01x59 - Neighborhood Dog Attack/Cancun Vacation Drama

[bunniefuu]

My dog's not vicious.

It is vicious.

Your dog has already done it twice.

Two times.

The dog is a sweet dog,
but... turned in a minute.

- Well...
- This is not a well.

When a 90-pound dog decides to turn,
it can k*ll you.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Taleen Dunlap
is suing her neighbor Regina Davidson

for vet bills from a dog fight.

[Kevin] Court come to order, all rise.

Be seated please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case 1092, Dunlap versus Davidson.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Dunlap,
you and Ms. Davidson are neighbors?

- Yes.
- She lives across the street from you?

- Correct.
- How long have you been neighbors?

About three years or so.

How long have you lived in your house?

Three years. Yeah.

How long have you lived in your house,
Ms. Davidson?

Three years.

When you moved in,
did you have a dog?

No.

When you moved in,
did you have a dog?

No.

So within the last three years,
you got a dog, when?

We received our dog in November,
we adopted him.

What kind of a dog is he?

A white mini Schnauzer.

How old was he when you got him?

Six years old.

What kind of a dog did you get?

A Cane Corso.

[Judge Judy] And he's a big guy?

She is a big dog, she's gonna be
a big dog, she's only a year old.

And how much does she weigh?

Like 90 pounds.

- That's a big dog.
- Yeah.

Your claim is a simple one,

your claim is that
the defendant's dog got out,

ran across the street, bit your dog,

and you want her to be responsible
for all the vet bills

- that were intended to that dog bite?
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] From a reading
of Ms. Davidson's answer,

I gather that she does not dispute
the fact that her dog bit yours.

Her defense seems to be
that your dog was also unleashed,

- am I getting that right?
- Yes.

Okay. On what date did this take place?

June 5th, 2021.

And I gather from your complaint
that you were not at home?

- No.
- When you left your house,

you left your dog whose name is?

Sir Duke.

You left Sir Duke outside?

Correct.

[Judge Judy] Is your yard fenced?

No, it is not.

So how did you secure him
if you put him outside?

He... there's a leash back there
and he was leashed,

and the leash is actually green

so it blends in with the grass
but his leash is about a...

Oh, so you left him outside,
in your backyard?

- [Taleen] Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Did you leave him water?

Yes, we did. Yes.

What time did you leave?

We left at about 9:45-ish.

- In the morning?
- [Taleen] In the morning, yes.

[Judge Judy]
What time were you due home?

We were due home at about 10:00,


[Judge Judy] Do you usually leave
Sir Duke outside when you go?

Not normally.

Every, every so often
if we know if it's a quick trip,

we'll leave him on a leash
in our backyard

with a bowl of water
because he loves to be outside,

he actually barks
at the, uh, neighbor's dog,

we say they talk to each other
in the backyard.

Well, some of the neighbors
don't have dogs might not love that.

However, you have motion detectors?

- Yes.
- Facing the backyard?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Are they in the back...

Backyard and the sides
of the house, yes.

- So you put Sir Duke outside.
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy]
So tell me what happened on the 5th.

So on the 5th of June, so we're away
from the house at this point

and we have our security cameras set up
to where there's any type of motion

on our property,
it alerts us on our phones.

So we were getting an alert that there
was movement on the side of our house,

and we noticed there was quite a bit
of movement for it to be Sir Duke,

it was just strange.

So we, we pulled up the security camera

and that is when we noticed
the actual attack,

we saw Regina's dog attack our dog

and then shortly after that
we saw a young man come

and grab the dog
off of our dog and run away,

you don't see where they go but
they leave out of the sight of camera.

So we see this and we rushed home,
immediately.

We're home at about,
I would say maybe...

the attack happened at 10:00,

we're home at about 10:10, 10:15-ish.

So we rush in,
I go immediately to Sir Duke,

I get him off the leash,
and I pick him up,

I see that he's bleeding on his back.

And so I pick him up
and now he's in my arms,

I also have a two-year-old daughter

so I'm holding her hand
and I have Sir Duke in my arm.

And so now we're coming
from the back of the house

because at this point he was bleeding
in the backyard alone,

and so I picked him up,

took him around to the front of the house
where my husband was,

speaking with Regina
in the front of the house.

So he's having a conversation with her,
he confronted her.

Could you stand up?

You... your last name is?

Dunlap.

Mr. Dunlap, pick it up
from where your wife left off.

She said you were having a discussion
with Ms. Davidson.

How did that come about?

We rushed home
and pulled up in the driveway

when, uh, my wife grabbed my daughter
and they went to the back.

I looked over and I witnessed Regina

and she was taking pictures
in front of her lawn of her kids,

uh, it looked like a graduation
because they had...

they posted on the, uh, front of yard.

I was heated 'cause I noticed,
you know, you're doing that

and... and this situation just happened.

So I went over there
and I confronted her, and I said, "Look...

What did you say to her?

I said, "You need to get rid of that dog
or do something about that dog."

And she said, "How are you gonna
tell me to get rid of my dog?"

I told her twice,
"Your dog came into our yard."

I said, "But this time
it actually attacked our dog,

with the first time it jumped over
my bushes and ran our window

trying to get at our dog
while he was barking in the house.

When did that happen?

[Calvin] When did that occur?

Two maybe three months
prior to the incident.

Did you discuss
with Ms. Davidson at that time

that her dog was in your backyard?

She was present when it happened.

So the incident that happened,
I was in the yard with the lawn guy,

my dog was in the house
but in the window, barking.

And so her dog ran to our window

and was trying
to get in through the window

and through my front door,

and she came over
into my yard to get her dog as well

as the young man she has with her.

- You remember that incident?
- I do.

So that incident
should've been a warning to you.

- It was.
- [Judge Judy] It was.

- It was.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

When Mr. Dunlap came over
to see you on June the 5th,

- [Regina] Mm-hmm.
- on the date of this incident,

the young man who went
and retrieved the dog is who?

My son.

Were you taking pictures out front?

I was.

Where was your son?

He was coming out
through the garage and...

[Judge Judy] What's his first name?

Darren.

I have a question for you, stand up.

The dog was not under his control,
went on the plaintiff's property,

bit their dog, you tell me
what possible excuse you can have

for not paying the vet bills?

[announcer] And later today...

All you need is a letter from them, sir,
that refund on the trip was made.

How am I supposed to do that?

Just say, uh, it was paid,
I spoke to somebody on the phone.

That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah. It sounds ridiculous.

I'm glad you agree with me.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Taleen Dunlap
claims her neighbor, Regina Davidson,

owes her vet bills

after Regina's dog attacked her dog.

How did you let the dog out on June 5th?

I was coming out of the garage
and I usually close the door pretty quick

and on that day,
the dog was right behind me.

So when I went to go close the door,

she ran out because she heard
barking across the street,

so when she ran,
I ran up right behind her to go get her

and she was in the middle of the street

and she heard the barking

and she made a left into the backyard

and I was right behind her
so as soon as she ran into the dog,

- I grabbed her by her collar.
- [Judge Judy] Oh, just a second.

So you actually ran
on the plaintiff's property?

- Yes.
- In the backyard?

- Uh-huh.
- On the side.

And that's what... don't speak to him.

And that's where you pulled your dog
off of the plaintiff's dog?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Thank you.

Ms. Davidson,
I want you to try to explain to me

on what possible theory you believe

that you are not responsible
for all of these vet bills.

What possible theory

because you appear
to be an intelligent woman,

he appears to be
an intelligent young man,

what possible theory
knowing that your dog

has the propensity
to run across the street

because it's done it before,

knowing that it's a 90-pound animal
that's unpredictable,

knowing that as a result
of your son's negligence,

the dog is out of the house,
not under his control,

went on the plaintiff's property,
bit their dog,

which they incurred
hundreds of dollars in vet bills,

you tell me what possible excuse
you can have

for not paying the vet bills?

Well, when I spoke to Ms. Dunlap

about the incident that happened

when her husband approached me
in a very negative way,

and it was beyond my control
because I was outside at the time,

like he said that I was...

Just to say you were outside,
but it's your dog, it's not his dog.

- It's your dog.
- It's our dog.

[Judge Judy] No, it's your dog.

How old are you?

Twenty-five.

What do you do for a living?

I'm a student right now.

It's your dog.

You pay for it, you feed it,
you provide all the food for it

but he's a student, it's your dog,
it's your responsibility.

He's in your house,
his negligence is your negligence.

I mean, if you have
homeowner's insurance, do you?

Yes, I do.

Well, does your
homeowner's insurance policy

- cover this kind of incident?
- No.

Did you report to your insurance
company when you got this dog?

- No.
- Where do you live?

I live in Missouri.

You wanna tell me
why you didn't report this dog?

My brother purchased the dog,

I am his power of attorney
so as I explained to her,

my brother was gonna try
to make restitution for the dog bite,

but when Ms. Taleen went to call

the animal control on my dog

after we had discussed the fact
of trying to work something out

during that time
and if my dog is that vicious,

why would you come to my house
with your dog?

[Judge Judy]
Let me ask you this question.

- Mm-hmm.
- If your dog ran across the street

and she has a young child,
and instead of biting her dog,

jumped on her child,
your dog has already done it twice,

two times, I might've reported it
the first time to animal control

that this ninety pound dog
ran across the street,

I have a young child
that also plays in the backyard.

- Okay.
- [Judge Judy] It's your dog

in your house, I don't care
if your brother got it for you,

I don't care if it was a gift,
it's your dog,

it lives in your house,
it's your responsibility.

Is that dog on the vicious list?

- Yes.
- In Missouri?

Generally
it depends by insurance company

but there's a list of generally
blacklisted high-risk animals

- and a Cane Corso is...
- [Regina] Well, the animal control...

Ju... just let me explain to you,
just so that you know.

- Do you own your house?
- No.

Do you own property?
Do you have money in the bank?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Yes?

You have to have renter's insurance.

- I do.
- [Judge Judy] Good.

You better tell them that you have a dog
that's on the high-risk list

in the state where you live,
do you understand?

- Yes, I do.
- Otherwise, if God forbid,

that dog which has already been out
at least twice that I know about

hurt somebody else, they're gonna
take away everything you have.

- Well...
- Not a well, I'm telling you.

- This is not a...
- [Regina] I under... I understand...

- This is not a well.
- [Regina] I understand...

This is... I'm telling you.

[Regina] exactly what you're saying

when the dog patrol came to my house

and she said... what she had told her
that my dog was vicious

- and she came to see the dog...
- [Judge Judy] It is vicious.

- [Regina] My dog's not vicious.
- Of course it's vicious.

- [Regina] I don't think she's vicious.
- It came across the street

and it attacked their animal
that was on their property

and if a child had been outside
screaming, or crying,

or laughing in the backyard

and for some reason your dog
didn't like the pitch of that

and ran across the street,

which it has done so far
as I know two times,

maybe more,
but I know of at least two times

then that dog is potentially vicious.

Well, my dog's around kids all the time.

[Judge Judy]
I have to tell you this, madam.

Mm-hmm.

They put dogs on a potentially
vicious list for a reason

and that's because probably


that live in this country have dogs.

And they report dog incidents,
vets report dog incidents.

- Mm-hmm.
- Hospitals report dog attacks.

Newspapers print articles
and print the breed of a dog

that has caused either injury or death.

So insurance companies
have compiled lists of those dogs

and there are hundreds
of registered breeds of dogs,

the list of potentially vicious dogs
is relatively short,



If you choose to have one of those dogs

and that dog has already
injured somebody or something,

a living thing, they are absolutely,
not only within their right,

it's almost a public service
and a mandate,

for them to report it to animal control.

You know, I used to do another program.

On the desk of that program,

I had articles and letters
people sent to me

who complained that they thought I was
being unfair to a particular breed of dog

and I remember one letter

that was by a man
who's grandchild, only grandchild,

was mauled by a Pit Bull
and he said to me in the letter,

I was the last person
my son call to tell me

that my five-year-old grandchild
had been mauled by the dog

because I had been begging them
to get rid of the dog

and they said the dog is a sweet dog,

the dog loves the boy
but... turned in a minute.

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] And when my Shih Tzu

decides that it doesn't like me
and wants to nip me or a child,

it gets a nip but when a 90-pound dog
decides to turn, it can k*ll you.

So you have to make sure
that there's no negligence

so that it's not out of your control

and you don't cup an attitude
because they called animal control.

- Don't look up in the sky.
- Sorry.

[Judge Judy]
Look down at a piece of paper.

Just tell me the total cost of the trip.

- Three thousand.
- Three thousand even?

No, it was...

Oh, my God. I'm almost ready to leave.

[Monique] Sorry.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Taleen Dunlap
claims her neighbor Regina Davidson

owes for vet bills

after Regina's dog attacked her dog.

- How much were your vet bills?
- I believe $705.88 to be exact.

$705.88?

Judgment for the plaintiff,
we're done here.

[Kevin] The court is adjourned.

Well, dogs do what they do.

When a dog is barking at you,
a dog is gonna come

and... and answer that bark.

I'm still trying to figure out
how she's justifying that.

But at the same time, like I said,

sometimes things happen
beyond my control.

And I almost shed a tear
because as she said,

- we have a two-year-old daughter.
- Yeah.

It wasn't like I sent my dog
over there to knock on her door.

And now we don't... we're not comfortable
with either one of them

being outside right now un... unattended,
you know, so...

I don't have any animosity
or grief against them

but, uh, I'm moving anyways. So...

It's unfortunate,
I'm glad that she says she's moving.

The neighborhood will be much better.

You know, I remember
we had a dog that I loved dearly.

We had her for 13 years.

Her name was Lulu, remember Lulu?

- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah. And she was a sweet dog,

she didn't like a couple of things,

she didn't like
when you got too close to me,

and she didn't like it
when we woke her up

in the morning on the bed.

When I would go to pick her up
on the bed, she would nip at me.

You know,
that's the way an animal responds.

That's why they're animals
and unpredictable.

But you have to be careful
when you have big ones.

I mean,
that's the takeaway message from

if you choose to have a big dog

then you also have
to accept the responsibility

that that big dog can have a bad day.

It has the potential no matter
how friendly

or loving you believe the dog to be,
it can turn on a dime and,

- [Judge Judy] Just...
- at the end of the day,

- they're uncontrollable.

So you have to be careful.

When you have a big dog,

you have bigger responsibilities
and you have to recognize it.

Case 1075. Porraz versus Baldeon.

All parties, please step forward.

[announcer] Monique Porraz
is suing her former boyfriend

Christopher Baldeon
for his portion of a trip.

Well, the case is relatively simple.

Ms. Porraz, this used to be
a friend of yours,

- little bit of a boyfriend?
- Mm-hmm.

And you and some friends
all decided to take a trip.

The trip was I think to Cancun, Mexico.

Trip had to be paid, you ended up
paying for the trip according to you,

you broke up and initially he said
he was gonna take you on the trip

but since you are no longer together
as a couple in any way, shape, or form,

you're prepared
to take care of your own ticket,

you just want him to take care of his

because according to you,
you did not get a refund on the trip?

- Correct.
- The defendant says, well,

he did in fact pay $600 towards the trip

and that's all he's gonna pay.

He said that he believes
you got a full refund for the trip,

- that's what you say, correct?
- Mm-hmm. Yes.

- And you have proof of that?
- I don't have proof of that.

Well, you are not coming
to the beach today Mr. Baldeon.

Yeah, everything was in her name

so I didn't have access
to pulling the information.

I called and I verified with Priceland,
they said that the refund could...

Well, all you need
is a letter from them, sir,

that refund on the trip was made,

how am I supposed to do that?

Just say, well, it was paid,
I spoke to somebody on the phone.

- That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] Yeah. Sounds ridiculous.
I'm glad you agree with me.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting to hear...

[Judge Judy] And the facts
are relatively straightforward.

I don't have to go into the back
and forth, and back and forth,

you weren't married, you were together

then you weren't together
then you were together for a little bit,

who cares,
there was a trip that was paid for

and the entire cost of the trip was what?

- It was...
- [Judge Judy] Don't look up in the sky.

- Sorry.
- Look down at a piece of paper.

Well, there was two different loans,

one for the hotel and one for the flight,
and the...

- Just tell me the total cost of the trip.
- [Monique] Okay.

- Three thousand.
- Three thousand even?

- No, it was...
- Oh, my God.

- I'm almost already ready to leave.
- [Monique] Sorry.

It was $3,811.

- I'd like to see proof of that, please.
- [Monique] Okay.

Okay. So that's one total
and then that's the other one.

- So one was $1,981.
- [Monique] Mm-hmm.

And the other was $1,016?

- That's $2,997 not $3,800.
- Yeah. [chuckles] Sorry.

I get nervous around math.

That's what I was dealing with
for months,

trying to get a number.

A... don't m-mutter.

I have a difficult time enough hearing
when you're speaking up.

I sent him those exact shots...

Don't talk to me
when I'm trying to use my calculator.

That means that each of you...
I cut that in half,

each of you should've paid $1,498.

So what kind of a credit
or refund did you get?

So they separated it with the flights.

So I can't change the name of the flights.

There's $945.34 is for the hotel,
that's his...

- Did you get that back?
- So yeah. It...

it's a refund but that only he could use
under his name.

It's split between both of us
for the hotel and the flight.

Okay.
So he could use it and you can use it.

- [Monique] Yeah.
- He can use $900 worth.

For the hotel and then
it's four-something for the flight.

I don't care. Did you give that to him?

No. Because I want him
to pay me for his portion

and then I'll give him his e-ticket.

His portion is $1,498,
he says he paid $600, did he?

- On the loan?
- He did...

Ju... just think
before you answer the question.

He says he paid on his credit card

that you took $600 towards the trip,

- is that correct?
- Uh, I don't know if it's $600

but he did put the down payment
for each loan

which was I think two-something...

You know something?
Let me tell you what I think.

- I think you have to be prepared
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] when you come to court.
And neither of you are prepared today.

So I'm gonna do you both a big favor.

I'm dismissing your case
without prejudice.

You can re-file it.

And before you come back to me,
have all your ducks in a row,

all your evidence here,

anything that you need to plead
your case, do you understand?

Perfect. Goodbye.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I'm a little frustrated.

Uh, I think it was perfect.

Um, she didn't have enough evidence
at all to begin with

which is the reason why we're here.

I just want his half of the trip,
that's it,

because it... it's just sitting there,
I already paid for it. So...

You know, I wanted to see some proof
that she, you know, actually paid it.

Oh, we weren't interested
in each other at all.

So cancel the trip.

Oh, she wants to see me
one last time, okay?

Yeah. Um, I'm gonna be
a little more prepared this time.

[announcer] Have you been cheated?