01x84 - Motor Bike Blues

[bunniefuu]

He was going to make you a new
customized bike.

- Yes.
- There was a gas leak from the bike?

- Yes, ma'am.
- I said, "Oh, that's a easy fix.

Don't worry about it."

He agreed to come out and fix the bike.

- They never came.
- Oh.

So when the bike is fixed,
that's when you'll get your check.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kimberly Edwards is suing
bike sellers Ray Griffin and Dana Hicks,

for the cost of a custom motorized bike.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

[Judge Judy] Have a seat, please.

Hello Judge. Case number 1133
Edwards versus Griffin-Hicks.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Edwards,
you purchased a second-hand

customized motorbike
from the defendants?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] You purchased it,

understanding that it was used,
that it had been used

either by one of the defendants
or their children.

No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
Well you bought a used one,

what was your understanding?

Who had it been used by?

Well, it...what I was told was
that the bike was made for her

but that she didn't get a chance
to ride it.

So, she phrased it to me as though
the bike had never been used,

it was just a extra bike
that her husband Ray had created.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Let's get back to.

Where did you meet them?

- IHOP.
- [Judge Judy] And you must've

- seen them riding these bikes?
- [Kimberly] Yeah, they were at IHOP

with the bikes.

- [Judge Judy] How many?
- I would say in total about five.

And they were all similar but different?

- They were all custom?
- [Kimberly] Yeah.

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] They didn't look

- like the usual bicycle that you ride.
- [Kimberly] No ma'am.

- So they were different?
- Yes, ma'am.

And you like them. And who did you
start the conversation with?

- Mr. Griffin.
- [Judge Judy] What did you say to him

- and what did he say to you?
- [Kimberly] I asked him, you know,

"Did you create this?" He said yes.

And then he went on to tell me
that he made custom bikes.

And they are dual,
meaning that you can pedal in,

that you can use the motor.
So I thought that that was fascinating

and I asked them about the patent,
I went in to ask them about, you know,

what all it entails, the parts.

And so I told him I wanted one for
my baby's birthday that was coming up.

[Judge Judy] How old is your child?

[Kimberly] She's 15.

[Judge Judy] So you said,
"I'd like to buy one from you?"

Did he tell you how much it was?

[Kimberly] He told me
that it was 450 initially.

And I went with their price,
I'm like, "Okay, good." You know...

- Okay. So he said it was $450.
- [Kimberly] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And then what happened?

Then, I asked him
whether I could speak to his wife

about setting up to buy the bike.

After that, that was the last
conversation that I had with Mr. Griffin.

I only spoke to the wife after that.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
He was going to make you a new

customized bike for $450.

He just said custom bike.
He never said that it was used.

She never implied that it was used

until we got into the text message
conversation.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Well then, let me see the first

text message that you had.

[Kimberly] The first text message that
I had, they didn't initially print it out,

but this is the conversation.

So this is her contacting me to see
if I was still interested in the bike.

Okay. Hold on one second.

Okay. I don't understand this message.

- What's next?
- This is the warranty that we spoke of.

Oh, I don't wanna hear the warranty.

[Kimberly] Okay,
you want the text messages?

- I'm back...I'm back in $450.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy]
For new customized bike.

[Kimberly] Yes, ma'am.

It's in my phone.

[Judge Judy] So get it from your phone,
unless we can agree on it.

You said they'd build you a new one
for 450 and you say in your complaint

- that you paid them 550.
- No, that was the initial price,

was the 450 but I ended up paying


[Judge Judy] Why?

Because he told me that
the extra...the labor for the bike

was a hundred dollars and the base
price of the bike was four-fifty.

- And...okay.
- [Kimberly] Here it is.

Great. I'm gonna see it.

So you reached a price of $550?

- [Kimberly] Yes, ma'am.
- For this bike?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Well,
this is back and forth bartering.

You finally agreed to pay him $550.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] For the bike?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- Did he deliver the bike?
- [Kimberly] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
When did he deliver the bike?

The day before her birthday
on August 31st.

- You have a picture of the bike?
- [Kimberly] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Okay. And you accepted
the bike in your home?

I accepted it outside and then I,
I pulled it into the garage.

And then we discussed the handles
and all of the gadgets on it.

- And then he...
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- So, he explained how to drive it?
- [Kimberly] No, he just explained to me

which one was the gear.
And he just went through and told me

what's gear...what these parts are,
where I need to flip this or change this.

Then he explained to you how to drive it.

[Kimberly] No, he didn't explain to me
how to drive it.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Well, I'm telling
you, he explained to you Ms. Edwards,

how to drive it.

You may not wanna put it that way,
but I'm telling you,

it speaks...he explained to you
how to drive it.

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

[Kimberly] So, after he explained to me,
he got on it and he rode it

- four houses down and came back.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So he showed you how to turn it on,
you watched him...I mean,

he didn't ride around the block because
he wanted a scenic view

of where you live.

He rode around with the bike,
so that you saw that it worked?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] And he showed you

the different gears
and you watched him how he started it?

- Not in, uh, I didn't...
- [Judge Judy] Well then, you should've

- watched him how he started it.
- Yes, ma'am.

And he drove it around,
so that you could see that it rode

around the block,
and then what happened?

So, when he came back from riding it
and we discussed with Dana

on the open line, a three-way call,
Dana was initially supposed

to show my daughter how to ride it,
that was her offer.

It wasn't something I asked for,
so when he heard that

he was like, "Well, I have to go to work
now but I'll come back the next day

- and I'll show her."
- [Judge Judy] Okay. Great.

So he said, "I'll come back the next day
and show your daughter how to ride it."

And that would've been September 1st?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] How did it get

into the garage?

I pulled it up...

[Judge Judy] And then you put the
stick down, so it wouldn't fall over?

Yeah, he initially told me about the stick
because it was so loose,

the bike couldn't stand straight up.
And he told me that when he came back

to show how to ride it,
that he would tighten it,

and so from that point
I just leaned it up against the wall

'cause I knew it wouldn't stand on the
leg that it was on 'cause it was loose.

Okay. Do you remember that?

- Not at all.
- [Judge Judy] Not at all?

I have to tell you,
you have to be careful Mr. Griffin

because there are certain things
that are important and certain things

- that aren't important.
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] Certain little details,
because if somebody

tells me something that
is a minor detail,

but doesn't really have bearing
on the case like the stick that holds

the bike was loose
and you said you would fix it.

That's not something that's somebody
would make up

because it really doesn't have
anything to do with the case.

So if you're gonna say no to everything
before you actually think about it,

I'm not gonna believe a lot
of what you say.

- Do you understand?
- I understand.

[Judge Judy] Great.
So, understanding that

there's a certain veracity in that little
detail which really isn't important.

You wanna think again
whether you said to her,

"I'll fix that when I come back and show
your daughter how to ride the bike?"

I actually told her I was coming back,
but throughout the week,

- I have told her...
- [Judge Judy] You have not just...shh.

You told her you were coming back to
show her daughter how to ride the bike.

- That Saturday.
- Did you tell her you would tighten

- the stick? That...
- Nothing's wrong with the bike.

I didn't say there was anything
wrong with the bike.

This little stick here,
I don't know what you call it.

- Kickstand.
- [Judge Judy] Kickstand.

- [Dana] It works.
- [Judge Judy] Uh-hmm.

- We have a picture of...
- It's a brand new bike.

[Judge Judy] May I see that?

[Dana] That's the bike,
the actual bike in her garage.

Using the kickstand
that she said isn't working.

You took this picture
on September 1st?

- No, she did.
- [Ray] That's a screenshot.

[Judge Judy] That she took?

[Dana] She took it
and she sent it to me.

And what's she's saying to you
in this screenshot

is that there's a problem with oil?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] So she's showing you

the bike that's not
leaning against anything.

- [Dana] Correct.
- It's leaning on the kickstand.

- Now, I know what it's called, oh.
- [Dana] Correct.

- [Dana] Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] Oh, that's a horse

- of a different color.
- [Dana] Uh-hmm.

Early on this process,

Kimberly shared
that she was interested

in having a relationship with me.
And so early on...

You're not paying attention. And I would
pay attention instead of looking.

- I apologize.
- [Judge Judy] Instead of looking.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kimberly Edwards is suing
bike sellers Ray Griffin and Dana Hicks

for the cost of a custom motorized bike.

Ms. Edwards,
you wanna take a look at this?

- [Kimberly] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Uh-hmm.

What you can't see,
if I may show the judge,

is where that bag is sitting,
it's leaning up against the chair.

It's on the chair leaned up against
the chair because it won't stand up.

Here's another picture where I had to
put the kickstand inside of the pen...

- Can I see it?
- [Kimberly] ...to make it stand up.

[Judge Judy] So what you're saying is that
the bicycle is actually leaning up

against this heavy bag and it's...

doesn't have its weight
on the kickstand?

- Yes, it doesn't.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And when you sent it to her
on September 1st,

you sent it to the defendants,
showing them that there was

an oil or gas leak from the bike?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And what you told her then
was I made it in April,

I don't know, my wife didn't like,
nobody ever used it.

I actually talked to her
in regards to the bike.

Well he says, that it was never ridden.

- It wasn't by me. I didn't like...
- [Judge Judy] Like...you didn't like it?

I didn't like the motorbike.

Who rode it?

[Dana] When Ray build the bikes,

he don't build the bikes and give it
straight to the customer

or whoever it is.

Because it's a motor
and they rattle, you know?

So, once he put the bolts
and everything on it,

he test ride it for a few miles or whatnot
just to try to it out and make sure.

- That's fine.
- So, he was the only person

that tested the bike out
when it was given...

[Judge Judy] So nobody else
rode the bike, except for you?

- Not even myself.
- She sent you this picture the day...

or within 24 hours of getting
possession of the bike.

Which before the picture,
she called me.

She said, "Ray told me to lift up
'cause when you finish riding the bike,

there's a off switch which stops
the gas from flowing down, right?"

It's a easy little off and on.

So she said,
"I don't know what Ray told me.

And I was messing with it,
and now it's leaking."

I said, "Oh, that's a easy fix,
don't worry about it."

- That's not true
- [Dana] And so I said,

"Let me call Ray on three-way,
so that he could just tell you

how to fix it." So we went about...
and I asked her to send me the picture

so I can see exactly
where the bike was leaking.

So that's basically what happened.
She sent the picture,

then we tried video calling her,
her video kept cutting off,

so that's when I told her, I said,
"It's a easy fix,

we'll be out between
Friday and Sunday."

- [Judge Judy] And then?
- After that conversation,

me and her talked.

- And so early on this...
- You're not paying attention

and I would pay attention
instead of looking.

- Instead of looking.
- I apologize, I apologize.

[Dana] Early on this process,

Kimberly, uh,
shared that she was interested

in having a relationship with me,

so, like, through all this process, she...

[Judge Judy] I don't...listen to me,
I don't care...

- [Dana] I understand but...
- Just listen to me. Then stop talking.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] I don't care about that.

- Right.
- [Judge Judy] Do you agree

that you just told me that this leaking
gas or oil is an easy fix?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Is that what you said?

- Yes.
- And is there any reason

that you do not believe her
when she says,

that since you dropped the bike off
on September 1st,

or August 31st,
I don't care what date it was.

- [Dana] Right.
- That nobody has ridden it?

I believe she,
uh, rode it or tried to ride it.

[Judge Judy]
Either she did or her daughter.

- [Ray] Correct.
- Because when Ray left...

- Hold up.
- ...he cut the gas off.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
Did either you or your daughter

ride the bike?

- [Kimberly] No ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] No. Very, very easy.

Can I see this warranty
that you're talking about?

Well, this is a warranty.

This says, "What I've experienced
since we've been doing this,

as long as she puts the gas in it
correctly, it will run good.

In the future, if any parts
need to be fixed,

just let me know and I'll work on it."

Well, something needs to be fixed.

- And I did and I...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

"I'll work something out with you."
Not work on it.

[Judge Judy] I'll work...
well, let me see the rest of it.

- That's her text.
- It stops in "I'll work."

[Kimberly] Okay.

[Judge Judy] "I'll work something out
for you, but that should be

no time soon."

Okay. So what he's saying to you
is this isn't a guarantee

that you get your money back.

This says, "In the future if any parts
need to be fixed,

just let me know and I'll work
something out for you."

- That's not a warranty.
- [Kimberly] The...I was never saying

it was a warranty for fixing it,
whatever would be wrong

but I didn't expect anything
to be wrong the day of.

- So this is him...
- [Judge Judy] Well, I don't know

what you expected, madam.

I expected just to get a bike
that was working properly.

Well, it was working properly
'cause according to you,

he rode it up and down the block.

He has to go out and fix it.

And you have to tell him when you want
him to come out and fix it.

- So...
- [Judge Judy] That was his warranty,

- you're not getting your money back.
- No, I wanted to show you

- what they said to me.
- [Judge Judy] Just a minute,

if it's something different
from what this is...

- [Kimberly] Uh-hmm.
- Okay.

- You wanna show me something else?
- [Kimberly] Also...

Otherwise show...just show me.

She said that I told her
that my daughter's birthday

was September the 2nd,
this is me telling her in text messages

my baby's birthday
was September the 1st.

[Judge Judy] Oh, I don't care.
It's not important.

- But it's just the aspect that she lies.
- [Judge Judy] I don't...I don't care.

September 1st or September 2nd,
it's not important to me or this case.

Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.

[Judge Judy]
He said they would come out and fix it,

we already told you Friday or Saturday.

That's the thing. On the phone call
that me and Ms. Divine had...

[Judge Judy] What I'm asking you...
okay, he has to come out

and fix it within one week.
What date do you want him

- to come out and fix the bike?
- I don't want the bike, Your Honor.

- Because it's a fire hazard.
- [Judge Judy] Then you can...

then you can...
then you can sell it, it's your bike.

What I'm telling you is he agreed
to come out and fix the bike.

This is what they told me.
Can I present this...they told me...

[Judge Judy]
You can show me something else.

Right now, I'm reading what
the two things that you gave me.

Judge. May I see what she gave you?

- No.
- [Dana] Okay.

So far, you're not losing.
You have to be quiet.

I know, I'm sorry, I'm just curious.

Because that don't...

Oh, you said 450 but he said
the lights were extra, um,

what does this have to do
with what we're talking about?

No, that is him after the fact of me
asking them and waiting for them

to come on Friday, which is what
she told me over the phone.

- [Judge Judy] Just a sec...you can't...
- [Kimberly] They never came

- and this is her blowing me off.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second,

I will cash app you...just a...just...
I will cash app you tomorrow

the remaining in cash.
Okay, that works.

That was prior to him
coming to my home.

Do you understand?
I'm not interested in all of this.

- [Kimberly] No, I know.
- So don't give it to me.

Just because you're giving me a lot
of paper, doesn't confuse me.

It wasn't a bike that
you bought at Schwinn.

You take pieces from a bike,
he didn't create the metal.

He didn't create the wheels.

He put together different parts
of a bike...

He just told me that he was the creator
of the bike and he was not

- the creator of the bike.
- [Judge Judy] Oh, please.

You don't look like a stupid woman.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kimberly Edwards
has accused bike sellers

Ray Griffin and Dana Hicks
of refusing to refund the cost

of a custom motorized bike.

Ray says Kimberly rejected
his offer to fix the bike for free.

You were supposed to give me
a piece of paper that suggested

that there was some
sort of a refund warranty

other than he would come out and fix it.

No, that's initially Judge Sheindlin
what I wanted him to do

was come and fix the bike.
But when they refuse

and they didn't show up on Friday,
I wanted my money back.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
On what date are you going

to go out and fix the bike?

- Uh, it would be on like a week...
- [Judge Judy] Not a like.

What date are you going to fix the bike?

The following...what is it?

On the 22nd.

- On the 22nd of?
- It would have to be October 23rd.

Okay. I'm sorry, 23rd.

- Now they're making it up.
- 23rd afternoon.

Don't talk about making this up,
just be quiet.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Dana] That's a Friday.

[Judge Judy] Listen to me.
From what jurisdiction do you come?

- Harris County.
- [Judge Judy] Where is that?

- Houston, Texas.
- Houston, Texas.

[Judge Judy] And as part
of your appearance here,

you get an appearance fee.

- Correct.
- Have you received that yet?

- [Dana] No, ma'am.
- You are not going to

until the bike is fixed.

- Do you understand?
- [Dana] No problem.

- Understood.
- [Judge Judy] So when the bike

is fixed, that's when you'll get
your check.

- Do we understand each other?
- [Dana] Understood.

Give me the date
that you will be there to fix the bike.

- October 23rd.
- [Judge Judy] What time?

Do you not want him to come
and fix the bike?

Then it's gonna make my life easier.

- That's been a issue...
- I wasn't gonna disagree,

I was just gonna say my daughter
is in athletics,

so the timeframe would have to be
before she gets out so that I won't run

into it going to get her
and them trying to buy...

[Judge Judy] So just to...just a second.

Tell me what time is no good for you.

- [Dana] After 3:00.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. You have to be

there before 3:00,
so I would say pick a day

when you can be there at noon.

[Dana] So let's try Sunday,
October 24th.

It can't be a Sunday.

- We work.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

What days of the week do you work?

- He...
- I work Monday through Sunday.

- [Judge Judy] Doing what?
- This is the problem that I ran into.

- Off on...off on Saturdays. But...
- [Judge Judy] Shh,

- you're off on Saturday?
- [Ray] Right. As of right now,

- I work for a repossessing agency.
- [Judge Judy] What I'm telling you

- is pick a day, before 12:00 but you...
- [Dana] We did. But you understand

we picked two days.
She keeps changing it.

[Judge Judy] No, no, no. She said
she has to pick her daughter up

from school after 3:00.

- So you have to come before...
- [Dana] That's a Saturday.

- What's a Saturday?
- [Dana] The day we gave you...

- [Ray] The 23rd.
- [Dana] ...was a Saturday.

- [Judge Judy] Oh, Saturday.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Great.
I'm gonna give you a date.

I'm just...I wanna let you know,
my daughter has away games,

that's why I'm saying that they can't fix
it after 3:00 or in-between their time

on a Saturday because she's away,
so I'm away with her,

it has to be Monday through Friday
before 12:00, before 3:00.

[Judge Judy] Well, that's unreasonable
if you want the bike fixed.

Get somebody else there at the house
to stay at your house

- and watch the bike.
- That was the whole problem initially,

- Judge, because...
- [Judge Judy] Well...

...he didn't wanna come...he didn't
wanna come those...that particular time,

- he kept putting it off.
- We never put it off.

You put it off.

[Judge Judy]
Let me explain something to you.

- Yes, yes, Judge.
- [Judge Judy] That's the date,

the 23rd at 12:00.
If you want the 23rd, it could be at 3:00.

- What's your pleasure?
- That's fine.

- The 23rd. The 23rd.
- [Judge Judy] What...at what time?

- Before 3:00, so 12:00.
- [Judge Judy] 12:00 noon

- on October 23rd.
- Yes.

You're gonna be there and fix the bike.

- I will be there.
- [Judge Judy] Very good.

And if the bike still doesn't work
because he and I suggest

you have your daughter there
to drive it around,

free to come back, put your hand down,

- do you understand?
- [Kimberly] Uh-hmm.

You bought a bike
that was put together.

It wasn't a bike that you bought
at Schwinn.

He misled me into thinking
that he was the creator of the bike.

- And he was not the creator of the bike.
- [Judge Judy] Oh, please,

you don't look like a stupid woman.
You take pieces from a bike

they didn't...he didn't create the metal,
he didn't create the wheels,

he put together different parts
of a bike...

He just told me
that it was a custom bike.

[Judge Judy] That's my decision.
If you don't like it, I'm sorry.

You don't have a warranty from them
for this bike other than he said

he would come out and fix it,
which is what I've arranged for him

to do on the 23rd of October.

They say it's an easy fix.

Somebody played around with it.

Maybe they did and maybe they didn't.

He said it's an easy fix.

So he's coming out to fix it.

We're finished. Thank you.

- [both] Thank you.
- [Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I'm gonna give him a chance
to fix the bike.

Um, and we'll go from there.

But I respect her decision.

I definitely think something happened,

um, because when we delivered
the bike, Ray cut the gas off.

So for it to leak after the fact,
is something that she had to do.

It was so disappointing the aspect
that I did it the day before I prepared,

I paid, and then to get a damaged bike,
so for everybody out there...

don't buy, uh,
so-called created custom bikes.

But regardless to...
whether she tampered with it or not,

I still agreed to coming
out and helping her.

That's all that matters.

I just think that's his character
of trying to escape the aspect

that he had to fix it.

I sell these things.
So it's, it's behind my name.

And now the fact that he has to fix it,
you know,

this is where I wanted it to be,
so I respect it.

You know, it's just only fair,
like, okay, that's fine.

You know, even though you created
the problem, we can help you fix it,

it's not that serious.

[Sarah] You know, my mom has a
electric bike like that,

that's a dual-purpose, you can ride it
like a regular bike or motorized.

So I know she has that.
But this bike seemed a bit more

makeshift with all these parts.
I'm just curious how it all fits together.

I saw the photo and I still don't really
understand how that all works.

That's why they say that
they custom make it,

- they probably take pieces from...
- Different kinds of bike.

[Judge Judy]
...pieces of discarded bikes.

And sort of cobble them together.

Good for maybe an art piece, for me.

I don't know if I would ride
something like that.

Well, clearly, they rode it,
they rode it to IHOP.

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] You know, that's where

she saw them. In any event,
the plaintiff clearly knew

- that this was cobbled together.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] It may have been their
original design but they didn't create

- wheels, and spokes, and motors...
- [Sarah] Yeah.

...and things.
They put them together out of...

- They weren't in manufacturing.
- [Judge Judy] They weren't...

they weren't manufacturers.
And he came,

- she said he rode the bike.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] He rode to show her
it was operable,

he rode up and down
the block several times.

So the bike was clearly operable.

I really don't know what happened
after he left.

I can hardly imagine that the daughter
didn't see that bike

and didn't say, "Gee, I'd love to take it
for a spin myself."

She put it in the garage,
that sort of outside the realm

- of possibility for a 15-year-old.
- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.

That she didn't try it.
Anyway, he's gotta fix it.

And he said he would.
And I believe that he will.

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