03x68 - Car Crush

[bunniefuu]

He started sending me pictures of hisself.

Asking me to send pictures
of myself to him.

-And what did you say?
-I didn't say anything.

Your response to him is
"Laugh out loud. I'm in bed."

He says to you "Really? That's hot.
Did you try your new toy?"

I assume that's not an erector set.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[theme music continues]

[narrator] Diane Harris is suing
her ex-boyfriend, Scott Corey,

for breach of contract and harassment.

[Kevin] All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case 3104.
Harris versus Corey.

-Thank you.
-[Kevin] You're welcome.

-Ms. Harris, in what state to do you live?
-Las Vegas, Nevada.

-How old are you?
-33.

Have kids?

Yes, ma'am. A two year old
and a seven year old.

-And you're a single mom?
-Yes, ma'am.

How do you know the defendant?

I met him in Arizona through my father.

-Your father lives in Arizona?
-Yes, ma'am.

So you were visiting him when?
When you first met the defendant.

When I first met him?
In June of 23.

-[Diane] 2023, sorry.
-You met him at your father's house?

I want you to tell me how you met.

I did. I met him at my father's house.
The first conversation that we had...

Just a second.
How do you know her father?

Her father was my neighbor.
And that's how I met him.

And we became friends really quickly.
He was a nice gentleman.

-Are you still neighbors?
-No, I have moved since.

-Where did you move to?
-Back to my home state, Minnesota.

When did you move to Minnesota?

It would have been the end
of October of 2023.

Okay, so you met him through
your father in June of 2023.

Yes.

And according to what I read,
you became friends.

-Yes.
-That fair?

-No. That is not true.
-[Judy] Okay.

You tell me what happened
when you met at her father's house.

We met in August of 2023. The beginning.
And we kinda fell in love...

-[Judy] Does that sound right? August?
-No.

No. It doesn't sound right.
It was a month or two before that.

Well, tell me...

Tell me about it. You met a month or two
before that at your father's house.

-You were visiting your father.
-Yes, in June.

-What do you do in Las Vegas?
-I'm an armed security guard.

-And you live alone with your two kids?
-Yes, ma'am.

-Okay. How did you get to Arizona?
-I drove.

-Who's car?
-At the time, it was a rental car.

So I drive through Lyft
and they have an app where you can

actually get a rental car
through their services.

So that was the vehicle
I was using at the time.

-So you didn't have a car of your own?
-No.

-So you met him in June and what happened?
-We became friends.

I started taking trips out
to Arizona to see him.

Okay. So that became more
than just friends.

You don't travel with two little children
to visit somebody who's just a friend.

-Well, correction. So...
-Just a second.

Okay, sorry.

-It was just your friend?
-Yes.

Okay. Where did you stay in Arizona
when you went to visit him?

My father's or hotel.

-Never stayed with him?
-No. Well, correction, I did one time.

-In what month did you stay with him?
-October?

-I'm asking you.
-September. September, October.

The beginning and ending
of September and October.

-For how long?
-Just for one night.

What you're suing
Mr. Corey for is for $10,000

for breaching a contract
to purchase a car for you.

And damages for you having to use
other means of transportation.

Now, that's what the case is all about.

Because at some point he went with you
to a car dealership in what month?

September of 2023.

-Beginning, middle, or end?
-Beginning. September 6th, to be exact.

That was also the same month in September
where you stayed over his house.

-Yes.
-And when you went to the dealership

on September 5th,
you did in fact go with him.

-Yes.
-For what purpose?

-To get me vehicle.
-Now, were you going to buy a vehicle?

Did you have money to buy a vehicle
on your own?

I did. I had a down payment for a vehicle.

The whole purpose of him trying
to help me is so that I could

try to get something lower
in a down payment

or lower in cost for a vehicle.
So he decided to help me on that.

Up until September 5th, had you ever
been intimate with the defendant?

No, ma'am.

What about after you spent
the night at his house?

-No. No, ma'am.
-No

-Where did you sleep?
-On the couch.

-And he?
-Slept on his bed.

Prior to September, had he made
any romantic overtures to you?

-Yes, ma'am. A few times he's...
-Okay.

-Okay.
-Tell me what they were.

Text messages, videos
of sexual gestures of himself.

No. [laughs]

-Prior to September.
-Yes.

So you knew he had more than just

a friendly interest in you.

-Not quite. Just cause...
-Well, that's ridiculous.

You have two children. You know when a man
is sending you suggestive text messages

and sexual videos
that he's more interested in you

other than as the daughter
of his neighbor.

-True.
-Okay. You're a smart cookie.

You don't have to be a genius
to figure that out.

So you know he had
a romantic interest in you.

Yes, ma'am.

Did you and the defendant
ever discuss you relocating

-from Las Vegas to Arizona?
-No, ma'am.

-Okay.
-No.

Mr. Corey, you indicate that
that is the case.

That the plaintiff and you
has discussed her relocating

-to be with you in Arizona.
-That is correct, yes.

Do you have any text messages
or other messages that would reflect that?

-No, I do not. I changed...
-Don't tell me you changed your phone.

Everybody comes here, they change
their phone, they lost their phone,

the dog ate their phone,
the kids flushed the phone.

Whatever it is.
The answer is you don't have it.

-Correct.
-All right.

[theme music playing]

Tell me why you think that
he went with you and signed the loan?

I think he did that because he was under
the influence cause he's always drinking.

He couldn't make a contract with you
to buy you a car

if he didn't have the mental capacity
to do that.

You want to come up
with a different reason?

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Diane Harris claims
her ex-boyfriend,Scott Corey,

broke their car agreement
and harassed her.

[Judy] Mr. Corey,
you indicate that the plaintiff

and you had discussed her relocating
to be with you in Arizona.

Excuse me, your honor.

We did have a conversation about me
actually joining the corrections

for the state of Arizona.

So that was a conversation we had.

But we never had a conversation stating
that I was gonna just pick up and move

from Las Vegas to Arizona.

But you did discuss with him the fact
you were thinking about applying

-for a job in Arizona.
-Yes, ma'am.

-In security.
-Yes, ma'am.

When was that conversation?
What month?

That was in September.

-Before the car was purchased.
-Yes.

Then you go to the dealership and it seems
his credit is better than yours,

blah, blah, blah. You know,
you the usual whole story.

[Judy] He ends up purchasing
the car in his name

-and he is on the loan...
-Yes, ma'am.

...that you took out for the car
and you put down the down payment.

Yes.

How much of a down payment
did you put down?

$1,000.

-And how much was the car?
-A little over $28,000.

Okay. So far your investment
in the car is $1,000.

Plus one payment. One car payment
that I've paid on the vehicle.

-Okay. And when was that car payment?
-That was in November.

-And how much was that car payment?
-$400... It was just $400 flat for me.

Now, you got the car
September fifth or sixth?

Yes, ma'am.

Did you drive the car
the whole month of September?

Yes.

What about the month of October?
Did you drive the car?

[Diane] Yes.

-Did you drive the car in November?
-Yes.

-Did you drive the car in December?
-Yes.

-Until when in December?
-Up until a week ago, ma'am.

-So you had the car up until a week ago?
-Yeah.

So you have the car September, October,
November, and December,

and part of January.

And your total investment was $1,400.
Is that correct?

-Yes, ma'am. But...
-Well, that's what I'm asking you.

So let's do the math.

Ma'am, there is a reason,
If I can just say

there's a reason why
that's all I put down.

Since the loan is in his name,
he had to actually add me to the account

for me to make these payments.
I didn't trust sending him the cash.

So I had him add me on the account
so that I could make payments

-from my bank account.
-Mhmm.

He ended up taking me off the account

to where I couldn't make any payments
on the vehicle.

-So that's why...
-That's okay.

If I believed your whole story,
that you were just friends

and that there was no intimacy
between you.

If I believe that.
Which I could believe.

But there's no question in my mind
that you knew that his interest in you

was more than just friendly.

Now you have a $30,000 car,
which he's stuck with.

You've told him "Well, I'm thinking
about coming to Arizona,

applying for a job there."

He is clearly thinking more

that this friendship
is going to proceed more

and you are letting him go through
the process of thinking that.

There's no question in my mind about that.
There's no question in my mind about that.

Listen, he says that
the relationship was more

than you are expressing to me.

-Would that be a fair statement, sir?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Diane] It was never more.
But okay.

[Judy]
Okay, well that's what he's saying.

Whether it was or whether it wasn't.
It's clearly something that he wanted

and that you knew that he wanted

And he had a $30,000 obligation.
You ended ending up not moving to Arizona.

And after you car the car,
you got the car in September,

you stayed with him one night
at his house

One night in September.

-What happened in October?
-I haven't seem him since then.

-Why? Why?
-That was the last time I saw him.

The arguments that we've been
getting into.

No, no, no. What arguments?
September you get the car,

So there were no arguments.
When did you start having arguments?

Like, right after.
Even a little bit before.

We had arguments before.
He has a drinking problem.

So we could get into random arguments,
random fights and stuff like that.

He's got a drinking problem
and you got into arguments before.

You still let him buy you a car.

[Diane] I didn't know he was that bad.

Why did you stop, after you got the car,
communicating with him?

[Diane] Because he wanted more from me.

He was asking more of me and wanting me
to do things I wasn't comfortable doing.

-[Judy] Like what?
-Sexual actions he wanted to do with me.

Yeah, okay.
So, I've sort of created a scenario,

which he doesn't even
have to participate in.

You drove a car September, October,
November, December, and January.

Five months.
And in total, you paid $1,400.

Or $280 a month.

For the privilege of driving
a $30,000 car.

That's pretty reasonable, isn't it?
You can't rent a car for $280 a month.

-You go to work?
-Yes. ma'am.

And you get to work how?
Because it's part of your damages.

-I was getting to work with the vehicle...
-[Judy] Not this car.

How were you getting to work
prior to this car? You worked as security.

Yes, ma'am. A rental car through
the Lyft services, as I told you.

-A rental.
-Yes.

-What kind of car?
-It's whatever they give you.

Sometimes you gotta trade it in.
So it's whatever they give you.

Great. And you pay for that by the day,
by the week, by the month?

-How do you pay for it?
-It's weekly.

-How much do you pay weekly for it?
-$680 a week.

-$680 a week?
-[Diane] Yes, ma'am.

Well, there's no question then.
For these five months,

you made out like a bandit.

Because you only paid
for the total time you had the car.

-$280 a month. Right?
-Yes.

Yeah. And then he said, "Well this isn't
working out the way I thought it was."

You see, you don't have to say much.

"This Isn't working out
the way I thought it was.

"This is not a romance."

Right? "Which is why I put my name
on this loan to begin with." [laughs]

Is that a fair statement?

[Diane]
That's now what it was supposed to be.

That's not why he put his name on the car.

[Judy] Tell me why you think
he put his name on it.

He didn't even know me well enough
to even want to have

an intimate relationship with me,
nor my kids.

Tell me why you think then
he went with you and signed the loan.

Tell me why you think he did that.

I think he did that because
he was under the influence,

first of all,
because he's always drinking.

If that's true, if you think that
he was under the influence of alcohol

and therefore was not in a position
to make a decision,

That's easy for me. Then your case
is dismissed for that reason

because he couldn't make a contract
with you to buy you a car

If he didn't have the mental capacity
to do that.

You want to come up
with a different reason?

It's just something that he's always done.

You have no case, Ms. Harris.

-You drove the car...
-What about the harassment

-and all that stuff?
-You have no case with regard to the car.

You have no case with regard to the car.
You paid $1,400...-

[Diane] Why?

He's not obligated to buy you a car.

Okay, ma'am, but I wasn't able
to those make payments on the vehicle.

Whether you were or you weren't.
You didn't.

You drove a car for five months.
You paid $280.

It is a fraction of what you were paying
before to get to and from work.

So you're really not out on any money.

-Ma'am, in December...
-[Judy] Go buy a new car.

Listen to me, clearly there was
a misunderstanding between the two of you

to the extent of where
this relationship was going.

But in December,
he took me off the account

So I was only able to pay that one month.

I don't care!
You're not out any money.

[theme music playing]

Madame, I don't want to embarrass you
but you gave this to me.

He says to you "Really? That's hot.
Did you try your new toy?"

I assume that's not an erector set.

You responded,
"No, I got to put my kids to bed first."

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Diane Harris is accusing
her ex-boyfriend, Scott Corey,

of refusing to pay for the car
he purchased for her.

She also claims Scott harassed her
with inappropriate text messages.

Now the other part of your lawsuit
is for harassment.

-Yes, ma'am.
-So now, you're going to tell me

when the harassment started
and what it is.

The harassment started late September.

In the... Like, late in the month.
Probably like the 15th or 16th.

[Judy] Well, you said you stayed over
at his house the end of September

or the beginning of October.
That's what you told me.

No, It was the beginning of September.
That's when I got the car.

No, that's not what you told me.
You told me you stayed at his house

at the end of September.

Would you find that spot for me?
I may be mistaken. It is possible.

She said "September or October.

The beginning and the ending
of September, October."

That's exactly what she said.

The end of September
or the beginning of October.

You got the car September 5th
and you stayed with him, according to you,

one night at the end of September.
That's what you testified to.

Okay.

Okay. Well, it was September 5th
the night I stayed...

I stayed at his house the day before
we went to get the car. The car...-

Well, then you made... Just a second.
Then you made a mistake.

-You made a mistake.
-I made a mistake.

[Judy] You didn't stay at his house.

You stayed at his house the night before
you went to get the car.

-Is that what you're telling me?
-[Diane] Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Now you're going to tell me
the harassment started,

according to you now, on September 15th.
What did he do?

He started sending pictures of hisself.

Trying to interact and um...

Sexual stuff over the phone.

He wanted me to show my body parts.
He sent me pictures of himself.

Asking me to send pictures of myself
to him, which I have proof of.

Just a second.
And what did you say?

I didn't say anything.
I said "No, I'm not into that.

I'm going to bed.
I gotta put my kids to bed"

So I just blew him off.

Okay. So you blew him off.
What's next?

The videos and pictures of him.

So, he likes to find woman on the internet
and pay for them.

And he'll send me videos and pictures
of him with these other woman.

I also have these pictures
and videos here.

Show me when you told him
to stop sending you the videos.

-Um, I believe I didn't...
-I'm assuming for the purpose of this,

I am assuming that
he sent you videos

that you didn't want to see.
I'm assuming for the purpose

of this question,
that from September 15th,

He started to send you
more sexually explicit things.

So, now I want you to show me

what date you told him to stop.

So it was ongoing from September 15th

where he would send you these things.

Show me the "Please stop."

I don't want to see the video.
I want you to show me "Please stop.

I don't want to have anything
to do with those videos or this topic.

-I just have... I just say "No."
-Just a second.

-"No, I don't want to." Okay.
-No, just show me.

-One second. I want to find something.
-Shhh!

[Judy] What are you showing me?
I don't know what this is.

I sending you the rest.
They're screenshots.

No, no, no, no, no.
I'm not interested in screenshots.

I'm interested in when in this
you said to him,

"Please don't show that to me anymore.

Please don't communicate me
with regard to this topic."

Don't show me any screenshots.
I'm not interested.

Just show me when you told him to stop.

Here's one that says
"No, I'm not interested.

I gotta put my kids to bed"
And then...

[Judy] Just a second.

Madame, I don't want to embarrass you
but you gave this to me.

Evidently, there is some intimacy here.
That you're stringing him along,

which is what I think.
Because he says to you

some sext act he wants to do with you.
And your response to him is,

-"Laugh out loud. I'm in bed."
-And he says, "Really? That's hot."

He says to you, "Really? That's hot.
Did you try your new toy?"

I assume that that's not
an erector set or gizmo.

"Did you try your new toy"
And you responded,

"No, I gotta put my kids to bed first."
Not "I've got to put kids to bed."

You said "No, I gotta put my kids
to bed first."

-I was just blowing him off.
-Don't you think that's a lead on?

-I don't think so.
-Did he say...

-You don't think so?
-No.

I'm sorry you don't think so, Madame.
But it is a lead on.

-Did he send you a sex toy?
-No.

-Did you buy it yourself?
-No.

Well, just a minute then.
Why did you respond?

"Did you try your new toy?"
"No, I gotta put my kids to bed first."

Your case is dismissed.
You have no case.

Goodbye. We're done.

[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

[theme music playing]

I am totally happy with her decision.
This was nothing other than

her trying to take advantage of me.

I really don't agree with it.

She kept asking for more and more.
And didn't really seem to car about

myself and what's going on in my life.

I wasn't trying to string him along
or anything like that.

The videos were my way of telling her
I didn't want to be with her anymore.

I sent them to her around that time
in October so...

He just told me he was going
to help me out and do something for me.

And it turned out it being something
other than that.

Me doing more than what
I was expected for his help.

I'm not helping anybody like that again.
[laughs]

He lives in a one bedroom apartment.

So I wasn't looking at him
for any of his money.

[Judy] This is as much social
as it is legal.

Mhm.

You know how crazed I get
when men take advantage of women,

-Empty out their bank account.
-Mhm.

You know, women need to nest
and they get involved with people

who are unsavory.

I really feel the same way about women.

Who I believe,

use their sexuality
or promises of sexuality

-to extract certain things from a man.
-Sure.

With no intention of ever making
the fantasy a reality...

-Yeah.
-...in order to get something.

Especially something like a $30,000 asset.

Right.

She drove that $30,000 asset
for $280 a month.

Mhm.

Which was the cost of her down payment
and the one payment she made.

She testified that she spent
to get to work.

-$680 a week.
-A week. Mhm.

-For a Lyft.
-Yeah.

So she paid a fraction.

So all the money that you save
over five months

that you had been spending
to get to and from work

Yeah.

You have more than enough
for a down payment to get yourself a car.

And that way you're not
taking advantage of somebody

who thought that this was a relationship
that was going someplace.

-Sure.
-Clearly it was a one sided relationship.

And the harassment really had no grounds.
I mean, I saw some of the text messages.

And if it is truly harassment,
there would have been more outrage

-at some of the things he was sending.
-That he...

-Never text me again.
-Yeah.

-Lose my number
-Right.

There's multiple possibilities.
None of which came from the plaintiff.

Yeah, nothing. No.

It's just that, "I have to put my kids
to bed before I do that."

[laughs] Yeah.

[narrator] Have you been cheated?


[theme music playing]