02x107 - Bouncy House vs. Large Dogs

[bunniefuu]

You rented the 38-foot obstacle course.

It was returned damaged.

Yes.

We didn't rent from them.

Just a second.

We told her, "your dog ate
our obstacle."

Do you have pictures
of our dog chewing it?

I don't wanna hear you again!

[Narrator] This is Judy Justice.

[Narrator] Tabitha and Brandon Robinson

are suing their customers,

Aaron and Sandra Laeng,

for property damage

and loss of income.

[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise!

Have a seat everyone.

Case 2152. Robinson versus Laeng.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome

How long have you been in the business

of renting party equipment?

We've been in the business
for about two and half years.

And when you started the business,

you started the business by purchasing

how many pieces of equipment?

We purchased 3 used units.

[Judy] 3 used?

Yes, obstacle courses,

and we rented them out

and then we saved the money
and then progressed,

uh, progressed, uh, renting them out
and getting more.

[Judy] Now, the jumper that you rented

- to the defendants...
- [Tabitha] Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] ...was one that you brought used

or one that you brought new?

I brought it new.

[Judy] When?

[Tabitha] I brought it on 07/19/21.

I have the, uh, receipt for it.

[Judy] I'd like to see it, please.

[Judy] Okay, and what you rented

from them was a 38-foot obstacle course.

We didn't rent from them.

[Judy] Who did?

Some friends of ours did.

They used our property for their
daughter's sweet 16.

They paid the Robinsons.

They signed the rental agreement.

We did not.

[Judy] Is that correct?

Sandra is actually the one
who handed me the cash.

Um...

[Judy] Did somebody sign
a rental agreement?

- [Tabitha] Yes.
- Who was it?

[Tabitha] It's a lady. Her name is...

[Judy] Okay, so let me understand that

this is a... let me frame it.

You rented
this piece of equipment,

- which is a 38-foot obstacle course...
- Yes, ma'am.

...to someone whose name is...

And according to your complaint,
it was returned damaged.

Yes.

[Judy] You say it can't be repaired
although you tried to patch it.

- Right.
- [Judy] And you want the cost

of a new obstacle course.

And while you paid $4,500,

you want $9,000...

- Well, we have...
- ...because you claim...

I have a list of loss of rentals
because people...

That's... you're not entitled to that.

[Judy] Okay, more important...

I want to know how you think

if these people were not

signatories to your rental agreement,

why would you sue them?

When we went there...

May I see that, please, by the way
while she is telling me the story.

[shuffling papers]

This, uh, when we went there
to drop it off,

we did all the...
I dealt completely with Sandra.

They run a business on their property

which is for, uh, parties.

Um, she said they do cigar club parties,
they do sweet 16 parties

on their property.

[Judy] Okay, got it.

You do this as a business?

So yes, we run...

- The answer is yes.
- Yes.

You, use your home property.

Is it your home property that you use?

- Yes.
- [Judy] So you'll have a large

enough piece of property that

other people who want to make parties
for their children

do them at your house?

- Yes.
- [Judy] So, you took physical custody

- of this?
- [Aaron] No.

Who did?

- The renters, the people...
- [Judy] No, no. It's physical custody.

Not legal custody.

We're not talking about legal custody.
You took physical custody

and put it on your property.

The people that signed
the original rental agreement

were on the property at the time

- that they dropped it off.
- I don't care.

- Was it on your property?
- [Aaron] Yes, it was on our property.

So that's a yes.

- Yes.
- [Judy] So it was on your property,

but used by somebody else,
and they were

- just using your property.
- Yes.

Is that correct?

I had rented it out on Sunday,
so when I dropped it off

I told Sandra that

we would have to come at 6:30
in the morning to pick it up

to clean it and deliver it the next day.

She agreed to that. 'Cause normally
we don't leave it overnight if it's

going out the next day,
'cause we needed

to sterilize it. We got there
at seven in the morning.

We came in and we were getting ready
to pick up the 38 ft obstacle.

I noticed that the dogs had

chewed... and they're two dogs,

a boxer and another dog...
were still running around

and lifting their leg and urinating
on the bouncer.

We told her, "Your dog ate
our obstacle."

There are pieces of the vinyl
which I have pictures of...

of it where your dogs just ate it.

Pictures of our dogs chewing it?

Just a second.

I don't wanna hear you again!

[Judy] I tried to ignore you quietly.

I figured you'd get the message.

You don't shout out here.

Go ahead.

My husband said um,

"Excuse me, miss, we have a problem.

Your dogs have eaten our obstacle."
So then she went in

to go and get her husband.
Her husband came out.

He signed papers saying he was responsible

for a loss of rentals and the damages

- or replacement of it.
- [Judy] May...

- May I see it, please?
- Yes.

And also he sent text messages
to our phone that same morning

apologizing and saying he would do

everything to replace it plus a loss
of rentals that we were gonna lose.

[Judy] I'd like to see those texts

and I would like to see his signature on
a piece of paper assuming responsibility.

And then...

[Judy] Just a second.

[Tabitha] Here are the text messages.

Oh, would you show this
to Mr. Laeng, please?

[Judy] Did you sign that, sir?

[Aaron] Yes.

- [Judy] Okay.
- I signed it under distress.

- Under distress?
- [Aaron] Under distress.

There's no such thing. You mean duress.

- Duress. She was...
- [Judy] Just a second.

[Judy] There's a difference
between distress...

- [stutters] Duress.
-[Judy] Okay. At 7:29 am

you said, "I, Aaron Laeng,
recognize and acknowledge

that a jumper obstacle course has

been damaged from a dog.
I will take care

of the repairs and work with
the rental company

and its owners to get this resolved ASAP."

And then about 15 minutes later

you wrote, "I'm so sorry again.

Let me know when you drop it off, please."

Okay, so you tried to drop it off
the next day.

I was trying to drop it off the next day
to Albert, our repair guy that...

[Judy] Just a second. Just a...

Answer my question.
It doesn't require a long answer.

The next day you were trying to
get it resolved.

- Yes.
- [Judy] And you back and forth with him.

Let me know etcetera, etcetera.

And then you don't hear from him.

No.

[Judy] Then it stopped.

"I tried calling you.
I tried messaging you

to get this resolved."

- Yes.
- [Judy] Okay. Well, Mr. Laeng,

there's no question you acknowledged
the damage and you agreed to pay for it.

That's what you have.
Can I have that back?

[Judy] You acknowledged in here

that you would take
full responsibility for this.

What's your defense?

My defense is when they arrived
on the property to pick up

their jumper that was
left unaccounted for...

[Judy] No, no no. When they arrived...

[Aaron] When they arrived and they

announced to us that there was

damage to their obstacle course.

- [Judy] Well, they came to you first.
- Yes. Correct.

Is that... don't speak.

They came to you first?

- Yes.
- [Judy] You came outside?

- Yes.
- [Judy] Okay, and when you came outside,

you had a conversation with whom?

I believe... Ms. Robinson.

- [Judy] With Mrs. Robinson?
- [Sandra] Yes.

[Judy] Okay. And what did
you say to her

and what did she say to you?

She just went hysterically,

like upset that the jumper was damaged,
and that's

- when I went inside to get my husband.
- [Judy] Just a second.

[Judy] What did she say?

She just started crying. She...

- [Judy] Started to cry.
- Yeah.

She's like, your dogs... your dogs damaged

- my obstacle course.
- [Judy] Just a second. So she was crying?

- [Sandra] Yes.
- [Judy] And did you have any issue

when she said to you, your dogs damaged my
obstacle course?

Did you see what was bitten off
from the obstacle course?

- I...
- [Judy] That's either a yes or a no.

- Yes.
- [Judy] The answer is yes.

What kind of dogs do you have?

A german shepherd and a boxer.

[Judy] And where had you stored

this unit overnight?

It was left outside.

[Judy] In the backyard?
In the front yard?

We live on a huge ranch.

So it's a two-and-a-half-acre parcel,

and it's been known
that our neighbor dogs always...

[Judy] I don't want to hear neighbor dogs!

I don't want to hear coyotes!

I don't want to hear bears!

- My witness, he is the repair guy...
- Just a second.

[Judy] Stand up sir.

I don't need an explanation of this.

I'm not going into
the repair jumper business.

Thankfully, I have a job
and I'm too old to learn anything new.

[Narrator] And later today...

You have the phone?

I do.

To this day I am still paying for the data
for that phone.

- That's a lie.
- [Judy] Just a second.

- [Jennifer] I literally...
- Just a sec.

Cut off your data
and let her get her own plan.

[Narrator] Tabitha and Brandon Robinson

claim their customers,
Aaron and Sandra Laeng,

refuse to pay the costs of repair

after damaging their jumper house.

[Judy] Okay. Now I'm gonna get
back to you.

So now your wife comes in to get you,

and you went outside.

- Yes.
- [Judy] And?

- [Aaron] I go outside.
- Who else is there?

[Aaron] Just my wife and I.

- [Judy] So just the two of you?
- Just the two of us were home.

- [Judy] And they were there?
- They were there.

- [Judy] Both of them?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Okay.
- And their daughter.

[Judy] Okay, and?

I go outside. Uh, Mrs. Robinson is
completely hysterical,

- crying just...
- [Judy] Crying?

...out of control in hysterics.

- [Judy] Okay.
- Her husband's yelling,

- screaming for...
- So tell me. So I want you to tell me

exactly... no...

I want you to tell me exactly.

- She's crying, and he starts yelling.
- [Aaron] Yes.

Well you came out and said what

to them when you came out?

And then I want to hear
exactly what was said.

I asked to see the damage to...

for them to show me what was going on,

what had happened.
They showed me the damage.

We both took pictures.

Again, they...

[Judy] No. They both... you both took...

Just a second.

So he composed himself long enough
to take pictures.

- Yes.
- [Judy] And you were composed

- enough to take pictures?
- Yes, I was.

- [Judy] Which you have.
- Yes.

[Judy] And then what happened?

- Throughout their screaming...
- No, no! I want you to tell me.

- I am telling you.
- Now, you're taking pictures...

you're taking pictures and?

Brandon is on the phone with

their repair guy of some sort. Um...

[Judy] Okay, so he is on the phone.
He's composed enough to be on the phone.

Now, before he got
on the phone with his repair guy,

did you discuss with him
your responsibility

to take care of the damage?

- I told him...
- [Judy] That's either yes

- or a no.
- Yes.

Yes.

So once you said, "I'll take

care of the damage," he got on the phone
with his repair guy.

Before I agreed to take care
of the damages.

Before we discussed that,
he was already on the phone.

Then he got off the phone,

but you signed this the same day.
So I want to know

when in this conversation did you
sign this? You need something to lean on.

Somebody has to give you a piece of paper.

Somebody has to get a pen.

I did not fill out that piece of paper.

- [Judy] You don't have to.
- Tabitha's the one

that filled out the piece of
paper in their vehicle.

[Judy] Who did?

Ms. Robinson. She's the one that
filled it out in her vehicle.

[Judy] Okay, so just a second.

- So she got in her vehicle.
- [Aaron] Crying in hysterics.

[sighs] I don't care.

She got in her vehicle,
and where was her husband?

Outside loading the bouncer.

- So, he was outside.
- [Aaron] Yes.

She went inside her vehicle,
and he was busy.

- Yes.
- [Judy] And you live in a house?

- Yes.
- [Judy] And you felt pressured?

- Yes.
- [Judy] You felt as if you were being...

- extorted?
- Bullied. Yes.

Did you go inside to call the police?

- No, I did not. I should have.
- [Judy] Yeah, but you didn't.

I did not.

You went over to the truck
where she was hysterical.

She wrote out this document, right?

- Yes.
- [Judy] And you signed it.

- Yes, I did.
- There we go.

Make my life very easy.

[Judy] Did your repair guy try to
fix the bouncer?

I do have a receipt
where we did have it...

try to get it temporarily patched,

where we paid $600
just to make sure we could

still rent it out. So that was paid for.

This is my repair man.
Um, he is my witness.

And then also I do

have a, um, paper with an estimate
of what it would

be to repair the obstacle.

May I see it, please?

[Judy] After he did this job,

which he did on October 4th.

From the 3rd to the 4th.

Did you rent it out?

No. We tried to but this...

I have the pictures that I brought of

what happens when the air flows through.

The patches won't stay.
You have to go up

inside the bouncer and actually

put a patch on the inside and the outside,
and it would cost more money.

My witness can...

- he is the repair guy.
- [Judy] Just a second.

What you're telling me is
that your witness

prepared this estimate
of what it would cost

- to repair the jumper?
- Yes.

Stand up, sir.

I don't need an explanation of this.
I'm going into the repair jumper business.

Thankfully, I have a job

and I'm too old to learn anything new.

Did you prepare this estimate
to fix the jumper?

Yes, ma'am. That is the full estimate
to repair it properly.

- [Judy] To do it properly, okay.
- Yes.

- [Albert] The first one was a temporary
- Shush.

I'll... listen.

I got it. I'm a fast learn.
And anybody

who watches this program
better learn to think fast too,

'cause I have a lot of things to do today.

So, you prepared this.

So for $2,500
in addition to the $600.

- Did they pay you the $600?
- Yes.

So in addition to the $600... so in total,
$3,100 would fix the jumper.

- Correct.
- [Judy] Great.

That's what you agreed to pay, sir.

You agreed to do the repairs
on the jumper.

Now, you want a new jumper.

You're not going to get a new jumper.

You're not gonna get damages
for lost income.

He's gonna fix the jumper.

How long is it going to take you?

Roughly about two days.

- Two to three...
- [Judy] Two days! Piece of cake.

$3,100.

Judgment for the plaintiff. We're done.

[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

I don't owe them anything.
I didn't rent the bouncer.

I'm just happy that we're going to have
our bouncer repaired.

- Because they're money hungry.
- They were looking for a pay day.

The truth always comes out,
and what's right is what's right.

[Sarah] So initially after
reading the papers,

I thought the plaintiffs...
while perfectly matched in their tops...

were suing the wrong people.

Because these people didn't sign
the rental agreement. So any damage,

or any agreement to pay damage...

I was with you from the beginning that
these are the wrong people.

It came out that they had a little
bit more involvement...

- the defendant... then they wanted...
- [laughs] They agreed...

- They agreed to pay.
- Exactly.

He knew he did the wrong thing.
He probably saw

his dogs destroy the jumper

from the kitchen window and felt bad
and knew that it was his responsibility.

I don't think they deserve

- $9,000 for a brand-new jumper.
- No.

But they deserved to get it fixed

- so they can keep making money off it.
- Right.

Case 2178. Gladd versus Sauber.

All parties please come forward.

[Narrator] Serenity Gladd

is suing her ex-girlfriend,
Jennifer Sauber,

for unpaid loans.

Miss Gladd, if my memory is correct,
you are sueing the defendant

for a series of small loans
that you claim

she owes you for.

And those loans were created,
according to you,

during the period of time that you
and the defendant

were either involved in a relationship

and/or engaged.

- Yes.
- [Judy] How long do you know each other?

We've known each since May of 2021.

[Judy] And there came a time

when the defendant came to live with you
or you went to live with the defendant?

I moved to Colorado to live with her.

[Judy] And when was that?

That was in May 2022.

[Judy] When you moved in with her
into Colorado. Were you working?

Not at the time, no.

What kind of work did you do in Colorado?

Um, I was unemployed.

[Judy] How did you support yourself?

A friend of the family helped me out
due to my disabilities.

[Judy] Who pays your rent?

The friend of the family.

- [Judy] Do you own a car?
- I did.

- [Judy] Do you now?
- No.

Are you working now?

Um, not at the moment, no.

[Judy] Prior to that?

Um, I was out in Colorado.

- [Judy] Working.
- Yes.

[Judy] For whom?

- Um, it was a local coffee shop.
- [Judy] Okay.

Now, you're living together,
you are a couple, at some point

you became engaged.

Then something happened. What happened
is probably irrelevant.

What I want you to tell me is
from the point that you moved in,

what loans do you claim
you made to her?

I had paid part of a vet bill.

When was that?

[Serenity] That was
at the end of May.

I have the invoices here.

And what makes that a loan?

Um, because at the time
she didn't have money

and she had agreed to pay me back
when she had gotten a job.

Did you agree to pay her back

for this vet bill when got a job?

No, ma'am. The friend of the family was

gonna pay for it all,
but she insisted on paying it.

Tell me about that.

Um, so in the vet office, I was messaging
the friend of the family.

Um, and he was willing to pay it in full.

Um, and she was like, "No, no.
I'm going to pay for it.

You need to quit asking him for money."

I was like, "He is the person that
supports me right now.

We do not have the money.

So he is going to help us."

She said that she would pay for
half of it, I believe it was.

- For half?
- [Jennifer] For half.

- Okay.
- So, it was like $100.

How much was it?

$170.

Let's keep moving on.

I've been paying my data on my phone

- and she keeps turning it off.
- [Judy] Just a sec.

- I can't help you with that.
- I understand.

[Judy] You know I'm not one of those...
what do they call them... geniuses.

- [Sarah] Genius Bar
- Yeah, I'm not a genius person.

Not with phones anyways.

[Narrator] Serenity Gladd claims

her ex-girlfriend,
Jennifer Sauber,

refuses to pay back loans given to her

during their engagement.

Now, what other loans do you think
she owes you for?

I had brought her tires for her car.

- [Judy] When?
- That was on...

June 17th, I believe.

Were you using the car?

- I was using the car.
- [Judy] Okay.

[Judy] For how long were
you using the car?

About... two months.

And what were you using the car for?

Getting to work.

So, at that point, it was just as much

your vehicle as it was hers,
'cause she wasn't working.

- So you took the car to work?
- Yes.

- And the car needed tires?
- [Serenity] Yes.

[Judy] And?

Um, I ended up paying for them
just for safety reasons,

given that...

Well, it was your safety.
You were driving it.

- Right?
- That's true. Yes.

Let's move on.

[Judy] Next loan.

Um, on top of that, I had to pay
for a vet insurance for her dog.

She didn't have to.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- Sorry.

And then even after I had left Colorado,

she asked me to leave her dog on the plan

- and just...
- You have your own animals?

- No.
- [Judy] No. So...

after you left Colorado when you were
no longer a couple,

did you request that she continue

to pay for the vet insurance?

That's either a yes or no.

I don't remember.

[Judy] Well, she says you did.

How many months did you pay
after you left Colorado? Show me.

After you left her,

you were no longer a couple.
How many months did you pay?

I had ended up paying...

[Judy] Just the months?

Two months.

And how much for those two months?

$71.46.

[Judy] What's next?

[Serenity] After that, the biggest one

is the phone that she has.

Tell me when you got the phone.

When she got a new phone, because I assume
she had a phone.

- Is that right?
- I actually had

just brought a brand-new phone

and I insisted I didn't need a new one.

What kind of phone did you buy?

Uh, iPhone 11 mini.

- [Judy] And?
- [Jennifer] Um, I got the phone

and I have a hard time seeing

and I didn't have glasses.

And I was like, "It would be nice to have
a larger phone."

We actually originally went to get us

on the same plan. I was gonna keep
my same phone, but I was looking at

the phone and she was like,
"Let's both just get new phones."

I was like, "That's not a good idea."

She was like, "Let's just get them.
It's fine."

So I traded in my old phone
for about $400,

and we got the phone
and the agreement was

since I traded my old phone, I still had
to pay off the old phone.

'Cause I just got it. So the agreement
was I pay off my old phone,

and to keep the service on
I would pay for my service and my data.

And she would pay off the phone itself.

That was our original agreement.

Then a few weeks later she's like,
"I never said that."

Okay. How much did you end up
paying for her phone?

As of currently, there's $575
paid on her phone.

- Do you still have that phone?
- I do.

[Judy] Can I see that there's 575
dollars left on her phone?

Not because you got two
when you got new phones.

- So just hers.
- I have this.

- [Judy] Is that for one phone or two?
- That is for one phone. Yes.

Okay, could you show this to
the defendant, Kevin, please.

- [Judy] And you have the phone?
- I do.

[Judy] And you're not paying for it?

I'm paying for the service.

- For what we agreed on.
- Service. I'm not talking about service.

- That receipt is for one phone.
- Yes.

It says your phone is
a little over $1,000.

- Yes.
- What was put down on the phone

was almost $400.

There were some payments made, and what's
still due in owing on the phone is $514.

- That's what it says.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Okay, great.
And you have the phone?

- I do.
- [Judy] Great.

So $71.46 and $514 is $585.
Anything else?

To this day I am still paying

- for the data for that phone.
- That's a lie.

[Judy] Just a second.

- [Jennifer] I literally...
- Just a sec.

Cut her off your data.
Let her get her own plan.

She'll go in to get her own plan.
Right now what's due in owing

on the phone is $514.

- Is that right?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Okay.
- I've been paying my data on my phone

and she keeps turning it off.

Just a sec. I suggest you get a new plan.
You have your phone...

- get another plan.
- I've been trying to

but she keeps...

[Judy] I can't help you with that.

- I understand.
- [Judy] You know,

I'm not one of those... what do they call
them... geniuses.

- [Sarah] Genius Bar.
- Yeah, I'm not a genius person.

Not with phones anyways.

Okay. $71.46 and $514.

My math is almost correct. It's $585.46.

That's what she owes you.

- 400 of that is for...
- Judgment for the plaintiff.

- ...my old phone
- We're finished.

Judgment for the plaintiff.

That's what she owes.
That's what she owes on you.

We're done.

[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

I'm okay with it.

I do think it was a very fair hearing.

I'm okay with it because...

I, you know, just want things to be
alright between us.

'Cause she's still my best friend,
and I still love her.

I mean, I feel the same way.
You know, I do...

I do love her. She's my best friend.

I just... same exact thing.

I just hope things smooth over.

[Sarah] So, I think
naturally when you're engaged to be

married to someone or when you're married

or even in a very serious relationship
for a year,

you don't keep a laundry list
of expenses. I took you to

dinner this night for our anniversary.
Here's your half.

We went on vacation. Here's your half.

So it makes it that much more important

when you're in a serious
relationship like that,

because in the eyes of the law
those things are sort of a wash

in the relationship.

So if you believe that something is really
a loan that you both decided as partners...

I know we're together.

I know we do things together that we both
cover the expenses and pay for.

But this $1,000 phone is outside the scope
of that relationship.

Let's just write something down
so that we'll remember

that although we're together,
this was a loan.

It makes it all that much
more important because...

- And simple!
- And simple.

Because otherwise, the law is going to
look at your relationship first

and determine
is it one of those washed-in-ers,

or is it something that was legitimate?

So it would just make it a lot simpler,
and if things don't work out in the end,

easier for you to get your money back.

- I think you're right.
- [chuckles] Thank you.

[Narrator] Want justice?