03x35 - Corgi Custody

[bunniefuu]

You had a big fight and she left.

She said that she would pay her half.

She forced me into this.

I don't wanna live there, Your Honor.

Well, who cares
whether you wanna live there or not?

There's a lot more into this
than you think.

She moved out. Grow up.

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Bailiff Cassandra Britt
is standing in for bailiff Kevin Rasco,

and law clerk Alexei Mentzer
is sitting in for law clerk Sarah Rose.

Kingsington Sears is suing
his ex-girlfriend, Whitney Clark,

for the remainder of rent money
and a corgi dog.

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

Have a seat, please.

Judge, case 3067,
Sears versus Clark.

Thank you.

Mr. Sears, you and the defendant
were in a relationship.

And from what I gather from your papers,

you entered into a one-year lease
to live together.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Defendant moved out
prior to the termination of the lease.

You want her to be responsible
for the remainder of the lease

from the time she moved out
until the termination of the lease.

That's your first course of action.

Second one is that you claim
that as a result of self-help,

the defendant came in
and helped herself to your dog.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
Defendant says it's her dog.

Her defense to your action
is that she was forced to move out

because of your violent behavior.

The dog is hers.
She paid for the dog.

And she's countersuing
because she says that there was a loan

that she made to you a while ago,
which she'll tell me about,

and you kept some uniforms that belonged
to her from the National Guard.

She wants those returned.

-Correct?
-Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Why don't you tell me, Mr. Sears,

when did you and the defendant
start to date?

We started dating March sixth of 2020.

[Judge Judy]
How did you meet?

We met on Facebook Dating.

We moved in together
in June of 2020.

[Judge Judy]
You lived in the same town?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] When you moved in together,
were you working?

Yes, I was, Your Honor.

-[Judge Judy] And you? Working?
-Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Your agreement
was to split expenses on this apartment?

Yes, Your Honor.

-[Judge Judy] Correct?
-Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
What was the rent?

The first move-in, we...
our rent was just 350.

[Judge Judy]
Just a second.

You mean you moved into
more than one apartment together?

[Kingsington]
Yes, Your Honor.

I'm talking about the apartment.
Let's move forward.

You lived in June of 2020
in one residence.

Did you subsequently
move into the residence

that is the subject
of this lawsuit?

[Kingsington]
Yes, Your Honor.

On what date was that?

January of this year, Your Honor.

Now, Ms. Clark,
when you lived in prior residences

with the plaintiff,
you were also employed?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
And you split expenses?

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

And that was the same arrangement
for this apartment?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] And you're both
on the lease of this apartment?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
What was the rent?

It's 850, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Now, there came a time
after you moved into the apartment

that you made a suggestion about
inviting in another roommate.

Your Honor, that was true.
However...

[Judge Judy]
Wait, just a second.

That's true.
Let's start there.

Okay.

In what month did you want
to bring in another roommate?

It was early February, had to been.

And who was that other roommate?

My best friend's girlfriend
and her daughter.

They move in with you,
the two of them?

They eventually moved in
for temporary.

Just a second.
Did they move in with you?

[Kingsington]
They did not sign a lease.

I didn't ask you.

[Kingsington]
Yes, they moved in, Your Honor.

Let's not be tricky with me.

-Did they move in?
-Yes, they did, Your Honor.

Yes, they did, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
On what date?

Would have been the end
of February, Your Honor.

So two of them moved in.
Were they paying rent?

They were paying rent at the beginning,
yes, Your Honor.

How much?

There was an agreement for 600.

[Judge Judy]
Just a second.

And when was the first check
made out for rent?

Was that February or March?

It would have been late March,
Your Honor.

So she's paying half the rent?

[Kingsington] Yes.

-[Judge Judy] To you?
-[Kingsington] No.

-[Judge Judy] To whom?
-To the landlord, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
So what are you doing here?

The rent is 800.
She's paying 400. You're paying 400.

She's not staying there
the remainder of the lease.

She's not on the lease, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
I don't care if she's on the lease or not.

She pays directly to the landlord.

What does that have to do with
whether or not you're out any money?

Correct, Your Honor.

So what are you doing here about money?
You want...

You're not gonna get any money from her.

-[Kingsington] Your Honor...
-You're whole.

Listen to me. You're whole.

You know you're slippery?

My apologies, Your Honor.

I just get the sense you're slippery.

I try not to be, Your Honor.

Now, I don't care what happened
between the two of you.

You brought in another roommate.
You're still there.

You want her to pay
her half of the rent.

Pay attention.

Slippery, pay attention.

Okay.

[Judge Judy] What you're suggesting
to me is, on an $800-a-month rent,

you were supposed to split the rent.

She moved out.

You have somebody
who's living in the house now,

who is the daughter of the mother

of your best friend's girlfriend,

who is paying you $400 a month.

So if I award you
from the time she moved out

until the remainder of the lease,
you come out ahead.

[Kingsington]
No, I won't, Your Honor.

You come out ahead.
You have no rent.

I had to pay all the deposits
all over again.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
You have no rent.

I don't wanna live there, Your Honor.

-You don't wanna live there?
-[Kingsington] No, Your Honor.

Well, who cares
whether you wanna live there or not?

She forced me into this and then made me
pay the deposits all over again.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
Forced you into what?

A whole new lease.

I was already
in a lease, Your Honor.

You mean, you're talking about
the apartment you just moved into?

The apartment
that we're here about?

Yes, but, Your Honor, I was living
in a place I was happy with before this.

Oh, who cares?
Mr. Sears, grow up.

Grow up. Let's talk about the dog.

[theme music playing]

Am I allowed to ask a question
about his, um, what he's stating?

You're not allowed
to ask a question about it.

The only one who asks
questions here is me.

Okay.

Did you hear
anything that isn't correct?

Is the dog at her mother's house?

That's a yes or a no.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kingsington Sears claims
his ex-girlfriend, Whitney Clark,

wrongfully moved out
and took his corgi.

Whitney is countersuing
for an unpaid loan.

When was the dog purchased?

May 25th, Your Honor.

-[Judge Judy] Of what year?
-I have the invoice right here.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
May 25th of what year?

This year, Your Honor.



And if you notice,
the invoice is in my name, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] I don't care if the invoice
is in your name.

Okay.

Is the dog purchased from whom?

-[Kingsington] I purchased the...
-No, no, just a second.

That's not my answer, Slippery.

I said,
"Who was the dog purchased from?"

Not "I purchased the dog."
Who was the dog purchased from?

A breeder in Texas, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
And you don't live in Texas, do you?

[Kingsington]
No, Your Honor.

-[Judge Judy] Where do you live?
-I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

[Judge Judy]
How did the dog get to you?

We drove all the way to Texas
to get the dog, Your Honor.

So I assume that this is a purebred corgi.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
Okay. You have a photograph of the dog?

I don't have a photo.

-I do, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] I'd like to see it.

Oh, pretty dog.

You know who had corgis?

Queen Elizabeth, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] She did.
It was her breed of choice.

Was the dog registered?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] In whose name?

Both of ours, Your Honor.

-[Judge Judy] Can I see?
-I have it on my phone, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
I'd like to see it.

You have the registration?

[Kingsington] No, Your Honor.
She did the registration online.

-I'd like to see it.
-[Kingsington] After the purchase.

Sorry.

Your Honor, while they're
looking back at that,

can I say one more thing
about the rent?

I have evidence that state that she...
she said that she would pay her half.

Mm-hmm. Good.

Okay, so the dog
is jointly owned by both of you.

Here. You wanna send this up to him?

[Kingsington] Your Honor, that
registration's done online after the fact.

Anybody can do the registration.
Anybody.

Mr. Sears, that's absolutely true.
You didn't, did you?

-[Kingsington] I did not.
-Shh. Shh.

You didn't, did you?

No, Your Honor.

And it would seem to me, Mr. Sears,
that if she was trying to make her case

that the dog belonged to her, she wouldn't
have put your name down as the owner.

I have evidence that says
that she didn't want the dog.

[Judge Judy]
Oh, I'd like to see that.

[Kingsington]
She didn't wanna take care of the dog.

Shh. Just a second.

I don't know what date this was,

but this suggests that she was upset
because the dog chewed up something.

[Kingsington]
She tore up the carpet.

And I got videos and evidence
showing where I took the dog around town.

I took her to campus to meet students.

I took her to my friend's job.

We were running around with the dog.

Every day we were...
we were with that dog.

She never once took care of that dog.

What I'm telling you, sir,
is that you had the dog for five weeks,

the two of you together.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Five weeks.
Not a long time.

It's almost like the time
that you might spend fostering a dog.

So nobody developed
a years long attachment to this animal

or two years or three years.

You got the dog at the end of March
and you had the dog the month of April?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] Right?

And May, you had a big fight.

And she left at the beginning of May,
May third.

Yeah.

[Judge Judy] So the dog wasn't with
either one of you all that long.

Okay, where is the dog now?

She is at my mom's house, Your Honor.

What's she doing at your mother's house?

-[Whitney] She's...
-Shh.

Be very, very careful with me.

She's at your mother's house.

Where are you living?

I am living between
my brother's house and my mom's.

How long has the dog...
I think the dog's name is Cookie?

Yes, Your Honor.

How long has Cookie been staying
at your mother's house?

And I'm gonna call her
if I don't get an answer that I like.

-Do you understand that?
-Yes, Your Honor.

She won't know
what the call is about.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] How long has the dog
been living at your mother's house?

Since May, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
And he's in the apartment?

[Whitney]
Yes, Your Honor.

He's getting the dog back.

Do you understand?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] He's getting the dog back.

Where do you come from?

[Whitney]
Stillwater, Oklahoma, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
Oklahoma. Yeah.

And you wanna go back there, right?

-Yes.
-[Judge Judy] You wanna go back there?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] Very good.

-Well...
-Can I add something?

Am I allowed to say something,
Your Honor?

-I don't need you.
-[Danielle] Okay.

I mean, if you had the dog living
with you, then I'd have a discussion.

But clearly, Mr. Sears is correct,
at least about one thing,

and that is that you were unable
to take care of this dog

because from the time you moved out,

you gave the dog to your mother
and you move around.

I don't know who you're living with.

Am I allowed to ask a question
about his, um, what he's stating?

You're not allowed
to ask a question about it.

The only one who asks
questions here is me.

Okay.

Did you hear anything that isn't correct?
Is the dog at her mother's house?

That's a yes or a no.

I'm talking about what he's suing her for.

I thought he was suing her for $800.

[Judge Judy] He's not suing her
for anything.

I dismissed that part of his claim.

He's not getting rent.
Pay attention.

Don't have a story fixed in your head.

No, $800 for the dog.

-He didn't want the dog.
-[Judge Judy] No.

He wanted money for the dog.

[Judge Judy]
No, he's not getting money for the dog.

I don't want money
for the dog, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
He's not getting money for the dog.

Okay.

Pay attention.

Okay.

By the way,
you have family in Oklahoma?

-Yes, Your Honor, I do.
-[Judge Judy] Who?

My mother lives in Enid and my sister
lives in Perry. My brother...

How far away does your mother live
from her mother?

Roughly an hour and 30 minutes or so.

Does your mother like the dog?

My mother loves the dog.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

When you leave today,
you're going to call your mother.

And your mother
is going to make arrangements

to meet halfway
to meet his mother.

And your mother is going
to transfer the dog to his mother

so that when he gets home,
he gets the dog.

-Do you understand?
-Yes, Your Honor.

As soon as that happens, you get your
airplane ticket and your appearance fee.

Got it?

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

[theme music playing]

You say that you've made
a loan to Mr. Sears.

In what month and year
did you make this alleged loan?

If you have to think about it,
you have no case.

But I'll let you
think about it for a second

because it's your counterclaim.

You should have these answers
right at the tip of your fingers.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kingsington Sears has accused
his ex-girlfriend, Whitney Clark,

of taking his corgi and leaving him
with the balance of their lease payments.

Whitney claims Kingsington
owes for an unpaid loan.

So, Mr. Sears.

[Kingsington]
Yes, Your Honor.

You don't get your money
because you're whole.

You have a tenant.
The tenant is paying half the rent.

You're paying half the rent.

Not fair for you to live alone
and not pay any rent,

so you have to pay rent.

But you're gonna get your dog back.

-Thank you.
-[Judge Judy] Now we have a counterclaim.

You say that you've made
a loan to Mr. Sears.

In what month and year
did you make this alleged loan?

If you have to think about it,
you have no case.

But I'll let you
think about it for a second

because it's your counterclaim.

You should have these answers
right at the tip of your fingers.

I believe it was in December
of 2021, Your Honor.

-[Judge Judy] For what?
-It was for a car loan.

Between December of 2021
and May third, 2023,

did Mr. Sears make any payments
on this alleged loan?

I believe he made one, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] You do?
Well, when did he make one?

I'm not exactly sure, Your Honor.

Well, that's what happens
when you make a loan.

You keep a record.
You make a loan, how much it was.

You make a loan,
what the payments were.

How do you expect me to figure it out?

I'm not sure, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
I'm not sure either.

Now, how much
was the alleged loan for?

Now you're looking up here.

You're looking over there.

That suggests to me
you don't know exactly what it was for.

I believe it was $2,000, Your Honor.

-Your Honor...
-[Judge Judy] I didn't ask you a question.

All right.

[Judge Judy]
Don't interrupt my train of thought.

I'm an old person.
I need all the help I can get.

And being interrupted doesn't help me.
I lose my train of thought.

Absolutely, Your Honor.

Then nobody will follow me,
and then we won't have a show.

[chuckles]

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Ms. Clark, I want to
explain something to you.

I've read your answer
and I've read your counterclaim.

Your counterclaim
said that the loan was $3,000.

Here you say,
"Well, I believe it was $2,000."

It happened two years ago."

Did he make any payments?

"Hmm. I don't know.
I think I made one."

So what you need in order to have a loan,
which is a contract, is a finite amount.

What is the loan?
Which you don't know.

What is the payments?
"I don't know."

How do you expect a court to figure out
your loosey-goosey finances?

That's not our job.

If you make a loan to somebody,
you have to have an amount of money

and a payment schedule.

Your Honor, I do have the payments.

The payments were $210.

So did he make payments?

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

And did you enforce
the payments over two years?

Yes, Your Honor.

How did you do that?
Did you take him to court?

Did you sue him in small claims court?
What did you do?

Well, we made an agreement
for him to pay for the car

because it was...

He told me
he was buying the car for me.

-Can you ask her...
-[Judge Judy] Oh, just shh.

Sears, so far, you're ahead
of the game with the dog.

I wouldn't say anything else
if I were you

until I ask you a question.

Absolutely, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
So you drove the car?

-We both did, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] You...

Well, you just said to me,
he said he was buying the car for you.

How many cars did the two of you have
when you were living together?

Two, Your Honor.

What make of cars?
I was gonna say, "What brand?"

But it's not a brand, it's a make.
What make of cars?

It was a Dodge Stratus and a...

-[Judge Judy] Who drove the Dodge?
-[Whitney] I did.

[Judge Judy]
And is that the car in question?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] Good.

And for how long
did you drive that car?

About a year, Your Honor.

Who paid for the car?

I did, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
You made the monthly payments?

Yes, Your Honor.
I have this bank statement right here.

Is that correct, Mr. Sears?

Yes, actually, it is, but this is...

There's a lot more into this
than you think.

That was actually a title loan
on my truck to get her the car.

She's making payments
to a loan company.

Just a second.
Where is the car now?

On the side of the highway,
blown rod, or blew the rod in it.

Who did?

[Kingsington]
I was driving when it happened.

Okay, I've had enough of you both.

You have to move on
with your lives, children.

You get your dog back.

Thank you, Your Honor.

And I told you how that's going to happen
within the next half-hour.

Get in the back and make it happen.

-Are you happy now?
-Yes, Your Honor.

Are you happy now?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] Perfect. Be happy.

Thank you, Your Honor.

We're done.

[Bailiff Cassandra] Case is now closed.
Court is adjourned.

[theme music playing]

I don't believe it's fair
that he should keep the dog

because I did pay for her

and I sent him the money
to pay for her,

so it's kind of hard to explain.

I am ecstatic to get
the dog back, that's all.

That's the main thing
that we were here for.

It's the one thing we really wanted.

We just wanted to bring Cookie home.

It was because she was
tearing up the apartment,

and I was afraid that we were
gonna have to pay for the damages.

But what I really wanted
was just to get out of...

get out of there
and have her with me.

She was doing it out of spite.

She was mad about the argument that ensued
and she wasn't happy with the outcome,

so she did everything
she could to attack me.

Because I felt like he was
a*usive and possessive.

She was mad.

She come home late one night
and her classmates had an assignment,

saying that she wasn't doing her part.

And she took it out on the wrong person.

It's been going on the whole time
we were together,

but it was really bad
when we moved into... ever since March.

Oh, we're done. I'm so happy.
I'm actually with a new woman now.

She treats me right
and I couldn't be happier.

I hope I don't have to see him again.

Cookie's coming.
Cookie's coming home.

[laughs] That's great.

My takeaway is it's a classic
duty to mitigate windfall case.

She came into this lease
in February, broke it in May,

and the plaintiff may not like
what she did, may have been annoying,

but for that remaining time,
he found someone else to replace her.

And if you have that money,
it doesn't matter to him

what source it's coming from,
he's made whole,

and the court's not gonna step in
and give him a windfall.

Right.

Smart.

-So smart to go to law school.
-[chuckles]

[announcer]
Are you a victim of a scam?

[theme music playing]