02x105 - Mexican Pet-Napping Fiasco

[bunniefuu]

You claim he said to you...

"I have your two dogs."

Listen to me.

"You're never going to see them again."

Stop talking. Listen.

He took my dogs and my cats.

You're trying to speak over me!

Okay.

[Judy]
I may not be finished with you.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

♪♪

[narrator]
Karen Heckendorf

is suing her home buyer, Dante Zarzosa.

For unlawful eviction, extortion
and emotional distress.

[bailiff]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

[bailiff]
Hello, Judge. Case 2156.

Heckendorf vs Zarzosa.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Heckendorf, who is this gentleman?

[Karen]
This was an attorney I hired in Mexico,

kind of in the middle of the night when...

[Judy] He's an attorney?

In Mexico.

[Judy] Okay.

And my witness.

Okay. So... trying to piece this

complaint and answer together.

You purchased a home from Mr. Zarzosa?

No, Your Honor.

He purchased a home from you.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] Okay. Got it.

[Judy] He purchased
a home from you in Mexico.

Yes.

Where in Mexico?

About five miles north of Rosarito,

maybe ten miles south of the border.

[Judy]
How long have you owned the home?

I owned the home about five years.

How much did you pay for it?

When I bought it, it was 180.

[Judy] How much did
Mr. Zarzosa pay for the house?



[Judy] On what date
did he purchase the house?

February the ninth.

[Judy] Were you present
at the closing of the house?

- [Karen] I was.
- When you closed on the house,

on February ninth,

how much money did you receive?

- I was supposed to receive...
- [Judy] No, no. Don't.

You were supposed to receive $245,000.

How much did you receive?

I received a cashier's check for 15,000



[Karen] 15,000.

I received cash,



and I received the next day
through... of a wire transfer,



I have the paperwork.

[Judy] Just tell me what
that translated to in dollars.

[Karen] It was $220,500.

[Judy] Okay. Well, if you have proof
to how much the translation of

pesos to dollars is,

that means that you got a total so far
without the down payments.

Did he give you a down payment?

[Karen] Yes, 5,000.

- I was paid for my house.
- [Judy] Hmm?

I haven't... I was paid for my house.

[Judy]
No, I understand that.

But this is the problem.

Mr. Zarzosa says
that when he took out the mortgage,

he increased
the amount that he was borrowing.

So that he had
closing costs covered.

To the extent I think of $3,800

or $3,900?

It was a total of almost $10,000.

- [Judy] No, no, no.
- [Dante] Oh. $3,900.

That's... what did I ask you?
What's 10,000?



It was the difference
you said of $3,900.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And so he wanted
from you the difference.

- Well, the realtor gave me...
- [Judy] Not the realtor.

- He wanted from you...
- The realtor told me that.

I've never really spoke to Dante

except for on February 22nd

and the time that
he came and looked at my house.

But the realtor sent me a fake statement

which I looked at, it looked like it's
a high school kid's piece of paper,

- and I said I was not making a refund.
- [Judy] No... Okay.

Well, you have to make a refund
if you were paid more for the house

than you're bargained for
with the purchaser.

That's true.

- [Judy] That's true.
- [Karen] And the bank told me

- on April 3rd...
- [Judy] No, no.

They can't tell you anything.

Oh, really?

If they documented something to you,
then I'll read it.

But you can't tell me
what a bank told you.

First of all, banks don't speak.

Now, I'd like you to get
what Mr. Zarzosa is handing me.

[Dante] This is from the bank.

[page turning]

Well, I can't read this.

But what I can't read...

is in Spanish, but I can read
the numbers which indicate

that you received, Ms. Heckendorf,

a total of $249,544.22

Let me see...

May I see that, ma'am?

Absolutely.

[Karen]
Because this is what...

that bank gave me right here.

And I did go with my witness
to their bank on April 1st.

And they told me that was...

You can't...
Bank can't tell you... anything.

They told me that was
the correct amount.

They can't... A bank can't tell you.

They can give you a document,
which I will read,

but a bank can't tell you anything.

This is not really
a case about this contract.

[Judy]
Yeah, it is. It started this way.

[Karen]
They're saying that that bank

sent me the wrong amount of money?

Yes.

- [Karen] Oh.
- [Judy] That's what it says.

- That's what that says.
- That's what this says.

[Judy]
That's what that says.

I imagine anyone can write what they want.

But I was not paid
the wrong amount of money.

[Judy]
Well, the bottom line of it was

eventually, you gave him back $2,800

of the 39 that he said that
he was entitled to.

Is that correct?

- No.
- [Judy] Ms. Heckendorf.

You never gave him $2,800?

I signed a contract and gave him
$2,800 under duress.

He took my dogs and my cat,

and he took my property.

I want you to understand
what I'm saying to you.

When I ask you a question,
I expect an answer.

- [Karen] Mm-hmm.
- You gave him $2,800.

And you gave him the $2,800,

because he believed

and told you he had taken out
extra money

in order to cover his closing costs.

And you got that money.

And he wanted that money back

because he was gonna have to pay for it
through his mortgage.

I've never heard that
these were closing costs.

This is the first

- I've heard about closing costs.
- [Judy] Well, I'm gonna tell you this.

- I'm gonna...
- [Karen] I never heard about...

- ...closing costs...
- Stop talking.

- Stop talking.
- Mm-hmm.

Stop talking.

Okay.

♪♪

- I'm keeping it very simple.
- Okay.

You're gonna want to
keep it very complicated

and I, madam, are going to
keep it very simple.

So the bottom line is
you stayed in the house for free!

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Karen Heckendorf,
claims her home buyer,

Dante Zarzosa, extorted money

by keeping her pets in property.

Dante is countersuing
for false accusations,

and lost wages.

Good. This is your piece of evidence?

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] Your piece of evidence says,

that you got $249,544.22.

No.

- [Judy] That's what it says.
- No, it doesn't.

[Judy]
Okay, that's what it says.

You gave him $2,800.

He wanted $3,900. You gave him $2,800.

What you're suing him for...

He also wanted 25...

- I'm going to dismiss your case.
- [Karen] Okay.

It's just as easy for me
to send you back to Mexico.

Once you closed on this house,

according to what I looked at,
Ms. Heckendorf,

you asked if you could stay in the house

because your new house
wasn't ready to close escrow.

Is that correct?
That's a yes or a no.

Yes.

[Judy] And so you closed the house
on February 9th

and he allowed you to stay in the house.

When were you supposed to
vacate the house?

March the 1st.

- I paid...
- [Judy] Just... That's...

That's a date!

- March 1st!
- Mm-hmm.

[Judy] And between
February 9th and March 1st,

how much did
you pay him in rent?

- I gave him the money...
- [Judy] That...

- ...for the casita.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- Yes.

That's an amount
between February 9th

and March 1st.

$2,370.

So, that was a month's rent.
Is that what you received?

No, Your Honor.

How much did she pay you in rent,

between February 9th

and when she was suppose to vacate
March 1st?

- She would've paid you rent in advance.
- No. Nothing. Nothing.

Show me proof that you
paid him anything for rent

on February 9th.

Did you ever receive from
this agent, $2,370?

No, Your Honor.

Well, do you know who he is?

Yes, I do know. That's the realtor that

represented both of us on the purchase.

[Judy] And you never received this
on February 9th?

He acknowledges he signed that he received

$1,620 as and for the last month's rent

and 750 security deposit

as well as pro-rated rent of $120.

I don't know what pro-rated rent is for.

It was for, um, the end of January.

They moved in a few days before.

Who moved in?

The people that rented the casita.

[Judy]
And that's part of the house?

- [Karen] Yes.
- [Judy] What is that?

I have two houses on the property.
The one I lived in,

and the casita.

And Dante gave me a email

that if I gave him this money
from the casita,

that I could live in the front house
until March the 1st.

- I have that email.
- [Judy] Just a sec.

When he brought the house...

- Mmm.
- [Judy] Did he or did he not

buy the casita as well?

Yes, he did.

So he bought the casita as well.

So, it belongs to him.
This rent belonged to him.

- Only if I'm renting it.
- [Judy] What do you mean?

He's not giving you anything.
If he buys a house,

and there's another property,

he owns that property.

He owns whatever rent was due
for that property.

So what you're saying is,
let me cut to the chase...

What you're saying is,
you claim he said to you,

"I've just paid you a quarter of
a million dollars for your house.

Which includes the casita.

Your house isn't ready to close escrow.

I will let you stay in the house, free,

if you let me keep
the money from the casita's rent.

Yes, I have an email.

[Judy] So, that the bottom line...

Don't speak. It doesn't look like...

you're losing so far.

I may not be finished with you.

- [Karen] And I hadn't rented...
- [Judy] You're speaking.

You're trying to speak over me.

- Well...
- And I'm keeping it very simple.

You're gonna want to keep it very
complicated,

and I, madam,
are going to keep it very simple.

So the bottom line is you stayed
in the house for free!

From February 9th or 10th until

it was supposed to be until March 1st.

That was your understanding.

You were staying in his house for free.

I didn't have to rent the casita.

[Judy] I don't care whether you had to
or whether you didn't have to.

You were staying in your house
that you sold to him

for free until your new house was ready.

That's a yes.

I felt that...

I don't care how you feel.
I don't care how you feel.

Okay.

[Judy] You sold him your property
and you took advantage of

a piece of that property, the casita,
in order to negotiate yourself

a free three-week
rent until your house was ready.

Now you may stand there
and look at me in that smug way,

but you and I both know that that was
a deal you made for yourself.

- Yes I agree...
- [Judy] Okay!

I agreed to rent the casita

ahead of time before I moved out

and give him the money,

so that I can stay on the property until
my house closed escrow

- one week. It may have been...
- Pretty tricky.

- March the 6th.
- [Judy] Pretty tricky.

Bottom line is you stayed
in his house for free.

- Okay.
- [Judy] And then...

But the rest of the case
is about is that you claim

that he changed the locks on the door,

before March 1st,
and in the house you had your pets.

And he held ransom your pets
until you gave him

what turned out to be $2,800.

That's your complaint.

He changed the locks on February 28th.

Where were you when he changed the locks?

February 22nd.

[Judy] 22. Where were you
when he changed the locks?

I was in my office in San Diego.

Okay. And how did you find out that
the locks were changed on the door?

Dante, um, sent me
an email that I found later

admitting to what he did that I...

[Judy] I asked a question.

I was at my office

and he called me on the phone and he said,

- "This is Dante Zarzosa."
- [Judy shushing]

- [Karen] And I had...
- My way. My way!

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] He called you in the office.

That's how you found out
he change the locks.

- [Karen] Yes.
- That's an answer.

Approximately what time
did he call you in your office?

It was about 6:30... 6:45 in the evening.

- [Judy] 6:30 pm?
- Mm-hmm.

And tell me what you claim
he said to you and what you to him.

"This is Dante Zarzosa.
I have your two dogs.

You're never going to see them again
if you don't pay me $3,900."

[Judy] Now, that wasn't the first time you
would have heard about this $3,900.

I heard about it on February the 9th.

No, the 8th.
Sorry, February 8th, I heard about it.

And so you told him after that,
that you would...

Or you told him
or you told your lawyers... that you?

- [Mena] Yes, that's me.
- [Judy] Now, you can stand up.

- I met him...
- [Judy] Shhh! Don't speak!

[Karen] Okay.

♪♪

On what date did you get your pets back?

Well, I didn't actually get them.

My friend went and begged for the animal

- [Judy] Don't tell me what they did!
- [Karen] They gave him...

- And they gave him...
-[Judy] Stop.

Stop it, please.

- Sit.
- [Mena] Yep.

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Karen Heckendorf,

has accused her home buyer, Dante Zarzosa,

of extortion by threatening her pets.

Dante claims Karen owes him
for making false accusations.

Your last name, sir, is?

- Mena, your Honor.
- [Judy] Mena.

Mr. Mena, you're an attorney in Mexico?

- Yes.
- [Judy] Okay.

Are you a real estate attorney?

Yes. Civil attorney
and real estate as well.

[Judy]
You understand what this is about

and you understand if
you're a real estate attorney

that sometimes people
take a mortgage that's

beyond what they need
in order to cover their closing costs.

- You understand that?
- Absolutely.

[Judy]
Okay. That's not an unusual thing.

I've bought and sold many homes.
A lot of people do that.

And when were you
first made aware of the fact

that the defendant
was at least claiming,

that there was an amount
that he had incurred debt on

by way of the mortgage,

in excess of what your client in Mexico

was supposed to receive
in the amount of $3,900.

February the 22nd,
or something like that.

[Judy] Two, twenty-two.

And when she came to your office...

now, we no longer
have attorney-client privilege, sir,

because she's brought you
here as a witness

- so you're going to testify...
- Sí.

...to every conversation that you've had.

- Absolutely. Yes.
- [Judy] You understand that?

- Absolutely.
- [Judy] Okay.

She came to you office
after she found out

that the locks were changed.

Actually, I was at home.
That was at night.

So when for the first time, sir,
did you hear about

this money that the defendant was claiming
that he was owed?

[Mena]
Mr. Dante, called me...

I want you to answer my question.

Yes. Yes, I will.

[Judy] My question is,

when she called you the night of the 22nd

at your home,
did she tell you at that time,

or soon thereafter,

that there was
a discrepancy that he was alleging

with regards to the closing fees?

Not actually. No. The answer is no.

[Judy]
She didn't tell you anything?

She told you he just illegally evicted her
and changed the locks.

Yes, and at the same time
because of the...

some situation regarding a deal she has
on the sale of the property.

Your client knew as of February 8th,

that the defendant was alleging that
she owed him money

from the closing costs.

That's clear. That's what she told me.

- Mm-hmm.
- Now they have had clearly

- ongoing discussions about this...
- [Mena] Mm-hmm.

from February 8th or 9th,

when the deal closed
and she got her money,

and she's living rent-free.

So what I want to know,
when did she share with you,

not that there was an ill*gal eviction,

not that her pets were in the house,

when did she share with you,

that he was claiming
that she owed him money?

And I'm not excusing self-help.

When did she tell you that?

Because she knew it at the beginning!

She knew it before she called you.

I have the, uh,
communication from Ms. Karen.

At the time we filed
a complaint in the DA office,

the Secretary Office.

This was the time she
expressed me the whole facts.

Oh, so she didn't tell you the whole facts

when she called you at home on the 22nd?

No, because she was very worried.

She was concerned about her babies.

- That's it.
- [Judy] I got it.

So I got what you're dealing with.
I understand who I'm dealing with.

Okay, on what date did you get
your pets back, Ms. Heckendorf?

- [Karen] The 22nd.
- [Judy] Okay, what time?

Well, I actually didn't get them.

I got them the next day,
because my friend

- went and begged for the animals.
- [Judy] Now, don't...

- Don't tell me that they did!
- [Karen] They gave him

- And they gave them to my...
- [Judy] Stop.

Stop, please.

- Sit.
- [Mena] Yep.

I just asked you
when you got your animals back.

So you got your animals back

on the same day as he changed
the locks on the house.

- They were given to friends?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Is that correct?
- Yes.

So, they were returned to you
the same day

because if they were given to your friends
at your direction,

- your friends were your agents.
- Yes.

- Good!
- [Karen] Only the dogs.

He had my cat the next day,

[Judy] Did you have her cat
or was it an outside cat?

Is it an outside cat?

Outside cat that lives indoors and they...

they put the doggy door down

- so the cat couldn't get out.
- [Judy] Okay.

- He told me he had my cat.
- [Judy] Okay.

When did you give him the $2,800?

About 5 o'clock on Wednesday the 23rd.

Is there a writing of the exchange
of that money?

I'd like to see it.

I can't read this.

The plaintiff has a translated version.

Can I see the translated copies, please?

- Can I speak?
- [Judy] About what?

About that paper.

- Yeah.
- [Dante] He was the one that drew it up.

He can tell you, Your Honor, and...and...

No, no, no. No, I want this.

Did you draw this up?

- Can I see it?
- [Judy] Yeah, sure.

Kevin, give it to him.

[Mena whispers] Thank you.

[Judy] Did you draw that?

- Yes, I participated...
- What does it tell me?

- It's translated...
- [Judy] Don't speak!

Do you have the translation
of this document?

- Yes, I gave it to you, ma'am.
- [Judy] Okay.

Okay, number five.

Very clear. This is the agreement:

that Mr. Zarzosa receives
from Ms. Heckendorf $2,800

for concept of refund of pending payment

the previous amount is received fully,

therefore the debt is liquidated.

And number six, the seller,

Ms. Karen Heckendorf,
grants the broadest waiver

derive from the investigation file,

presented before
the district attorney's office...

I assume that that was your complaint.

"And with the file number,

filed against Mr. Zarzosa

by not keeping any legal action present,

past or future derive
from the present business."

This is the police report.
They're talking about...

I don't care; what this says is you've
settled all your disputes with each other.

This says you've settled
everything that had to be settled.

Okay, but what the translations suggests,
is by this document,

each of you understood,

that you were giving him money,
he was not going to

follow through with anything
that had to do with

the criminal complaint
or the criminal complaint against him.

You went your own merry way.

Am I crazy? Or is that what
this document says, sir?

- You are the lawyer?
- Yes, it says so.

That's what it says so.
So I want to know

why you're all here bothering me?

You settled everything.

You got back your stuff.

You got out of your house.
You got your personal property.

He has a counterclaim
for false accusations,

and loss of wages as a result of whatever.

This document says that you've resolved
everything with each other.

So why are you here?

I did not sign that document,

under usual circumstances.

I hadn't had any sleep.

And I was coerced, and he said he was
gonna burn my furniture

or he was gonna sell it.

And the year it would take me to prosecute
him under this Mexican contract.

[Judy]
Put it down, sir. The case is over.

- [Karen] If he wanted to sue me...
- [Judy] The case is over.

You're a pretty savvy lady, madam.

You have an attorney that you consulted.

He was there when
this document was signed.

- [indistinct arguing]
- [Judy] Goodbye, we're done.

Case is dismissed,
so is your counterclaim.

- Bye!
- [bailiff] This court is adjourned.

♪♪

This is really a case about Dante

taking my animals
for hostage and extortion.

I didn't steal anything.

The only reason
I agreed to give him $2,800

was because he said he was gonna burn
or sell my furniture.

Gonna enjoy my house. Thank you, Karen.

That lady was never
intimidated into anything

- [laughs]
- I don't think so, either.

She knew she had got
an extra few bucks at the closing.

She knew she was really
living there rent-free,

which is really very nice.

You buy property,

letting her stay there for almost a month.

I have little sympathy for him
because he resorted to self-help,

went to the house,
even though he knew...

Changed the locks.

...she was still there
and changed the locks.

But that document clearly indicated
that both parties

at some point said, "Okay, enough.

I'm getting out of the house.
I'm getting my belongings.

My pets are back.
Here's your money, and finished."

Well, when you make a settlement,
you've made a settlement.

You don't get to make
one settlement in Mexico

- and another one in California.
- Agreed.

[Judy]
That's not the way things work.

[narrator]
Have you been cheated?