01x104 - Dog Breeding Battle; Deceased Father's Estate Debate

[bunniefuu]

I don't associate myself
with people like her.

And why is that?

Because when she raises puppies,
half the litter ends up dying.

Breeding dogs like this
is more of a puppy factory.

So this is all about money?

[Anne] I'm, I'm not saying that.

You really don't care about the dog?

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Dog breeder
Ann Bonneville is accusing

her cousin Sky McCauley
of breaking a breeding contract.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

All rise.

- Good morning, Judge.
- Good morning.

Be seated, please.

Case number 1031,
Bonneville versus McCauley.

Thank you.

Ms. Bonneville, in 2018,

your Olde English Bulldogge
had a litter of puppies.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] The defendant,

who is your cousin,

agreed to foster one of those puppies

because you couldn't keep that dog
in your home.

It is your claim
that he breached the contract

with regard to that dog
and you're suing him

for $10,000.

Yeah.

[Judge Judy] You really don't want
the puppy returned.

The puppy has been with him since 2018.

- Still lives with you?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Right.
So I want you to get that right out

of your mind after three years.

I assume that you like the dog?

- She's my baby.
- [Judge Judy] And the dog likes him

and you really don't care about the dog.

When was the last time you saw the dog?

- Um...
- A month and year.

[Anne] It would be...uh, I...

[Judge Judy] Shouldn't be so long ago.

I'm sorry, it was...it was August 2019.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

If that's the case,
that's a couple years ago.

And so when I say there's no way

you're getting back this dog,
so this is all about money?

Now when you gave Mr. McCauley this puppy,

you drew up a contract with him?

- [Anne] Yes.
- I'd like to see the contract.

I have that right here.

[Judge Judy] Just give it to me.

Give it...well, give it to Kevin.

Kevin, go, go give it to me.

[Kevin] Thank you.

Okay.

Now, before we get into
all of the variables

about this contract,
while we're doing this,

Sarah, take a look at this.

Was this the first time
in 2018 that you had

a litter of puppies?

Yes, that was my first litter ever.

You were the owner of the female dog?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] The female dog
lived with you?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] So you had one dog
at the time?

- Yes.
- Could not have two.

[Anne] I, I...

[Judge Judy] That's either a yes or a no.

I was not able to have the second dog.

Fine. Which is why you gave him
the dog to foster?

- Don't.
- Oh, sorry.

[Judge Judy] Since 2018, have you had
other litters with the same dog?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] How many? How many times...

[Anne] Well,
there was four other litters.

[Judge Judy] Four since 2018?

Yes. They can breed twice a year.

You breed them twice a year?

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

I'll see the contract back.

You breed this one female
two times a year?

Yes, Your Honor.

Sarah, look up and see
what's recommended for breeding.

So this dog had three litters...
no, six litters in three years.

Her last heat, I retired her.

[Judge Judy] So you breed...
so you breed her every time

she goes into season,
which is twice a year.

[Anne] Yes, Your Honor.

Well, that's not right.
I don't think, maybe I'm wrong.

[Sarah] The American Kennel Club
states that the legal litter limit

is six per lifetime for a bulldog,
Your Honor.

And how many times a year?

- I'll-I'll look it up.
- [Judge Judy] Look it up.

I know, I've had many dogs
over my lifetime,

and bought them from reputable breeders.

I never knew a breeder that bred
their dog every time they went into heat

because the dog's body
has to have time to nurture itself.

I'm just telling you, I never knew
a breeder that I bought a dog from

that bred the same female dog
twice a year.

I just never did. Maybe I'm wrong.

Sarah is going to continue
her due diligence.

It just says, "Recommended for the safety

of the female dog,
to three to four total a year."

It's impossible.
They only go to...into heat twice a year.

According to the American Kennel Club.

Do you have dogs anyplace else,
Ms. Bonneville?

I have one other female
and one other male.

They are both Olde English Bulldogges.

[Judge Judy] So that you breed
those two dogs together?

[Anne] I don't breed them together.

The male is in the same family.

Let me read this contract.

So this is a clear agreement,
Mr. McCauley.

It says, "I, Sky McCauley, will be
fostering Anne Bonneville's dog Paris

from this date forward, and will retain
all rights including breeding

and the right to take the puppy back
at any time,

and will take care of all vet visits.

Breeding will be paid
by one pup per litter."

That was from her mother,
not from the dog.

You can't explain terms of an agreement

- if I don't have a question about them.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] I don't have a question
about this.

This says, "Breeding will be paid
by one pup per litter."

And that suggests to me
that you were going to retain

physical control of the dog
and the dog would be bred

and each time the dog was bred,
you would get one puppy

from that littler either to keep
or to sell.

That's the plain language of this.

[chuckles] I absolutely understand what
this says.

Okay?

So each of you claim that the arrangements

in this contract were breached
by the other.

So let me go through them.

You got the dog in 2018.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Well, from 2018 now, to 2021,

a dog like this goes to the vet
at least once a year.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] In 2018,

did you take the dog Paris to the vet?

Yes, ma'am. I did.

[Judge Judy] And you have that vet bill?

Yes, ma'am. Um, I do.

- I'd like to see it.
- [Sky] We will just bring them all

- to you.
- [Judge Judy] There's no...

there's no question before you, sir.

- Just get me the vet bill.
- Here, all the vet bills.

[Judge Judy]
No, I don't want all the vet bills.

[Sky] Okay.

I want the vet bills from 2018.

This is Kevin's exercise.

He may have to walk back and forth
two or three times.

Okay.

That bill for Paris was 134.38.

Ms. Bonneville, did you pay that bill?

That's either a yes or a no.

That bill was not paid by me, no.

[Judge Judy]
That bill was not paid by you?

Okay. So if that bill was not paid...

oh, that visit didn't take place in 2018.

That visit took place
in September of 2019.

We waited approximately a year
for her to take the dog

- to a vet and she never did...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

That was 2019 and the plaintiff didn't pay

and at that time in September of 2019,

you hadn't bred the dog
nor had she asked for the dog back?

No, we have not bred the dog or...no.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Do you acknowledge, Ms. Bonneville,

that in September of 2019

that the dog Paris had not been bred

and you had not asked for the dog back?

That's either a yes or a no.

- Yes, Your Honor.
- Fine.

So the dog hadn't been bred
and you had not asked for the dog back.

Did Mr. McCauley present to you
or advise you what this bill

of 134.38 was when he took
the dog to the vet?

- He did not.
- [Judge Judy] Did you advise her?

Yes, Your Honor, I did.

[Judge Judy] Tell me when.

I called her on the phone
and told her that we took her to the vet,

what the bill was,
and she said that she would pay us

with the next puppy that was supposed
to be coming up from Princess.

[Judge Judy] She would pay you
with the next puppy?

From Princess, not Paris.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Did she give you a puppy for the vet?

[Sky] No sir... no, ma'am.

- [Judge Judy] She did not?
- No.

[Judge Judy] Now, subsequent to this,

did Princess have a litter of puppies?

She did have puppies after that, yes.

And did you in fact give him
a puppy from that litter?

That was not our agreement and I did not.

I did give him a puppy out
of a prior litter.

He got $900 for that and I have a lot
of communication about that in here.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Did you get a puppy from a prior litter?

[Sky] I got a puppy the day
I took Paris home.

- [Judge Judy] So the...
- Because it was to pay

for the first six months
of her being in my property.

- [Judge Judy] Of her...
- Yup.

[Judge Judy] Of care?

- Yup.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Is that correct that he got the puppy
the day he took Paris home?

- No, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Or within a week of that?

No, it was April, following...
bringing Paris home.

[Judge Judy]
Well what date did he bring Paris home?

November 4th of 2018.

And when did he get a puppy?

[Anne] April 6th or 7th.

- [Judge Judy] Of what year?
- Um, 2019.

[Judge Judy]
Well, that was before this vet visit.

So that was owed to him?

[Anne] In the contract, um, Your Honor,
it says I would give him

a puppy out of Paris' litters,
out of the dog that we're talking about.

[Judge Judy] Well, no, it didn't...no.
It actually didn't say that.

- [Anne] It didn't say that.
- It didn't say that.

- [Anne] But...
- [Judge Judy] It didn't say that

I am interpreting it that way.

But clearly, you interpreted it
some other way because

before this vet bill became owed,
you gave him a puppy.

Now you wouldn't have given him a puppy
for which he got $900

unless you had some sort of an agreement.

We had a side agreement,
Your Honor, about...

[Judge Judy]
And what was the side agreement?

The side agreement
was I would give him a puppy to help

with things, uh, such as taking care
of the dog.

He had actually gotten a puppy
long before he...where...what we agreed on.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

I understand that. I understand.

Can I see in writing that he agreed
to take this one puppy

and take care of the dog forever
and not make the dog his?

I would just like to see that...
'cause right now,

you've breached the contract
by not paying a vet bill.

So what I wanna see is where you modified

the agreement in April of 2019,

that the one puppy that you gave him,
modified this agreement,

so that you are no longer responsible
for any bills for the dog.

Do you understand my question?

And if you want it repeated,
Whitney is going to repeat it for you.

- [Anne] I'm, I'm not...
- Do you want it repeated?

- Yes, please.
- [Judge Judy] Whitney, you wanna read

that back to the plaintiff, please?

Question, "So what I wanna see

is where you modified the agreement
in April of 2019.

The one puppy that you gave him
in 2019 modified this agreement

so that you were no longer responsible
for any bills for the dog."

[Anne] I'm not saying that I wasn't
going to give him any more puppies.

No, we're not talking about puppies.
We're talking about money.

- Or money, I...
- [Judge Judy] Money.

- I-I actually handed him...
- [Judge Judy] It says

that you would take care
of the vet visits.

He had a discussion with you about paying
the vet bill, and you declined.

[Anne] I had set up an appointment
at my vet.

- [Judge Judy] I don't care about that.
- [Anne] And...

You have to understand,
I don't care about your vet.

This contract doesn't say
he has to take the dog to your vet.

[announcer] And later today.

So you were raised by your grandparents.

You've always lived there,
you didn't move out until 2011?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] So their loss
was hardest on you?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] I got it.

Now I'm creating a family picture.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Anne Bonneville claims
her cousin Sky McCauley

owes her for the value of a puppy.

Sky is countersuing
for breach of contract.

[Judge Judy] It says that you would
take care of the vet visits.

[Anne] So I gave him this puppy in...

- [Judge Judy] In April.
- [Anne] ...in lieu of that. I...

- [Judge Judy] Just...
- [Anne] I sold the puppy

and gave him the cash.

[Judge Judy] Now, as far
as I'm concerned, breeding dogs like this

is more of a puppy factory than the care

that you take in breeding dogs
and not using them for money.

Since 2019, have you given

Mr. McCauley any money for vet bills?

He's gonna show me
the rest of the vet bills.

[Anne] No. The only...the only...

[Judge Judy] No, don't.
The answer is either yes or no.

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Has he asked you

for any money?

[Anne] He's not talked to me
since October on how...

[Judge Judy] Of what year?

- [Anne] 2019.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Did you tell her that you took the dog
to the vet again?

[Sky] Yes, ma'am.
That was the last time I talked to her.

That was the last time you talked to her?

[Sky] I have not talked to her
in almost three years.

And why is that?

I don't associate myself
with people like her.

So I'm gonna take this contract
and disregard it

because it sounds to me
as if you knew as a pet breeder

that animals have
to be seen every year by a vet.

He did say he told you
about the first visit to the vet.

I had set up an appointment at my vet...

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

- [Anne] And...
- You have to understand,

I don't care about your vet.

This contract doesn't say
he has to take the dog to your vet.

This contract says
you will pay the vet bills.

Your claim is dismissed.

Now we're getting to the counterclaim.

Money losses resulting
from a broken contract.

Well, you have the dog, right?

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

Action [indistinct]
resulting to defamation of character.

Now we're gonna hear about that.
Defamation of character.

So first off, Your Honor,
she went on Facebook and,

"Does anyone know if a guy named
Sky McCauley is here selling OEB bulldogs?

The mom is a dog he stole from me."

Which...then I had people contacting me.

Her coworker sent us this. So this...

Saying, "Hey, you might wanna look
at this?

It might be interesting."
Her coworker seen it.

- And then we got posted on...
- [Judge Judy] Don't...ssh, ssh.

- [Sky] Nine different other websites.
- [Judge Judy] Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

"Does anyone know if a guy named
Sky McCauley is in here selling puppies?"

Would that be 2019?

That was...that was this year.

- [Judge Judy] This year?
- [Anne] I thought he was breeding

my dog without communicating anything
with me.

[Judge Judy] That's okay.
I don't think, Ms. Bonneville,

that there's anything wrong with you
asking the question,

"Does anyone know
if a guy named Sky McCauley

is in here selling EOB puppies?

The mom is a dog he stole from me."

So you're calling him a thief,
which is calling him a criminal.

That you can't say. That's defaming him.

Okay. This is the way I'm gonna rule.

Plaintiff breached the contract first
by not paying the vet bills.

So she gets nothing.

And you have Paris?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] And Paris had puppies?

[Sky] Never. Paris has been spayed.

[Judge Judy] The fact that he's had
the dog spayed suggests to me

that he's not going to breed the dog
and the dog was going to be a family pet.

Probably considering
your breeding program is a blessing.

However, even though
she should not have used the word,

"Stole my dog,"
which is exactly what happened.

- You have other things you wanna show?
- [Sky] Yes, Your Honor.

She went around town posting my copy
of my address as well as the contract

on vets' doors, and telling them
not to see any of my animals.

Okay. Well, we are going to give you
an order today.

- Okay.
- [Judge Judy] That indicates

that Paris is your dog.

- Okay. Thank you.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Your counterclaim's dismissed.

Everybody's happy. Except me.

- [Kevin] Court adjourned.
- Thank you.

I believe that it was absolutely
unfair and unjust.

She's an a*usive neglectful breeder.

Everything he said is a falsification
and he got away with it.

[Judge Judy] You know
what that's an example of, Sarah?

Even judges bring pieces
of themselves to a case.

We don't come with a clean slate,
we come with certain feelings

and emotions
about things that I'm sensitive to.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] And I'm one of those people

who are really sensitive
about puppy mills.

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] And they both got
what they deserved and I hope

that he got what he wanted
because clearly he wasn't going

to use this dog
as a breeding tool for money.

That's a very tough case.

It makes me sad for all those animals
that are bred in cages.

Very sad.

Case 1017,
Williamson Jr. versus Williamson.

All parties, please step forward.

[announcer] Frank Williamson,
is suing his sister Sheryl Williamson

for the cost of tools
and construction materials.

Mr. Williamson, this is your sister?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Your father passed
away recently.

- [Frank] Yes.
- What was the date of his passing?

I don't know...I don't know exact date.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

The answer is,

- "I don't know the date..."
- I don't know.

[Judge Judy] "...my father passed away."

Do you know the date
of your father's passing?

[Sheryl] May 22nd.

- [Judge Judy] Of what year?
- 2021.

[Judge Judy] This is what the case
is about. Mr. Williamson,

it is your claim that there was a time
when you moved in to your father's house.

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And your mother
was still alive?

Yes. My mom had a stroke.

[Judge Judy] In what year did your mother
have a stroke?



When you moved into the house,
had she already been ill?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Who was taking care of her?

- I was.
- [Judge Judy] No,

you weren't living there yet.

I said, "When you moved into the house,
had she already had the stroke?"

- You said yes.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Who was caring for her
before you moved into the house?

- My daughter.
- [Judge Judy] Who are you?

I'm the granddaughter of... I'm his
daughter.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Stand up.

Is what your raised hand suggest to me

- that you were living with your...
- [Unica] I was living...

I was living in the house until 2008
when my aunt moved in.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

So you were actually taking care
of your grandmother?

Yes.

- [Judge Judy] After she got sick?
- Yes.

Was your grandfather okay?

[Unica] He had a heart attack
and he was recovering

and then she had a stroke.

[Judge Judy] Sounds like
you had your hands full?

I did.

[Judge Judy] Did you have any other help?

[Unica] No. My dad and my other aunts
that live in California at the time,

they all came over occasionally
to help out and relieve me

so I can have some type of life.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You lived there until what year?

Until 2008.

[Judge Judy] And continued to help
take care of your grandparents?

Yes.

What about this aunt,
did she come to visit?

[Unica] She moved out here
from Atlanta in 2008, 2009.

[Judge Judy] And is that
when she came to live at the house?

Yes, and then that's when I moved out.

[Judge Judy]
And your father was still there?

- [Unica] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] In 2008?

[Unica] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Your father
was still there?

What's your first name?

- Sheryl.
- [Judge Judy] Sheryl.

So Sheryl moved in, you moved out,
she sort of assumed whatever duties

you were doing with
then just your father, correct?

- Yes.
- [Sheryl] Your Honor,

I moved there in 2011.

Oh, well...

Got the dates wrong. Would that be right?

Yeah...yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay, so you were
actually there then for quite some time.

[Unica] I-I lived in the house
since I was five.

Did your mother live in the house?

For a brief moment.

[Judge Judy] So you were really raised
by your grandparents?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Now I got it.

So you were raised by your grandparents,

you've always lived there,
you didn't move out until 2011?

Yeah.

[Judge Judy] So their loss was hardest
on you?

Yes.

I got it.
Now I'm creating a family picture.

Okay. Do you know anything
about the disagreements that started

to exist between your father
and your Aunt Sheryl?

- No.
- You don't know anything?

[Unica] I only know from the time
when I moved back in in 2019,

that's when everything started
to come to a head.

I have a daughter
and I didn't want her to be traumatized

by any of the family drama.

Very smart.

Your grandparents did a very good job.

- Thank you.
- They did.

Good for them, good for you.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Frank Williamson
claims his sister Sheryl Williamson

threw out his building materials.

Sheryl is countersuing
for repayment of a loan.

[Judge Judy] Tell me why
you've moved back in 2019.

[Unica] My grandfather ran into a wall
and he was unable to drive

and take himself places, so he asked me

to come back to help him out,
to take him and his friends

to the grocery store on the weekends.

At that time,
your father was still living there?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] What about Aunt Sheryl?

[Unica] She was there.

[Judge Judy] What did she do in the house?

She occasionally cooked
and occasionally cleaned.

[Judge Judy] Did you get along with her?

Yes, I did.
I actually love all of my aunts.

[Judge Judy] Good.

Okay.

Mr. Williamson, I want you to tell me
what happened

when you decided to move back home.

- My father, he told me...
- [Judge Judy] Don't tell me, just...

Okay.

Don't tell me what your father told you.

- [Frank] Uh-hmm.
- Of course.

- Are you cold?
- A little bit.

I know it's freezing in here.
I like it like a meat locker.

[chuckles] Some people get...some people
get cold.

This is your claim.

Your claim is that you had discussions
with your father,

- which I'm not gonna get into.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] 'Cause I can't verify them.

And he told you that he wanted you
to live in a guest house

that he wanted you to build
behind the main house,

so you bought a lot of tools and lumber.

And after your father passed away,
your sister got rid of all of that.

Did she dispose of the property

before or after your father passed away?

- Before.
- Before.

[Judge Judy] Before?

Ms. Williamson, you went back
and forth to visit your grandfather?

[Unica] Well, yes, I live in a backhouse
until the issue started to...

I have a daughter and I didn't want her
to be traumatized

by any of the family drama.

Very smart.

Your grandparents did a very good job.

[chuckles] Thank you.

[Judge Judy] They did.
Good for them, good for you.

And Ms. Williamson,
when the property was disposed of,

your grandfather and your father
was alive?

- Right.
- [Judge Judy] He was occupying

- his own home.
- [Frank] Correct.

[Judge Judy] Okey-dokey.

Now, let's talk about your counterclaim.

You can have a seat now, Ms. Williamson.

I'm not gonna get you further involved
in all this drama.

Thank you so much.

[Judge Judy] [chuckles] Oh, you're very
welcome.

You have a counterclaim.

- [Sheryl] Yes.
- Your counterclaim is for loans

that your father allegedly made

to your brother during his lifetime?

Yes.

And you are the executor of his estate?

- [Sheryl] Yes.
- [Frank] No, I am.

[Judge Judy] Shh, shh, shh.
You're the executor of his estate?

- No, he's not.
- [Judge Judy] May I see

the documents that you have?

And I'd also like to see a copy
of your dad's will, please?

Thank you.

Okay. Well, this is an old trust, sir.

[Sheryl]
This is from the Recorder's Office.

[Judge Judy] May I see it, please?

So this document gives the defendant
power of attorney.

I just wanna know if she could sue
on behalf of the state

for this alleged loan
that her father made for you.

So after you were granted
the power of attorney,

you went to court
and changed the living trust?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Got it.

So let us assume for the moment

that your father provided you

with a power of attorney to sue
on his behalf,

and that was in 2020?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] When did you discover
that you believe

that your father made a loan
to your brother?

My father got a $30,000 loan
and he gave him $15,000.

But as I look in his checkbook,
he actually gave him $17,000.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
He took out a $30,000 loan.

[Sheryl] Yes.

And he gave half of it to his son?

- Right.
- [Frank] Uh-hmm.

- And he said...
- [Judge Judy] And so...just a second.

- And he's allowed to do that?
- [Sheryl] Yes, but...

[Judge Judy] When did you find that out?

[Sheryl] 2019.

[Judge Judy] And so you knew
about that in 2019,

that your father had made a gift
to your brother...

- No.
- [Judge Judy] No. Just a second.

You say your father gave him...

- [Sheryl] Well...
- ...$15,000,

he took out a loan and he gave him half?
Did your father...

That he was supposed to pay back.

[Judge Judy]
I-I'd like to see proof of that.

[Sheryl] He didn't having
to sign a promissory note.

[Judge Judy] Just...
well, that's the problem.

Ms. Williamson...

[Sheryl] In his checking account,
it has...

- [Judge Judy] So what?
- [Sheryl] Okay. Well...

[Judge Judy] I give my children money
all the time.

You know, it's so interesting
that your father who was clearly

a lovely man and had a lovely wife,
had a good life,

and accumulated some money,
and had a house, had two children,

who after he's gone,
are really destroying that good footprint.

I don't understand that over
some old tools and lumber

and something that you cannot prove
was a loan to his child.

Well, I only can go by what he told me...

- [Judge Judy] Oh, you can't go...
- [Sheryl] And I, I feel...

I can't go by what he told you.

[Sheryl] Well, I told my father,
"You shouldn't...

you shouldn't have done that."

I don't care what he told you.

This house that your father had,
just curious, was it sold?

No. I'm living in the home right now.

Okay. And do you intend to stay there?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And pursuant

to the property settlement,

what did your brother, if anything,

receive from your father's estate?

- He...
- [Judge Judy] Just either...

- [Sheryl] Nothing.
- That's a number, that's a number.

Zero.

Well, sounds to me like you're living

in the house that you didn't live at
for a whole time.

Where is your niece living?

[Sheryl] She doesn't live with me.
I don't know where she lives.

[Judge Judy] Was she living there
with her daughter

at the time your father passed?

- That's either a yes or a no.
- No. No.

[Unica] Well, I moved out this year
because I had to call the police

'cause she kept changing the locks
on the doors

when I come home from work.

So every time I would go home,

when I try to get in,
she'll change the locks.

[Judge Judy] Got it. I got the story.

That's not true, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
I don't care whether it's true or not.

You got the house,
she'd been living there since

she was five years old,
and she's not living there anymore.

She was in fact living there
until your father died.

No, she was living with her grandmother.

My father asked me,
"How do you think about Unica moving in?"

And I want to be nice, I want to say no.

[Judge Judy] Okay. He raised her.

He raised her.
Ms. Williamson, your case is dismissed.

- So is yours, Mr. Williamson.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] You got a house?

Is it in your name now?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Good for you.

- We're done here.
- All right.

[Kevin] Court adjourned.

My grandparents
would not want this fighting going on.

We don't get along at all.

I don't get along with my niece.

I don't get along with him.

I feel that family being here in court
for this matter is ridiculous.

[Sarah] I couldn't imagine fighting
with any one of my siblings

after not one,
but both of our parents pass away.

You know, there's a good lesson takeaway.

Nobody likes to think about dying.

But if adults are smart,
no matter how old they are,

they should have a document that is clear

and unequivocal, that's called a will.

That tells their children,

their grandchildren, their friends,

exactly what they want done
with their property,

so that we don't have siblings
in a courtroom like this.

And I think that all
of that can be avoided if people act smart

and create a good will.

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