02x53 - Dash-Cam Collision and Drug Test Danger

[bunniefuu]

I just heard a big bang.

[glass shatters]

And that is where you hit him.

That's where he hit me with his car.

No, he can't hit you sideways, sir.

Now, whoever's fault this was,
cars don't go sideways, they go front.

Let's be serious, I don't have all day.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Kaloyan Popyanchev
is suing fellow motorist,

Spencer Gilbert, for car damage.

[bailiff]
Court, come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case #2084,
Popyanchev versus Gilbert.

- Thank you.
- [bailiff] You're welcome.

Mr. Popyanchev, you were
driving in your car, 2008 BMW.

That's correct.

[Judy]
And that was on the 14th of November

- of last year.
- That is correct.

Tell me what time of day
this accident happened.

It was approximately 3:15 PM.

- So, daylight hours.
- Yes.

And tell me where you were going.

I was going Eastbound on Sunset Boulevard
in Beverly Hills, I was driving.

[Judy]
Eastbound on...

Sunset Boulevard, in Beverly Hills.

I was driving in the right,
so-called slow lane,

when I tried to make a right turn.

Where?

It's a intersection. The name of the
street is Palm Drive.

Is that intersection controlled by a light
or a stop sign?

No, there is no stop sign or a light.

[Judy]
At that intersection.

That is correct.

I assume somebody has a video or
photograph of that section,

that would demonstrate
that there is no light.

[Spencer]
I do, Your Honor.

[Judy] Is there a light
or a stop sign at that intersection?

No, Your Honor, there's not.

[Judy] Did you put on your signal,
indicating a right turn?

Yes, I did.

How far from the corner?

I can't state distance, but
it was approximately five seconds

before I reached the intersection.

[Judy]
Was there traffic that day?

- [Kaloyan] Yes.
- [Judy] A lot?

Very light, it was Sunday.

So far, Mr. Gilbert, is that correct
that there was light traffic on that day?

Yes, Your Honor.

And you were traveling on
a motor-something called a Vespa.

Which is a small...

Small scooter, yes, Your Honor.

[Judy]
But motorized.

Yes, ma'am.

And does, I don't know about these things,
does a Vespa have to be registered

and have a license plate on it?

Uh, I do have a license plate
on the [indistinct].

[Judy] Okay, so, your Vespa
is registered as a motor vehicle

and you have a license plate.

Yes, Your Honor.

Now, tell me what happened, sir.

As I proceeded to make a right turn
onto Palm Drive,

I just heard a, an airflow,
uh, it was a big bang. It was an impact.

On your passenger side.

On, yes, on my right passenger side.
Then I realized that

there was a small motorcycle or a motoped
that hit my vehicle.

[Judy] Hit your side. And you
were the person riding that Vespa.

Yes, Your Honor.

Okay. May I see the damage to your car?

[Kaloyan] Yes.

Sarah Rose, get me the price
of a 2008 BMW 7-series.

Will do.

[Judy] Thanks.

What you're talking about is this damage,
sir. Is that correct?

[Kaloyan]
Yes, front passenger...

- [Judy] I see.
- Yeah.

I just made a circle.
Can you see the circle that I made?

Yes, that is correct.

Okay. And that is, Mr. Gilbert,
where you hit him with your Vespa.

That's where he hit me with his car.

No, he can't hit you sideways, sir.

He side-swiped me.

He can't hit you sideways, sir.
He can't slide into you.

Now, whoever's fault this was,
I'll try to figure it out,

but you hit him because
this is the area of impact.

Cars don't go sideways, they go front.
You have pictures of your Vespa?

- Yes.
- [Judy] I'd like to take a look at them.

Your Honor, based on
a 100,000 mile BMW 7-series,

between $4,700 and $7,800
is about the range.

I just want to know, because
I have to see what this kind of da...

He's suing for $10,000,
which is ridiculous.

That doesn't show me much, actually.

Okay. So, I can't see
the front of your Vespa, sir.

I assume that the front is the end that's
damaged because I see the back.

Yeah, the front end
was completely collapsed from the impact.

So, the front of your Vespa was damaged

because that's where you hit him
with your Vespa.

No, Your Honor, that's not correct.

The back end was not damaged, nor
does it look like the sides are damaged.

These are the pictures you gave me.
The only thing I can't see

is the front crushed end. Am I correct,
that I can't see the front crushed end?

- Yes.
- Okay. So, now, I'm telling you,

that based upon these photographs,
yours and his,

you hit his car. Okay.
Now, that's the chart.

[Spencer] Mm-hmm.

Whose chart is that?

It's from the police report.

[Judy] Great. Now,
the police report doesn't show

a bike lane there, or any other lane.
It shows that there's a car

traveling in a car lane, and I...

And the Vespa hitting...
See, he can't hit. You can hit.

He can't hit you.
Now, tell me, sir, why is it

that you were driving where you were?
You were behind him, initially.

No, Your Honor, I was traveling Eastbound
down Sunset, heading to work.

He was right next to me.
When we got to Palm, he turned into me,

pushed me. I barely was able
to keep control of my vehicle...

Is what you're telling me,
that your Vespa was never behind his?

This, you're not getting. I want you
to get this right out of your mind.

Your whole car isn't worth $10,000.
Let's be serious, I don't have all day.

Do you have a bill?

[narrator]
And later today...

And I know you're dying to tell me
that there was noise there,

that you couldn't live there,
that it was terrible.

Well, that's what happens
when you live in a place

with a whole bunch of other people.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Kaloyan Popyanchev
claims fellow motorist,

Spencer Gilbert owes for car damage
after hitting him with his Vespa.

Is what you're telling me that your Vespa
was never behind his?

No, I was never behind his vehicle.

[Judy]
Do we have any other video?

I do have a dash-camera video
of the, um, accident.

May I see it, please?

[crunch]

[Judy] Play it again, please.
Start from the beginning.

So, let's go slowly.

Okay. Well, it's clear to me, Mr. Gilbert,
that you came up behind him.

Just go back a little bit.
You weren't right next to him 'cause...

[Spencer] I was next to him because
as he slows down to make his turn,

that's when he makes contact with me.

I was right next to him the entire time.

[Judy]
Impossible.

May I see the police report, please?

Yes. There's actually two police reports.

May I see them?

Was anybody given a summons
on that day?

Nobody?

Neither party was given a summons,
is that correct?

Not that I know of, Your Honor.

Okay. So, this is the narrative after
witnesses were questioned.

And the opinion, based upon
the witnesses' testimony and yours,

and the fact that the police officer
actually heard in the video,

the clicking of the turn signal,
indicating a right turn

approximately five seconds
before the right turn was ex*cuted,

according to the police officer
as a result of viewing the cam

that he had, the video, that he was
making a slow right turn.

He had turned on his signal
approximately five seconds before

and you were coming up on him
on your right.

And it says, based upon the video footage,
I determined that the first car,

and that would be his,
should not have been placed at fault

for this collision because
he activated his turn signal

and made a safe turn
to go Southbound on Park Drive.

The fault of the collision
is on the part of Mr. Gilbert

for violating 21755CVC
which states in part,

that the driver of a vehicle may overtake
and pass another vehicle on the right

only under conditions
permitting that movement safely.

I'm reading you the police report.
Do you have another police report?

Yes, I do, Your Honor.

[Judy]
Prior to this or after this one?

This is the only police report
that I know of.

- Oh.
- [Spencer] I wasn't aware there was two.

Well. This was
a supplemental police report.

What is the date of yours?

All I have is what my lawyers gave me.

Well, I'm gonna show you this one, sir.

[Spencer]
Yes, ma'am.

And this one was after viewing the cam.

Yes, Your Honor, my police report
pre-dates his.

Pre-dates it. Well, that's after
the officers looked at the dash cam,

heard the signal, and
saw you coming up from behind.

I'll take it back now.
I've seen the damage on your car, sir.

Yes.

Which, while I wouldn't like to have it
on my car that's 14 years old,

it is on your car, it's not worth $10,000.
Your whole car isn't worth $10,000, sir.

So, if you want to show me
a reasonable estimate for fixing that,

I'll be more than happy to look at it.

Yes, I do. And this estimate was
given to me by the only body shop

that is authorized by BMW.

Go find another body shop
for a 14-year-old car.

I'm certainly not going to consider
giving you anything near the value

of your total car for something that is
on the door of one side of the car.

Have you had the car fixed, sir?

I had the entire door replaced,
but it still...

[Judy]
Replaced by whom?

Uh, by a body shop.

[Judy] Good. And if you had the whole door
replaced, you must have a bill.

This, you're not getting. I want you
to get this right out of your mind.

Your whole car isn't worth $10,000.
Let's be serious, I don't have all day.

Do you have a bill for the door
that you replaced from a body shop,

which is what I said a moment ago.

No, I do not have it with me.
The vehicle is still due paint and, uh...

Well, they're gonna fix the car.
And if they can fix the car for $2,000,

have it fixed. That's my judgment.
Judgment for the Plaintiff.

- We're finished.
- [bailiff] This court is adjourned.

I'm certainly not happy about it.

I'm happy, it is something.

The problems that this gentleman's
caused my life.

It happened in about two seconds.

I was riding right next to the dude
and he just turned into me

and I went into the wall and
that was pretty much it.

I had to call 911 immediately
because I wasn't sure if he's dead.

Because of what he did,
I wasn't able to go to work for two weeks,

I lost two of my jobs.

First thing to do is you call 911
and then deal with, you know,

the rest of the circumstances.

One thing that we see far too often
is Plaintiffs coming here,

or to any court, asking for a
large sum of money, in this case, $10,000,

for a car that wasn't even worth $6,000.
And instead of showing us an estimate

of fairy tale land of
what was gonna fix it,

show me a receipt for what you paid
to fix the damage.

Yeah, 'cause he did fix the damage.

He fixed the damage already,
replaced the whole door.

You don't have a receipt for that?
You don't have a bill?

You don't have a, nothing.
Which leads me to believe

that it was a lot less expensive
than $10,000.

So, I thought your judgment was generous
given that he had no proof.

I would've said, "goodbye."

Well, he did damage the car.
Not that I'm going into history,

but as one who has, on occasion,
hit a stationary object

On occasion.

Even, allegedly, hit a stationary object.
Even get a little nick on a bumper,

on a car, it's expensive to fix a car.
So, he had a car

that looked in perfect condition,
it wasn't after it was hit.

He's entitled to have it look like
what it looked like before...

I just felt there was a sort of
bait-and-switch with a $10,000 estimate,

- but I already got it replaced.
- But, fixed.

I think that he said that...
I think that he said that unintentionally.

- I also think he did.
- It's okay.

- Won't get one over on us.
- [Judy] No.

Case #2090, Oquendo versus Villarreal.
All parties, please, step forward.

[narrator] Amber Oquendo
is suing her former tenant,

Nancy Villarreal, for unpaid rent.

- Miss Oquendo, you own a home.
- Yes.

[Judy]
How large is the home?

It's four bedroom, two bath and like,
approximately 1,700 square feet.

When did you purchase the home?

Two thousand eighteen.

Can I ask you what the cost was?

Two hundred and twenty-five thousand.

[Judy] And you live there in the house,
just you, with whom?

I don't live in that house.
That's my rental.

You bought it as a rental?

Somebody was playing their music loud.

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] It was a problem for you.

- Yes.
- You asked them to be quiet,

- you told her it was a problem.
- Yes.

And then, there was
some sort of a kerfuffle.

I don't know what happened.
You want to tell me?

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Amber Oquendo
claims her former tenant,

Nancy Villarreal, owes for unpaid rent.

Nancy is countersuing
for her security deposit.

Now, you bought it as a rental?
You bought it as a business?

Originally, I purchased it and I lived
in one room, my kids shared a room,

and I rented two rooms,
until I was able to establish, uh,

basically, a history of being a landlord.
And I then purchased another home,

and I live in my own residence and
that one is fully a rental, as of now.

And also, a resident of that home
are your parents.

Yes, they are in the master.

[Judy]
And you have another tenant there.

Yes, there are a few other tenants.

Tell me who.

So, I have one tenant who has asked
not to be identified by name,

but he is in one room that I have marked
as room number two.

And then I have another tenant
who's in room number three.

And then, Nancy was in room four and
there's now a new tenant in that room.

Okay. This is what it's about.
The Defendant was a tenant of yours

and it didn't work out.
And it was a short tenancy,

I think it lasted no more than a month.

- Yeah, right...
- [Judy] June of this year?

Yes, Your Honor.

It didn't work out, she left. It is your
claim she left owing you a month's rent.

And I assume from your paperwork
that the month's rent was $774.

So, it was $650 and then the $774,
or the remaining difference

was just for being served,
and then court costs.

But a month rent was $650.

[Judy] Six fifty.
And when the Defendant moved in,

in the beginning of June,
did she sign a lease?

Yes. And I was gonna correct you, sorry,
she moved in on May 7th.

Just wanted to correct that,
but yes, she did sign a lease.

- [Judy] May I see it, please?
- Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] Thank you.
- Yeah.

You have a copy of your lease,
Miss Villarreal?

- Yes, I do.
- [Judy] Okay, good.

So, it's a month-to-month tenancy.

It's an at-will
with 30 days written notice.

Okay. According to the lease,
there was a security deposit of $650.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] Did the Defendant pay that

- when she moved in?
- Yes, she did.

Okay, because that's your counterclaim.

You say you want
your security deposit back.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] I assume,

from reading both of your
complaint and answer,

that this turned out to be
not a happy tenancy.

You don't live there on a full time basis,
the Defendant did live there.

for a short period of time.
You moved in, rented a room

and you gave her $650 and
you moved in on May 7th.

Yes, Your Honor.

And you moved out on what date?

I moved out on July the 7th...
July the 10th.

[Judy]
So you were there for two months.

No, I was there for one month.

[Judy]
May to June, June July.

I moved in, I believe it was June,
because I moved out July the 7th.

Our lease was signed on May 7th,
so I know that.

[Judy] Yes, the term of the lease
is beginning May 7th.

That's the term of the lease,
according to this.

- I don't care when you moved in.
- Okay.

The term of the lease was May 7th
on a month-to-month basis.

So you were there from May 7th
to July 10th.

So, you were there for two months.

Okay.

[Judy] We're gonna get into the whys,
wherefores in a moment,

but did you pay the month of May?

Yes, Your Honor.

- Did she pay the month of May?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Did you pay the month of June?

No, Your Honor.

And you lived there until July 7th.

No, I actually lived there until...

[Judy] You just told me July 10th,
as a matter of fact.

Whitney's gonna tell me what date you gave
as your move out date.

You said it was July 10th.

She said, "I moved out on July the 10th."

Okay, July 10th it was, yes.
July 10th.

- [Judy] You were there for two months.
- Yes, Your Honor.

[Judy] If you're there for two months and
you only paid one month's rent.

- Yes.
- [Judy] So, so far,

you owe her one month's rent.
Did you return her security deposit?

Yes.

Did you receive your security deposit?

- Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judy] How much?

Uh, $650.

Okay, so you have no counterclaim.

The counterclaim
is for your security deposit.

The rest of it is nonsense. You moved out,
you want her to pay your moving costs,

your hotel fees and everything.
That's ridiculous. Okay.

So, if you've received
your security deposit, now,

what you owe her is
a month's rent, which is $650.

And I know you're dying to tell me
that there was noise there,

that you couldn't live there,
that it was terrible...

Well, that's what happens
when you live in a place

with a whole bunch of other people.

Did you look at this room
before you moved in?

Yes, I did, Your Honor.

- [Judy] So, you went to the house.
- Mm-hmm.

When you went to see the house,
Amber was there.

She introduced herself as the landlord.
That's what it says here.

- Yes.
- And she let you know

that she wasn't in the house.

That her parents were in the house
as tenants, but she wasn't in the house.

- Yes.
- [Judy] And you moved in

and somebody was making noise.
Somebody was playing their music loud.

- Mm-hmm. Yes.
- It was a problem for you.

- You asked them to be quiet.
- Yes, Your Honor.

- [Judy] You told her it was a problem.
- Yes.

And then there was
some sort of a kerfuffle.

I don't know what happened,
you want to tell me?

Yes, Your Honor. I am a Federal employee,
Your Honor.

And when I signed this lease
back in, uh, May,

it states there... And I'm also, uh,
in recovery, Your Honor.

And it states, very clearly, in the lease
that there's absolutely no smoking

on the premises or no drugs
on the premises, Your Honor.

There was absolutely marijuana
being smoked in the house.

And right after
I brought that to her attention,

I then, received
a 30-day termination notice.

Because I could absolutely not
live in that house anymore.

With my job, I felt
it was not a safe place for me.

- Where did you go?
- Where did I go?

Just a second. Is that your son?

- [Nancy] This is my son.
- Okay.

Does he live in the area?
I know you called him

and he came and helped you move.
Correct? Who does he live with?

My son? He rents a room
with roommates.

- [Judy] So he has roommates.
- Yes.

Tell me where you went when you left.
You didn't get a three day notice to quit,

you got a 30-day notice from her

that she was not renewing the lease
pursuant to this.

- Right. Absolutely.
- You chose to leave in three days.

That was your choice.

- Because...
- [Judy] You had 30 days to stay,

and you had a month-to-month tenancy.
Okay, you chose to leave.

So, where did you go?

I, uh, got a U-Haul. I didn't really have
a place at the time to go,

but my boy's grandmother
offered her place to me.

I stayed there for a couple weeks.
She said, you pay $180,

I'll let you stay here for a couple weeks,

until I was able to find another place,
Your Honor.

- [Judy] And then you did.
- Yes, ma'am, I did.

Great. Okay, so,
the security deposit you have.

Mm-hmm.

And she doesn't have her month's rent
which is $650.

Are we done here?

Judgment for the Plaintiff for the amount
of $650. We're finished, thank you.

[bailiff]
This court is adjourned.

I am not aware of anyone
using marijuana in my house.

There was marijuana being smoked
in the house.

My dad says that he's not smelling it,

so I guess I can't really attest
to the legitimacy of that.

It was not a safe place for me to be.

You know, some people don't realize,
Sarah,

that if you leave a premises
that you have lived in...

It's like going to a restaurant and
ordering a steak,

and them delivering the steak,
you taking a bite,

and say, you know, I really
don't like that steak, and finishing it.

Then, telling the waiter you're not
gonna pay for the steak.

I always say, you ate the steak.
If you're a tenant,

and you find the living conditions
such that, you know,

you find it untenable to live there,
you have a prerogative

of changing your residence.
But you don't live there for two months

and only pay for one,
and then make excuses

because you ate...

- the steak.
- The steak.

[narrator]
Have you been cheated?