01x81 - The Missing Engagement Ring/Car Accident Payback

[bunniefuu]

Where is the ring he bought you?

I'm not sure.

Did you look?

If it's an engagement ring,
it goes back to him.

When he broke up with me,
he said I could keep it.

Do you wanna return the ring to him?

I don't have it.

I was really drunk and I lost it.

I don't believe you.

She says she lost the ring.

I can't wring it out of her.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Erin Van Meter
is suing her ex-fiance

Eric Ellis

for the cost of two canceled trips

and defamation of character.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

All rise.

Thank you.

Be seated.

Hello, Judge.

Case number 1113, Van Meter versus Ellis.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Van Meter, it looks to me as if,

from your complaint,

you met the defendant online in March?

Correct.

- March what?
- 14th.

When was the first time you saw him?

March 14th.

And when was the first time you bought him
an expensive present?

April.

[Judge Judy] April what?

I'm not sure.

The expensive gift was piece of jewelry.

Do you remember what it was?

Yeah, I bought him a ring.

Remember how much it cost?

I believe the appraisal value is $1,200,
but I think I spent 700.

Expensive present
for knowing somebody for four weeks.

It was.

And then the next month
you bought him another present?

I did.

[Judge Judy] What'd you buy him this time?

I brought him a gold bracelet.

How much was that?

I believe that that was just under $900.

[Judge Judy] I want you think

in March or April, what did he buy you?

He took me to Tiffany's
after we had been dating for three weeks

and bought me a bracelet.

What kind of bracelet did he buy you?

[Erin] A Tiffany bracelet,

had a little silver and blue
Tiffany heart on it.

Remember how much it was?

I don't.

I have that, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Yeah.

I do have it.

[Judge Judy]
I don't wanna look for it right now.

What else did he buy you in April or May?

In May, he bought me a birthday gift.

- What?
- [Erin] A diamond ring.

- She's referring to the engagement ring.
- [Judy] Shh shh shh shh shh.

So you bought him a ring and a bracelet

and he brought you
a bracelet from Tiffany's?

Yes.

And your birthday is when?

- In June.
- [Judge Judy] June what?



And when did
he purchase this diamond ring?

I believe it was at the end of May.

I have the dates for those, Your Honor.

- Can we get it?
- [Eric] Yeah.

[Judge Judy] Tell me when it was?

There was two transactions,

one was on May 10th,
the other one was on the 25th.

What happened on May 10th?

Did you put a deposit down for the ring?

It was basically covering half of the cost

knowing that I would come back
and pay for the other half of the ring.

So it was a deposit?

Correct.

And that was at the same jewelry store
at the place where she works?

She works in a building
and there's a jewelry store there?

Correct.
It's underneath her building, correct.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

So they were familiar with you.

That's where you had purchased his stuff?

The jewelry is Perry.

He's a friend.

How much was the ring?

The ring was 11,500, Your Honor.

Where is it?

I don't know for sure.

I'm assuming
it's in the plaintiff's possession.

In any event,
there came a point when the two of you

were no longer a couple

and your claim is that he broke off...

He did.

[Judge Judy]
...the relationship quite quickly.

Yes.

He texted you, met you in a parking lot,

and he returned all the things
that you had at his home,

including the two gifts
that you had made to him,

the ring and the bracelet.

I did not see them in the bag.

- They were in the bag.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

I know that he did give me
some of my belongings back,

- but not all of my belongings.
- [Eric] I made sure...

I'm asking you whether he gave you
back the ring and the bracelet

that you bought for him.

Yes, I did not see them in the bag.

Did you look?

Yes, I did look in the bag.

[Judge Judy] And they weren't there?

They were not in the bag.

[Eric] They're not at my house.

[Judge Judy] Did you put them in the bag?

Yes, Your Honor.

I put them actually in plastic bags
resealable, so they wouldn't fall out.

I believe him.

Okay.

That he returned those two things to you

that you had purchased for him.

Now, it is your claim that during
that time prior to the breakup,

you had transferred to him $2,100

for your half of travel expenses
for two trips that you were planning.

Correct.

In what month, day, and year
did you transfer that $2,100.

I have it right here.

Your Honor, I have the date
of the Tiffany's bracelet here.

Good.

I'd like to see the...

just cost of the bracelet
because he looked for it and he found it.

[Erin] Highlight for Tiffany.

[Kevin] Okay.

On June 16th of 2021,

did she transfer $1,000
into your bank account?

Yes, she paid me by Venmo.

- I do have that thousand dollars.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And on June 11th...

oh, I'm not dealing with this,

that's the Gmail that's NC and Gym
and Amazon music upgrade, $400...

[Erin] It was for the North Carolina trip.

I don't care.

[Erin]
It was $400 for the North Carolina trip.

Listen to me. I don't care.

I don't get involved in people
who were dating together,

who were commingling money
unless I could actually pinpoint

that this is transfer date,

this is, "Vegas, Babeeee $1,000,"
that I could see.

- [Erin] But North Carolina...
- Period.

End of discussion.

And the Tiffany bracelet was $300.

Correct.

[Judge Judy] Right. Okay.

I just want to see if it was...

you know, could be Tiffany bracelet
or it could be a trinket.

In this case, it...

It was from the...it was from Tiffany's.

In this...in this case,
it was from Tiffany's and was a trinket.

Yes. Yup.

But the ring that you bought
for eleven-five is not a trinket.

Can I see the bill for that?

I have the actual receipt...

[Judge Judy] No, don't...just a second.

Okay. Okay.

Don't say anything.

[Eric] Sorry.

Just give it to me.

Now, on what date did you finally say
I had whatever it is,

it's not working...

July 30th.

[Judge Judy] 07/30.

And on June 16th,
she sent a deposit for a trip to Vegas,

and it says that paid Eric Ellis $1,000.

Correct.

I wanna know was that for a trip that was
supposed to take place in the future?

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

We were supposed to take a vacation
to Las Vegas for Labor Day weekend

and before Labor Day weekend,
I broke it off.

Okay.

And I canceled all our plans,
our trips, and she...

Oh, this was in June
and you broke up on July 30th?

Correct.

[Judge Judy] So you still had
the whole month of August and whatever

and every place that I know
has a 30-day cancellation policy.

So what was this $1,000 used for?

The $1,000 she sent me, um,
half of the cost for it for the trip.

Okay. That's all. That's an honest answer.

Where is the ring he brought you?

I don't believe you somebody
who's a jewelry-nut like you are,

who buys somebody...first minute that
they see him that they breathe on him,

a bracelet, next breath a ring

knows exactly where this $12,000 ring is.

[announcer] And later today...

I mean, that means that
you've got to drive a car for nothing,

you've got the full value of the car,

and then you've got $19,000
for being in an accident...

But I have...

[Judge Judy]
...that sounds to me unreasonable.

That sounds to me unreasonable.

[theme music playing]

[announcer]
Erin Van Meter claims her ex-fiance

Eric Ellis owes for the cost
of two canceled trips.

Eric is countersuing
for the cost of an engagement ring.

Now, where is the ring he brought you?

I'm not sure.

I believe that it might be
in Lake Manitoc.

I was really drunk and I lost it.

Oh, that's really too bad.

That's really too bad.

Then you don't get your $1,000 back.

- Do you understand?
- Even though he says...

[Judge Judy] Even though, period!

Even though nothing.

He spent $12,000 on a ring
which I guarantee you you have.

Guaranteed you have
that I would make you return to him

and if you're not gonna return it to him,

you're not getting anything.

Do you understand that?

I understand.

[Judge Judy] Period.

Now, you wanna return the ring to him?

I don't have it.

[Judge Judy] Yeah, I don't believe you.

I don't believe you.

Somebody who's a jewelry-nut like you are,

who buys somebody...first minute

that they see him
that they breathe on him a bracelet,

next breath a ring

knows exactly where this $12,000 ring is.

He brought me the Tiffany's first.

[Judge Judy] Knows exactly...
knows exactly where the $12,000 ring is.

So the only thing
that I have to address in my mind

is on what date
did you give her this ring?

It was May 29th.

And how do you know that?

I have pictures.

I have...I wrote it down.
We took pictures of it.

I'd like to see the pictures.

[Eric]
I'll have to pull that from my phone.

- Is that okay?
- [Judge Judy] Absolutely.

Okay.

That's the day we celebrated
my birthday with my sister.

I don't care.

Do you understand?

My sister can witness to the fact
that we chose

May 28th to celebrate my birthday.

I don't care.

- I don't...
- [Erin] Okay.

...believe you don't have the ring.

Do you understand?

I do understand what you're saying.

Yeah, I don't believe
that you don't have the ring.

You wanna show me
what this $12,000 ring looked like?

I probably have that too, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

This is from your friend, by the way,

who you say is a friend of yours Perry...

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] ...Jewel.

He wrote on the receipt engagement ring.

I'm not denying that it was a double gift
of an engagement and birthday present.

It was both.

Listen, just like I don't believe
you don't know where the ring is,

once you lie to me once,
you don't get a chance.

- Do not do it again.
- I'm not lying to you.

Yeah, it was an engagement ring
and you should have given it back to him,

but he doubled that as a birthday present,
then he's very smart.

When he broke up with me,

he said I could keep it
and I have his email stating that.

- I did not say that, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

If you have an email
that says you can keep the ring,

I'm more than happy to take a look at it.

But your jeweler describes
the ring as an engagement ring

and if it's an engagement ring,
it goes back to him.

Well, what I'm telling you, sir,
is you are mistaken

because you answered her,

you did discuss
with her returning the ring and she says,

I'm not returning the ring to you,

because you could say you never got it.

So I guess I have to have an attorney
take me to court

and that was August 4th.

So you must have lost it after August 4th.

- I did.
- I did. I did.

And then he says,
because he hadn't spoken to anybody yet.

"I know I don't have any legal rights
to demand the ring back from you."

Well, yes, you do?

I've realized that, Your Honor.
That's why we're here.

Well, because yes, you do,
because an engagement ring

is a gift given
in contemplation of marriage

and if the marriage doesn't take place,

irrespective in my legal world
and in many jurisdictions,

if the marriage doesn't take place,
then the contract is broken.

Now, you can get married and divorced
and you get to keep the ring,

but you don't get engaged

and don't get married
and get to keep the ring.

It was also a birthday gift.

[Judge Judy]
Just...did you understand what I said?

- Yes.
- Also doesn't make any difference.

If he did the twofer, that's terrific.
That's smart for him.

But it's an engagement ring,
that's what your friend the jeweler said.

Your claim is dismissed against him.

And the maximum jurisdiction
I have is $10,000.

She says she lost the ring.
I can't wring it out of her. She's lying.

Judgment for the defendant
on the counterclaim for $10,000.

We're finished.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

She wants money
and she's desperate to have money,

and she tricked and manipulated me
to do all that.

I was getting taken advantage
of the day he broke up with me

and said I could keep the ring.

The Judge clearly pointed out
that she gave me

a far amount of gifts than I gave her

to try and hook me.

I really don't know, I got really drunk

and I lost it in a lake.

And that was after August 4th.

After he said I could keep it.

She still has it. Of course, she does.

He was out there dancing on TikTok
smiling how he ended another relationship

after I was gutted and destroyed,

and now he's back online dating.

None of it makes sense to me.

I've learned to honor my boundaries,

and that online dating
should really be considered

auditioning for future datelines.

Be careful and take my time.

I'm going to get a do not contact order.

[Judge Judy]
I know that there is different rules

and jurisdictions
about an engagement ring.

I've been consistent for 26 years

that I believe an engagement ring

is given in contemplation of marriage,
which is a contract.

And irrespective
of how that contract is breached,

if the condition precedent

to making it a gift is never met

because the marriage doesn't take place,

then whoever purchased
the engagement ring gets it back.

I think once the marriage takes place

and the reason or not the reason

that the marriage dissolves,

the condition precedent
to the gift has been met,

the parties got married,
you get to keep the ring.

But in this case, she made an excuse
that it was a birthday gift

because she really knew in her head

that if it was an engagement,
she should have returned it.

And I don't believe her.

I do believe that he returned the bracelet

and he returned the ring to her

in the hope of getting
the engagement ring back

- because that's what the email said.
- Uh-hmm.

]
You know, he expected to get that back

and she said,
"I'm not giving it to you back."

You'll say you never got it
and then she told me she lost it.

I don't believe her.
The right thing happened.

It did.

Case number 1124,

Staup versus Urbina.
All parties please step forward.

[announcer] Christine Staup
is suing her boyfriend's cousin

Antonio Urbina for the cost of a vehicle

she purchased from Antonio.

Ms. Staup, this is your boyfriend.

You've been together for about 12 years,

according to your complaint
and this is your boyfriend's cousin.

Years ago,
because you don't indicate a year,

you purchased a car from Mr. Urbina.

In what year did you purchase
the car from him?



[Judge Judy] What month in 2016?

January.

[Judge Judy]
What kind of a car did you purchase?

A 2000 Mercedes.

- What kind?
- S430.

- [Judge Judy] Got it?
- Uh-hmm.

How much did you pay him for it?

Six thousand dollars.

[Judge Judy] You don't dispute that?

Yes, I do.

- [Judge Judy] You dispute that?
- Yes.

- What do you dispute about?
- [Antonio] It was...

what I remember was it was 5,000

and I wanna say if she's asking them?

- [Judge Judy] No, no, no, not asking.
- Or...

- [Judge Judy] I asked a simple question.
- Yes.

She bought the car
in January of 2016.

- Is that correct?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] You dispute the fact
that she paid 6,000 for it?

I remember 5,000.

Do you have any proof that you paid 6,000?

I have a witness that saw me
hand him the money

and I have proof that
I was verifying balances with him

for the payments he was making

three years after the vehicle
because he was incarcerated.

- He started making the payments after.
- Okay. Just a second.

What I don't see is you taking
into consideration

the nine months that you drove the car.

- But I couldn't drive it the whole time.
- [Judge Judy] I don't care.

I don't know whether
you couldn't drive the car

because the car was sick
or because you were sick.

I don't know.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Christine Staup claims
her boyfriend's cousin, Antonio Urbina,

is responsible for the cost of a car.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Value?

[Sarah] Based on a 90,000 mile estimate,

it says between 3,000 and 4,800
for a private party exchange.

That's today,
those based on today's numbers.

- Yes. Yes.
- But not back in 2016.

That's why we usually do things promptly.

So 6,000 is probably a reasonable number.

- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

This is your problem,

according to you,
you drove the car from January 2016

until you were involved in an accident.

What month and year
were you involved in an accident?

October of 2016.

- That's when I found out he didn't...
- [Judge Judy] Just a...

- don't tell me found out.
- [Christine] Okay.

So you drove the car
in January, February, March,

- your accident was in October?
- Correct.

But there was four months
that the car was not working.

- [Judge Judy] I don't care.
- [Christine] Okay.

[Judge Judy] You drove the car.
It was in your possession?

[Christine] Yes.

[Judge Judy] January, February, March,

April, May, June,

July, August, September, October.

What did you have the accident?

I believe October 12th.

So let's say you drove the car
for nine months

then you had an accident
that was not your fault.

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] According to you,

- and there was an insurance payout?
- Correct.

And the insurance payout went to whom?

A dealership that still owned the vehicle.

- Because there was a note on the car?
- [Christine] Yes, which...

Just a second.
There was a note on the car?

- [Christine] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] How much of a note?

Fifty-eight, sixty-three, seventy-seven.

[Judge Judy] Did you get any money at all
from this accident?

- For injuries.
- [Judge Judy] How much did you get?

Nineteen thousand.

What injuries did you suffer?

I had hurt my knee,
I fractured a vertebrae,

my neck was injured,

- and my wrist...
- What kind of work...

what kind of work did you do
prior to the accident?

I've been disabled
for the last eight years.

What was the nature of your disability?

I got very sick
and was hospitalized for three months

and had to have a rib resection
and part of my lung removed,

and had to get work done on my back.

What was wrong with your back?

I have osteoarthritis and I have

degenerative disc disease
and spinal stenosis,

and I've had an implant
put in my spine now and everything.

[Judge Judy] Okay. After this accident,

were you hospitalized on October 12th?

That's a yes or no?

- We were brought to the ER at least...
- [Judge Judy] Just...

- I'm sorry...
- [Judge Judy] So the answer was

- you were not hospitalized?
- [Christine] No.

[Judge Judy]
Were you hospitalized October 13th?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] 14th?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] 15th?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] 16th?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So whatever injuries
that you suffered from that car accident

were not sufficient to be hospitalized

- and you got $19,000 for the injuries.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Now, you drove
the car for nine months

and you went to jail

and then you started
making payments to her...

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] ...towards this money

that she put in the car

because there was still a note on the car
that was absorbed,

and you drove the car,
you had the car in your possession

for nine months,
which you don't get for free?

Yes. But I also paid their tickets

when I registered the vehicle, $650.

- I'm actually not interested in that.
- [Christine] Okay.

[Judge Judy] This claim is five years old.

Ordinarily,
I would say goodbye to you all.

But I'm gonna be a nice person
and resolve it

because what you're asking for
is of the $6,000,

he paid you back more than half, right?

So you say there's a balance of $2,700,

- 2,750.
- Twenty-seven fifty, yes.

What I don't see is you taking
into consideration

the nine months that you drove the car,

even if you paid minimally
$300 a month for a rental.

Nine times three is twenty-seven.

I mean, that means that
you got to drive a car for nothing.

You got the full value of the car,

and then you got $19,000
for being in an accident.

- That sounds to me to me unreasonable.
- But I have...

That sounds to me unreasonable.

[Christine]
But I couldn't drive it the whole time.

- [Judge Judy] I don't care.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] That's why you bring
an action promptly.

- Do you understand?
- [Christine] Right. Right.

- [Judge Judy] I don't know...
- I only did this...

[Judge Judy]
...whether you couldn't drive the car

because the car was sick
or because you were sick.

I don't know.

All I know is you can't rent a Mercedes

to drive around the Mercedes

for less than 300 bucks a month

and you drove the car for nine months.

You had it in your possession.
That's $2,700.

That means he doesn't
owe you anything. He's finished.

On this car deal so far,
you made $3,000 on the car

a little bit more $19,000 for an accident

for which you were not hospitalized.

I think, Ms. Staup, we're done.

- Goodbye.
- [Antonio] I paid over 40...

- over 4,000 to her.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

- No.
- You don't have a counterclaim.

- [Antonio] Okay.
- And if you paid over 4,000,

- you're a really nice guy. Okay?
- Appreciate that.

[Judge Judy]
What she's not factoring in is

she drove a car on somebody's dime
for nine months.

- Exactly.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. We're done here.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

You know, it sounds out
pretty accurate to me.

I don't think it was fair.

You know, I paid off
all their tickets and...

And I thought I did good
by even paying what I paid, so...

...fees for them and let them,
you know, basically sell me...

they sold me a car that they told me
they owned that they didn't.

I don't know.
She have this conspiracy theory

about like me and my cousin,
like, we're in cahoots to, like,

get this money from her
or something like...

I really don't know, to be honest.

Oh, no, he's just throwing stones.
He...they did this.

They intentionally sold me a car
they didn't own, you know,

and it they started it, so...

Yeah, it's really, really just her.

I don't know why
she has to put the strain on us.

I...yeah,
I will not be loaning cousins money

or buying anything
from cousins ever again.

[Judge Judy] I think that the plaintiff
made out pretty well in that case.

I mean, I'm certain
that the accident was unpleasant,

but it wasn't unpleasant enough
to require any hospitalization.

And she got $19,000
for pain and suffering and injury

from an insurance company
because she was probably hit in the rear.

This guy paid her, he says $4,000.

She says a little bit less,

because he felt as if
it was the right thing to do.

But now she's got $23,000

from what he gave her
and this hit in the rear

that she got $19,000 for

and then she drove around in a Mercedes

that she purchased
for nine months for free.

I just thought that
that was sort of unconscionable

for not adding in that period of time

that she had full use of the car.

And it's also buttresses
what we talk about all the time,

which is you wanna bring a case,

- bring it timely.
- Uh-hmm.

Yeah, there's a reason that

you're not supposed to wait
five years before you bring a claim.

- I agree.
- Yeah.

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