting
a judicial imprimatur on keeping dogs,

and I don't care what breed they are,
in cages in a backyard.

So, what I'm telling you this
is you have 24 hours

to get your dogs off that property.
Get them off.

He's going to get an order from a Marshal.

And if your dogs aren't off that property,
they're going to the pound.

- Do you understand?
- Why is that?

[Judy]
I want you to understand...

I want you to understand my order,
'cause now we're in August.

You started this whole process in June.
I'm finishing it before it gets too mucky.

Get your dogs off the property.
We understand each other?

- Why is that?
- Why? What did we do?

- We paid, we did everything...
- No, you paid him for one month in June.

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] You paid him...

You paid him in one month in June.
We are now in August.

This is a marriage
that's not going to go well.

Get your dogs off his property,

and then you don't
have to deal with him anymore.

It's not his property, ma'am.

Do you understand?

- No, I don't.
- You don't understand.

If it's not his property,
then what are you suing him for?

Because he's the one who stabbed me.

- And he's the one who...
- Oh, just a second. Just a second.

So, if we're eliminating money owed
for sabotaging a business,

and if you're suing him for as*ault,
then I'll hear your as*ault.

Then I don't have to hear
any of the things about the dogs.

So, all I'm going to hear about is
the as*ault. Tell me what happened.

You were assaulted.
That's what you want to tell me?

Yes. July 5th, we had came. My witness,
if she could speak, she had, uh...

No, she wasn't assaulted, right?

- Yes.
- [Judy] Okay.

She was assaulted first, actually.
She's the first one he swung on.

Okay, step up. July 5th.
Your name is what?

Priscilla Walker.

[Judy] You don't own
any of these dogs, do you?

No, ma'am.

What were you doing on the property
on the 5th of July?

Um, I sometimes go and help them
with the dogs, clean up and feed the dogs.

And those dogs that were there,
they were there for at least a month,

- from June 4th to July 5th?
- Correct.

- There six pit bulls?
- Correct.

- [Charles] I...
- [Judy] Bup-bup!

That used to be, according to them,

in the backyard or in their homes, right?

Correct.

Okay. Now, Priscilla,
I want you to look at me.

And they're your friends, right?

- So, you went over to help them?
- Yes.

I want you to tell me what it is
that caused them to take these house dogs,

dogs that were in their homes
and in their backyard

if they had to relieve themselves...
don't speak...

and move them into cages in a backyard
in a commercial building.

I want you to tell me that.

Um, Your Honor, that wasn't the intent.

They moved the dogs
for a bigger space because

they're entrepreneurs and
they wanted to start a business.

Just a second.
It's not their business.

Business is starting a business
with somebody else's dogs.

Not your dogs. They wanted to start
a doggy... Uncross your arms.

They wanted to start,
according to them, a doggy daycare.

That I understand,
but you don't start a doggy daycare

by taking your dogs, that are house dogs,

and putting them in cages
in somebody else's backyard.

- Why not?
- [Judy] Or somebody else's space.

Your Honor, that's not necessarily true.
We're millennials.

When you're boosting a business,
you want to use yourself

and what you have as advertisement,
and that's what they did.

So, the other dog that they did have
was a friend,

and the friend was actually
paying for that dog to stay there,

so it did deem it a business at that time.

You still haven't answered my
question as to why their six pit bulls

were in cages when they were formerly
house dogs for a month.

Well, Your Honor,
the gentleman over here to my left

did not allow them... permit...

They didn't have access
to what they paid for.

[Judy]
Just a second.

Are you telling me that for a month
they didn't have access to the dog?

You just told me that you
would go there and help them clean up.

To the inside of the building
that was promised...

I'm not talking about
the inside of the building.

- Okay.
- [pounds bench]

- Pay clear... pay...
- [overlapping chatter]

- Pay... pay careful atten...
- [overlapping chatter]

They're not hearing all of you
and you're not answering my question.

The three of you went there
for what purpose on July 5th?

To feed and clean up after the dogs.

- Had you spent the weekend with them?
- I was the...

- I'm not speaking to you!
- [laughs]

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Denise and Deborah Carter
claim their former landlord,

Charles Ashley,
broke an agreement to store their dogs.

They also claim he assaulted them.

Charles claims he was the one
who was assaulted.

Okay. If I was starting
a doggy daycare business,

and I had house dogs,
my little Shih Tzus,

running around the house,
where they have been for years,

I would not take them
and put them in cages

in a back vacant lot in order
to demonstrate that I had a business.

- My dogs slept in the house.
- Just a second.

They slept in the house.

They didn't roam like your
little Shih Tzus. They didn't do that.

Just a second. You told me
that they stayed in your house.

I said they slept in the house,
in a cage in an area.

Yeah, well, that's
exactly what I'm saying.

I don't understand
how you could take your pets.

But they stayed outside.

[overlapping chatter]

All right, let's get to the as*ault.

I'm not interested in...
I'm not interested in this. Now...

Your Honor, I have the lease here.

I'm paying the owner $4,000 a month.

He lied to the owner and said
he wasn't going to do any subleasing...

The only thing I'm interested in is the...

The only thing I'm interested in
is the as*ault.

So, Priscilla... Don't speak.

The three of you went there
for what purpose on July 5th?

To feed and clean up after the dogs.

- Okay. And you had done that before?
- Yes.

And when you got there on July 5th,
was that over a holiday weekend?

Yes, it was.

It was a Tuesday.

It was a Tuesday.
So, July 4th was on a Monday.

- [Priscilla] Yes.
- Had you spent the weekend with them?

- I was the...
- Not speaking to you!

Had you spent the weekend with them?

- Yes. No.
- No.

Okay. You say yes, she says no.

I'm not asking you a question.
Do you understand?

- So, you spent July...
- I...

- [pounds bench]
- [Priscilla] Go ahead.

You spent July 4th with them?
It's either yes or no.

No.

[Judy] When did you
meet them on July 5th?

[Priscilla]
In the... around the morning.

Around the... what time?

Eleven a.m.?

[Judy]
You're asking me with a question.

- Eleven a.m.
- I don't know if it was eleven.

- I'm asking you.
- Eleven a.m.

[Judy]
Did you have a discussion with them?

Regarding?

Regarding the dogs,
what you were gonna do that day?

Of course. We always have discussions
about what we're gonna do.

Okay. When you spoke to Deborah,

did you ask her
when she had last seen the dogs?

Mmm, no.

No, you did not.
Deborah, prior to July 5th,

when had you last seen the dogs?

- July 4th.
- [Judy] What time?

It was about five o'clock.
I was in there, cleaned them up.

He came, locked me in for four hours.

Okay. So, on July 4th,
you were in there feeding the dogs,

and July 5th, you went back
in the morning again to feed the dogs.

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] "Uh-huh" is not an answer.

- Yeah.
- Now,

tell me what happened
when you got there on July 5th.

Um, on July 5th,
when we went inside to feed the dogs,

I went to go turn on the water hose,

and I noticed that
the water would not come out.

That's when they were in the kennels
feeding the dogs.

And I told Carter that,
"Hey, the water's not on."

So, the door to the building was open.
Um, I believe they both stepped in.

When they stepped in,
there was, like, verbal altercation.

So, when they stepped in,

you heard that there was
someone else in the building?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

And that would have been you,
sir, on the fifth?

Yes, me and another friend of mine.

Okay. And what were you doing
in the building on July 5th?

It was about six o'clock that evening.
My friend came by the house.

He's a general contractor,

and I'm renovating the building
to set it up for business.

So I said, "Come on, let me take
you up here and show you the building.

I need your help."

We get up there, I open the gate,
go in, leave the gate unlocked,

and we walk through the building.

When I come around,
they're in the building.

- [Judy] All three of them or just one?
- [Charles] All three of them.

Had you turned the water
off to the hose outside?

No. I used to water the dogs
when they didn't come,

because they'd be barking,
so, and the neighbors next door...

I just moved in, Your Honor.
I don't wanna make no enemies.

That's why I told them,
I'm not taking no more rent from you.

Get the dogs out.

- Okay. Shh! Just a second.
- I tell 'em, "You's trespassing."

So now, you went inside,
or the Carter sisters went inside...

- Yeah, I said...
- [Judy] You heard some noise.

Did you go into the building?

- Yes.
- [Judy] Okay.

And what happened
when you went into the building?

When I went into the building,
he immediately got very frustrated

and then said,
"What are you guys doing here?

Why are you here? You need to get off...
get off my property!

Get off my property." They're like,
"We paid you, we have an agreement."

The next thing you know,
he pushed Deborah Carter.

He pushed her. And then,
that's when Cart... Denise Carter

got in the middle and said,

"No, you're not.
Don't put your hands on my sister."

The situation ensued.

The gentleman
that was inside stopped everything

and walked him out of the...
out of the building.

And as he's walking him
out of the building

and we're walking out behind him

so that we can try to figure out
what's going on with the water,

he slammed her foot in the door

and tries to lock her in
and pushes her.

And that's when they started
pushing on the door, because,

at this point,
he's trying to lock them in.

Lock them in the building?

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

When they, actually, the gentleman
stopped him and the door opened,

I seen what type of altercation it was.

I didn't want anything to do with it.
I'm like...

Okay, so at that point,
nobody was injured?

- No.
- [Judy] Okay, so now you're outside.

- Now we're outside.
- [Judy] Okay.

And you're outside in the back area
where the dogs are.

- Correct.
- [Judy] Tell me what happened next.

So, as we're walking,
I'm walking fast

'cause I noticed that he's walking fast,

and I'm like,
"You're not about to lock me in here.

You already just tried
to lock them in there."

- [Judy] You mean, lock you in the yard?
- In the yard.

- So, you got out of the yard?
- [Priscilla] Yes.

He tried to close the yard gate on us,

which is a really big, tall, black gate.

And as soon as he
tried to close it, it was...

Just an altercation,
a verbal altercation started.

He didn't like what was said.
I was on the left-hand side...

You tell me what the altercation was.

Everything was said about the business,
you know, um,

that they were gonna speak to the owner,

that, you know,
\he still owed them money

If he wanted them to move out
for the rest of the month,

that he could just give them the money
or whatever and they'll leave.

It wasn't a problem.

By the way, I am looking at your lease,
and you did lease the premises

from June of 2022 to May 31, 2025,

at a monthly rent of $4,000.

Are you still paying rent

- to the owner of the building?
- Yes, ma'am.

You have to remove your dogs there.

- He's not paying rent...
- He has an eviction notice, too.

He owes $4,000. I have a picture of it.

- He's lying.
- He hasn't paid rent.

He hasn't paid rent
this month or last month.

He got the eviction
last month on the 11th.

Okay. Right now, he has not
been evicted from the property.

- Is that correct, or have you?
- [Denise] Right.

I just paid him yesterday.

- Why did you say...
- [Judy] Shh, just a second.

I'm asking a simple question.

I have before me, ladies, pay attention.

I have before me
a lease that gives him

three-quarters of the building,
and the backyard.

Until he's evicted,
until this lease is deemed void,

you have to remove your dogs
within 24 hours of today.

- Why?
- I am evicting you!

With a Marshal, tomorrow.
Get your dogs out of there.

He has medical records

that he received five staples
in the top of his head,

and that's not something
he did to himself.

That happened...

That's not something he...

Get up! Stand up.
Where do you think you are?

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Denise and Deborah Carter
have accused their former landlord,

Charles Ashley, of breaking
their agreement and assaulting them.

Charles claims Denise and Deborah
attacked him first.

Okay, we're gonna get back to this as*ault

'cause I have other things to do today.
You're outside.

The gate that he's tried to close
has opened up again...

- Mm-hmm. He got really angry.
- And...

He was saying a lot of curse words.

"You need to remove all your...

You know what, if you don't remove it,

I'm gonna remove it for you,"
type stuff.

And after that,
he swung with his right hand,

and it connected with my face.

After that,
he started punching on all of us,

so we had to
defend ourselves and fight back.

And then an altercation got started,

and everybody
was fighting with everybody.

So, it was the three of you and him?

- [Priscilla] Yes.
- [Judy] Okay.

- Did you go to a doctor?
- No, but I was...

Just a second. Did you take
photographs of your face?

- No.
- What about you, Deborah?

- Were you hit by the Defendant?
- Yes, I was.

- Yes, I was.
- [Judy] Where were you hit?

In my face and my foot.

Nope, no pictures,
and I didn't go to the doctor.

- I self-healed.
- [Judy] Good.

And what about you, Miss Carter?
Where were you hit?

I had to go to the ER
because I had to get stitches.

- I had nine stitches.
- Okay, well, tell me about the stitches.

That's what I want to know.

How did the cut that required
the stitches take place?

When he was attacking us,
he was swinging on me

and he had a blade in his hand,

and I thought he was
punching me, but really,

when I was blocking myself,
he was taking...

That was the second occurrence
because after the first one,

we tried to leave the situation.

He was upset and pulled out a knife.

We thought we were leaving, yeah.
He just came back with the knife and...

Now I'd like to see the records.

Uh, here's the knife records,
and then, here's the police records

from when he was arrested,
and that's just like my stitches

and what doctor
I went to and like, my medications.

Okay, now I'm gonna take a look.

Okay. Mr. Ashley, the only thing that
I actually want to know about from you

is there's no question in my mind
that the Plaintiff did not cut herself.

No question.
I want to know how she got cut.

I don't know, Your Honor.

I didn't even have a wallet on me.

I'm 75 years old.
I wouldn't even argue with her.

I went to the back door, the gate.

And they have a trash can
where they had propped it open.

So, I went to move the trash can,

and that's when this one hit me
and knocked me down.

And when I was coming up,
Deborah hit me in the head

with a two by four,
and blood just went everywhere.

- [Judy] Did you go to the doctor?
- Yes.

- [Judy] I'd like to see your report.
- It's in the records.

Your Honor, I have a video
of what happened.

I could just solve this right now.

- Oh, I'd like to see it.
- Okay.

Do you have it through the as*ault?
I'm just interested in the as*ault.

It's just the as*ault. Yeah.
Just press play, right here.

Okay. If you press play,
you'll see him slamming us up.

- [Judy] I don't see any as*ault.
- Well, yeah.

I tell you, my phone fell out the hand.

Then, don't show me what I can't see.

All I know is he has medical records

that he received five staples
in the top of his head on that date,

and that's not something
he did to himself.

Get up. Stand up.
Where do you think you are?

Do you think he did that to himself?

Yes. Do you see the tire behind him?
He just fell over it.

And that wood behind him.
He fell on that stuff.

Listen to me. Blunt head trauma,
which is what...

They knocked me down.

[Judy]
The emergency...

- You attacked us. You were...
- It's okay.

[Judy] Listen to me...
Listen to me carefully.

You have... Now sit.

You have 24 hours
to get your dogs out of that yard.

You want to show me pictures
of a trash-strewn yard?

That's not where I would keep
my precious house dogs for an hour.

So, get your dogs out of there,


[indistinct chatter]

This is not a dance party.
I'm ruling now.

Twenty-four hours.
Remove your dogs.

You have nothing left to do with him.

He wants you gone.
I want you gone.

I want those dogs out of the cages
on that property,

and I want 'em gone within 24 hours.

Now, there's no question, Mr. Ashley,

that both of you were injured
in that altercation.

No question. All I'm asking is,

subsequent to your arrest,
did you have a hearing?

No. Your Honor, I have it right here.
They rejected the case.

[Judy]
May I see it?

[Charles]
They wouldn't even hear it. I...

[Judy] They rejected it.
Did you have a hearing?

They didn't tell me about anything.

They didn't tell you about anything?
That's because they rejected the case.

Okay. I'm telling you
'cause I'm issuing an order.

I'm giving it to you.
You're the lawful tenant of the building.

You can take it to a Marshal,
take it to the Sheriff.

Those dogs have to be out of there
within 24 hours. We're done here.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

You know, it is what it is.

I thought it was a good decision.
It was the truth.

He has no consequences.

It just is the reason why we don't
believe in the judicial system.

I'm not gonna be renting out
to them no more.

And I'm not going to rent to nobody.

I think that it's so cruel to keep
seven dogs in small crates, day, night.

Especially in a commercial building,
open lot.

People shouldn't have dogs that do that.

There should be
a license required to own a dog.

Not necessarily to be a dog,
but to own another living creature.

I don't know what kind of mind
would think that it's fair

to keep a living creature in a filthy...

- Dusty, congested...
- [Judy] ...dusty...

...infested yard in crates,
for now three months.

I don't know what kind
of creature would do that.

[narrator] Want justice?