03x25 - Wedding Bus Betrayal and g*n Violence Awareness Collision

[bunniefuu]

In anticipation of your wedding,
you wanted a party bus.

Yes.

She sent you a smaller bus.

That bus was in an accident.

It's a bait-and-switch.

That's what it was.

-You got married, right?
-Yes.

-This your husband?
-Yes.

-[Judge Judy] Are you happy?
-Yes.

Look happy.

[all laugh]

x[announcer]
This is Judge Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Nigra Hunter is suing
business owner Tameka Young

for a party bus refund
and punitive damages.

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

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge.
Case 3018, Hunter versus Young.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Ms. Hunter,
you were planning your wedding.

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And the wedding
was planned for what date?

October 8th, 2022.

Ms. Young,
what's the name of your company?

Luxury Queen & Mr. Party Bus.

[Judge Judy]
And where is it located?

[Tameka]
It's in Detroit.

[Judge Judy]
How long have you owned it?

Since 2017.

And it's a party bus company.

Then you must have party buses
registered in the company name.

We're gonna check it.

How many party buses do you have
registered in the company name?

Well, actually...

[Judge Judy] No, not actually.
That's a question that I have for you.

How many party buses do you have
registered in the company name?

None.

How many party buses do you have
registered in your own name?

None.

So it's a fair statement
that when you advertise

that you're a party bus company,
what you do is you subcontract that out.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
You know where I'm going, right?

Do you see any advertising
under the name of that company?

Because that's how
the plaintiff got to the defendant.

I do. I see their Facebook page.
In addition, they have a website.

-May I see both, please?
-[Sarah] Sure.

This is the Facebook page.

Okay, let me see.

"We have the best rates.
Limo service." Okay.

Now, is this what is on their website
as their party buses?

-Let's take a look.
-So if you go "About"...

When you go to "Book Now,"
it gives you just these options,

four options for vehicles,
and then a place to leave your message.

And that's it.

-Got it.
-Mm-hmm.

[Judge Judy] So what you did was,
in anticipation of your wedding,

you wanted a party bus
to take about 30 guests.

Yes.

So that everybody was together.

Yes.

For photographs, to a park,
whatever it is,

and get you to and from the venue
to the party afterwards.

And you looked on the internet
and you found Ms. Young's company.

Correct.

Your wedding was in October.
On what date did you contact Ms. Young?

It was in March.

Do you have any written contract
or communication with her?

-Text message.
-[Judge Judy] May I see it, please?

Who are you, by the way?

-I'm the driver.
-[Judge Judy] Are you related?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
How are you related?

I'm her nephew.

How old are you?

-Twenty.
-[Judge Judy] I'll get to you in a minute.

[Sarah]
I just found something interesting.

So there was a video posted by the
defendant on the work page on Facebook,

saying prom season is approaching,
with a video of a large...

a video of a large white bus that looks
like it would be about 25 to 30 people.

And somebody in the comments
inquired and said,

"Interested.
How much for five hours?"

And the defendant says
in March of '22,

"This bus posted is no longer available.
This one is"...

this one, being she sends
a video of a different bus...

"is 15 to 20 passengers,

for five hours is 1150."

-So in March...
-Of '22.

...of 2022, she indicated that
that party bus was no longer available.

Which looks larger than the one
she suggested in the comments,

saying the one that was
originally posted about prom...

-Do you have a date in March?
-Yeah, March 12th, 2022.

[Judge Judy] And it was the defendant
saying to another party?

-[Sarah] A different party.
-A different party.

"That bus is no longer available."

"But here's a different video
of a different bus

that seats 15 to 20,"

-then lists the rate for that.
-Got it. Okay.

So...
Very good.

Well, how come you told her
the bus was available?

That bus, particularly,
was available in March.

[Judge Judy]
No, no, no.

You told somebody else that the bus
wasn't available on March 12th

within 24 hours.

So in March, when you were
dealing with her and her wedding,

you already told somebody

that you don't have access
to that bus anymore.

-That...
-[Judge Judy] That's what you...

That particular bus.

But, Your Honor,
I have different types of buses.

You know what?
You don't have anything.

Ms. Young, you don't have anything.

-We established that.
-I have access to it.

You don't have access to anything
more than she has, more than I have.

'Cause I work with different companies
and I have a driver.

-[Judge Judy] You are a subcontractor.
-A subcontractor.

[Judge Judy] And you make promises
like you did to her, and then...

'cause, clearly,
$950 she paid you.

-Absolutely.
-[Judge Judy] She paid you.

And how many days
before her wedding

did you tell her that there was
a problem with that bus?

How many days before?

It was September 26th that I called
and had a conversation with her.

I have that information here
that we had this conversation,

that that bus was no longer available
because it was in an accident.

You know, I don't like you...
I don't like you to think that

you're really dealing with
somebody that's stupid.

You just told me that you have access
to many different companies.

So if you have access
to many different companies

and you've contracted for
a 30-passenger bus that looks like that,

-use one of your other contacts.
-I just...

I wouldn't use your company ever.

'Cause what it was
is a bait-and-switch.

You baited her
with a 30-passenger bus that she needed.

No, I did not.

[Judge Judy]
Three weeks before her wedding, you say...

-That bus...
-[Judge Judy] That bus either.

You told her it was in an accident.

According to your answer, you said
it was having mechanical difficulties.

-[Tameka] It was. Absolutely.
-Is that correct? Is that correct? Well...

-Mechanical, accident, same thing.
-No, it's not the same thing.

It's not, and you don't own the bus.

It's not the same thing,
and you don't own the bus.

I have access to it.
I have access to doing...

[Judge Judy] I'm gonna tell you, madam,
it's a bait-and-switch.

Now you can stand up.

Because what happened was
she sent you a smaller bus.

You want a refund.

-Yes.
-[Judge Judy] That's the bottom line.

Move over here.

You have a chauffeur's license?

-Yes.
-[Judge Judy] Take it out.

May I see it, please?

Well, you didn't have
a commercial driver's license

in October of 2022.

I was training to be...

[Judge Judy]
I don't care what you were trying to be.

Your commercial license wasn't issued
until January of 2023.

-Is that correct?
-Yes.

I'm a school bus driver.
I had to get that.

As for the drive,

I had a chauffeur's license
at the time when I was driving them.

You needed this
to drive a commercial bus.

And you didn't have it
at the time that you were driving.

Okay, so first,
you arrived late, right?

Yes, but that was...

That was because
I had the wrong address.

Who gave you the address?

[Antoine]
It was on the itinerary.

-[chuckles] That she gave you.
-[Antoine] Yes.

That's the information
that she gave me.

-[Judge Judy] Impossible.
-I promise you...

Just a second.
You live in the same community?

I live in Detroit, but Detroit has
different counties, different cities. Yes.

Transportation is your business.

What was the name of the hotel
she was staying at?

I didn't even know it was a hotel
that she was staying at.

[Judge Judy]
What was the name of the hotel?

I cannot remember
off the top of my head.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Holiday Inn.

[Judge Judy] Okay, listen, I'd like
to give you money for your aggravation,

but you got married, right?

-[Nigra] Yes.
-[Judge Judy] You happy?

[Nigra]
We are.

-This your husband?
-[Nigra] Yes.

-Are you happy?
-[Alonzo] Yes.

-[Judge Judy] Look happy.
-[all laugh]

[Judge Judy] All she should say
to you is, "I'm sorry."

Because it was clearly,
in my mind, a bait-and-switch.

She baited you for a 30-passenger bus,
which she did not have.

She never told you she was subcontracting
for that bus, did she?

-No.
-[Judge Judy] Of course not.

[theme music playing]

I explained to her
over the phone conversations

that this 15 to 20 passengers,

-it fits 20, but it fits tight.
-She never said that.

You know, it's a hustle.

What your website is
is a hustle.

[announcer]
And later today.

Everything she had on her shattered.

Her shoe went one way.

When she fell, she landed back
and she paused for a moment.

We all thought she was dead.

We all start hollering and crying
'cause we thought we had lost her.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Nigra Hunter claims
business owner Tameka Young

owes her a refund after bringing
the wrong sized party bus to her wedding.

Now, based upon the website,
you would assume,

and the photographs
and the videos that are on Facebook,

you would assume...
you would assume

that your company
provides buses that you own,

not that you subcontract
to other people.

There's no question in my mind
it's a bait-and-switch.

That's what it was.

And I doubt whether you
ruined their wedding.

-Because they tried to make the best...
-She did.

I tried to make
the best of her wedding.

I reached out to her.
I called her.

I let her know what bus
I was switching her out to,

-which I have the video here.
-Bait-and-switch.

[Tameka] I understand you said
it's a bait-and-switch.

I'll get to the bottom of it.

But I did kind of accommodate her
when the situation,

I offered her a refund.

You offered her a refund.
She paid you 950.

-I offered her...
-[Judge Judy] What did you offer her?

Nine fifty.

[Judge Judy]
You offered her 950?

Absolutely.

-[Judge Judy] In cash?
-Absolutely.

The day when I switched her bus.

-Just a second.
-[Tameka] Then again...

No, no, 'cause that's not what I read.

I read that you offered her something
towards her next ride.

-You offered her the 950?
-I offered her 950.

[Judge Judy] Well, that's what
she's gonna get, 950.

-[Tameka] That's what the contract was.
-[Judge Judy] Just a second. Did you...

And then when Antoine got there
and she wasn't happy with that bus

due to when I explained to her
over the phone conversations

that this 15 to 20 passengers,

-it fits 20, it fits, but it fits tight.
-She never said that.

Different...

You know, it's a hustle.

What your website is
is a hustle.

He is not a professional driver.

He's a 20-year-old kid who couldn't
even get to the right address.

-[Tameka] Because she...
-Who got there late.

She sent the wrong address.

[Judge Judy] No, she didn't give you
a wrong address to get to her wedding.

-I asked her for her information...
-[Judge Judy] Okay. Okay.

And you bait-and-switched her
with a large bus.

And at the end of the day,
it's not easy to...

-But I didn't...
-[Judge Judy] Yes, you did.

Nine fifty, judgment for the plaintiff.
That's it. We're done.

[Bailiff Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

[theme music playing]

I work for different companies.
I am like a booking agent.

She said I'm subcontracting, but I work
with people that have these buses.

I think it went well.

We do have buses
that's no longer available

'cause those are not available anymore.

She didn't give us the proper bus.
It didn't hold our wedding party.

So a lot of people couldn't show up.

They didn't accommodate
because she had big people.

It was very sad and heartbreaking.

My kids couldn't be there,
my brother.

We was there. We gave the service,
even though it wasn't that bus.

-Everyone had a wonderful time.
-And they had a wonderful time.

They played.
They, um, had fun on the bus.

They danced.
They took pictures.

No. I mean, we made the best
that we could out of the situation.

When I accommodated to give her a refund
the day of the event, she didn't want it.

She wanted the bus.

Never will work with them again.

You know, I think I have a personal,
as much as a judicial,

negative sense of business people,
like this woman,

who clearly has a business
that she operates out of her kitchen.

Mm-hmm.

Because she doesn't have
any transportation vehicles.

Yeah.

She will get a client from a website,

and then she'll call around
and see what vehicles

from other companies
are available.

[Sarah] Mm-hmm.

And then she has her nephew,
maybe a son,

maybe another nephew,
maybe a godchild.

So and she'll get a driver, 'cause
he said that he drives a school bus.

Yes.

I don't know why somebody
would let him drive a school bus

when he's 19 years old.

-Issue for another day.
-But that's for another day.

But you don't realize
when you do that,

somebody spends a year
planning a special day.

Of course. The business plan
is all messed up from the jump.

Yeah.

I think when you are offering
what you call a top-tier service

and you don't actually own
or have control

over any of the assets
necessary to run that business,

then you're waiting for trouble because...

-You're waiting to disappoint people.
-Exactly.

It's all gonna be a disappointment.

But lucky for the defendant,
she's never at fault.

-Because it's not her bus.
-Yeah.

So she never...
"Oh, I couldn't get access.

I couldn't this. I couldn't that."
It's always a push-off.

-Yeah.
-And so for people like the plaintiff,

make sure when you're
interviewing companies

that, number one, they own the assets
that they are alleging,

that they have full
and complete control over those.

So if they say there is a conflict,
you know who to go after...

-Yeah.
-...in that situation.

So unfortunate,
but the right thing happened.

Yeah, and she's married.
And she says she's happy.

Case number 3042,
Moore versus James.

All parties please step forward.

[announcer] Dorothy Moore is suing
her former friend, Jasmine James,

for totaling her ATV dirt bike
during a ride for peace.

Ms. Moore,
it is basically your claim

that the defendant
owes you for a new ATV

because she crashed one
that she had borrowed from you.

That is correct.

What I gather is,
you have a group of mostly...

of women, all women,

who ride motorcycles
or ATVs together,

and the the nexus that keeps
the group together are women

who somehow have lost loved ones
or friends to g*n violence.

That is correct, too.

[Judge Judy]
When did you start this group?

[Dorothy] I started this group
October 21st of 2021.

Why?

Because I moved to Cincinnati
from Pensacola, Florida.

I was married 11 months

before I lost my husband
due to g*n violence.

And I had no family in Cincinnati,
so I started the group.

I searched for ladies in Cincinnati
who had been through the same thing.

And I wanted to form a sisterhood
with those ladies.

I had 64 young ladies
to come before me.

And out of that 64,
ten of them were true sisters.

And tell me what you did
with this group of ten women.

Well, I entered them
in a lot of events in Cincinnati.

What kind of events?

Women empowerment parades,
parades for kids to inspire them as well.

They would like us to come and speak.
We were in the Cincinnati Reds parade.

I mean, anywhere we went,

we encouraged
a lot of women and young ladies.

[Judge Judy]
When did Ms. James join your group?

She joined my group
October 15th of 2021.

As background, Ms. James, can you tell me
why you joined the group?

So me and all the ladies bonded

on having lost family members
to g*n violence.

Did you have such a loss?

[sighs] Yeah.

It was a...
It was a loss for the family.

So it was something new to me.

And when you joined the plaintiff
for these rides and parades,

were you using your own vehicle?

Yes, ma'am, in some of them,
but mine was damaged.

So Ms. Dorothy, she...
she allowed me to borrow hers.

Was that the ATV that
we're talking about here today?

Yes, ma'am.

So on what date
did you borrow the ATV?

[Jasmine]
August 16th.

That was our ride for peace.

[Judge Judy]
How many women were involved?

Maybe six or seven of us.

And you were riding
through various communities.

Did you have a sign?

Did you have something identifying
what you were doing?

We had bandanas
and we wore all the same colors.

Do you have any photographs
for me to look at?

-I have several photos of the group.
-I would like to see them.

I have the very first...

Second photo is a picture of me,
actually, and Jazz together,

and pictures of the group.

[Judge Judy] I don't see anything here
that talks about g*n violence

in these pictures, by the way.

"D-G-R-Y-D-E-R-S."
What does that mean?

-Dirty Girl Ryders.
-[Judge Judy] "Dirty Girl Ryders."

Yeah, this doesn't say anything to me
about g*n violence.

If I saw this group of women
riding around in black leather,

in very exposed costumes
without any identifying T-shirts...

Mothers Against g*n Violence,
something...

I would think that it was
just a bunch of bikers in leather.

This looks like it's some sort
of a heavy metal rock concert.

[laughs]

[theme music playing]

Were you drinking that day?

No, ma'am. I would have been in trouble
if I had been drinking,

if liquor bottles was on the scene
and they flew all over the place.

Well, you would have been in trouble
unless someone picked them up

before the police arrived,
which is what they did.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Dorothy Moore claims
her former friend, Jasmine James,

drove her ATV dirt bike while drinking
and crashed it into a pole.

Now, August 16th,
you were riding her son's new ATV.

Tell me what you observed, Ms. Moore.

On that day on August the 16th,
we were riding down Redding Road.

-If I could come up and show.
-[Judge Judy] Absolutely.

We were riding down Redding Road.

We were coming southbound,

so we were right here in this lane.

And we was riding in a single file line
coming down this way,

and we were crossing over to go here.

And Ms. James was, like, the,
I think, the fourth or fifth person.

I was in front. I led the pack.

Ms. James, she was the third person
and she was coming.

There's a turning lane right here
to go on to Paddock.

Ms. James wasn't in the turning lane.
She was in the lane where we were.

-That's not true.
-[Dorothy] She did a...

Shh.

She did an ill*gal turn
and went this way

and lost control of the bike
and banged and hit the pole.

On that day, I observed Ms. James
not acting like herself.

She was driving on the side of me,
jumping in front of me.

One thing in the bike world,
you don't jump on the side

of a three-wheeler.

They ride single file line.

Only two pair can ride together
is two two-wheelers.

We later found out Ms. James
had been drinking.

So that explains why
she was not acting like herself.

We didn't find that out
till after the accident.

-That's not true.
-[Judge Judy] How would you...

How did you find
that out, Ms. Moore?

When Ms. James hit the pole,
she hit the impact so hard

that everything she had on her shattered.

So it was like six or seven liquor bottles
fell out her shirt.

Her shoe went one way
and other stuff that she had.

[Judge Judy]
What kind of liquor bottles?

Like, small liquor bottles.

Like, you know
the party liquor bottles,

you can buy them, like,
for a dollar in the store?

[Judge Judy] Mm-hmm.
-[Dorothy] They came out of her shirt.

-Did you see that?
-[Dorothy] Yes.

When she fell, she landed back
and she paused for a moment.

We all thought she was dead.

We all start hollering and crying
'cause we thought we had lost her.

She didn't say anything.

You know, we just...

We thought she was dead,
and so we all ran up to her,

and when we ran up to her,
her whole leg was split open.

And we were steady saying, "Jazz, Jazz,"
and she would stick like this.

That's when my other sister
walked up to me.

She said, "Look, look,"

and we're looking at the liquor bottles
all over the place.

And so she quickly gathered them
before we called the police.

Did you have insurance on the bike
that you were riding?

I have full coverage on my bike.

And I had liability coverage
on the bike that Jazz was riding.

[Judge Judy]
Why only liability coverage?

Because that's all that
they offered me on that bike.

Oh, 'cause your son...
your son was riding it.

-[Dorothy] Yeah.
-How old is your son?

Nineteen years old.

[Judge Judy] Okay, so they gave you
liability, but not collision.

Correct.

[Judge Judy] Okay, your version of the
events is somewhat different from hers,

and I gather from what the plaintiff
is saying and from your answer

that you were seriously injured that day
and was hospitalized.

-I was. I was.
-[Judge Judy] Okay.

Now I'd like you,
you can go up to the board

and tell me your version of how
this unfortunate accident occurred.

We were coming down Redding Road.

Me and Ms. Dorothy
were in the turning lane,

and Ms. Dorothy actually
jumped in front of me.

That's not true.

-Shh.
-And took a right

without a turning signal.

And it startled me.

And I lost control and crashed.
But we were here.

I was in the right lane
and Dorothy was in the left lane.

[Judge Judy] Okay, it's clear
that this ATV was destroyed.

And when had you purchased it?

I purchased the ATV

on April 21st, 2022.

-How much?
-$2,279.

[Judge Judy]
Okay. Now, when you were hospitalized,

and since you tell me that this accident
was caused by her negligence,

did you contact a lawyer?

No, I did not.

Why not?

That was my sister,
so I didn't expect to be sued.

-[Judge Judy] Were you drinking that day?
-[Jasmine] No, ma'am.

What were the little liquor bottles
that she was talking about?

I had possession of them,
but I hadn't been drinking that day.

[Judge Judy] What were you doing
with them on the ride?

They were in my purse.

-What for?
-I planned to later on,

but I would have been in trouble
if I had been drinking,

if liquor bottles was on the scene
and they flew all over the place.

Well, you would have been in trouble
unless someone picked them up

before the police arrived,
which is what they did.

That's not true.

[Judge Judy]
All right. Anything else?

I have a text message
where Ms. James texted me

and stated that she was
going to pay me back and...

I'd like to see it.

[Dorothy] And also, when they put her
in the ambulance, she said,

"Pres., don't worry about it,
I'm gonna pay you back for your bike,

I'm gonna pay you back for your bike,"
before they rode off with her.

-It's the top paragraph.
-[Jasmine] Can I see them, Judge?

-Just a second.
-Top paragraph.

Well, you talk about paying her back for
her bike, which you fully intend to do.

I do, but I still think that maybe
we should have gone in half.

She caused the crash.

Okay, 2,279,
judgment for the plaintiff.

Thank you very much. We're done.

-Thank you.
-[Bailiff Kevin] This court is adjourned.

I figured it would go that way.

Justice prevailed.

She was up there not telling the truth,
and the judge saw right through it.

That's just the type of person she is.
She wanted to be in front.

No, I am the president.
I am the front of the pack.

I do remember the impact.
It was slow motion.

I thought she was dead.
We all thought she was dead.

It'll be a while
before I get on any wheels at all.

Look twice to save a life all day long.

So one thing that was in the complaint
that we didn't quite get to

that I was interested in was,
the plaintiff says in her complaint

that she made it clear
to all of the women in the group

that if they were to use her machines,
her ATVs, her bikes,

that they were responsible
for both keeping gas in the tank,

a full tank,
and the liability on the bike.

So my question going over that was,
how did you make that clear exactly?

I think what she meant
was a strict liability.

You're trying to say
that anything that happens

when you're riding my bike,
I made clear to them that

that was there...
on them, their liability,

and unless she had some writing
that was signed

by the members of this group,

I'm not sure that you can
impose liability in that way.

Well, it's one-sided.

-You're absolutely right.
-I think the right thing...

There should be some sort of a writing.

Mm-hmm.

So that you know that there's
a meeting of the minds

with regard to your responsibility,
if you're taking on the responsibility.

Especially in
an organized group like this,

it wouldn't seem so farfetched
to have a writing saying,

"I'm the president of this group.

I have a few extra bikes,
but before you can ride them,

I just need you to sign this,
saying that if you damage it

or return it with no gas,
I'm not responsible for that."

-Yeah, like you do when you rent a car.
-Exactly.

You can either accept it or reject it...

But they can't impose it on you one-sided.

-Right. You're right.
-Understood.

[announcer]
Are you a victim of a scam?

[theme music playing]