02x59 - DUI Slam into House and Covid Cancel

[bunniefuu]

It's one o'clock in the morning,
and you're on your way home.

And...?

I seen, like, a dog. I swerved.

You go into a house.

She went through two walls.
What were you drinking?

Two beers.
The dog that I swerved to hit,

she seen the dog as well.

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[♪ dramatic music plays]

Whitney Shepherd is suing motorist

Rachel Velasquez for property damage.

[Kevin] Court come to order.
All rise.

Have a seat, everyone.

Hello, Judge. Case 2098,
Shepherd versus Velasquez.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Okay, Ms. Velasquez,
I'm going to start with you

because the case is unusual
and the case really starts with you.

- You were driving your car.
- Correct.

And had an accident
on the 13th of February of this year.

- Right.
- Tell me about it.

I was going west on...

- You were driving?
- I was driving. I was driving.

First, at what time
did this take place?

It happened about one a.m.

- Where were you coming from?
- From my sister's home.

- Anybody else in the car with you?
- No.

What day of the week was February 13th?

That was on a Saturday.

So you were at some sort of
a gathering at your sister's house?

I was at my sister's house, yes.

How many people were at the gathering?

There was just about maybe ten of us.

And what time had you arrived
at your sister's house?

Saturday at midmorning.

- Did you have dinner there?
- Yes.

Any alcohol served all day?

Yes.

- What kind?
- Just a beer.

Just a... beer.

- I wasn't there.
- [chuckles] A beer.

My invitation got lost in the mail.

What were you drinking?

I, uh, drank two beers,
but again, mind you,

This was, and... it was at the afternoon.

Just a second.
So you had two beers?

Yes.

Now, you get into the car,
it's one o'clock in the morning,

and you're on your way home.
And...?

Let's hear what happened.

Okay.

Traveling from your sister's house,
maybe I'll make this easier for you.

How far a distance is it
from your sister's house to your house?

About twenty minutes.

And how far into the trip
did this accident occur?

Like fifteen minutes.

- And tell me about the accident.
- Okay, so, I was about to...

I seen, like, a dog
or something in the street.

- So, as soon as I seen it...
- Just a second.

So it's one o'clock in the morning,
you see something in the street.

That's what you said.

Okay, well, it was... it was something,
but it turned out to be a dog.

- So what did you do?
- I swerved to not hit the dog.

[Judge Judy]
Swerve to not hit the something,

[defendant]
But it was a dog.

[Judge Judy] Well, we're going
to get to how you know that.

So you swerved
to avoid hitting the something,

and you went into a house,
went over a fire hydrant.

The fire hydrant actually...

when I hit the fire hydrant,
the fire hydrant pushed me into the house.

Fire hydrant, water.

And you went into the house.

The force of the fire hydrant
didn't send you into the house, madam,

unless you're telling me
that the fire hydrant went

and the water was such force
that it pushed your car into the house.

Which I won't believe.
Do you understand?

So you swerved
to avoid something in the road

and were clearly going
at such a speed

that you went right into a house.

Did you go through the wall of the house?

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

And that's what this case is about,
because Ms. Shepherd

is a renter in that house,

and she says that everything
of value that she had

was destroyed because of
the water and inundation.

And your automobile insurance company

paid the owner of the house
for the damage to the house,

but did not compensate
Miss Shepherd for any of her property

that was destroyed.

- That's what the case is about.
- Right.

[Judge Judy] So now this dog
becomes sort of interesting.

- You have a dog?
- I do.

Now, you say that you swerved
to avoid a something

that you subsequently said was a dog.

Now, you're in the house
because that's where the car is.

I assume that they had
to get you out of the car,

or did you get out of the car on your own?

Yeah, my car was not in the house,
but I didn't...

I was out of... I was out of the car.
I got out by myself.

Do you have photographs of the house?

- [plaintiff] I do.
- I'd like to take a look at them.

Oh, that's pretty much in the house.

[plaintiff]
Yeah. She went through two walls.

[Judge Judy] Yeah.
Do you know how much money

your insurance company
paid out to the homeowner?

- Five thousand.
- [Judge Judy] Five thousand?

- Is this your car?
- Yes.

And this is where it landed?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Now, you got out of the car,
and what did you do?

I got out of the car. My sister,
she was there... she was there, too.

What do you mean
your sister was there too?

She was following right behind me

'cause she's the one, Louise...
she had seen the dog that...

the dog that I swerved to hit,
she seen the dog as well.

[laughing]

I'm talking to you.

You got out of the car and...

My sister... I went to go walk
to get my sister,

and we waited for the ambulance
to get... to get there.

- For whom?
- For me.

- What was wrong with you?
- I had three broken ribs.

Where did you wait for the ambulance?

Um, right in front of the house.

Now tell me about the dog.

The dog, I... right when I...

right when the car came to the stop,
I seen the dog run back into the yard.

[Judge Judy] Yeah. So...
[soft chuckle]

You're crashing
into the front of the house.

Your eyes are in front of you.

You're crashing into a house.

You take down the whole wall
when you crashed into the house,

and what you're telling me
is you crashed into the house,

and out of what kind of vision...?

You went through a wall.

How did your eyes get to the backyard?

You swerve. You go into...

Either you swerve because
there's something in the road,

or you swerve because
you weren't paying attention,

or you swerve
because the beers that you had

were too late in the day.

Whatever the reason that you swerved,

but now you're facing
the inside of a house.

I want to know at what point
you saw a dog run to the backyard.

Well, the-the car wasn't...
I didn't hit head on.

It was on the side.
It was on the... on the... the left side...

The right side.
It was on the right side.

So, when I hit,
everything went to the right side.

I didn't hit it straight on,
head forward.

This is your car.

[defendant] I didn't...
I did not hit straight, head on.

[Judge Judy]
This is your car.

So you're telling me
your car was damaged before?

- No, ma'am.
- Okay.

Now I'd like you to tell me,
Ms. Shepherd,

I'm sure you have a list of things
that were destroyed.

- You did not have renters insurance?
- I did not.

And what happened
when you submitted a claim

to Ms. Velasquez's insurance company?

Absolutely nothing.

- They never even got back to me on it.
- Okay.

I'd like to see proof
that your insurance company

paid the owner of the house.

- I don't have that on me.
- You have your insurance card here?

- Yes.
- Good, I'd like to see it.

Did you make a claim?

I did. I did. The day on February 14th.

Who owns this car?

- I do.
- What kind of car were you driving?

- It's a 2017 Honda Accord.
- Did they pay to have your car fixed?

- No.
- Did they cover it at all?

You had a $500 deductible for collision.
Did they pay for your car?

- No.
- You have medical records?

- No, I didn't bring them.
- Did the police respond to the location?

- Yes.
- Were you given a blood alcohol test

or a breathalyzer test at the scene?

- No.
- Do you have a police report?

- I do.
- I'd like to take a look at it.

Okay. Arrived at the scene
at 2:30 in the morning.

[reading] "This was determined
to be a solo vehicle crash

with minor injuries
involving an impaired driver."

That impaired driver would be you,

because she wasn't driving her house.

Now, Ms. Velasquez, not good form
when the police reports...

Do you see the police report?

- Have you seen the police report?
- Yes.

Okay, so you know
the police report found

that you were impaired
at the time of the accident.

It also indicates that the police officer
immediately after the accident,

questioned you on a gurney
in the hospital.

That was immediately after this happened.
I'm going to read what it says.

"Party one, Velasquez,
was riding her Honda

at 55 miles per hour
while under the influence."

It says at the time of your
statement, party one, that's you...

states, "She attempted to turn left

because she was heading
to her mother's house,

but did not recall how she crashed."

I certainly don't see
anything about a dog here,

only an impaired driver.

And then later you told
this police officer

that you admitted drinking
three beers earlier at home.

Police officer said he asked you

whether you felt the effects
of alcohol drinks,

to which you replied yes.

"The officer conducted
a limited number of field sobriety tests

at the hospital,
which Party One failed to perform.

Party One's subject to signs
and symptoms of intoxication."

- And you were placed under arrest.
- No, ma'am.

Yeah. "I placed Party One"...
that's you... "under arrest for DUI."

[♪ dramatic music plays]

This police officer
determined that you were drunk,

and this police report
has absolutely nothing

about a dog causing the accident.

It has you saying,
"I don't know what caused the accident."

Yes.

[announcer]
And later today...

I don't understand
what the issue is.

She paid for the tickets.
You did not.

- But you used the vouchers.
- I did.

Well, then she's entitled to be
compensated for what she paid.

I mean, I don't know.
This is not rocket science.

Am I missing something here?

[♪ dramatic music plays]

[♪ dramatic music plays]

[announcer] Whitney Shepherd
claims motorist Rachel Velasquez

owes for property and water damage

after Rachel's car
ran over a fire hydrant

and crashed into Whitney's home.

Something just came through my house.

My house exploded.

I'm stuck in here.

I don't know what's going on.

There is a car in my house.

Oh my god.

They hit the fire hydrant.

They went through... through my house.
I no longer have a house.

Okay. Did you receive a citation?

No, I did not.

- You didn't?
- No, ma'am.

- Really?
- No.

Well, then you want me
to assume that the police officer

said that he placed you under arrest...

and I can understand why they
didn't remove you from the hospital...

that you were subsequently
given a citation,

but you had to receive some sort
of citation from the police,

madam, unless you have
medical records

which indicate
that the blood that they drew

indicated that there was
no alcohol in your system

because this police officer
determined that you were drunk.

And this police report
has absolutely nothing

about a dog causing the accident.

It has you saying, "I don't know
what caused the accident."

Yes.

- Okay. Miss Shepherd?
- Yes.

The defendant is responsible for
the damages done to your property,

and so I've seen the extent
of this damage done to the house.

Were you able to stay in
the house subsequent to this crash?

- No.
- Where did you go?

I got relocated to Corona.
I'm renting a room in Corona.

And had you been
renting the whole house?

Yes, yes.

- For how long?
- Ten years.

- And what was your rent on the house?
- $715 a month.

And in the ten years that you lived there,
you accumulated all your stuff?

Well, that and time before I lived there.
But, yes.

- But for ten years.
- For ten years.

Were you able to take
any of your furniture?

I got three pieces of furniture,
which included my mattress.

- It was okay?
- It was okay.

Okay.

And I got, uh, an armoire

that is ruined at the bottom
from the water,

and a dresser that was ruined
from the water.

The rest of the furniture in the house,
did it belong to you?

- It did.
- Okay.

So you had table, chairs, eating.

Table and chairs, no couch.

It was a small house, four...


What about your clothes?

I have not seen my clothes
since the day the accident happened.

Did the water infiltrate the house
as a result of the fire hydrant?

Yes. I was trapped in that house
for four and a half hours.

Me and my dog were trapped in
the house for four and a half hours.

My dog was in bed with me, sleeping.

When you left to rent this room,
did you take anything with you?

Well, the night the accident happened,

when I was trapped
for four and a half hours,

I-I was hiding
because the fire hydrant was

throwing big rocks onto the roof,

and I thought the whole house
was coming down.

But I kept coming out
and filling a backpack

with things my grandchildren
had given me

and pictures of my grandchildren.

I didn't even think to take
clothes or anything out.

And you went right there to
someplace where you were relocated?

- Or did you go to a relative's?
- Yeah, I was relocated immediately.

It was red-tagged, and it took


so I could hire a company.

Do you know how much the landlord
got for the damage on this house?

She had insurance,
and she's rebuilding right now.

- So she had her own insurance?
- She had her own insurance, yeah.

Okay. Ms. Velasquez,
there's no question in my mind

that your mind is fresher
at the time of the incident

than it is months and months later

when you've had a chance to reflect on
why an accident is not your fault.

You were questioned by police officers
immediately after the incident.

You responded, actually,
to the police officers

and told them what happened,

and told them that you crashed
and you didn't know why.

The police officers
observed your demeanor.

They determined that
you were operating a vehicle

under the influence of alcohol.

I don't know whether
you have insurance or not.

I don't know whether you had insurance
on the date of the incident or not,

but by your careless
and reckless behavior,

you've turned this lady's life
upside down.

She had a little life in a little house

where she had all of her property,

and you've turned her life
totally upside down.

She has nothing,
and you're responsible for that.

So if you had no insurance

or if the insurance disclaimed,
that would be your problem.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount requested, $10,000.

We're finished.

- Thank you, Your Honor.
- [Kevin] This court is adjourned.

I think it was the correct decision,

as it really could be the only decision.

I remember seeing the dog
run through,

and... but, yeah, it was just...
it was an accident.

I thought my house exploded,
and I was in a house

that was going to come down with my dog.

Luckily, I didn't hurt anybody.

I think anybody
who would drink and drive

isn't willing to take responsibility
for their actions.

You know,
sometimes you're the windshield

and sometimes you're a bug.

- Sometimes you're both.
- As in this case.

That's really a trick.
I have no idea what that insurance is.

A lot of fine print, I'm feeling,
was probably the issue.

Yeah. But I cannot imagine
if it was legitimate insurance.

And she had legitimate insurance,

except that she's got a $10,000 maximum
on any sort of collision,

so I know what it is.

I actually feel sorry for that lady,
don't you?

Me too. Everything in 500 square feet,
in a home that she's built.

Where she's comfortable.
She was comfortable in...

- No, exactly.
- And she has nothing.

And I didn't see
a whole bunch of remorse there.

Nope. Me either.

Case number 2033,

Broussard/Fierro versus Stigney.

All parties, please step forward.

[announcer] Tammi Broussard
and Catherine Fierro

are suing 21-year-old Alesha Stigney

for travel vouchers and harassment.

Whose son was it
who was living with the defendant?

My son.

Broad strokes, what I get from this...

- Is that your son?
- Yes, ma'am.

Your son became involved,
according to you, with the defendant?

She has one child with your son
and one child with someone else?

Yes, ma'am.

When I gather, there was a time
that everybody was happy living together.

And I believe it was your brother
who was getting married in Las Vegas?

Yes, ma'am.

And the defendant at that time
was put in charge

of ordering the plane tickets
for everyone to go,

but the defendant was told
to use someone else's credit card.

- And who is that?
- That's Catherine Fierro.

- That was Ms. Fierro?
- Yes.

- Ms. Fierro is whom?
- I'm the fiancée to her brother.

In any event, the wedding did not
come off as planned in Las Vegas.

Parties did not use the flight tickets
that you had booked

with someone else's credit card?

Correct.

And you were given travel vouchers,
and that's what they're suing for.

They want their travel vouchers.

That's it. So I just have a few questions.
It's not a very difficult case.

When you booked the flights for everyone,
how many tickets did you book?

It was myself, my 4-year-old.

The infant was a lap,
so she would not count.

- And your boyfriend?
- At the time, yes.

- [Judge Judy] Yes.
- And then it was also Tammi Broussard,

her daughter, and that was all.

Whose credit card did you
pay for those tickets with?

- It was Cat's.
- That's you?

- Yes.
- And did you pay for those tickets?

They were put on my credit card,
yes, they were, Your Honor.

Did you in fact pay for them,
is my question.

- Yes.
- I'd like to see proof

that you paid for their flights,

and if you have, the following
month's bill as well.

Did you ever receive
a credit for those flights?

- No, I did not.
- On your credit...

I did not know what happened
until I asked the, um, son,

the flight, the airline, to send me this.

- I'd like to see it.
- Here you go.

[Judge Judy]
Because it's still on your credit card?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Okay, so you received vouchers,
according to this,

that totaled little over
a thousand dollars.

- Yes.
- What did you do with them?

- I did use them.
- Just a second.

- You didn't pay for the tickets?
- Correct.

So my question is, why didn't you
turn the vouchers over

to the people
who actually paid for the tickets?

[♪ dramatic music plays]

You booked the tickets
but didn't pay for them.

Wedding got canceled
because of COVID.

You got vouchers for what she paid for,

and you used them without any agreement.

What is the issue here?
Am I missing something?

[♪ dramatic music plays]

[♪ dramatic music plays]

[announcer] Tammi Broussard
and Catherine Fierro

claim 21-year-old Alesha Stigney

owes for travel vouchers
and harassment.

Now, did you discuss
the vouchers with her?

I did not meet her until,
I believe, early February,

when we left Las Vegas
to go to Minnesota.

And shortly after meeting her,
the day that we got there, um,

she called my fiancé,
uh, asked if we could watch the baby.

- No, no, no. You ca...
- But we did have a discussion about it.

Only a discussion with you. I don't
want to hear about any conversation.

Okay, well, I did...
I did bring it up with her.

Well, I'd like you to tell me
what the discussion was.

Well, when we came to walk the...
to watch her baby for the first time,

she went to show me the baby's room,
where the diapers were,

where the wipes are, and she was
running around looking for wipes.

And I said, um,
"I don't want to seem rude,

but you do have the vouchers,
correct, for the wedding?"

They were specifically meant
for my wedding.

And she said she didn't
really have time to talk about it.

She was going out for the weekend,
to Rochester,

to go out and have fun with her,
so she just left very quickly.

Then we watched the baby a second time,

and I decided to leave a little bit early
to get to the house to watch the baby.

And when we arrived, she was out the door.

So she did not want to talk
about the vouchers.

That's sort of speculation.

- Yes.
- I don't understand what the issue is.

She paid for the tickets. You did not.
But you used the vouchers.

- I did.
- Well, then she's

entitled to be... to be compensated
for what she paid.

Your Honor, she also posted
on Facebook trying to sell the tickets.

Well, I mean, I don't know.
This is not rocket science.

Am I missing something here?

You booked the tickets
but didn't pay for them.

Wedding got canceled
because of COVID.

You got vouchers for what she paid for,

- and you used them...
- Yes.

...without any agreement.

What is the issue here?
Am I missing something?

- I don't think so.
- Would you tell me?

Yes. So, back last year,
I have the agreement.

It was sometime, I think, June or July.

Tammi moved to Minnesota,
or to Austin.

Don't go off on a tang...
Listen to me.

Her apartment is in my name
because she couldn't put it in her name.

Okay.

So they said because later in February,

Cat had now moved into
Tammi's apartment with Tammi.

- That is in my name.
- Okay.

As a thank-you, they had said
that they did not want

the vouchers back that I could use,

and they also said that they
were not able to use them

before they expired in October
of this year.

- That is not true, Your Honor.
- What do you mean, "They said"?

Those are two people.

Yes, Tammi and Cat.

I had ran into Cat at Walmart
sometime... late March, I think it was,

after me and the...
Roman had broke up.

- Whatever his name is. Roman?
- Roman.

[Judge Judy]
"Roman and I broke up."

I'm still trying
to figure out why you didn't

give her the vouchers
when you got them.

We were still together,
me and Roman.

We were planning on
taking a trip this year.

What difference does it make?

Were you supposed to pay
for the tickets to Vegas?

- No.
- Was that your agreement,

that somebody else
was going to pay for them?

They agreed that they'd pay for them, yes.

- Is that right?
- To come to the wedding.

Not to go anywhere else,
just to the wedding.

To come to the wedding.
But the wedding was cancelled.

- Yes.
- Correct.

And we did not speak at Walmart
about anything about those.

What I have here are two charges,

one for 320 and one for 538.

Is that what you spent on the tickets?

- Yes.
- And, ma'am...

I have something
from June 18th on Facebook

where she was trying to sell them
on Facebook, and I had, um...

I actually, Ms. Broussard,
don't understand why you're here.

I'm here because
there's also a harassment.

We have a police report regarding that.

- Okay.
- As well as she...

Okay, so with regard to your claim,

she owes you $858 for the tickets?

- Yes.
- So that judgment is taken care of.

- You can have a seat.
- Thank you.

The other part of the claim
is for harassment.

Do you want to tell me
when this harassment started?

I assume it was after your son

and the defendant
terminated their relationship.

And if you indicated
that you had a police report,

I'd like to look at it.

Yes, ma'am.
Here is the police report.

And actually, it, um,
the harassment had started...

Just one second.

As far as this police report you gave me,

the only thing that's complained
about here,

really, from your end initially,
was the fact that

your son's tax money was
put in her bank account by mistake.

It was something entirely different,

because he doesn't have
the evidence that he needs with that.

I'm telling you what the document is

that you handed me
as evidence of harassment.

And the document that you handed me
as evidence of harassment,

the focal point of it is,
last week, his...

that's his... tax return got deposited.

Alesha withdrew
all the money from the account,

and this included
$1,500 from the tax return

and a thousand dollars
that was in the account.

That was the crux
of your complaint against her.

Well, that's not harassment.

Well, the harassment
had started on April 27th,

which is, like, a month
after those two had broken up.

It was a really nasty thing.

I don't know, like it says in there,

I don't know if it's coincidental,
but she sped through a red...

or a yellow light, almost hit me once.

Her boyfriend had been
a total nuisance in my parking lot,

blowing the horn.

Listen to me very carefully.

If you feel as if you are
the subject of harassment,

file for a protective order.

Do you understand?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Okay, good.

The defendant
owes your co-plaintiff 858.

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

I was very nice to them,
and they just disregarded all of that.

She's very upset because
my son no longer dates her.

There was drugs involved

where she couldn't get
an apartment on her own.

I pay my own rent. I pay my
own bills. I just have bad credit.

And it's not even a drug-related thing.

I was nice and put their apartment in
my name, and that didn't matter to them.

She's a thief. I mean, those tickets
were meant for my wedding,

and she used them for something else.

Doesn't matter if you're nice or not.
Give it back.

I wish they were all that simple.

[laughs] Yeah, I mean,
from reading the papers,

I could tell there was some more
conflict than I think we got into,

but none of that underlying conflict
between any of the parties

had anything
to do with the facts of the case,

that she used someone else's credit card.

She received a benefit
that she did not pay for,

- and they were entitled to it.
- Easy.

- Yeah, easy.
- Easy.

[announcer] Are you a victim of a scam?


[♪ dramatic music plays]