02x40 - Side Hustle Fail and Truck-Astrophe

[bunniefuu]

You had a kerfuffle with him?

He was my friend.

-I apologize, but I'm emotional.
-Well, don't get emotional.

It's a sad thing,
but I need facts and information.

We went to the same high school,

played on the same
high school basketball team.

You're not paying attention to me, sir.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

♪♪

Marquis Marshall and Khai Booker
are suing their former employer,

Gary Zephyrn, for unpaid wages.

[bailiff]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge.

Case number 2071,
Booker Marshall vs. Zephyrin.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

-[Judy] Zephyrin?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Mr. Zephyrin,
you're being sued by

these two people because they say they
worked for you delivering packages.

Packages, I believe, of auto parts.
Is that right?

Yes, Judge.

And you didn't pay them? That's simple.

You're in the auto parts
business or just the delivery business?

-Just the delivery business.
-[Judy] For how long?

-For about a year.
-[Judy] Explain the business to me.

Since you're not in the auto parts
business, just the delivery business,

I have to understand the process.

And keep it short.

The process is I go to the store,
pick up the car parts.

Go to what store?

Hyundai or Toyota.

So you go to the manufacturer?

-Yes.
-Or the dealership.

-The dealership.
-And get the part?

And get the part and deliver it.

And you take them
to independent garages that fix cars?

-Yes.
-Okay. Now, I understand.

Your business is

you're sort of
a middle person between

your local auto repair shop
and the manufacturer

who manufactures
those parts or its dealer.

-Yes, that's correct.
-You don't make a markup on the part,

you're just paid for your
delivery service, is that right?

Yes. I do not pay for the parts.

All I do is drive and deliver their parts.

So the part has already been
ordered and paid for.

-Yes.
-[Judy] By the garage.

-By ABC Garage?
-[Gary] Yes.

They just send
you to expedite the delivery?

Yes, ma'am.

And how much
do you get paid for each delivery?

Well, it's not by each delivery.

At this particular contract,
it was between $120 and $160 a day.

And you said that
"this particular contract."

What contract is that?

This is the car parts contract
before the car parts,

delivering the car parts.
I was delivering packages.

-But this operation was just car parts?
-[Gary] Yes, it was.

[Judy] Now, at some point,
these two people,

how many vans
do you have that deliver the parts?

At the... currently I have one van.

What were they using to deliver the parts?

The van that I have.

[Judy] And what did you do?

I worked in my nine-to-five.

-[Judy] You had a different job?
-Yes.

[Judy]
What kind of job did you have?

I work at the [indistinct].

So this is sort of a side gig.

A hobby, I would say.

Well, a hobby, $120 and $160 a day
is a nice hobby.

-I think so.
-Yeah.

Okay. And so based upon
what you told me before,

both of these people did in fact,

deliver parts using
your van to various ABC garages.

They also used it for personal use, too.

I don't care. But they used it
because you didn't use it.

You were doing your day job,
according to you,

-Yes.
-[Judy] And this was a side gig

where these two people were working
during the day to deliver the parts.

Mr. Marshall was working during the day.

-Okay. Let's just say Mr. Marshall.
-Okay.

Now Mr. Marshall sort of
contracted with Miss Booker.

-Or did you?
-Mr. Marshall did.

[Judy]
You contracted with her.

You agreed with her that
you would split up this delivery.

You were... would do it
a couple of days

-and she would do it a couple of days?
-Yes, Judge.

Okay, so you had no
direct agreement with him.

Miss Booker, might look at me.

My question is,
did you have a direct agreement

or ever meet or discuss salary
with the defendant?

-No, I did not discuss that.
-[Judy] Then you can sit down.

Okay.

Because you have to have
some sort of an agreement

with someone in order to sue them.

You had no agreement with him.

Whatever agreement you had,
you had with him, correct?

-Yeah.
-[Judy] Is that right?

-Yeah.
-[Judy] And am I correct, Mr. Marshall,

that you were supposed to be paid,

according to you,
a certain amount per day

to make these deliveries,

you decided you wanted to work
three days a week

-and she would work two?
-Yes, Judge.

[Judy]
That's what I thought I read. Okay.

How much was the
defendant supposed to pay you a day?

$80, Judge.

So you had a deal
for between 120 and 160 a day.

You were paying him 80.

You were working your day job and so,

you were either going to get $40 or $80,

depending upon the work
that was done, right?

Correct.

[Judy] And you were going to
get that as a result of his work?

-Yes.
-Perfect. Now, this is what you say.

You say that you
all decided to go into business together.

You bought this van,
you paid for the insurance,

he was going
to work and make the deliveries.

-I'm telling you what you wrote.
-Okay.

And if you have a problem with that,
you'll tell me in a minute.

-[Gary] Okay.
-He was supposed to work,

make the deliveries, and not get paid

until you paid off all your expenses,

your startup expenses,
the van, your insurance.

-Didn't you say that to me?
-Yes.

[Judy]
Or maybe I'm thinking about another case.

-I did... I did say that.
-You did say that to me.

I just want to correct the
"we" because I bought the van

-and I paid up all the [indistinct].
-[Judy] I said you paid.

I didn't say he paid. You paid the van.

You paid for the insurance.
He was going to drive.

He says you were supposed
to pay him $80 a day to do that

because you had a full-time job.

You were making your money.

Your defense to it is that
that was not the agreement.

The agreement was
that he would work for free

until all the expenses were paid off

that you advanced for
the little business.

-Yeah.
-Right?

-Yes.
-[Judy] How much was the van?

-$2,000.
-[Judy] So it was an old van?

Yes.

And how many months
did you work at this job

before you had a kerfuffle with him?

A year and three months.

Is that correct, sir?

That he worked a year and three months?

It seems more about, uh,
close to a year to me.

And when you say you worked for a year,

Was that 52 weeks a year?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Five days a week.

Yes. Sometimes on Saturday.

[Judy] From when to when?

I would work, depending on...

[Judy] No, from what month and
year to what month and year?

Oh. January 2021,
until March or April 2022.

And in that year plus,
how much money did you make?

♪♪

If you kept records of the days
that you worked

and how many hours you worked

and how much you were supposed to be paid,

then I could look at that.

But I can't do this, this is ridiculous.

-Judge, may I explain?
-You can try,

but you're going to be
unsuccessful, Mr. Marshall.

But I'm gonna give you
an opportunity to try.

[narrator] And later today...

He did in fact bring you a truck.

-He didn't.
-Never brought you a truck?

Never brought me the truck,
never returned my money, anything.

[Judy] Oh...

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator]
Marquis Marshall and Khai Booker

claimed their former employer,
Gary Zephyrin

owes for unpaid contractor work.

Okay. In that year plus,

how much money did you make?

Judge, it's a tough question,
because Mr. Zephyrin never paid me

what he was supposed to pay me.

He always came
up with an excuse or a reason.

I want to know how much
money you made in that year.

I don't know off
the top of my head, Judge.

Well, he said... then I can't help you.

I have to know how much money he paid you,

and I'm going to figure out

from how much money he paid you.

Because even if I buy his defense,
the van was only $2,000.

So you have to sit down and
figure out how much unless you know.

How much did you pay him?

Around $320 a week.

What do you mean "around"?

I mean, you're a businessman.

He did not work five days a week.

He's saying he worked
four to six days a week.

All he worked
was three to five days a week.

I assume you were paid in cash?

-Yes.
-But you were paid during that year.

Yes.

Give me an idea in thousands
how much you were paid.

Around $20,000?

$20,000?

-Yes, Judge.
-"Around"?

-Yes, Judge.
-So he did in fact, pay you?

He didn't pay me everything
he was supposed to pay me, Judge.

Well, how am I supposed to
figure that out, sir?

How am I supposed to figure that out?

You keep records of what you delivered?

Does he keep records?

He doesn't have to prove your case.

-You have to prove your case.
-Yes, Judge.

So do you keep records
of when you worked

and when you were paid?

Yes, I keep records
of when I worked, Judge,

but I did not keep records
of what I was paid,

because we're always arguing.

-He never paid me the full $700.
-[Judy] That's not...

That's not the reason
you don't keep records.

I'm sorry, Mr. Marshall.

If you kept records of the days
that you worked

and how many hours you worked

and how much
you were supposed to be paid,

then I could look at that

and I can ask him,
and I assume he's a businessman,

he would have the same records,

and there may be a dispute,

but I can't do this this,
this is ridiculous.

Judge, may I explain?

You can try, but you're going
to be unsuccessful, Mr. Marshall.

But I'm going to
give you an opportunity to try.

I appreciate it, Your Honor.

Mr. Zephyrin was my friend.

We went to the same high school,

played on the same
high school basketball team.

I was the MVP.
He was the team captain.

Recently, his health has been declining.

Because his health has been declining.

A year ago,
I went to Mr. Zephyrin and I said,

"I'm a private contractor
and I have different contracts or places.

I think that you should do
private contracts so you can

spend more time
with your kids and your wife."

I apologize, but I'm...I'm emotional.

-Well, don't get emotional. Mr. Marshall...
-I used to love this gentleman.

[Judy] Mr. Marshall, what I'm
telling you is don't get emotional.

-This is not...
-Okay.

It's a sad thing that you know each other
for a long time,

I hear, and that it's
come down to a case in court.

But you have to understand that
in order for me to make a judgment,

I need facts and information.

And it's not as if you're saying
to me that you delivered packages

which he acknowledges,
and you were never paid.

What you say
is that you were shortchanged.

Yes, Judge.

[Judy]
And you have to be able to show me that.

I have the agreement of
Mr. Zephyrin agreeing

to pay me the $80 a day,
and we came out with a pay...

[Judy]
Just a second. That's okay.

I have to see when you worked
and what you were paid.

How am I supposed to figure
out what it is that he owes you?

Because we both know that he
only paid me $300 instead of the $700.

We both know that.

Well, he paid you $20,000,
so that's not true.

According to you, he paid you $20,000.

So if what you're saying that

he paid you $300
and he owed you $700?

-Is that what you're saying to me?
-Yes.

Okay, so it was the last period of time

-that you worked for him?
-Yes.

[Judy] Okay, so that last period
of time was when to when?

-Give me the month. Give me the day.
-January to March this year.

-From January to March?
-[Marquis] Yes, Judge.

-[Judy] Of 2022?
-Yes, Judge

You worked and you claim
you were owed $700.

That's what you just said.
Is that correct?

[Marquis] I apologize for
the miscommunication, Judge.

He only paid me three
when he was supposed to pay me seven.

Just a second.
You're not paying attention to me, sir.

I said your claim
is that he owed you $700.

He owes me more than $700.

No, what you said was
"He owed me $700

and he only paid me $300."

-Could you read that back?
-Correct. Yes, yes.

-Yes, Judge.
-Could you read that?

Yes, Judge. You're correct, Judge.

[Judy]
Okay, then we don't have to read it back.

That's why I have Whitney.
You said "He owed me seven.

-He only paid me three."
-Right.

-[Judy] Which means he owes you $400.
-Correct, Judge.

And that was from a January to a March?

-Yes. Judge.
-[Judy] Okay.

Do you have any records of that, sir?

I paid him in cash,
so I don't have any records

of the payments that I was paying him.

Mr. Marshall,
he really never wanted me to keep records.

Okay, don't tell me
what he wants. It's your business.

Don't be foolish, sir.

Did you have
a dispute with him over this $400?

-I did. We had many disputes.
-[Judy] Okay.

[Judy] Did you in those disputes,

refer to a part that got mis-delivered?

by either the plaintiff or the
person who he subcontracted with

that caused you to lose a customer?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

And was that the reason
that you didn't give him the $400?

Just listen to my question.

You had a dispute
after all this time over a part,

according to your answer,
that was mis-delivered to a customer?

Yes.

Which caused you,
according to you, to lose the customer.

I don't know that.

But that you indicated was the
reason that this arrangement went south.

So my question to you is,
is that why you didn't pay him the $400?

No, it's not.
He didn't return my van.

Oh. So the reason you didn't pay
him the $400

that you acknowledge that you owe him

was because he kept your van?

Yes, and my contract
was canceled due to Khai Booker.

Okay. Did you get your van back?

-Yes, I did.
-[Judy] How many days later?

Two days later.
I threatened to call the police.

Okay. You owe the $400, sir.

Judgment for the plaintiff
for the amount of $400.

We're finished. Thank you.

[bailiff]
This court is adjourned.

You can't keep somebody's van
for 48 hours and still expect the money.

He's lying about the fact
that we stole the van

and that we had it for those two days.

I think it was really bad
that he's suing me over this.

We've been friends since high school.

Document everything that you do
when you do do it.

[laughs] That would make better sense.

But, hey, things happen.

He got a new girlfriend and things happen.

Not a difficult situation.
If you choose to pay an employee

in cash, you have to keep records.

Both parties should
have kept some sort of records.

Otherwise, what they're
asking me to do is guess.

[Sarah] Mm-hmm.

This defendant
actually made it easy for me,

because without his statement,

I would have dismissed the case.

He said the reason he kept the $400

because plaintiff did not return his
van right away for two days.

Well, that's sort of retaliatory.

How do you fix $400? As...

Cost for keeping a van.

[Judy] As a cost... you know,
that's ridiculous. That's self help.

-Keep records.
-[Sarah] You should.

Especially if you want to come to court.

Exactly.

Case number 2075.

Johnson vs. McIntosh.

All parties, please step forward.

[narrator] Dominique Johnson

is suing her children's uncle,

Chris McIntosh,

for a truck she never received.

Ms. Johnson,
this is your brother in law?

I believe that... is it your husband,
or is he your ex-husband?

No, he's just my kid's father.

Okay. The father of your
children is currently incarcerated?

-Yes.
-So he's not your brother-in-law,

he's just the brother of
the father of your children?

-[Dominique] Yes.
-[Judy] Okay. You have two children?

-I have three.
-Is he the uncle of all three?

Yes.

[Judy]
There came a time when you were in need

of a new vehicle or a different vehicle.

-Your car was giving you trouble?
-Yes.

[Judy] Mr. McIntosh,
according to what I've read,

has tried to maintain a relationship

-with his brother's children.
-Yes.

Despite the fact that you no
longer have a relationship with him?

Yes.

And according to what I'm
putting together, you reached out to him,

or you were on the phone with him

-and told him he needed another car.
-Yes.

[Judy] And according to you,
he said he had a car.

-A truck.
-Yes.

That he would sell you for $2,700.

Yes, that he would personally bring to me.

And he did, in fact, bring you a truck?

He didn't.

♪♪

So on what day did you buy it?

I don't...

Think. You know,
you're coming to court today.

You knew that this was
the issue when you came here.

-Yeah.
-Not "Yeah." Yes.

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Dominique Johnson
claims her children's uncle,

Chris McIntosh, owes for the
cost of a truck she never received.

According to you, he said he had a car.

-A truck.
-Yes.

That he would sell you for $2,700.

Yes, that he would personally bring to me.

And he did, in fact, bring you a truck.

-He didn't.
-Never brought you a truck?

Never brought me the truck,
never returned my money, anything.

-[Judy] Oh!
-[Dominique] I even tried...

-Just a second.
-[Dominique] Okay.

-So you sent him the $2,700.
-[Dominique] Yes.

-[Judy] What date?
-June 21st of this year.

What happened to her $2,700?

Bought the truck there
and then dropped it off.

[Judy]
What truck did you bring there?

2007 Suburban.

And where did you get that truck from?

I got it from a auction.

[Judy]
Okay. I'd like to see the paperwork.

-I don't have the paperwork.
-Well, that's unfortunate.

Why wouldn't you bring the paperwork?
It's only a couple of months ago.

Because the auction
is every first Thursday.

It's not the same
person running the same auction.

They don't have
the same paperwork for the auction.

Well, if you had paperwork,
you would have also had a title for it.

Yeah, and I left it in
the glove compartment box.

What's the name of the auction?

-[Chris indistinct]
-[Judy] Where are they located?

Minneapolis, Minnesota.

-Sarah, would you look that up, please?
-Sure.

-[Judy] She did send you the money.
-[Chris] Correct.

-[Judy] How did she send it to you?
-Cash App.

Which I have proof, Your Honor.

Yeah. There's only one issue.

She says that you never
brought any truck.

You say, well, you bought
this truck at an auction.

The auction is every Thursday.

Every first Thursday of the month.

First Thursday.
So, on what date did you buy it?

-I don't...
-Think.

You know you're coming to court today.

You knew that this was the
issue when you came here.

-Yeah.
-Not "Yeah," yes.

So what date was it
that you bought the truck?

-That you have no paperwork for at all.
-Thursday.

-Thursday.
-[whispering] Which Thursday?

What month was that
I bought you the truck?

I really don't know.
I-I'm being so serious right now, like...

Honestly, if I could speak,
it was June 21st I sent him the money.

June 21st was when he was
supposed to bring the truck to me.

He never brought the truck then.

Then he stated to me
that he sold the truck

and that he had another one that was less.

And I have that truck as well.

This was the first truck
initially I was supposed to get.

Did he ever bring you any truck?

No, not at all.

Do you have any phone messages?

-I do.
-I'd like to see them, please.

[Sarah] N... Towing...

It's a towing and auction house.

Okay.
Say when they have auctions?

It doesn't list it on their website,
but I could try and see.

It's a lot of them, honestly.
A lot of messages.

-[Sarah] I have those dates.
-Mm-hmm.

The auction,
they list their past auctions.

There was one,
May 5th of this year,

June 5th of this year,

July 2nd, August 6th,

and September 3rd of this year
was the most recent.

-June what?
-June 5th.

And I actually have a list of every car

that was included
in that June 5th auction.

So if you give me the make and model,

I could see if it was included
in that auction on June 5th.

You went in June
for the auction or in July?

Yeah, June 5th.

He said a 2007 Yukon, right?

-No, Suburban.
-[Judy] 2007 Suburban.

There was actually
two different trucks that...

[Judy]
Well, that's the one he said he bought.

The only car from 2007
at the June 5th auction

was a 2007 Nissan Murano.

Nissan Murano.
Wasn't a Nissan Murano?

That was the only one
that was sold in June 2007.

It was sold in 2007,
but I bought a '07 Tahoe.

-The Suburban's from...
-I understand that

-from the auction place on...
-but you say you bought it in June,

and they list on the website
everything that they sold

in the June auction.

-Am I understanding that right, Sarah?
-Yes. Yes.

They list all the cars that
they sold in the June auction.

And the only car that they sold
that was a 2007 was a Murano.

He says...

"And I will be leaving in about
an hour or two after I get the Venmo.

[Dominique] Mm-hmm.

Would you please just put where
you start to ask for your money back...

-Oh, okay.
-[Judy] because you didn't get the truck.

That's what I want to see.

"I want my money back
because you didn't bring me the truck."

There was no Chevy Tahoe


Either.

And a lot of the vehicles,
a select few, are above $1,500.

And that's for newer models.

Everything else is under $950.

Thank you. There was no
such car either in June or July.

-[Sarah] No.
-Okay.

That's so interesting that
they have that information on the website.

Ms. Johnson,
you can't just give me your phone

-and expect me to go through pages...
-Yeah, I apologize.

[Judy] All I want,
you said you had something

indicating that you told him you wanted

your money back
because you didn't get a truck.

-Okay.
-[Judy] So far, there's no evidence

that he bought you
a truck from the place...

-[Dominique] Here.
-that he said he bought you a truck.

Yeah. Here's the part where
I'm asking for the money back.

He doesn't have
proof that he even bought the truck.

-Your Honor, he didn't...
-[Judy] No, there is no proof

-that he bought the truck.
-He never bought the truck.

Okay, so starting from here,
this is me asking if

he wanted to just Cash App
me back my money

because he never showed up.

-Read it to me.
-[Dominique] Oh, okay.

It says, "Do you want to just
Cash App me back the whole $2700

because all this waiting isn't necessary.

It's just a few taps to
Cash App me back my money.

We can say, forget the whole thing,

because now
this isn't sitting well with me.

This was supposed to be easy.
I don't have my truck or my money.

Like, how does that work?"

And then I offered to just
go down there and get it myself.

And then he said that there was no place.

I said, "Okay, but how do I
get it home with no place?"

So this whole time,
he was kind of dragging me on.

And then this is the picture
of another truck that he sent me.

-[Judy] That's a picture of him?
-Yeah. He's posing in front of the truck.

The second truck he supposedly
had bought for me.

[Judy] At the auction. Yeah.

He just told me he bought
the second truck at an auction.

There's no indication that that
auction house where he said he bought it

-sold a truck that he said that he bought.
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
Either in June or July.

-Got that right?
-[Sarah] Yeah.

[Judy] Okay,
I don't have to waste any more time.

You have no paperwork,
Mr. McIntosh, that you bought this truck?

You have no proof at all that you
brought this phantom truck to her house.

Why would she
be asking for her money back?

Because I bought her a truck

and I dropped it off
in front of her house,

left for the paperwork saying
what's wrong with the truck

and the truck.
She says that she don't want it,

so I said, my
finder's fee is only, like, $400,

and that's $200
for just a, uh, bus ticket to get there.

She can sell the truck
and get her money back.

That's what I told her.

$2,700. Judgement for the plaintiff.

-Thank you very much.
-[bailiff] This court is adjourned.

♪♪

I hope this don't affect the
relationship with my nieces and nephew.

I'm not really here to bad talk anybody.

I just wanted, you know, my money back.

I left it there with
the papers and the receipts.

Right is right, wrong is wrong.

She said she didn't want it.

I told her she can sell it back,
get her money back.

I feel like he
kind of screwed it up in a way.

I just want to
be a good uncle all the time.

I love when a website is so meticulous

and gives us
all the evidence that we need.

-This website had a very...
-[Judy] Interesting.

-well-planned out, photos...
- A towing company.

Towing company.
Towing and auctioneer house

had every single auction,

every car that was sold,
photos, the username of the person...

[both] Who purchased it.

And the price of the vehicle.

I can't imagine a company like that

doing that voluntarily.

-And it has to be by law to be licensed...
-[Sarah] Yeah.

in order to avoid stolen cars being...

-[Sarah] Auctioneered.
-Auctioned off.

-Mm-hmm.
-Has to be a very smart

Yeah. Good way to track the evidence.

-That was impressive.
-[Sarah] Yeah.

-[Judy] Thank you.
-Of course.

♪♪

[narrator]
Are you having a family dispute?



♪♪

[closing theme plays]