01x52 - Error Code Car Alert/Feuding Cousins

[bunniefuu]

You're selling the car
and this car had error messages.

Yes, it did, several.

You saw that there were warning lights.

Yes.

So, what did you do?

Standard procedure is to clear it.

You can clear the error message

but that doesn't make the problem go away.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Nicole Gustafson
is suing car dealership owner

Thomas Bushman for repair costs
after purchasing a used car from Thomas.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

All rise.

Have a seat everyone.

Hello, Judge.

Case number 1144,
Gustafson versus Bushman.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy]
Ms. Gustafson, that's your mom?

Yes, it is.

You were in the market for a...for a car?

[Nicole] Yes.

[Judge Judy] A used car, you had a budget,

you went to a place
that was owned by the defendant.

Correct.

[Judge Judy]
Which is a car lot, you own a car lot?

Yes. Yes, ma'am.

And you picked out a car?

- Yup.
- [Judge Judy] Not a yup.

- That's a yes.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy]
What kind of car did you pick up?

It is a Chrysler 200.

What year?

I believe it's a 2013,
but I'm not a hundred percent.

How many miles does it have on it?

I have no idea to be honest.

Does your mother know?

[Nicole] Probably. [chuckles]

How old are you?

Twenty-seven.

[Judge Judy] Twenty-seven.

You should know the answers
to all these questions.

Is this your first car?

No.

What happened to your other cars?

[makes sound]

[makes sound] is not an answer.

My last one I actually
was in an accident with a deer.

- The last one was totaled?
- [Nicole] Yes.

[Judge Judy] When was that?

May 2nd or 3rd.

And this one was purchased when?

May 27th of 2021.

[Judge Judy] 2013...

Based on an estimate of 90,000 miles,


How much did you pay for the car?



wait, that one...that one. No.

That's with the taxes.

- Yup.
- 6,495 without tax.

- [Judge Judy] No, without tax.
- Yeah.



[Judge Judy] Great.

So, sort of right in the middle.

You're not buying it
from a private person, you know,

you're buying it from a lot.

He's gotta make money.

Now, you can sit down.

If I need you again, I'll call you.

When you went to look at the car,

your mother had bought

something called a fixed sensor.

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Do you know what that is?

- Yes.
- Tell me what it is.

You plug it into a car sensor and it reads
any error codes and no engine.

That's a very good thing to have
when you go to buy a used car.

And this car had error messages.

Yes, it did, several.

Let me guess, you were the salesman.

No.

[Judge Judy] You work for him?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
Who signed the warranty for her?

She's not here.

The salesperson's not here.

Why?

She's got other issues going on, ma'am.
Sorry.

What is he doing here?

[Thomas] He's my mechanic, ma'am.

And I was involved in a sale.

That's why I didn't think...

[Judge Judy] You were involved
in the sale on the phone.

Correct.

She was involved in the sale
and she signed the warranty slip.

- Given permission from me, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah.

- In any event.
- Yes.

There were several errors on the car,

which should have given you, bing,
this may be not the car for me.

You bought it anyway, but you were smart
enough to get some sort of a warranty.

I'd like to see a copy of that warranty.

Absolutely.

And there is a blown up
message underneath it, too.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

So, a 30-day warranty.

Do you have
the original of this 30-day warranty?

That is the warranty...
it was a verbal agreement.

- They were both...
- [Judge Judy] No, no, no, no, no.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
That's not a verbal agreement.

That's in writing.

[Thomas] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] [laughs] Thirty-day warranty
for what?

Mr. Bushman, I know she didn't mean this.

I know you didn't mean this,

but this is what
your representative signed

and what you authorized,

because what happened is Ms. Gustafson

had trouble with the car.

She called you and said she was having
some difficulty, the engine light went on.

Did you speak to him or someone else?

I text the salesgirl.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Well, she's not here
and as a result of that conversation,

you were sent to a mechanic.

That was a couple of hours away
from where you live.

Correct.

Are you the mechanic?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Your last name is?

Elias.

[Judge Judy] Mr. Elias?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
When she brought the car there,

you work in conjunction
with the defendant?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
Do you do all his mechanical work?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
You work out of your own shop?

Mr. Bushman's shop.

[Judge Judy] On the same premises
where the cars are located?

Some of 'em.

[Judge Judy] Is the place
where you brought the car,

where you met Mr. Elias, the place
where you purchased the car?

No, it is not, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
So, it was at a different location?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Now, Mr. Elias,
when the plaintiff brought you the car,

you saw that there were warning lights.

Yes, a check engine light.

Check engine light
and you put the sensor in

and you saw that there were certain codes.

One in particular.

Well, you know, one in particular
doesn't tell me anything.

Do you understand what I mean?

Yes.

When I see a flashing yellow light

in the cabin of a plane

and a red light [laughs] in the cabin of a
plane,

I only wanna see all green,
do you know what I mean?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] So, one in particular
doesn't really tell me anything.

How many trouble spots did you see

when you plugged in the sensor?

The check engine light was on
for a possible faulty O2 sensor.

And anything else?

Not to what my machine told me.

Just that one.

Just that one.

[Judge Judy] So what did you do?

Standard procedure is to clear it.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

So you cleared it?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] You took it off, right?

[Jason] Then I proceeded to start the car,
four times.

[Judge Judy] Yeah.

Well, she started the car.
She drove it to you.

She drove it.

She says, two hours to you.

That's not an indication
of that everything is okay.

That's not an indication if you clear...
you can clear the error message,

but that doesn't make the problem go away.

The light had stayed

in a state that said there was no problem

with the car after it was cleared.

Mr. Bushman,
when you spoke to your representative,

you had to have been advised
that this machine

that she bought indicated that
there were problems with the car, right?

Yes.

Which is why you're selling the car
and give 'em a warranty.

[Thomas] Yes, ma'am.

So, it was under my impression that
they did not have a current code on it

with her code that was written.

They said it was under history,
but it was there.

And I said, that's fine.

We'll take care of it.

Give her a 30-day warranty.

We're only talking
about the oxygen sensor.

You see, that may be okay, Mr. Bushman.

And that may be what you meant.

But when you have a writing
'cause you're the business guy.

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
When you have a writing that you prepared

because your person prepared it,

even when you go in to buy a new car,

it says warranty...limited warranty.

[Thomas] Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
So, you know you have to be more specific.

Correct.

What do you think warranty means?

That if anything were to happen
within that time limit

that he should have to fix it.

Or you return the car.

No, I didn't. And...

So, so, what you did was had work done,

on the car that was in excess of $4,000,

close to the purchase price of the car.

Yes.

You made a brand new car.

You got new tires?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] You got new brakes?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] You got new everything?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Yeah, but you can't do that.

That's unreasonable.

You didn't reasonably believe
he was gonna build you a new car.

No.

[Judge Judy] You have an opportunity.

You could've said I wanna take this car
to my mechanic, right?

Yes.

And check it out. You didn't do that.

[announcer] And later today.

Tell me why
you moved out of the apartment.

Um...

Very, very easy.

Tell me why
you moved out of the apartment.

Don't think about what's nice,
what I wanna hear.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Nicole Gustafson
claims car dealership owner

Thomas Bushman owes for repair costs

after she purchased a used car
from his dealership.

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- Ma'am, may I speak please?

[Judge Judy] Are you losing so far?

So far.

- Do you understand?
- [Nicole] Yes.

That's unreasonable.

May I say one thing?

[Judge Judy] Sure.

The mechanic that we took it to did,
did state that the...

You cannot tell me
what the mechanic stated.

What you can do is show me

the whole entire bill
of what this mechanic did.

And if the check engine light

was a result of something in the engine,

I think you're entitled to that back,
but not anything else.

It's not a brand new car.

- Okay.
- [Thomas] Ma'am?

Good. What?

Yes, ma'am. I have a text message thread.

A number five that I've...
I have labeled here saying

they could go to the dealer
of their choice and I would take care

of the oxygen sensor
and specifically take the...

[Judge Judy] Well, I don't care.

You can't modify this. [chuckles]

- Ex parte, one side.
- [Thomas] Uh-hmm.

You can't modify this contract,

but there's a reasonableness read
into this

that if you buy a car
and pay the value of the car,

which she did,
she paid the value of the car,

paid an extra couple of bucks
'cause that covers your expenses,

and that there was
a check engine light that went on.

I have to see what else she did in the car
because that would be

an unreasonable interpretation of this...

to now make this car worth $11,000.

[Nicole] Your Honor,
I did try to negotiate with him.

Just a second.

I just...I asked you for a question.

I just wanna see what they did.

This is the paid invoice.

Balance tires, you're not entitled to.

An alignment,
you're not entitled to, transmission oil,

customer states
"Replace transmission cooler hose."

Mr. Elias, since you're the mechanic,

would you find on here replace
both license plate bulbs,

ridiculous placed oil cooler.

Kevin, show Mr. Elias this,

give him a pen please,

and have him circle the items on this,

anything that had to do

with the check engine light,

it had nothing to do with bulbs,
it had nothing to do...

anything that had to do

with a check engine light,
circle them, please

'cause that's a reasonable interpretation
of what the warranty is.

You read all the pages?

[Jason] Yes, ma'am.

Great.

Thank you, Mr. Elias.

Two upsteam oxygen sensors, 206?

This is a whole lot of math that I hate.

You know, math is not my favorite subject.

Okay. I got this one, Sarah.

[Sarah] All right.

Well, then they added labor.

A lot was for labor, labor
that has to do with the whole project.

And if you add to that,
a piece of this for the labor,

if you add $600 for the labor,

for everything that they fixed,

so, you have...

$600 plus the 206 is 806.

Now, he sent you some money.

Correct.

[Judge Judy] How much did he send you?

Four-hundred dollars.

[Judge Judy]
What did you do with the check?

I still have it.

Okay. I suggest you cash it

because then he owes you $406

because you didn't, you know,

did your mother actually

reasonably believe
he was gonna build you a new car?

No.

Put on tires and brakes.

You have an opportunity.

You could've said, I wanna
take this car to my mechanic, right?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
And check it out. You didn't do that.

- What?
- [Peggy] Can I say something, ma'am?

- Sure.
- [Peggy] Yeah.

I just wanna say in Wisconsin,
we have something called a disclosure law.

And on that, he, he had put
that everything on the car

including you're supposed to...
in Wisconsin,

you have to tell somebody
if there's a little leak,

if there's any issues.

So he had marked it all
that everything on the car was perfect.

Now, we didn't decide or agree to it
until...

No, just a second. I want...Just a second.

- I would like you show me...
- [Peggy] Sure.

[Judge Judy] ...where he said
everything in the car was perfect.

Yup.

No problem.

[Judge Judy] I would like to see it.

We have two copies,
two different ones for each...

[Judge Judy] Wait, just a second.

If he said, who said? Every...

Which...
I don't know if it's the mechanic...

or the owner,
it's signed that everything...

That would be me.

...on the car was in perfect order.

- [Thomas] We go...
- Now, just a second.

I'm just reading this.

Okay. He says it must be
in proper working condition.

- Ms. Gustafson?
- [Nicole] Yes.

You drove this car for two hours,

you say in your complaint
from someplace...

[Nicole] Yes.

- ...to his shop.
- [Nicole] Correct.

[Judge Judy] What...you were on a highway?

Yes.

Did you get off the highway?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] When you got off the highway,
did you brake to stop?

[Nicole] Yes.

You didn't stick your foot out?

[chuckles] Hmm, no.

[Judge Judy] So the brakes worked?

Yes.

And the car drove for at least two hours?

- Yup.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah. Not yup.

- Yes.
- That's yes, $406 we're finished.

Judgment for the plaintiff.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I'm not unhappy with it.

I never actually expected him
to pay the four grand

just what I thought he should pay.

I do feel like we got taken advantage of.

We sell...we sold over 3,000 cars
the last 11 years.

This is our first lawsuit
that we ever had.

After he cleared the code, then I said,

"Well, we bought the car here to be fixed,
not for you to just clear all those codes

out." And he said,
"Well can't fix what isn't there anymore."

I never said that to her at all.

Definitely bring one of them fixed tools.

Yeah, it's over.
It's done with. We can move on.

I'm, uh, glad she got what she wanted.

Unfortunately, I don't think it was fair.

But that's, that's life sometimes, right?

I think this is a good lesson
for business owners

that if you're gonna provide
a warranty or a service

I understand
that this was his representative

that just wrote 30-day warranty.

But you're gonna be bound by that.

So, if it's important to you to limit it
to a certain sensor or a certain issue,

you have to be sure
to put that in writing,

because as you said,
you can't one sided change the contract.

Can't modify what's in writing.

Yes, but you have to build in...

I think that you have to build
in a reasonableness...

Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] ...into that warranty,
and her mother was wrong.

When you buy a used car
nothing is in perfect condition.

It's not even in perfect condition
sometimes when you buy a new car.

True.

Even in a new car,
you have limited warranties.

But really, it's on the merchant
who is preparing the contract

to specify
what is included in this warranty.

- It's a very good lesson.
- [Sarah] Yeah.

Case number 1007, Sacra versus Santana.

Please step forward.

[announcer] Brittany Sacra
is suing her cousin Chanel Santana

for unpaid rent,
property damage, and a personal loan.

You're Brittany Sacra?

Yes, Your Honor.

And this is your cousin?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Were you close cousins?

Always.

Tell me when your cousin
moved in with you.

She moved in of June of 2019.

[Judge Judy] Why?

Um, she had gotten evicted from her
apartment and she needed a place to go.

So I had a basement apartment for rent.

Ms. Santana, why were you evicted
from your previous apartment?

Um, I started having seizures,
and I was on a leave of absence

from work for a quite some time.

And it took me a while to catch up, so.

So, you were evicted
for non-payment of rent?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] And I assume that
when you moved in with your cousin,

you told her why you were evicted?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] That would be natural.

Yes, she did.

- Were you back to work?
- [Chanel] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Was there any reason
why you didn't catch up

with the rent in your old apartment?

It was just too much.

I fell behind, um,
maybe about like two months.

I was on a leave of absence for two
months.

So, tryna pay current
and back pay it wasn't...

- Couldn't do it.
- [Chanel] Yeah.

Got it.
You agreed to pay rent when you moved in?

Uh, yes, I did.

And how much rent were you going to pay?

Nine-fifty.

[Judge Judy]
Moved in in what month and year?

Uh, June of 2019.

Did you pay rent in June?

[Chanel] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] The whole 950?

Yes.

What about July?

Yes, I paid the full 950.

What about August?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
How long did you stay with your cousin?

A little over a year and a half.

What month did you move out?

December of 2020.

Did you pay rent in December?

No, ma'am.

Did you stay there at all in December?

Barely.

[Judge Judy] What is a barely?

I was...I was travelling a lot.

- Um, and...
- But your things were there?

[Chanel] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

In what date in December
did you remove your things?

Like the 30th.

Okay.
So you were living there until the 30th.

If your things are there, you are there.

- [Chanel] Uh-hmm.
- That's the rule.

Now you wanna tell me about these loans.

Tell me when you made loans to her
and what purpose?

So I...

[Judge Judy]
And then I'm going to ask you,

why did you give her any more money

if she hadn't paid you back
the original money?

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Brittany Sacra
claims her cousin Chanel Santana

owes for a personal loan,
unpaid rent, and damaging her property.

Okay. Did you pay rent in November?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Why not?

I wasn't able to.

[Judge Judy] Tell me why not?

Um, well, uh, aside...

or outside of my job situation, um,

you know, when she crashed my car,
it was kind of like an even trade.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

So you wanna get into an accident that
she had when she was driving your car?

Yes.

And when was that accident?

That was in March of 2020.

So in March of 2020,
she had an accident with your car

'cause I read about that in your papers,

but you paid rent to her
in March, and April,

and May, and June, and July, and August,

and September, and October, right?

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] You paid rent.

Yes.

[Judge Judy] So what made you decide
in November of 2020

that it was a trade off with the car?

Well, it was a previous
conversation that we had.

And being that she had purchased,
you know, the home from her mom,

I was just trying to be
as helpful as I could

while I was in a more stable position.

But then once I lost my job in July,

it was hard for me
to really keep up with anything.

Well, you lost your job in July,

but you did in fact,
continue to pay rent until November.

No.

Well, she didn't pay
October's rent, Your Honor.

She didn't pay for October,

she didn't pay November,
and she didn't pay December.

[Judge Judy] So there was
an additional month of October?

Yes.

And this vehicle she's talking about
it was in 2019 because I got ticketed

and I had to pay hundreds of dollars
for tickets for her vehicle.

Did you crash her car?

I did.

There was a [indistinct]
that hit the, the vehicle yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay. So that's...

But I gave her a thousand dollars
for her deductible.

Are you still driving that car?

No, her vehicle...it was her vehicle
and it was up for repossession.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

After the accident
was she still able to drive the car?

No.

Okay. So that must have been
a pretty substantial accident?

Correct.

[Judge Judy]
So, she wasn't able to drive it.

You weren't able to drive it.

Did you have permission
to drive the car that night?

Yes, she did give me permission.

Okay,



Two-thousand eight-hundred
and fifty dollars, Your Honor.

Tell me why you moved out
of the apartment?

Um, you know, aside from...

sorry, sorry about that.

Very, very easy.

Tell me why you
moved out of the apartment.

Don't think about what's nice,
what I wanna hear.

[Chanel] Oh, it's not...no, it's not that.

Um, you know, aside from her saying
that I wasn't paying her rent,

which I felt like I didn't need to.

Anymore?

Um, it was also, uh, you know,
the situation with her boyfriend,

or fianc ,
or I don't know what you wanna call it.

But it was...it, it became
too much of a stressful,

a strenuous situation for me.

Okay. So there was some sort
of social friction with your cousin?

Yeah, it was...yes.

It was a lot of friction
between him and I.

[Judge Judy] Okay.

Well, as far as the rent is concerned,

there's no question
that you owe her $2,850

for the three months
that you didn't pay rent.

You have no counterclaim
that has anything to do with the car.

So I don't have to hear
anything more about the car.

What else do you think
your cousin owes you?

Your Honor, she owes me for damages
that she has done to my property.

The furniture she left in my home.

So she just left
and you had...have it removed?

Yes, I did.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Just a second.

Do you have a receipt from the person
who removed the trash from the home?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] I'd like to see it.

Kevin.

Thank you.

[Brittany] Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] That's not a receipt.

That's a nothing.

That's a nothing that I believe.

Okay.

[Judge Judy] It's a something
that you buy in the store.

Well, that's what was given to me
by the person that removes it.

And you make you blow up...
and you make a blow up of, 2,850.

What's next?

Um, the damages that she did
to the basement apartment.

I had to purchase a brand new stove
because she ruined that.

Um...

[Judge Judy]
How old was the stove that was there.

It was a year old.

You have the bill
for the stove that was there?

Yes, I have the receipt
for the one that I purchased.

Not the new one that you purchased,

the one that was existing there
that was a year old.

No, I don't.

[Judge Judy] I'm not interested.

Okay.

Um, I also have for the unpaid loans
that I had lent her money for.

Okay.

Now you wanna tell me about these loans?

Tell me when you made loans to her
and what purpose?

They were for various
different things, um, I had...

I'm not talking about you
giving your cousin $10 here,

$20 there, $50 there.

I'm talking about a loan.

A loan that you made to her
that she asked you for,

you said you have
to pay me back and she didn't.

Well, I didn't...

[Judge Judy]
And then I'm going to ask you,

why did you give her any more money

if she hadn't paid you back
the original money?

So let's start out month, day,
and year you made her the first loan.

Well, I had given her
a loan to get her tooth extracted.

Month, day, and year.

Um, this was on February 25th of 2020.

And that was for $419.95.

Ms. Santana,
did you pay her back the 419?

- No.
- Okay. What's next?

And then I also, um,
had a bank transfer to her

on July 22nd of 2020 for $386.

For what?

She said that she needed to pay 'cause she
had gotten a DUI, she had two.

And she had to pay her attorney.

I'm not denying.

[Judge Judy] What's next?

Um, and the rest were just small
personal loans that I had lent her money.

Altogether now?

Three-thousand six-hundred and fifty-five
dollars and ninety-five cents, Your Honor.

- [Judge Judy] Fifty-five?
- Yes.

Anything else?

Uh, aside from the cash apps, no.

Okay. When was the last time
you spoke to your cousin?

Hmm, the day I moved out.

You see each other at family
get-togethers, anything else?

No.

No, I won't come if she's there.

Okay.

That's too bad.

Is that because of this money
or is that because of a social situation?

It's both.

Thirty-six fifty-five fifty-five?

- Ninety-five.
- [Judge Judy] Ninety-five.

[Brittany] Your Honor, I also have
a receipt for the deep clean

that I had to pay for
when she moved out of my property

because she left it in disgusting manner.

Okay.

You'd have to clean it anyway, 3,655.95.

Judgment for the plaintiff.
Thank you very much.

[Kevin] Court adjourned.

Yeah, I probably should pay her back
for the tooth and the 386

that she loaned me, but besides that,

like I shouldn't owe her
any type of back pay on rent,

or anything like that.

She left my apartment
filthy and disgusting.

So I believe I shoulda got
the full amount.

She asked her
if she...if she had permission.

She didn't ask me
if I gave her permission.

The car was up for repo 'cause
of course she doesn't pay her bills.

I mean, it is what it is.

Now I don't even know
why I even let her move in.

This is not the first time or the first
family member she's done this to.

There seems to be more to that case than
just some unpaid rent amongst cousins.

What do you think?

[laughs] I think you're absolutely right.

I think that there was social stuff
going on there.

But, you know, we had a case just
recently with relatives living together.

And it's really very hard
to live with somebody else.

And sometimes when that happens,
and you try it,

and it doesn't work out,
then whole families are torn apart.

You know, everybody takes sides.

Good advice.

Live separately when you can,
get together at cousins clubs.

I don't know if that's true.

But I do think she owed her.

I think she owed her the rent.

- [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
- Anyway, easy case.

- [Sarah] Yeah.
- Some are easy, some not.

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