01x54 - When Roosters Attack

[bunniefuu]

It was his animal,
his animal became aggressive.

[Judy] Uh-hmm.

I was walking on the walkway,
and all of a sudden,

claws me, and I'm up like this,

I hit it down.

There have been previous conversations
about steering clear of the rooster

because it was aggressive.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Judy Thomas is suing
her former employer, Robert Erdmann,

for medical costs and lost wages
after being attacked by his rooster.

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case number 1170, Thomas versus Erdmann.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Thomas,
your son was renting a room

in the defendant's home?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] You have a home

that has how many bedrooms?

Three. I'm renting it, ma'am.

How long have you been renting the house?

I'm no longer there, I rented it for...

from May, uh, until October 1st.

May of this year until October?

[Robert] May of, of last year,
so between...

- [Judge Judy] May 2020?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Just curiosity,

why did you move out?

I came originally to San Diego
before COVID to spend a few weeks,

before I moved to the UK,
and because of COVID,

I had to rent a house, so...
because I couldn't leave.

We were on lockdown.

[Judge Judy] Right.
So you rented the house.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Did you sign a lease?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Did the lease

permit you to rent out rooms in the house?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] It did.

I want you to think very carefully.

Did the lease permit you
to rent out rooms?

It's a private dwelling.

The answer is, I'm not sure.

That's a better answer.

And what was the rent?

$4,850.

How many tenants did you have?

[Robert] Uh, ten...I'm sorry.

I had a roommate, to my knowledge,
I would call it a roommate by...

[Judge Judy] How many roommates...

- [Robert] One.
- ...did you have?

- One.
- [Judge Judy] How many people

lived in the house?

Two. Myself and, uh, the roommate.

[Judge Judy] Which roommate?

At the time of this incident,

it would be Mr. Santoyo.

[Judge Judy] The property contains
a house and some property

that allows you to have chickens
and a rooster?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Where did you get

the chickens and the rooster from?

From the Vista feed store
in Vista, California.

[Judge Judy] Were they young
when you got them?

Yes. They're three days old.

Got one rooster?

The crux of the matter is that
when you get chicks,

you have...you do not know the sex of them,

so it becomes problematic later.

And some people don't get roosters at all.

You got one rooster?

Yes.

How many chicks?

There were six.

- So you have five hens?
- [Robert] Yes.

And they're no longer in my possession,
they're in Valley Center.

- What's Valley Center?
- [Robert] It's a place

near, um, outside San Diego
where chickens are legal.

Problem is that roosters after,
uh, I received a letter,

uh, in the 15th of January,

I've discovered that roosters
were not legal.

[Judge Judy] Where you lived?

- [Robert] Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So this is what the case is about.

Now I have a little bit of the background,
what you were doing there.

Your son was living with him as a tenant,

you're paying $800 a month rent,

and the defendant learned

that you did house cleaning?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] That was your company,

- and you...
- [Judy] A small company.

[Judge Judy] And you
started to clean the premise...

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] ...where your son

- also lived.
- Yes.

And it is your claim

that the rooster that was there

was an aggressive rooster

and attacked you
on two separate occasions,

during the time you were cleaning,

and you wanna be compensated

to the tune of $7,000?

Okay. So we have certain givens.

We have a given that
you were cleaning there, given.

There was an offer made to clean.

And she did?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And you did pay her?

Yes. But it was...

if I may, it was my, uh,
decision to pay her.

At first, she offered to do it for...

- Whatever. So you paid her?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] It was a service
that she was offering?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] How much did you pay her?

[Robert] $100 the first time.

How many times did you clean the house?

I cleaned his home
from, uh, October 17, 2020,

till, um, December the 11th, 2020.

- [Judge Judy] I'm gonna ask you again.
- [Judy] About six times.

How many times did you go to his house
to clean his house?

In that time span, six times.

And how much did he pay you
each time you went?

Between $40 and $60.

I never got paid $100.

[Judge Judy] Between 40 and 60 a day.

And I assume you visited your son there,

so you knew that Mr. Erdmann
had a rooster and chickens?

That's correct.

[Judge Judy] And of the six times,

you only had a problem,

according to your papers,
with the rooster on two occasions?

That's correct.

[Judge Judy] The first occasion
was in October?

- No. December the 8th...
- [Judge Judy] 12/08?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

On 12/08,

describe what happened with the rooster.

I went outside to take the trash out...

- What time?
- [Judy] ...to the alley...

I would say around 10:45 AM.

[Judge Judy] What time had you arrived
that day? Do you recall?

Um, 9:00 AM.

So you went outside
to take the garbage out?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And?

And Mr. Erdmann
was standing to my left by the coop,

petting his hens,
and the hens were in the coop

and the rooster was in the coop.

And as I was coming back from the alley,

I was walking on the walkway,

and I don't know how it happened,

all of a sudden, the rooster just came up,

actually, it's as huge as a turkey,


Came up...came at me, scratched me,

and I had enough time
just to put my arm out

- so it wouldn't get in my face...
- [Judge Judy] Oh, it scratched your arm?

- Yes.
- Okay. Do you have a picture of your arm?

Yes.

- That is just the...
- [Judge Judy] Just a sec.

- ...uh, first time.
- [Judge Judy] Just a sec.

We're taking a look, I wanna see.

Okay.

Okay. So it scratched you with a claw?

Yeah, with the claws.

[Judge Judy]
It scratched you with a claw?

- [Judy] Uh-hmm. Yes.
- [Judge Judy] This scratch?

Okay. You didn't seek medical
attention for this?

- It's a scratch.
- Not for this, no.

- [Judge Judy] It's a scratch.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Wanna see the scratch?

- I can see it from here, thank you.
- [Judge Judy] It's a scratch.

- Okay. So that's October 8th?
- [Judy] Uh-hmm.

Next.

The next injury was December the 11th.

Now, between the 8th and the 11th,

had you been back to the house?

Yes, on the 10th
for my regular cleaning service.

- Anything happen on the 10th?
- [Judy] No.

- Everything went fine.
- [Judge Judy] Just a sec.

So on the 10th, you were there,
and everything was fine.

Do you remember getting paid on the 10th?

Yes.

- [Judge Judy] How much did you get paid?
- $40.

And you put some peroxide on this thing...

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] ...or you put

something on it, it went away?

Yes. Neosporin.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Now tell me what happened on the 11th.

The 11th, I came to Mr. Erdmann's home
at 9:00 AM.

He was highly upset.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

Highly upset is a conclusion.

What did he say to you
and what did you say to him?

I ring the doorbell, he opened the door.

Um, I asked him why, um,

the box is in...things from the, uh,

front room was not, um, picked up
because the day before

I didn't have time to clean the floor...

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

He opened the door, and you said to him?

- Good morning.
- And?

I came in and I looked around,
and I asked him, um,

"Robert, you didn't pick up the things
that we agreed on that day before?"

[Judge Judy] Okay. Explain that to me.

You had a discussion the day before
about picking up what?

I was supposed to do the wood flooring.

He's a very renowned, um, photographer,

so he had boxes, pictures,

papers, business papers, all stacked up,

and in order for me to do the floor,

he had told me the day before
that he would clear everything out...

[Judge Judy] Would clear everything out.

So you walked in and you said,
"Robert, you didn't clean up...-"

[Judy] Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
"...so that I could the floor?"

- Yes.
- And he said to you?

[Judy] He said,

"I don't wanna discuss the floor,
I wanna discuss Jose.

Where's Jose?

He hasn't been here three nights

and I'm tired of him
not coming home at night,"

- and, um...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

So he said to you,
"I don't wanna discuss the floor,

I wanna discuss your son."

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] "He hasn't been home

- for three nights."
- Yes.

And what did you say to him?

And he said, "I feel that, um,
he should be more active,

um, be more of a friend in the home,

to be here in the evenings,"

and I told him,
"I'm not in charge of my son.

I mean, he's 39 years old,

and there's nothing
I can do to inform him..."

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- [Judy] "...to be home at night..."

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- [Judy] ...and the conversation

continued with me, I told him,

" I don't wanna continue
this conversation.

I will finish the windows," and...

- [Judge Judy] And I'll leave?
- And the conversation

was kind of done for me.

- I proceeded to...
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- ...prepare.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

What happened next?

[theme music playing]

The conversation at the door
when Ms. Thomas walked in was heated.

Why was it heated, Mr. Erdmann?

Ms. Thomas was extremely angry
that the papers

weren't taken up
and gave me a lecture about it.

Ms. Thomas, did you go to see an attorney?

No.

[Judge Judy]
These are very angry pictures.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Judy Thomas claims
her former employer, Robert Erdmann,

owes for medical costs and lost wages

resulting from two rooster attacks.

[Judge Judy] Now, what happened next?

As I was doing the windows,
everything was fine.

Um, Mr. Erdmann went out to his coop.

I was doing the bay windows in the inside

and proceeded to the French doors.

And as I finished the inside,
I went to the kitchen sink,

which is facing, I guess east.

And, um, the French doors are this way,

so I couldn't see behind me.

So I was changing the water.

And while I was changing the water,

Mr. Erdmann, I presume he came in...

or I'm thinking he came in
while I was standing

because when I turned around
with the bucket,

I went this way,

went toward the French doors
and looked down,

and there was this ill hen in a...

- A what?
- [Judy] He had a sick hen

that was dying.

So he had it
in a little basket and a blanket,

and he put it right in front...
these are the windows,

right in front of the door.

So when I went out,
I turned around, here's my bucket,

and I'm looking at this hen
and I'm thinking...

[Judge Judy] You turned around,
you saw a hen

- you hadn't seen before.
- [Judy] Yeah.

And?

And I'm doing the windows,
so I'm turning around, thinking,

"Where is this rooster?"

And as I'm turning around,

the rooster comes this way from the hen,

claws me,

and I'm up like this,

I hit it down, otherwise,
it would have been clawed...

[Judge Judy] No, no, no.

Don't tell me what otherwise.

- So the rooster clawed you again.
- Yes.

Do you have pictures of that injury?

[Judy] Yes.

That's the only picture I have.

I didn't take more.

I just didn't think to take more.

That was, um, the same day.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

- So this is a healed scratch.
- [Judy] This is the old one.

- [Judge Judy] Just a second.
- Yeah.

- [Judge Judy] This is a healed scratch?
- [Judy] Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] And these two marks

come from this rooster attack on the 11th?

- On the 11th, yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So did you seek emergency treatment
for these?

No, I did not.

So there is no medical report?

No.

[Judge Judy] What did you do
for these two marks?

These two marks
are combined with my ankle,

so when they both happened

the same day the same time,

I also got injured on my ankle.

The rooster...I whipped it down,
it went down,

and it pecked me three times.

- On the ankle?
- [Judy] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Well where's the photograph
of it?

Right here.

I'd like to see it.

[Judy] Actually, just take them all.

They're dated in order.

Well, what you're suggesting to me

is that there's a puncture in your foot

that caused it to swell?

[Judy] Yeah. The peck...

[Judge Judy] I'd like to see
a medical record of that.

I don't have medical insurance,
I don't go to the doctor.

See, what I did, I went to Mexico,

I saw, um, a certified...

I do all my medications through Mexico.

I don't have health insurance,
I'm a Rasta,

so I don't go to the doctor here.

What I do is I have 28 years' experience
in the medical field, I'm a retired RN.

I worked for the Navy,
Balboa Medical Center.

- [Judge Judy] I...listen...
- So I took my medical advice and I had...

- [Judge Judy] Um, whatever...
- ...my pharmacist look at...

[Judge Judy]
...whatever it was, you treated this

alleged wound on your foot
from the rooster?

Yes.

Go.

Let's not even talk about December 8th
when she got scratched.

I don't have to hear about it.

I want you to go...

Well, the time was December 11th.

There had been previous conversations
about steering clear of the rooster

- because it was aggressive.
- Which is probably why it's not legal?

Yes, entirely true, also because
it's quite noisy more to the point.

He didn't interrupt you.
Don't interrupt him.

Okay.

The conversation at the door, when, um,

Ms. Thomas walked in was heated,
um, and it was...

Why was it heated, Mr. Erdmann?

Ms. Thomas was extremely angry
that the papers weren't taken up

and gave me a lecture about it.

[Judge Judy] No. That's a conclusion.

What did she say and what did you say?

I don't have an exact recollection of it.

I can say that it was heated,
I'm gonna leave it at that.

Heated on both sides,
or heated on just one side?

- Both sides.
- Both? Okay.

So now there's a heated discussion,

the heated discussion is over,
she continues to do her work?

Yeah. It affected our...the dynamics
of the next hour, I would say.

And that was, um, part of the lack

of additional dialogue concerning
the whereabouts of the rooster

who was out with the chickens,
free-range every day.

So rather than asking me
or rather than closing the doors

as there had been discussions about
me keeping away from the rooster,

the doors were left open, um,
I would say by both of us, I would say.

There was a chicken in the house
because it was going to go to the vet's.

Yes. Ms. Thomas was scratched
by the rooster.

The rooster can't fly up...
high up enough to scratch the...

they do...there's a thing called flogging,

which is where they use the back
of their claws to go at people.

I did express concern,

I asked if she needed attention,
and she...

- [Judge Judy] That was on the 11th?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay. On the 11th,

did you see these two claw marks
on her arm?

I only remember the one towards her ankle.
She showed it to me.

But nothing on the arm?

We didn't discuss the arm,
so I can't tell you that, I'm sorry.

[Judge Judy]
Okay. After the 11th of December,

did Ms. Thomas come back
to work for you?

I haven't kept the record,
but I do not think so.

After the 11th, Ms. Thomas,

did you come back to work for Mr. Erdmann?

No, I got terminated the same night.

Tell me how that happened.

I send him a text message
with the pictures of my injuries, in...

[Judge Judy] I'd like to see
the text message that you sent him,

and I'd like to see his response.

Here.

So she sent you a note on that day,
showing you her swollen foot?

Yes, I remember.

And you said to her, "Good evening,

I'm sorry to see
that your foot is swollen.

I will talk to the vet on Tuesday
about trimming back his claw."

Correct.

[Judge Judy] And then you say to her,

"Judy, I think that
under the circumstances,

that as much as I regret it,

it would not be a good idea
to have you here on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, there is nothing
more to discuss on the subject.

You are always, of course,
welcome here with Jose's invitation.

Happy holidays to you. All the best."

Now, you sent the defendant
a photograph of your foot

and it was clearly swollen.

- You treated it yourself.
- Uh-hmm.

How long did it take after you treated it
yourself for the swelling to go down?

Three and a half weeks.

Do you have any proof of that?

Uh, it only shows in the picture
because they are dated.

I have eight weeks of pictures,

so they're all dated in the back,
that's the process of the healing.

So it starts with the 8th,
until the 29th of December,

and then I have the other ones that show
from December until the end of January,

where it's getting better and better,
but these are only...

Ms. Thomas, did you go to see an attorney?

- No.
- These are very angry pictures.

"Listen, real good
you piece of blank landlord.

You as a landlord need to give him

his appropriate time to move out

and I do not understand your problem,
but you need help."

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Judy Thomas claims
her former employer, Robert Erdmann,

owes for medical costs and lost wages

resulting from two rooster attacks.

[Judge Judy] Now, did you ever think
of getting a tetanus shot?

I had my last tetanus shot,
uh, seven years ago.

So what did you do to treat?

I took antibiotics.

- That you got yourself?
- Yes.

- [Judge Judy] From Mexico?
- [Judy] Yes.

Did you ever communicate
with the defendant after December 11th?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] When?

I sent him text messages from the 11th.

I have it in my phone.

I almost communicated with him
on a weekly basis.

I sent him pictures, updates.

[Judge Judy] I would like to see
the last update you sent him

with regard to your injury.

Do you recall when that was, Mr. Erdmann?

[Robert] No, I do not.

I deleted all the messages from, uh,
Ms. Walburga about a month ago

when I was leaving for...
where I was going next.

[Judge Judy] Didn't you think
that by keeping you updated

that she was going to sue you?

I mean, otherwise,
why would she keep you updated?

Here.

Did I think she was...
she was going to sue me?

Uh, it's, it's plausible.

I didn't think about it
on a regular basis.

- The update.
- [Kevin] This one?

- [Judy] Yes.
- [Kevin] Okay.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
So the last email that you sent him

with a photograph
was on the 1st of January of 2021.

And you say three-week update to date,

still very sore with a hard bump
at both sites,

palpable at the touch
and visible to the eye.

Right forearm is healed
with visible scarring.

And then on January 3rd,

Mr. Erdmann writes back to you,

"I have repeatedly texted your son
regarding his move out.

He has notified me of his intention
to move out on the 3rd, which is tomorrow.

The rent is due on the 1st of the month

and while I had made allowances for him
for late payment,

that is no longer an option.

I would suggest that you make sure
that he's getting his text

in case he has had issues
with his phone.

I have no interest
in hearing back from you.

I am contacting you
so that there is sufficient evidence

that I have tried my best
to contact Jose."

And then you respond to him,

"Listen, real good
you piece of blank landlord.

First off, your mistake is
you have no contact with my son.

He does not have to move out
on January 3rd, 2021,

what is wrong with you?

Do you know anything
about renters' rights?"

And then there's an expletive.

"He only lived there
two and a half months

and you went crazy
as so-called landlord.

Now he is moving
and you as a landlord

need to give him his appropriate time
to move out

and find appropriate accommodations.

I do not understand your problem,
but you need help.

Also, now regarding the injury
I sustained in December 2020

at your home by your rooster

while in your cleaning service,
would you like to address this issue?

I have been contacting you
for at least three weeks via text.

Called and not get any answer,

and forwarded my injury pictures
regarding this injury

and you have not responded once.

Please let me know
how you would like to handle

or move forward with this issue
by the end of January.

After this date, I will file a case
in small claims court against you

with a valid animal control case.

Looking forward to hearing from you."

Okay. So she did contact you,
Mr. Erdmann,

and send you photographs
during that three-week period

of her swollen leg and injury.

How did you propose to address it?

You do understand that
the animal injured her on your property

while she was working there.

And you are responsible for that.

I would say that the aggressive behavior
kept me from knowing what to do,

and that she was going to take me
to small claims court, she would do so.

It's very simple.
Uh, her behavior and, uh, those...

that kind of language was,
was enough in that text.

Well, enough after three weeks
of contacting you

when she hadn't heard from you,
Mr. Erdmann.

I mean, neither one of you appeared
to be aggressive kind of people,

the fact that you resorted to language
that was unbecoming a lady.

- That happens.
- May I say why?

[Judge Judy]
No. This is not important. You did.

And he should have responded
because it was his animal,

his animal became aggressive,
he was there,

it was his responsibility to contain

what he knew to be
an aggressive animal.

He evidently knew that
one of the claws was too long.

You didn't do anything aggressively
towards the animal.

He is responsible for it.

You're suing him for $7,000.

I actually believe
that you are entitled to that.

You had at least three weeks' worth
of injury and discomfort,

and I think that you are entitled
to what you're suing for.

Judgment for the plaintiff
for the amount of $7,000.

- We're finished.
- [gavel bangs]

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

The rooster was supposed to be kept
in its coop at all times

while I was in service.

You'd have to ask her why
she kept on coming back.

Probably some...I have no idea why.

And he...I believe he purposely
left the rooster out.

Oh, I think it's just a difference
in attitude about life in general.

Just a very eccentric guy,

so there was lots of, uh, ups and downs,

and having to deal with,
you know, age differences

and everything like that, so.

Don't buy chickens
and you might get a rooster.

Thank you, Judge Judy,
for giving this Judy justice.

Well, that was a much more interesting
case than I thought it would be.

Yeah. I'd say so.

And I was surprised that
you granted her the entire 7,000

that she was asking for
with no medical bills, no receipts, no...

I just thought that was interesting,
sort of out of character for you.

I was moved by the fact

that she wasn't making up her injury.

That she had documented both in photograph

and in text messages to him,

over that whole three-week period
that her leg was swollen.

He acknowledged that he saw the injury
on the day that it happened,

and the fact that during
that three-week period he didn't say,

"Is there something
that you need from me?"

- Acknowledging responsibility.
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] He did not.

And she suffered an injury
for three weeks.

Yeah. And I was impressed
that she documented it,

I loved your question,
"Did you meet with an attorney

before you started documenting,"

No, she just...she knew
that it was gonna be something

that was gonna come up later,

and she kept her documents in order,
which is just how we like it.

Perfect.
I think she was much more credible

and I was surprised at the case

and surprised at the outcome.

- [Sarah] Yeah.
- And that's unusual, for me.

[announcer] Want justice?



[theme music playing]