01x50 - Lipo-Surgery Sister Care

[bunniefuu]

You did get in the car
with your sister and her husband,

and it was an unpleasant trip.

[Kendra] It was basically him with
the...the agitation and the argument.

I'm sorry, ma'am, but that is not true.

I didn't ask you a question.

[Rena] 'Cause she was trying
to fight him and threatening him.

- That's not true.
- And, she did.

Out.

Period.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kendra Dubois
is suing her sister, Rena Peak.

For the title to her car,
nursing services, and lost wages.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

Have a seat, everyone.

Hello, Judge.
Case number 1114, Dubois versus Peak.

Thank you.

- Ms. Dubois, this is your sister?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] This case has many,
many parts to it.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Let us deal

with a car first.

You say that several years ago, I assume,

or in the past couple of years,

you were having difficulty
with either an ex-husband

or soon to be ex-husband?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] When was that?

Uh, It was in January...
it started January of 2020.

Is he now your ex-husband?

[Kendra] He's soon to be.

We're in the process
of getting a divorce.

[Judge Judy] And during this nasty period,

you had a car that was in your name?

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

- you felt was your car?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And you didn't want
your soon to be ex-husband

to have any right or interest in that car?

Oh, no, ma'am. He was vandalizing the car.

- [Judge Judy] Did you keep the car?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] So, whether
he was vandalizing it or not,

you didn't want him
to have any interest in the car

because you put it in your sister's name?

- [Kendra] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] So, let's be very real.

Okay? The physical car
never went to your sister?

- No, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Point is

you didn't want him
to have any interest in the car.

Well, I, I moved to a different state,
so I was in a different state.

So, anything that had to do with Florida,

she was kinda my support system

and was handling any affairs
I had in Florida.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Dubois,
this face has been sitting

for four decades on a bench.

I've done matrimonial work
for 25 of those years.

So, I don't wanna hear
a lot of gobbledygook.

When people are in
the middle of a divorce,

the only reason they transfer title
to somebody else

is because they want
their soon to be ex-spouse

not to have any interest in that property,
period.

There's no other reason.

We...we don't have any issue

with, um, property and stuff like that
between us,

like, whatever was in my name was mine
and whatever was in his name was his.

Then, what's the issue
with the title to the car?

For whatever reason,
you put the title to the car

in your sister's name.

You're still not divorced
from your husband.

- Why do you want it back?
- Uh, it-it's my, car, like, I...

[Judge Judy] Well, I wanna know why,
[chuckles] Ms. Dubois.

You...yeah, I mean, I know you...
I know you think you're smarter,

but I want you to give me a reason
that she understands.

[Kendra] Okay. Well, I wasn't in Florida

and my car was registered in Florida,
and I work COVID.

So, I didn't wanna have my car registered

in another state
that I wasn't gonna be living in.

I wanted to...it to stay, you know,
registered in Florida.

And I wasn't there to handle it
at that time.

All right. So, let me read to you
what you wrote in your complaint.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] It says, "In January,

I had an unfortunate situation
with my ex-husband,

so I asked Rena, to put the title
to my vehicle in her name."

That's what you wrote.

That's what you swore to
in your complaint.

Do you wanna read the first line?

- Yes, ma'am. I just kinda simplified it.
- [Judge Judy] Just...just a second.

That's what you said.

You didn't say I was living in Florida,
that I was gonna move someplace else.

I wanted my business there.
I want...that's what you wrote.

You wanna make sure that you wrote it?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Well, what kind of unfortunate business
were you having with your ex-husband,

which is the reason that you give here

for putting the title to the car
in your sister's name?

That's the reason that you give,
Ms. Dubois.

Tell me. Sarah is waiting.

[Kendra] I had to move away from Florida

and so she was my only support system
in Florida,

so I asked her,
would she handle my business,

like she was paying my mortgage
and anything that I had,

like, business-wise in Florida,

- until I can...
- [Judge Judy] Well, just a sec.

Do you mean she was paying it
or you were sending her money?

[Kendra] No,
I was sending her money to pay it.

She was handling, like, all of my affairs,

anything that had to do with Florida
while I wasn't there...

[Judge Judy] Well, that...
was there something wrong with you?

- No, ma'am.
- So you were sending money

out of state from your bank account?

Was it from a joint bank account
or an individual bank account?

It was the individual.

But that's being done for a reason
because...for instance,

I live in Naples, Florida.

I come to California to work.

I still carry my checkbook with me.

I have my paperwork with me.

I pay my bills from wherever I am.

I'm a lot older than you are

and I don't need a conservator
to pay my bills.

So, let's start out with the fact
that I don't believe you.

Let's start out with the fact that

the reason you put the title
in your sister's name

is because you didn't want any issues
with it with your soon to be ex-husband.

- But...Ms. Peak...don't speak...
- [Kendra] That's not the [indistinct]

...because we already are not...
well, I don't know about you,

but I'm already not crazy about you.

Coming to you,
do you remember when your sister

asked you to put the title to the car
in your name?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Would you take the title out, please?

This right here.

And would you hand that to Kevin?

And Ms. Peak,
do you remember the conversation

that you had with your sister
when she asked you

to put the title in her name
and signed it over to you?

- Uh-hmm. She...
- Not...uh-hmm is not is not an answer.

- That's a yes?
- [Rena] Yes, ma'am.

She called me and asked me
while she was going through it with him.

And she called me and asked me
if I will put the car in my name

because she was afraid that

he might try to do something to her
and find the car.

So, she wanted me to put it in my name,
so that he wouldn't be able to find her.

- Find her?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Great.
And was it your understanding

that you were supposed to return
the title to the car to her

when she asked you?

- Yes.
- Good. Sign it.

Okay.

[Judge Judy] That takes care of one issue.

Sign your name right here
and print your name at the bottom.

- Okay.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] Great.
Now you have your title back.

You said to her, "I'm not charging you

when she says I'm gonna give you
something anyway."

Yes, ma'am.
So, when we got to the, uh, Airbnb,

that's when we...actually,
I told her what I was...

- will be charging [indistinct]...
- Yeah, but that's, that's too late.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kendra Dubois claims
her sister Rena Peak

owes her for nursing services.

Rena is countersuing for a broken laptop.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
The next thing you're suing her for

is non-payment of nursing services?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And what I understand is
that you are a registered nurse.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] And that your sister

- was having some liposuction surgery.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And she lives in Florida
and you live in Texas.

No, Ma'am. I was in Virginia at the time.

- [Judge Judy] And working in Virginia?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] According to you,
she asked you to come down

to assist her
when she was leaving the surgery

and you did.

And you told her
that you would charge her $400.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Which is half your normal rate?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] You drove 10 hours

- from Virginia to Florida.
- [Kendra] Yes, ma'am.

The surgery was where?

- [Kendra] In Miami, Florida.
- In Miami, Florida.

[Judge Judy] And you live in Jacksonville?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] So, your sister traveled

from Virginia to Jacksonville
to pick you up?

- Yes.
- And when she picked you up,

your husband was going to join you?

- [Rena] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Your sister says that

initially, she wasn't thrilled about that,
that your husband was joining,

that had not been previously
discussed with her.

Now, did you tell her that your husband
was going to be on the trip?

[Rena] I told her that
I need her to come with me

to help assist me with my lipo
after the surgery.

I told her that my husband
would be there to help do most of it,

but I need her to help me,
like, take vitals and stuff like that

right there to make sure
I didn't catch fever

and I...I wasn't getting really sick.

- Um, Judge, that's not true.
- When did she call you?

[Kendra] We never discussed him going.

I only saw that he was going once
I arrived to their residence.

[Judge Judy]
Tell me about the conversation,

your version of the conversation
that you had.

Okay. In February she called me
and asked me

will I provide the services for her,

I was supposed to provide
the entire services

because she couldn't leave
the surgery center

without having a licensed caregiver
for the first 24-hours.

He's a mechanic, so there's no way

he could even do provide
medical services for her.

[Judge Judy] Okay. You understood that

you were having this surgical procedure
done in a center, not in a hospital?

- Yes, it was in a center.
- And you could not be discharged

from the center without...

[Gregory Williams] I'm sorry, ma'am,
but that is not true what she's saying.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
I didn't ask you a question.

I mean, it's very easy.

You get the name of the surgical center,
you put in a call.

Is it true that you needed someone
to sign you out,

a nurse to sign you out
of the surgical center?

No, I didn't need a nurse.
I just needed someone to sign me out.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Whatever.

You did get in the car
with your sister and her husband?

- Yes, ma'am.
- And it was an unpleasant trip?

Yes, ma'am.

The arguin' started
the minute we got in the car.

So, from Jacksonville,
you went to the center in Miami,

and then you went to an Airbnb
for two days?

- Yes, ma'am.
- And during those two days...

so, then, you're close
to the surgical center

- in case there's an emergency?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] I assume that
that's the reason.

- Yes, ma'am.
- And you did in fact stay there with her?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Was there ever an agreement for you

to stay with her in Jacksonville
or only at the Airbnb?

- No, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Following the surgery?

Only the Airbnb to complete
the two um 24-hour shifts that she needed.

Tell me when you discussed
payment for those.

[Kendra] I...I told Rena.
She asked me about payment.

I told her that I wou...

[Judge Judy] Just when is the question.

Oh, this is February um 20
when she contacted me about it.

So, I told her that I will charge her
half of my service fee plus the travel.

Did you tell her what that fee was?

[Kendra] Initially, I did not tell her
what the service fee was.

But when we got to the Airbnb,
me and her had a conversation

and we discussed what it will be.

[Judge Judy] Tell me, when you got there
before the surgery?

- [Kendra] Yes, ma'am.
- Okay.

Tell me what the conversation was
at the Airbnb.

The conversation was that
I wouldn't be charging her

the full amount of whatever
my services fees was,

that she would just be responsible
for the $400 for the two 24-hour shifts.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Now, that was a mistake.

- You do understand that?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
Because if you're a professional,

before you embark upon a contract
with somebody,

- and you did when you left your house.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
You have to tell the other side

what the cost is gonna be
or if there's a cost involved.

- Yes, ma'am.
- So, you didn't discuss that with her

- until you got to Miami?
- Yes, ma'am.

So, you'd already been through
this unpleasant car ride

with the husband, right?

So, at this unpleasant time,

you're having a conversation with her
about what you're gonna charge her?

Well, it really wasn't unpleasant
between me and her, at first.

It was basically um him
with the...the agitation

and the arguments, and the tantrums...

- [Judge Judy] Who was he...
- Oh, Gregory.

[Judge Judy] ...having an argument with?

[Kendra] Uh with Rena.
It was kinda...you know,

the argument were really
between them two at first,

but me kinda being the third wheel,

it was like I'm constantly
in the middle of the arguin'

trying to keep everybody calm, you know?

- What were they arguing about?
- [Kendra] Just anything random.

There's a shoe on the floor,
it's a argument,

you know what I mean?

Like, it was just random arguments,
like, constantly the whole time.

[Judge Judy] How long have you been
a registered nurse?

I just got my license last year.

[Judge Judy] I assume,
that as part of your training,

- you knew how to take blood pressure?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] I don't know
if you've got training

in wound dressings.

- What else did your sister do for you?
- [Kendra] Yes, ma'am.

She...she took blood pressures.

She took my, um...my temperature.

Okay. She took...she came in
and checked my temperature regularly.

And she gave me my pain meds
around the clock,

so that the pain wouldn't wear off
and I will be in pain.

And she helped me...
like she made a few meals for me.

And just basically that was it.

I had, like, little incisions, like,

here, and here, and here around the back

and they...they...they...they drain out,

so it really didn't need really
a lot of padding just like...

'cause it's supposed to...all the fluid's
just supposed to come out.

Who checked those drains?

[Rena] She checked my drains
but she was against me

putting um sanitary napkins pads
on my drains,

but the plastic surgery people
told me I can.

[Judge Judy] Don't...don't...
don't tell me what anybody told you.

- [Rena] I'm sorry.
- She checked your drains?

- [Rena] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And she did all of that

- for two days?
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] Uh-hmm is not an answer.

Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.

Did you ever have a discussion with her

about how you were gonna compensate her

for the 10-hour drive to you

or going with you to Miami
and taking care of you?

Did you ever have a discussion with her
about compensation?

- Yes, ma'am. I...I...
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- I'm sorry.
- When and where?

[Rena] We were texting and I asked her

how much will she charged me
for my services

to come there and help me out
doing my nursing services to Miami.

I have text messages here.

- [Judge Judy] I'd like to see them.
- Where she told me that

um she's doing my care for free,
and I told her

that I would give her something anyway.

Okay.

- [Rena] And then...
- Just a second.

Okay. I'd like to see the rest of emails.

And my husband,
he also helped me with going, um...

[Judge Judy] I don't care
about your husband.

- I don't care...
- [Rena] But this is the other...

this is the other... and the contract
that she sent me,

and it's saying that the services
were free.

Yes, but you told you her

you were gonna give her some money, right?

- Yes, ma'am. I told her...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

You told her you were going
to give her some money.

- [Rena] Yes, ma'am.
- [indistinct] that I would provide...

[Gregory Williams] And she did.

- Out.
- [Rena] Be quiet.

Out!

[suspenseful music playing]

You already traveled from Virginia,

to Jacksonville, to Miami

in an unpleasant ride.

That is not the time to tell your sister

while you're there
that you're gonna charge her $400.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Kendra Dubois
claims her sister, Rena Peak,

owes for the nursing care she provided.

Rena says Kendra broke her laptop
after an argument.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You paid a hundred dollars?

I...I gave her a hundred dollars travel
to come down with me.

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- And then, I also sent her another $100

- during the stay.
- So far, is that correct?

- Yes, ma'am. She did.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

You said to her, "I'm not charging you,"

and she says, "I'm gonna give you
something anyway."

Yes, ma'am. So, when we got to the uh
Airbnb,

that's when we actually...
I told her what I was...

will be charging [indistinct] the full...

[Judge Judy]
Yeah, but that's...that's too late.

That's actually too late.
You have your car title back?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah,

you already traveled from Virginia,

to Jacksonville, to Miami

in an unpleasant ride.

That is not the time to tell your sister
while you're there

that you're gonna charge her $400.

You tell her before you leave Virginia

'cause you say, "I'm not charging you."

And she said, "I'm gonna
give you something."

She did give you something.
She gave you a hundred dollars.

She gave you a hundred dollars to get
there.

And she gave you another hundred dollars.

Whatever happened with your
brother-in-law is not my problem.

Now, let's get to the computer
that's you counterclaim.

It is your claim
that your sister broke your computer.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Were you there

- when it happened?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
That was in Jacksonville

- on your return from Miami?
- Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Let me hear.

[Rena] When we pulled back up
to the house, they were...

they were doing a lot of arguing
on the way back.

[Judge Judy] Who was doing arguing?

[Rena] Um Kendra and my husband.

She was trying to fight him
and threatening him

on the way back from Miami.

When we got to the house,
she told him...she said,

"You just wait right there.
I got somebody coming for you."

So she started getting all irate.

She jumped out of the car.

She said somebody was coming there
to fight my husband.

So, I walk...I walked inside
and I told my son here, Gregory,

to go outside and get
my belongings out of the car

because his aunt was acting
all crazy and stuff outside

because she was arguing with my husband.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
She said they were arguing?

- [Rena] Yes.
- Okay.

And then, when...my...my son, he came,
and then when he walked outside,

she was throwing
all of the stuff out of the car.

And then, she threw...she picked up my
laptop

and she threw it out on the ground
and it shattered, and broke my laptop.

Your Honor,
I never took their belonging...

[Judge Judy] Don't...I don't want...
I don't want to listen to you right now.

- Did you see her throw your laptop?
- [Rena] Yes, ma'am. I did.

And my son also saw it.

[Judge Judy] I don't know what he saw
until he tells me.

- Tell me your first name.
- Gregory.

[Judge Judy] You remember the date
that your mother came home

- from the hospital?
- May 27th.

[Judge Judy] You remember what time
of day they came home from Miami?

Yes, ma'am. I remember.

It was around 4:50-ish,

around 5:00.

[Judge Judy] Who was
in the house with you?

[Gregory Williams II] It was just me
and my sisters, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Tell me what happened
in that afternoon.

So, basically, when they came back,
it was the day of my graduation,

so I was already trying to get a ride

around to the theater
where my graduation was being held.

[Judge Judy] You were graduating from?

Um, high school.

What time is your graduation?

[Gregory Williams II] I had to be there
around 5:30, 5:45.

Did you attend your graduation?

[Gregory Williams II] Yes, ma'am. I did.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

[Judge Judy] Did your mom go with you?

Yes. Um yes, ma'am.

My dad dropped me off

and they had to come back at a later time

'cause the graduates,
and the students, and stuff like that

- had to be there early.
- [Judge Judy] Had to get first?

- Yes, ma'am.
- So, he drove you to graduation,

came back, and picked up your mother?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Tell me what happened

outside when they came home
with your aunt.

[Gregory Williams II] Okay.
So, I was getting dressed at that time

and my mom walked in, and she was, like,

"Can you go get my stuff
and my belongings from outside?"

Because...well, my aunt, she was,
you know, acting crazy or whatever.

So, I walked outside to go get it.

And from the looks of it,
she's getting her belongings

out the car and she intentionally
picked up my mom's laptop,

threw it on the ground.

While following all of that happened,

she threw out the rest of her um
belongings,

as in her suitcase, and her purse,
and stuff like that

out to the middle of the road.

When you say she threw her suitcase,
did she open the suitcase

and throw it out or just
threw the suitcase of your mom...

No, she picked the whole suitcase out
and she threw it.

And she also threw out...

picked up her laptop and intentionally,
threw it at the ground as well.

[Judge Judy] Did you say anything
to your aunt?

[Gregory Williams II]
I didn't say anything.

I just went out there to retrieve
the belongings out the middle of the road,

so they wouldn't be damaged any further...

[Judge Judy] Who was she yelling at?

She was yelling and screaming at my dad

because they were getting again to it
as they were pulling up to the house,

but anything before they got
to the house, I was not aware of.

What did you hear them say
to each other when you got outside?

It was all type of...
it's a lot of derogatory language.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Who retrieved your mother's things
from the street?

Me and my sisters.

[Judge Judy] Who picked up the laptop?

- I did.
- [Judge Judy] Tell me

what the damage was to the laptop.

[Gregory Williams II]
The whole screen was broken,

the back panel where the um screen

and the um bottom part comes together,

it was, um, like, coming apart
from each other or separating.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Tell me what kind of laptop it was?

It was a MacBook.

[Judge Judy] Do you remember
when your mother got it?

[Gregory Williams II] No, ma'am.
I do not remember.

In January.

[Judge Judy] Do you have a receipt for it?

- [Rena] Yes, ma'am. I do.
- I'd like to see it.

It's the receipt, and then the insurance
that I bought for it.

Did the insurance cover it?

[Rena] It didn't cover it because I...
I was locked out of the email,

so I couldn't.

But at the time when the laptop
was broken,

I couldn't go back and find the email
to get the insurance information.

But the...the laptop winded up
getting stolen

when my house got broken into.

You mean, after it was broken?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] You bought the laptop
for $400?

- [Rena] Yes, ma'am. I did.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Now, Ms. Dubois, all I want you to do

is to describe to me the scene

when you, and your sister,
and your brother-in-law

came home to Jacksonville from Miami.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] All I want you to do.

That's all I want you to do is to tell me
your version of those events.

Yes, ma'am.
When we arrived back to the house,

when I was...when I got out of the car,

her and Greg walked towards
the front of the house.

I went to the trunk and they had
their bags packed on top of my bags.

I picked up a suitcase that was on top
of my bag, a big suitcase,

and I threw it out of the car
like it's just a suitcase.

I never touched any other computer,

I never touched any of their stuff
that was in the trunk.

I just lifted up what was on top
of my stuff and took myself out,

and was cursing them out
and got to my car.

[Judge Judy] Good. Great.

On the counterclaim...
judgment for the defendant

on the counterclaim
in the amount of $400 for the computer.

Thank you very much.
You have the title to your car back.

- We're done.
- [Kevin] Court is adjourned.

This is what I thought was gonna happen.

It was basically gonna be a wash.

I was gonna get my car title and she was
gonna get paid for her computer.

She knows she broke my laptop.
She should have just paid for it.

They're bums and they were trying
to steal my car.

It's been too many issues and this
right here was just the last straw.

At this point, we have no relationship,
we never had relationships.

It's time to just
not deal with it anymore.

[Judge Judy] Sisters, sisters
never were

there such devoted sisters.

You know, I actually don't think
it was the sisters.

I actually think it was the husband
who was...

- Uh-hmm.
- ...a catalyst there.

A plaintiff would not have driven
from Virginia to Jacksonville,

unless she really wanted
to help her sister.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] And I have a feeling

that there's a history
with this brother-in-law anyway.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] I don't know

what the takeaway from that is.

Maybe taking long car rides with people

[chuckles] is something that should be
avoided.

I think, also, for a professional

after, like, you told the plaintiff
in the courtroom,

I think after you have a quarrel

with your brother-in-law in the car

and there's constant bickering,
that's not the time to discuss your price.

- Yet they...
- I think that was a good lesson as well,

that even if it's your sister,

if you're planning
on being compensated at all,

that's a conversation
that should have taken place before.

- In Virginia.
- Exactly.

Between Virginia and Jacksonville
on the telephone.

- Exactly.
- [Judge Judy] And the only thing

that was there actually was
I'm doing this for you for free

and she's saying
I'm gonna compensate you anyway

but with no specific amount.

Anyway, I...I promise not to say
anyway anymore.

I'm releasing anyway from my language,
like, I omit like...

- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
- ...and basically

from a lot of other people's...

anyw... I...I hope they make friends.

- I caught myself.
- Uh-hmm.

[announcer] Want justice?



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