02x17 - Washed Up Friendship and Time to Pay the Toll

[bunniefuu]

You said you needed a washer dryer.
You farmed that job out to him.

They don't even work properly.

You should be able to get
a washer and dryer by yourself.

I'm a fulltime university student,
so I am busy.

I've no idea what your excuse is.
I think you better stay in school.

[Narrator] This is Judy Justice.

Hunter Pelletier is suing his
former friend,

Alexandria Allen, for a washer and dryer.

-[Bailiff] Court come to order. All rise.
-Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case number 2043,
Pelletier versus Allen.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

This young lady is a friend of yours?

-A former friend, correct.
-How friend?

I met her from
another mutual friend that I had,

and we just
formed a relationship together.

-Just a friendship.
-Are you married?

I'm not. I'm single.

-Any kids?
-No.

And what about the defendant?

She does have two kids and she is married.

-Currently?
-Yes, currently married.

-Are you also friendly with her husband?
-Yeah, just friends.

We were, yeah, before all this took place.

So, then all of you were friends?

-Yes, at one point? Yes.
-Case is relatively simple.

Ms. Allen's washer
and dryer stopped working.

[Hunter] Correct.

You had done some odds
and ends, things for her in the past?

Yes. Worked on her car and stuff.

And did you find or did she find
the used washer and dryer?

She asked me for recommendations
and she found it

on the selling app for used items.

So, you told her
where she might look for it?

-Correct.
-And she found it on an app online?

-Correct.
-Okay.

No, actually...

-Look at me.
-Okay.

-He made the recommendation to me.
-Did you go on the app yourself?

-No, I did not.
-So, you never saw the washer and dryer?

-Well, he...
-Is that what you're... just a second.

Oh. Sorry.

So what you're saying...
I just want to be clear.

So, I said if you didn't go on the site,
then you never saw the washer and dryer.

May I speak now?

Either you did go on the site and see it,
or I didn't go on the site.

-I didn't see it.
-He sent the picture of them to me.

-Just a screenshot, that's all I got.
-Okay. How old are you?



-You have two children?
-Yes.

Did the screenshots
show you where they came from?

I have a photo of them,
and it doesn't say anything.

So, is what you're telling me
you didn't know where they came from?

Well, there is a name of the site.

-Would you like to know that?
-I want to know if you knew it.

-Yes, I know.
-All right. Don't play with me.

You knew the site,
where the photo came from.

So, let's say you
are correct and I don't know.

You said you needed a washer dryer.

You say he found
the washer and dryer on the site,

sent a photo to you,
and said is this what you're looking for?

-Correct.
-Right?

-And on that screenshot was the site.
-Right.

So, you had at least
access to the same site that he did?

That's correct.

And did the site
give you the name of the person

or persons to contact
with regard to the washer dryer?

There was no one's name.
No one's name, just a phone number.

-Did you call the phone number?
-I didn't call them.

-Who called them?
-Mr. Pelletier.

Now, Mr. Pelletier didn't call
them unless you said they look fine.

-Well, I did say they looked fine.
-Well, what else did you say?

-Based on the picture, they looked...
-Just a second.

-Just answer my question.
-Okay.

Because what happened
here is really relatively simple.

And I don't know whether you're a simple
person, but it's relatively simple.

You had a friend. You told them,
"I needed a washer and dryer.

Mine broke down." He said,
"this is a great site," according to you.

"I'll look up..." and he looked up the
washer and dryer and you did nothing.

You, who needed the washer and dryer...
you must work very hard.

-How many jobs do you have?
-I have a couple of jobs.

My children are a big job for one.
And two, I'm a full-time

university student, so I am busy.

So, you should be able to get
a washer and dryer by yourself.

-You farmed that job out to him.
-I did because he volunteered to help.

It doesn't matter. He didn't volunteer to
help unless you told him, "I need help."

I mean, is what it is...
are you using him? I'm not sure.

-I wouldn't...
-I'm not sure.

What do you do for him?

I watched his cats when he went
out on a vacation with his grandmother,

and I took care of his cats
free of charge because...

[Judge Judy] For how long?

I didn't expect
him to be gone that long either.

It was over a week,
and I had to buy cats food.

Just a second.
So you watched his cats?

-Yes.
-And is what you believed

that him taking care of getting

this washing machine
payment for taking care of the cats?

Well, not just that.

There's other things that happened while
he was installing the washer and dryer.

I don't care about things.

That... what I'm asking you
is I'm trying to figure out what

kind of person says to a friend,
"I need a washer and dryer."

He said, as a friend,
"I'll see if I can help you."

You have time. You also go
on the computer and figure it out.

Being a full-time student is nice.
That's what you chose.

Somehow, you also support
yourself and your two children.

I don't even want
to go into how that's done.

However, you said, "Go get the washer
and dryer," and he went... how long is it?

It's 50 miles from my house,
an hour and 45 minutes.

[Judge Judy] ...each way to pick up
the washer and dryer

that you authorized him to get.

You said go get it. It was $1,800.

Correct. And she offered $200
tip for the delivery of that.

-For you?
-Mm-hmm. Correct.

-Oh.
-And I have texts of that.

That's reasonable because you
spent three and a half hours in the car.

-Now, do they live on the first floor?
-The third floor.

-Is there a walk up?
-Yeah, stairway up to the third floor.

So, somebody had to go up
and take the old washer dryer out.

So, Miss Allen,
was that you or your husband?

I had Mr. Pelletier also removed them.

You can move your mouth.
It's okay if you move your mouth.

I feel like I was being very kind because
I didn't decide to sue him for his cat

or the damages he did to the cows...
uh, the cats.

I don't know what your excuse is.

-I feel like he...
-I don't care what you feel like.

I don't care what you feel like.

[Narrator] And later today...

When we went to transfer the title over

together at the DMV, I had to
pay off whatever tolls that I had.

So, between that time and the time
where he ended up taking the car back,

I don't really know how
there was $600 worth of tolls.

I don't know either,
but that's what I'm going to find out.

[Narrator] Hunter Pelletier claims
his former friend, Alexandria Allen,

is responsible
for the cost of a washer and dryer.

The plaintiff walked
up the three flights of steps,

carried each of the washer and
dryers downstairs, took the washer

and dryers from downstairs,
up the three flights, got them installed.

And you didn't like them?

-They were a different color.
-And they're busted up.

They don't even work properly.

Okay, Miss Allen,
when did this happen?

-In what month?
-January 7th of 2022.

You have receipts for
different washers and dryers

-that you purchased since January of 2022?
-I don't have the receipts, no.

[Judge Judy]
That means that you didn't purchase them.

Well, I never paid him for them.

No, no, no. That means
that you never purchased new ones.

That means that you're
still using the ones he bought.

-Correct. But it does not work well.
-Right. Just...

You bought used washer and dryer.

You've been using them
January, February, March,

April, May, June, July...

...August. Eight months,
and you're still using them.

And you neither paid for them
nor did you pay him for delivery.

And I don't know what your excuse is.

-I feel like he...
-I don't care what you feel like.

I don't care what you feel like.

You made a contract with him
to go and pick up washers and dryers,

disconnect yours,
take them out of your house,

install these,
layout the money to pay for these,

use them for eight months,

and not pay him
because you weren't happy with them.

I feel like I was being very kind
because I didn't decide to sue

him for his cat or the damages
he did to the cows... uh, cats.

I'm telling you,
you should stay in school.

How much did
you pay for the washer and dryer?

$1,800, and I took
the money out of the bank.

She had asked me
because her ATM has a low limit.

So, I went into the branch of my own bank.

That's what you're suing for?

-For $1,800?
-Yeah.

I wanted to get the 200 if possible,
but at this point,

I just want the money for the machines.

Judgement for the plaintiff.
We're finished. $1,800.

-Thank you.
-[Bailiff] This court is adjourned.

It damaged the walls of my apartment.
They banged it up.

She saw right through everything,
the damages she said.

The machines were overpriced.

None of that happened from me.
I'm not a professional installer.

I don't think he cared,
because it wasn't his money.

At the time, they were less than six
months old from original purchase date,

so they were still worth the money
that they were asking.

I don't know. I don't think
we're going to be friends anymore.

I don't need friends like that. No.

So, this case touched
a little upon agency,

like an agent-principal relationship,

where here the plaintiff
was actively acting as her agent

by going and picking up
these washing machines for her.

They had had
communications beforehand about

this is what they look like,
this is what they cost.

"I'll do it for you for $200. Is this
what you want to do?" She says, "Yes."

You don't get to just then back out
of it because you don't like the color.

You know what they look like.

You knew they were used.
There was no bait and switch.

I was almost waiting for
an explanation for a bait and switch,

for a 'he put the nice ones in his house
and then gave me not so nice ones.'

But there was nothing. There was...
very rarely do we see no excuse for...

-And she's using them.
-Yeah. Still. For almost a year.

They're all banged up.
They were all banged up.

That's what happens when
you buy something that's used,

when you buy something over the Internet,
which is really what she did.

She could have just as easily said to him,
"Before you load them in the truck,

please take pictures
of them so that I see them."

-Yes. She could have.
-Could have.

-Did nothing.
-That's not his fault.

It's not his fault.

Also allowed him
to take the other stuff down,

put the other stuff up,
and then say, well, they were banged up.

$200 to move four heavy machines
is a low price as far as I'm concerned.

-Not a friend anymore.
-Yeah.

Case number 2017. Alvarez versus Coover.
All parties, please step forward.

[Narrator] Avrian Alvarez is suing
his former friend, Brianna Coover,

for toll charges.

Mr. Alvarez, this is not a very
difficult case. It's a question of dates.

-You bought a new car.
-Yes, ma'am.

You knew the defendant
somehow through her boyfriend.

He's my cousin.

Okay. You purchased a new car.

You had an older car that
you were still paying off,

and Ms. Coover needed a car,
and you made an arrangement with her

where she would take over
the monthly payments on your old car

so that you would
just be paying your new car.

And when she finished making the payments
on the car, the car would be hers.

That's correct.

You did, in fact,
conclude that agreement,

and Miss Coover did, in fact,
pay off the car.

-Yes, ma'am.
-She paid off the car.

However, she did
not register the car in her name.

That's correct.

And you had your plates on the car,
and it is your claim that while the car

was in her possession, she racked
up 600 and some odd dollars in toll fees?

-Yes, you're Honor.
-Which is what you're suing for.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Ms. Coover said that didn't happen.

She had her own DZ pass... toll pass,
whatever it is... and there was no way that

those tickets were incurred
while she was in possession of the car.

And additionally,
she's got some very sad story.

She paid off the car.
She didn't register it.

For some reason, she didn't register it,
which I don't have to get into.

You took the car back because
you were afraid that your plates were

on the car and you started to
get these dunning notices for tickets.

Then you had to give the car back because

you had given her the title
to the car when

she finished paying off the car,
despite the fact she hadn't registered it.

And then you took the license plates back,
which is a very smart thing to do,

because then she couldn't
use them to get through the tolls.

And because you took the plates off and
she didn't register it and get new plates,

it was towed from her
parking space at a condo, taken to a lot,

but she didn't have enough money to get
the car out and the car was auctioned off.

And now she has no car, and you
have $600 worth of tickets in your name.

-Yes, ma'am. You got it.
-Is that it?

That is a version of the story, yes.

Well, I will let
you tell me a different version.

Everything is true. That's why we did have
the agreement where he wanted a new car.

-I needed a car.
-No, I got that.

I just want to know what I said that
was incorrect. I just made it shorter.

Just to clarify,
when we went to transfer the title

over together at the DMV,
I had to pay off whatever tolls that I had

before they're able to transfer
the title over. So, that was done.

So, between that time and the time
where he ended up taking the car back,

I don't really know how
there was $600 worth of tolls.

[Judge Judy] I don't know either.
That's what I'm going to find out.

But is there any part of the story
that I just told that was inaccurate?

He transferred over the car to you.
You had possession of the car. He didn't.

-Correct.
-Other than you, who drove the car?

Come on, that's a question.
Other than you, who drove the car?

-Nobody.
-No. Who drove your car?

[Narrator] Avrian Alvarez claims
his former friend,

Brianna Coover, owes for toll charges.

Brianna says she
already paid for the toll charges.

He says that
you had possession of the car.

He got notification
that there were tickets.

You say that you didn't go through tolls.

He said I didn't
have possession of the car.

Is there anything that is incorrect about
that? So, it's just a question of dates.

It's not a difficult case.
It's a question of dates.

Correct.

Okay, so give me the date that you
made this arrangement to pay off the car.

-I don't know the exact date.
-She took over the car payments

-starting July 2019.
-And when was it paid off?

[Avrian] May 16, 2021.

When it was paid off,
did you sign the title over to her and

-and the lien holder did...
-Going back and forth at that time,

I was trying to get her
to come over to where I live

so we could go to get the car transferred.

We ultimately settled on a date, and
then the DMV over there said that she had

to have a sheriff verify the VIN and the
odometer before we could transfer it over.

I guess it's a rule in the county.

So, at that moment then,
yes, we signed it over to her

so she could do it at her local DMV.

-And that was on what date?
-That was July 9.

Now, between July of 2018 and July 2021,

-did you ever drive that car?
-No, ma'am.

When did you initially
take the car back from her?

I took the car back September 11 of 2021.

And how long did you have the car when you
took it back? Because of these tickets?

I texted her on September 15 and told her
that she could go pick the car up

-because I had found out that I...
-Couldn't do it.

-Just self-help for that.
-Exactly. Correct.

Okay, so you had the car
between September 11 and September 15?

Yes, ma'am.

Other than that period of time,
did you ever drive the car

-from July 18 until the present time?
-No, ma'am.

So, if there were any tickets that were
accrued, it was either by the defendant

or somebody who drove the car
with defendants permission?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-I'd like to see the dates of the tickets.

Miss Coover,
you don't question the fact that

between July 2018 and today's date,
with the exception of between September 11

and the 15th of 2021,
he did not have possession of the car?

Correct.

The only reason that when we transferred
the title over, we had an agreement...

Just a second. That's all I asked you.
This is not a conversation.

I just want to know who got the tickets.

Whoever got the tickets is
responsible for them.

-Mm-hmm.
-So, he only had the car.

So, if there are any tickets there
that were between September 11

and September 15 in 2021,
they belong to him.

Any other tickets from 2018,
July until infinity are yours.

Well, we have invoice date is 7/28/21.
That would be you.

June 30, 2021, 7/1/2021,


Again 7/2, 7/3, 7/6, 7/6,




-Those are all you.
-Correct.

August 28, 2021. That would be you.

Yes.



That all would be you.
Yes. I never argued that that wasn't me.

From the moment that we
officially transferred the title over,

we were not able
to transfer the title over until I paid.

-Oh, you paid these?
-And we were together...

Now, just a second.

Show me that you paid them.

-I have this receipt.
-Just show me that you pay them.

That's it.

And that would have been what was due at
the time when we transfer the title over.

I'm just going by the
dates of the tickets, madam.

I don't care how the government screws up.
That's not my problem.

Okay, show me your payment.
May I see it, please?

It should say the date there
and the cost of those tolls on the day.

This is your Sun Pass.

-You replenished your Sun Pass.
-That's a payment to Sun Pass.

[Judge Judy] For $154.

And that's what it was on the day
that we transferred the title over.

So my thing is,
from the day that we transfer

the title over to the day that he came
to my parents house and took the car,

there was no way
that I racked up $600 in tolls.

I don't know whether you did or didn't,

but take that up with
Department of Motor Vehicles.

That's what they say you racked up
between that period of time.

He didn't have possession of the car.

You had possession of the car from the
time he transferred over the car to you.

You had possession of the car. He didn't.

-Correct.
-Well, other than you, who drove the car?

Come on, that's a question.

Other than you, who drove the car?

-Nobody.
-No. He never drove your car?

-No.
-Who drove your car?

-I did.
-Who else?

-Nobody.
-Yeah. I don't believe that.

Judgement for the plaintiff in
the amount of $654. We finished here.

-Thank you.
-[Bailiff] This court is adjourned.

Quick and simple case.
She did what she needed to do.

I can't really say
I'm super surprised, I guess.

I was just asking
for payment on the tolls,

and I wasn't getting any responses.

I don't know how in literally three
months... I didn't rack up $600 in toll.

-It is what it is.
-He was okay with me continuing to his...

Take my license plate with me.
[laughing]

...license plate, until one day he wasn't,
and then he wanted all that money.

So, what would be your takeaway from that?

I think as a layperson, my takeaway
would be if you're going to sell a car,

especially to someone you don't know well,
it's not a family member, you know,

it's either a stranger, acquaintance,

take your own plates off the car,
get a receipt, bring it to DMV.

Because your name, your address,
your phone number will be tied

to tickets, SunPass charges,
and even maybe an accident.

You just don't want your
name associated with the vehicle

anymore once
you relinquish your ownership of it.

-So, take your plates.
-That's the takeaway. That's the takeaway.

Yeah.

[Narrator] Want justice?