02x47 - Dueling Evictions and Baby Shoes Biz

[bunniefuu]

He was very upset, crying.
He had nowhere to go.

-You were having trouble with your wife.
-Irrelevant.

-It's just that...that...
-Tha...That's not what I said!

He wanted to work on his marriage.

He said to your friends,
"I need a place to go."

That...That is true.

Introduce your husband to the truth.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

[narrator] Kellie and Robert Burroughs

are suing their former friends,
Marena and David Cuadra,

for ill*gal eviction and property damage.

[bailiff] Court coming to order. All rise.

Have a seat, everybody.

Hello, Judge. Case 2072,
Burroughs vs. Cuadra.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Mr. and Mrs. Cuadra, you were
living in a home? In a house?

-[Marena] Correct a townhome.
-[David] Yes.

That you didn't own?

And for how long had you
been renting that home?

-We did not rent out the...the home.
-How long...

If you didn't own it
then you were renting it.

We rented it for two years, Your Honor.

It gets scarier if you have...

a fixed position in your head so that
you're not listening to my questions.

-Do you understand?
-Yes, Your Honor.

When did your lease start?

July of 2020.

And when was it to terminate?

It was terminated August 1st, 2022.

-And it was terminated by an eviction?
-Correct.

And you were evicted because
the landlord said you sublet the apartment

to these people and their family.

-Correct.
-And they were people who you knew.

-Both in the military?
-Just him.

-What do you do?
-[Robert] I'm a federal employee.

-And you?
-I'm active duty, ma'am.

-But you knew each other from work.
-Correct.

Where did you move in August?

National City, Your Honor.

How far is that from your prior residence?

Uh, it's about 30 miles south, Your Honor.

Are you in a home that
you own or that you rent?

-We are still renting.
-How much are you paying in rent?

$2,150 a month.

-You have a signed lease?
-We do.

When did that lease start?

August 1st, 2022.

And why did you choose
to live in National City?

It is closer to where he is stationed.

-[David] It is also the...
-Shh...

-Don't speak.
-Yes, Your Honor.

How much closer?

-Um, to his job?
-To his job.

It went from a 30 minute drive
to a 15 minute drive.

-OK. So that's... better.
-Correct.

You were evicted.

You were served a notice
of eviction on what date?

They let us know a month before August.
They gave us a 30 day notice.

Now, did the plaintiffs have any furniture

in the home that you were evicted from?

-Prior to us being evicted, yes.
-Yes.

Prior to your being evicted.

And what furniture did they have?

Two dressers and a bunk bed.

-Anything else?
-That's as far as furniture.

And what furniture did you have
in there prior to being evicted?

A full living room. Um...

And when did you move that out?
On what date?

The 30th of July.
Two days before our moving date.

So you moved out all of your furniture?

-Correct.
-And how much were you paying in rent

in the place from which you were evicted?

$2,595.

Oh, I didn't write that down. And how much
are you paying in the new place?

The place we are in now? $2,150.

-So, you're paying less rent.
-Correct.

It's substantially smaller.

And substantially closer to
his place of employment.

-Correct.
-Good.

Now, do you want to tell me
your version of how they came to be

living in your house?

We received a call one night,
it was very late, 10 p.m.

Robert was very upset,
crying, he had nowhere to go,

-He?
-Correct. Robert had nowhere to go,

and Kellie was asking for a divorce.

He asked us if he could
crash on the couch.

We have a toddler at home,

so I asked him to sleep in our
guest bedroom instead of the couch.

He stayed that first, original night

and the next day he needed
to job hunt, as he was jobless.

We offered to watch his child.
He looked for the job and came home.

He asked us if he could stay
for a while in that guest bedroom

until he got onto his feet with the job.

He offered money to just...

-help out with utilities and...
-How much?

-$1,000.
-$1,000 a month?

No, just $1,000.

And our words, when he'd asked,
and we asked him,

"How long do you think
it will take you to get on your feet"?

It was just a couple weeks.

OK, so he was offering $1,000,

-Correct.
-which was 40% of your rent,

to stay for two weeks
to stay in your guest bedroom.

-Mm-hmm.
-Pretty decent.

-Did he give you the thousand dollars?
-He did.

And he gave you the
$1,000 on what date?

He gave us the
$1,000 on... May 29th.

-And when did he start staying there?
-He started staying with us May 21st.

Then what happened?

He stayed with us for about a week,
everything was okay.

He job hunted, I helped with the child.

-Within this week he...
-Look at me.

I'm sorry. He confided in us that

he wanted to work on his marriage with
Kellie, he did not want the divorce.

It was something that she had asked for.
They wanted to work on it together

and had asked if Kellie could come around
to stay with him and the children

and work on their marriage.

When he moved into the guest room,
did he take the children?

-He did...
-Did he have the children with him?

He did, but it was just on
certain nights, they were sharing.

And then he asked if
Kellie could come as well.

-[Marena] Correct.
-[Judy] The wife.

And what did you say?
Why...why couldn't he go home?

He could not go home due to
their relationship with her parents.

-Their parents...she was living...
-Oh, she was living with her parents.

-Correct and her parents... Correct.
-They were both living with her parents.

So he said, "I can't go home,
we want to work on the marriage.

-Could we come and stay here with you"?
-Correct.

-They have two kids?
-They have three.

-They have three kids, and how many dogs?
-Four.

Four dogs. So far, you get
four stars if you let her come.

[Marena laughs]
I wish it would've worked that way.

You understand that
that's where I'm at so far?

-Yeah. Of course.
-So now, May 29th,

he gives you the $1,000.
She moves in when, with the dogs?

So, we had a long trip planned to Vegas.

We let them know that after we had left,
she could come stay while we were gone.

What month? June?

-June. Correct.
-How long were you away?

We were away for five to six days.

Well what was he gonna do when
she came there with the...

four dogs, three kids, after six days?

What was the plan?

This was never a plan of

"Here is a lease agreement.
You are going to rent from us."

-It was just a, "I need somewhere to stay.
-Well that's not my question.

Can they please come for this short
period of time until we figure this out?"

Great. OK.

Now, let me hear your
version of the events.

When you went to stay there
with your children,

you were having trouble with your wife.

-That's incorrect.
-Incorrect.

What I said was...
because I believe her.

I believe that you called her and said
exactly what she said she told me.

I mean, I don't have to have
Whitney read it back.

I believe that that's what you said.

So, I don't want to hear
baloney about school districts,

you were having trouble
with your wife.

[narrator] And, later today...

-You can't have it both ways, Miss Dionne.
-It's a complicated case.

This is a... It's not complicated,
it's very simple.

You didn't have a written contract.

If you had an oral contract,
that's one thing.

[narrator] Kellie and Robert Burroughs,

claim their former friends,
Marena and David Cuadra,

owe for an ill*gal eviction.

Marena and David are countersuing

saying Kellie and Robert
caused them to be evicted.

So, when you went to their house
and wanted to work on your marriage,

you could've gone back to your in-laws'?

-Yes, correct.
-You could've? Why didn't you?

Uh, the reason why we decided
to split up was because

we were trying to keep our kids
in the same school district.

So, with having four dogs,
that's impossible to keep in an HOA.

So, she decided to go with her parents,
I decided to stay back

to finish the school year with the kids,
still being in May,

so they could finish
in the same school district.

That's why I decided I needed
a mailing address,

so they could stay in
the same school district.

So, you mean this discussion that she
just said to me about you having problems,

-marital problems with your wife,
-Irrelevant.

-that never happened?
-Irrelevant.

-It's just that...
-Ah...That's not what I said!

What I said was...because I believe her.

I believe that that's what happened.

I believe that you called her and
said exactly what she said she told me.

I mean, I don't have to have
Whitney read it back.

I believe that that's what you said.

So, I don't want to hear
baloney about school districts,

-you were having trouble with your wife.
-No, ma'am.

-No?
-No.

And you didn't tell her that?

We had been moved out of our old place,
of six years, in El Cajon

and we were trying for
six months to find a new place.

So, yes, it does put a lot of
stress on a relationship.

-But we did not have any... marital probl...
-Mr... Mr. Burroughs.

You know what my strong suit is?

And there's no question that
the cameras just caught your face.

My strong suit is: being able
to spot a lie from a mile away.

And I'm telling you that
there's no question

that you called her late
at night and said,

"I'm having trouble with my wife.
She asked me for a divorce.

Can I come and stay with you?"

There's no question that...
whether it was true or not, I don't know,

because clearly you're a liar.

So, maybe it wasn't true,
but that's what you told her.

Your Honor, may I speak?

You want me to call your parents?

-Please, do.
-Would you like me to call your parents?

I'm just asking. Would you like me
to call your parents?

-No.
-Of course, not.

That's an easy thing for me to do.

Part of what was going on was that
we lived in our home for six years

and the homeowners had moved back in

and so, they asked us to leave and we
had been actively searching for a home.

So, yes, it did put a bit of
a strain on our marriage

and I took...

my dogs with me so that I could
keep my operating business at

my parents' house, 'cos I am
a dog boarder, dog sitter.

And I did not want to shut
my business down.

And during this time,

tensions, little things happening
at my parents' house,

so, I said, "You need to go see
if you can rent a room

or find somebody that can
help you in the meantime

until we can actively keep searching
for a place for our family."

-We've tried five different homes and we...
-I don't care.

What I said to your husband
was, he lied to me.

Because there's no
question that he called,

and whether it was true or not,
that he said to your friends,

"I need a place to go. Do you have a place
that I could stay on the couch?"

There's not question he said that to her.

That is true. Yes, that is true.

...He needed a place to stay.
-OK, well, then I want you to

introduce your husband to the truth.

-Yes, it's true.
-It's something that he hasn't met.

Because that's not what
he told me what happened.

-Correct.
-So that was a mistake of his.

-A mistake, yes.
-That was a mistake.

And you know what happens
when you lie to me once?

Your case is dismissed.

Because what you're
suing for is being evicted

and you go, "Uh, blah blah blah,
blah blah blah, and emotional distress."

You lie to me once...

Your case is dismissed.

Now,

we're gonna come over here.
You have a counter claim.

-Your counterclaim is money owed for
-We do.

-property damage...
-Correct.

and for damages for eviction.

Because what happened was,
your landlord evicted you

because she comes with her


to your house and the owner of your condo
doesn't want her anymore.

Then the owner of their last condo

-Of course
-didn't want them.

Gotta save your money, buy your own house

so you can have as many
dogs and parakeets as you like.

You moved into a place that's nicer?

Absolutely not.

Tell me what the paper said

when your landlord
notified you of the eviction.

-Do you have them?
-We do.

-I'd like to take a look at them.
-Yes, no problem.

There was also, in that piece of paper,
a $250 fine through our HOA

from the whole commotion that he caused
the day of asking them to leave.

Just a second. You were
month-to-month tenants.

-Correct.
-You didn't have a lease

for two... you were a
month-to-month tenant.

We had a year lease and then

when the year was up,
we moved month-to-month.

-They didn't evict you.
-No,

-they just gave us...they asked us to leave
-Just a second.

Your... lawsuit is for damages...
punitive damages for an eviction.

You weren't evicted.

-Well, we were asked to leave, if we...
-No,

-did not leave, it turns into an eviction.
-they just decided not to

renew your month-to-month lease.

-Due to the lies.
-I don't care what it was due to.

Listen if I owned a property
and you let 3 kids, 4 dogs,

moved in to my condo for 6 days,
I wouldn't renew your lease

on a month-to-month basis either.

I don't care whether they were there for


-You understand?
-Understood.

OK, so there was no eviction.

So the punitive damages
for that are, forget it.

Money owed for property damage
when they moved out.

What did they damage?
And how much did it cost you?

There was a hole in the molding from
moving the dressers down our stairs.

They bonked it bringing it out, angrily,

because they were mad that
we asked them to leave.

We have the letters from our landlord
stating everything that they had to deduct

-from our deposit.
-Just a second. A hole in the wall.

And how much was the hole in the wall?

-The molding was...
-No just...look at the paper

and tell me how much
was the hole in the wall?

The painting was $180
and the molding repair was $200.

Now, did you damage the molding when you
were moving a dresser out of the house?

Not that I'm aware of.

OK, not that you're aware of.
You want to try the truth now?

Was there a hole that you created
moving a dresser out of the house?

When David and I were moving our dresser
over the stairs, down the stairs...

-Who's David?
-The defendant.

So you were moving out
the dresser with him?

Careful. Introducing you to the truth.

Did you move the dresser with him?

-I did help him move the furniture out.
-Your case is dismissed.

-The counterclaim...the counterclaim
-[David] [unintelligible]

likewise is dismissed.
We're done. Thank you.

[bailiff] This court is adjourned.

I take it as a win.

The initial suit was them against us.
Their suit got dismissed.

We lost a lot of things
and a lot of wages.

That was just us being good friends.
We definitely learned our lesson.

We will never help another crying husband
on our doorstep claiming divorce again.

People that are offering to be nice to you
in, in times of need don't charge you.

They kind of cried oh, marriage
and divorce the whole time

knowing that we're
young and married,

it's something we take
seriously in our lives.

We're still trying to build
our lives back.

I should actually make a party to
introduce all those people to Mr. Truth.

-I agree. There's a lot of...
-[Judy laughs]

-mismatched...doesn't make sense.
-Stuff.

-[Judy] Yeah...
-If you're going to stay with

a friend for a few days...

you don't bring a bunk bed
and two dressers.

-No.
-I've stayed with friends for...

couple days, long weekend,
you bring a bag,

-with some clothes.
-Right. Even with your kids.

Yeah. You don't bring furniture,
you don't bring any of that,

-[Judy] No.
-so there's a lot of discrepancies.

Things that didn't make sense and if it
doesn't make sense, it's usually not true.

Agreed.

Case 2041. Dionne vs. Everson.
All parties please step forward.

[narrator] Kaitlyn Dionne...

claims her former employer,
Scott Everson,

breached their contract to buy
her baby shoe business.

Alright. What looks to be
a complicated case, actually is

merely just a contract case.

Miss Dionne, you had
a side business of making baby shoes.

And I assume that those
are the baby shoes.

-Yes. It was a full-time business.
-The...defendants...

had a children's clothing website and they
became familiar with your baby shoes

and they were interested
in buying your business.

You entered into a contract
wherein I believe that they agreed

to pay you $30,000 for the business?
Is that correct?

That was the asking price...there was
never a written contract signed.

-That's incorrect.
-Just a second. You entered into a deal

for $30,000

and an employment contract
without a written contract?

I have the written contract
here, Your Honor.

Oh, yeah.

I would say goodbye to you all
if there wasn't a written contract.

There was a draft of a contract,
the terms of which changed

-numerous times over the two years.
-No, no, no, you can't...

you can't change a written contract.
Was it a written contract that was signed

-by both parties?
-No.

-It was never signed.
-He refused to sign it.

Even though he was the one that wrote it
himself and emailed it to me himself.

You called him, within the period that you
were supposed to be working for him,

and said, "This is too much
for me, I can't do it."

I read your complaint.
Do you understand?

That's a breach of your contract,
if there ever was a contract.

[narrator] Kaitlyn Dionne...

claims her former employer,
Scott Everson,

breached their contract to buy
her baby shoe business.

Well, then there was never a meeting
of the minds. May I see that?

This is going to be a much easier case

-than I thought.
-[Kaitlyn] That's also incorrect,

-[Kaitlyn] I have audio...
-Just a second. This is going to be

a much easier case than I thought.

That's the latest draft of an agreement,
of which, there were several drafts

-prior to that.
-Listen to me, sir.

Doesn't make any difference to me.
She's suing you because you paid her

pursuant, I assume, under this
non-contract, according to you,

-$31,000.
-In good faith.

That was for both, a piece of
her business and for her staying on

for a period of, I don't know,
four months? Six months?

-That was never, um, agreed to.
-Oh yeah.

Neither was the $30,000.

Do you understand?
You can't have it both ways,

-Miss Dionne... It's not complicated.
-It's a complicated case.

It's very simple. You didn't
have a written contract.

If you had an oral contract,
that's one thing.

I do have that actually.
I have audio that we can play right now

telling him that he promises
to pay me $30,000,

regardless of how long I worked for him.

Just a second.
The original deal that you had

was for $30,000.

There was actually an original that was
much more than the contract he...

-he took months to change
-Miss Dionne. How should...Miss Dionne...

-to sign.
-Miss Dionne.

There's no question that under the terms
of what you both thought was reasonable,

you agreed to accept $30,000 from him
for the business and you would stay

with the business for a period of time.
Either four months or six months,

I'm not exactly sure what it is,
but that is totally reasonable

because he wasn't in
the baby shoes business.

According to your complaint, you were
going through some marital difficulty,

you were going through other
major problems, and you called him,

within the period you were
supposed to be working for him,

and said, "This is too much
for me, I can't do it."

I read your complaint. Do you understand?

That's a breach of your contract,
if there ever was a contract.

-That was...listen to me carefully.
-If you look in the

-contract it says that he would
-L...Listen...

-take away $400 per week
-This...

-that I did not work for him.
-This...

-Staying with him
-This is not...listen to me.

Miss Dionne. Listen to me very carefully.

This is an unsigned contract.

-Why did he send it to me then?
-Therefore...Just a second!

-He gave you $31,000.
-He did not.

-He gave me $5,000.
-Just a second.

He says he gave you, over
the period of time, $30,000.

-Did you give her $30,000?
-He did not. I have...

-Ju...ah...Just a second.
-[Scott] In the period of time that we've

known Miss Dionne and worked with her,
I've given her $31,668.

-I have proof that says otherwise.
-[Scott] That was...

[Judy] I'd like to see it.

-Here are my hourly paychecks.
-[Judy] No, no, no, no, that...

Those are paychecks,
paycheck stubs, of which

the...of the $31,000 she received...

-$10,000 were...
-That were not part of the business

-were pay...
- purchase price.

-[Judy] Listen. I have
-No, you're right, that was pay stubs.

to explain something to you.

There was no written contract
and clearly no meeting of the minds

based upon what you both told me today.

-Question, what was I supposed to do?
-Ah...Just a sec.

I signed the contract
and gave it back to him.

Then you should have done nothing.

If he didn't sign it,
you should've done nothing.

I was a single mother at the time.

-[Kaitlyn] He did not...
-[Scott] To the best of my...

[Judy] Miss Dionne, you have
to understand, this is a court.

He had all of my assets.

This is a court, it's not Dr. Phil.

You had no written contract and,
if you had no written contract,

-you had to have an oral cont...
-I have an oral...I do.

No, then you had to have an oral contract
and that oral contract clearly did not

reflect a meeting of
the minds of both of you.

If he didn't sign this contract,

and whether it was for your business
or for your employment,

are you saying to me that you did not
receive from him, I'm just curious

because he has
the documentation to show me,

that you did not receive from him $31,000?

-Stop!
-I have documentation...

-Just a sec...
-I'm sorry, I thought that was a question

-That was a question.
-you asked me.

That you did not receive from him, I don't
care if it's the business or as a worker,

that you did not receive form him,
during a period of time, $31,000?

I did not. That's incorrect.

I have my paychecks. I have
the down payment that he made.

I have the installments that he made

-and that is all he gave me.
-Ah, just a second.

-All of which added up to $31,000.
-[Judy] How much...shh just a second.

Add 'em up and I asked you a question.
How much was it?

Your paychecks and the down payment
he made on your business.

How much was it? I wanna know if it was


He payed me $16,666 for my business.
My paychecks do not matter.

-They were not a part
-Listen.

-of the business agreement.
-Listen. Did you file...did you file

-That is not a part of
-your case in small claims...Ah!

-my business.
-[banging desk] Did you file you case

-in small claims court?
-Yes.

-Very...Just a sec...Miss Dionne
-Working hourly was not a part of

-the contract.
-Pay careful attention to me.

If you filed your case
in small claims court,

I'm going to give you
an opportunity to go back there

if you think you have a ca...I do not.

I do not believe

that there was a meeting of the minds when
there's a contract, unsigned, for over

$10,000. That's absolutely ludicrous.

As long as I'm comfortable with the fact

that you got paid, during
a period of time, $30,000

so that you worked and you got paid,

the contract for the sale of the business,

as far as I'm concerned,
was never consummated.

I'm going to let you go try

to explain your position to a judge
in either Superior Court,

because I don't think small claims courts
hear cases up to $10,000.

I don't know where you're from.

-Where are you from?
-That's incorrect

-Utah. Utah.
-It's actually $11,000.

-In Utah.
-Well go back to Utah.

This case is dismissed
without prejudice, we're done.

[bailiff] This court is adjourned.

I reminded him over
the period of two months.

Paid her $31,000 for
her time and her business.

Give me the contract. Give me
the contract. Give me the contract.

She wanted a job, that's how
she first approached us,

she applied for a job with us.

My working for him hourly was
never part of... the agreement.

I wish I had been more careful.

I'll see him back in court.

[narrator] Have you ben cheated?