01x55 - For Love or Money

[bunniefuu]

[Judge Judy]
Tell me about giving her the ring.

She told me that,
"If you don't put a ring on it,

you can't have what you want,"
so I bought a ring.

It's clearly an engagement ring.

He didn't mention engagement.
He asked me did I like it.

Well, what did you think it meant?

Don't look amazed.
There's only one attitude here.

That's would be mine.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer]
Duffie and Bennie White-McCoy

are suing Jamal's ex-fiancee,
Michelle Irving

for household expenses
and personal property.

[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case number 1146
McDuffie, White-McCoy versus Irving.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

- [Judge Judy] Your last name is?
- McDuffie, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Mr. McDuffie,
the defendant was your girlfriend?

- [Jamal] Yes.
- This is your aunt?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
She has a very minor part in this case.

It is your claim that
for a period of time,

while the two of you
were a couple and together,

Ms. Irving stayed with you
in your aunt's home?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
And she agreed to pay your aunt rent?

[Jamal] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Three hundred
and fifty dollars a month, I believe?

[Jamal] Yes.

[Judge Judy]
She stayed there for a while

and she did in fact pay for her rent
for a period of time,

- but then she stopped.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] And all this time
when she stopped,

the two of you were sharing a room?

- Yes.
- And you were aware of the fact

that during that...don't look amazed.

There's only one attitude here.
That's would be mine. Okay.

So, during that period of time,

she was in the process
of purchasing a home?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] She moved in with you

where you were living
in your aunt's house?

- [Jamal] Yes.
- In what month?

August 2020.

And she moved out in February?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] And in February,

- she bought her own house.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy]
And in what month do you claim

she stopped giving you the $350 a month?

The last two months.

[Judge Judy] So, in January and February?

[Bennie] Correct.

[Judge Judy]
When did she move out in February?

February 28th.

[Judge Judy] So August, September,
October, November and December

she did give you the $350 a month?

[Bennie] Correct.

[Judge Judy] So at most, she owes you
$700?

- [Bennie] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] When she gave you the $350,

did she give it to you in check or cash?

- Cash.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

I'm gonna come to you
'cause I'm gonna take care

of this part of the case.

In February of 2021, you purchased a home?

- Yes, I did.
- What's the address of the home?

- Moreno Valley, California.
- Would you check that for me?

[Michelle] 92557.

[Judge Judy] And you moved into the house
February 28th?

Yeah, somewhere around that time. Yes.

[Judge Judy] Did there come a time
when you stopped giving the plaintiff

the $350 that you had been giving her

August, September, October,
November, December?

I never gave her a payment, Your Honor.

As a matter of fact,
I have evidence to show that at that time,

I had my own place that I was living in,

paying my own rent at my own address.

Me and Jamal was in a relationship

and because of the area that I lived in,

Jamal did not like coming over there
because he said it was too dangerous.

So, I then start going over to his house

visiting, spending the night,
building a relationship.

[Judge Judy] So what you're saying is
there was a time that you did go there.

And I don't care
whether you paid rent someplace else,

that you did go there
and start to stay there.

I went there to visit
and spend nights there.

[Judge Judy] How often during the week,
Ms. Irving?

[Michelle] Because I do take care
of my elderly aunt as well.

So at...and my daughter lives with...
was live...lived with me at that time.

So at times...

[Judge Judy]
She was...how old is your daughter?

[Michelle] My daughter's 28.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
So she doesn't need full-time care.

- And she was living at this address?
- [Michelle] No, not my daughter.

I was taking care
of my elderly aunt is 82.

[Judge Judy] I understand that,
but your daughter

doesn't need care because she's 28.

She was helping me care
for my elderly aunt that I take care of.

[Judge Judy] At that address
where you were paying rent?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Okay, I got it.

- Okay.
- So you were spending a lot of time

there. Do you have any proof
that she gave you money?

- No, I don't.
- [Judge Judy] None?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] You can sit down.

[Sarah] Your Honor, I found that listing.

- [Judge Judy] Yes.
- It sold February 5th

of this year 2021, for $450,000.

And it's a standalone.
It looks to be a standalone home.

- You bought a standalone house?
- [Michelle] Yes.

- [Judge Judy] Paid for 450,000 for it?
- Yes.

- [Judge Judy] Took out a mortgage?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Good for you. Great. Okay.

What kind of work to do Ms. Irving?

I do in home supportive services
in which I receive over $4,000

for taking care of my elderly aunt
and I have some...

I'm just...I'm just asking you.

You receive $4,000 a month
for taking care of your aunt.

Correct. Over 4,000, yes.

Did your aunt move with you
into the house?

Yes. She's been with me since 2011.

[Judge Judy]
But she lives with you in the house?

- Yes, she does.
- What about your daughter?

My daughter resides still
in the other address

- that we were living in.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Did the plaintiff
move into your house with you?

He didn't actually move in
because somewhere...he didn't move in, no.

- [Judge Judy] Did not?
- No.

[Judge Judy] So you stayed with your aunt?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] What were your things doing
at her house?

Because that's part of your claim.

Being that she stays around
dirt mountains and stuff like that,

it was easier for me
to just ride my dirt bike

out the garage up the street into the dirt

instead of transporting it
on the back of a truck.

So I felt like it was easier for me
to keep it there.

So I can get to the dirt
faster than keeping it in [indistinct]

- So, we're talking about a dirt bike?
- [Jamal] Yes.

[Judge Judy] That's what the property is?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
'Cause you never lived with her?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] When she moved in February,

was there ever a discussion
of you moving in together?

We discussed it but it never happened.

[Judge Judy] Tell me about the discussion.

[Jamal] When she bought the home,
I agreed on being with her in the home.

But being that
I was in a motorcycle accident,

that kind of subdued me from going
because I was injured pretty bad.

I had a lot of head trauma,

a lot of body damage
and scars and all that,

so I had to recover

- and in that time of me recovering...
- When was the accident?

Two days after Mother's Day.

- [Judge Judy] So in May of 2021?
- Yes.

So it's the dirt bike that you want?

- The dirt bike and the...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

- And what else?
- The motorcycle gear and my ring.

[Judge Judy]
Let's stay with the dirt bike.

- Do you have his dirt bike?
- [Michelle] No, I do not.

[Judge Judy] Where...let's be
clear because you have a counterclaim.

[Michelle] Yes.

[Judge Judy]
And you have a substantial counterclaim.

[Michelle] Sure.

[Judge Judy]
I wanna know where the dirt bike is.

There's no question
that he left the dirt bike there.

- [Michelle] No.
- And what did you do with it?

- I sold it.
- [Judge Judy] Oh, bad, bad.

You can't do that.

Tell me about giving her the ring.

I thought we were gonna make it,

so I invested in a ring
because she told me,

"If you don't put a ring on it,
you can't have what you want,"

- so I bought a ring.
- Oh.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Jamal McDuffie
claims his ex-fiancee, Michelle Irving

owes for a motorcycle
and the return of an engagement ring.

Michelle is countersuing
for an unpaid loan.

[Judge Judy] Okay. Who'd you sell it to?

I sold it to Derek.

[Judge Judy] Why did you sell
somebody else's property?

[Michelle] Well, at a time
me and Jamal were dating,

I gave him $5,000...

oh, I loaned him $5,000
on a Harley-Davidson.

[Judge Judy]
That was a...that was a year ago.

- [Michelle] That was...
- That was a year ago.

That was in October 20...October of 2020.
I read the papers.

- [Michelle] Yes.
- I'm familiar with the papers.

Thank you.
And he was supposed to reimburse me

- once he got his money.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

[Michelle] Once he came to my house
with the police officer, he...

- [Judge Judy] No. Listen to me.
- Okay. Yeah.

[Judge Judy] Listen to me.

I make the determination
whether it was a loan or a gift.

You made the determination
that it was a loan and sold his property.

- You can't do that.
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] You can't do that.
When did you purchase the dirt bike?

I don't exactly know the date.

But it was in the summertime,

almost like the end of August I think
or beginning of September.

- [Judge Judy] Of what year?
- 2021.

Well, you were in your accident
of May of 2021,

why would you have bought a dirt bike?

No, this is...I bought the dirt bike
before I had the, the...

- [Judge Judy] The accident.
- [Jamal] Yeah.

And you had the accident May of 2021.

I miss understood the dates.

- [Judge Judy] Okay.
- The dirt bike was bought back in April.

- [Jamal] April of 2021?
- Yes.

- Do you have a receipt?
- No, I do not.

I just have the pink slip
and the bill of sale.

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

Here you go.

Thank you.

April 2021 you bought this
from somebody whose name was Medina?

- Yeah.
- April 1st of 2021.

Do you remember
how much you paid for it?

I paid $800 for the bike,

but the bike was worth more than that.

He just wanted to get rid of it because...

I don't know if it was worth...
that's what you paid for the bike?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] So far you're ahead $800.

She had no right to sell it.
Now, explain to me the ring.

The ring...

[Judge Judy] Was purchased when?

The ring was purchased in November

and I gave it to her in December.

Tell me about giving her the ring.

I thought we were gonna make it,

so I invested in a ring
because she told me...

well, she told me that it,

"If you don't put a ring on it,
you can't have what you want,"

so I bought a ring.

And I, you know...

[Judge Judy] Well, I mean,
did you...I mean, did you say,

- "I wanna get married?"
- [Jamal] Yeah. Yeah.

[Judge Judy] "I want to be my wife."

Yeah, I wanted to be engaged.

Okay.
May I see the ring, please, Kevin?

Did Ms. Irving go with you
for the ring or did you...

- [Jamal] No.
- ...purchase it yourself?

I purchased it myself.

[Judge Judy] Oh,
it's clearly an engagement ring.

[Sarah] Lovely.

You remember when he gave you the ring?

[Michelle] Yes, I do.

[Judge Judy] Tell me where you were.

I was at his place of residence.

[Judge Judy] You mean where he lived
with his aunt?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And?

Well, in the beginning,
he sent me over a text and asked me,

"Did I like the ring?"
And I told him, "Yes."

[Judge Judy] Just a second. Well, then you
had been discussing the ring?

If he sent you a text about the ring
then you had been discussing...

- Yes.
- ...a ring and getting engaged.

He didn't mention engagement.
He asked me did I like it.

Okay. And what did you say?

- I told him yes, of course I did.
- [Judge Judy] And?

And, uh, maybe about, like he said,

somewhere on November the 30th,
I remember it

because it was my daughter's birthday

and we kind of had
just gotten back together

because we were separated for three months

from August, September, and October

and we kind of rekindled our relationship
once his friend Earl was m*rder*d.

- So I'm just saying that for...
- Don't give me tributaries.

[Michelle] We wasn't together
in those months.

So then he sent this to you,
" Do you like it?"

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] You said, " Yes."

Now we're in November
your daughter's birthday

also a tributary that I don't need.

- And?
- And that's when he gave me the ring.

[Judge Judy] What did he say?

He just was, um...
put the ring on my finger. [laughs]

Just put the ring on my finger.

Well, what did you think it meant?

It meant,
"Okay, maybe engagement."

Okay.
Would you give him back the ring, please?

Thank you.

All right. So now you have $800
and your ring back, sir.

Got it so far?

I didn't ask you for anything.

Oh, and I do have a video
of, uh, me showing her

the...giving her the engagement ring.

[Judge Judy] She already...
she already said engagement.

She already looked at me
and said engagement.

I don't need a video.

You know,
she's acknowledged it was an engagement.

- [Jamal] Uh-hmm.
- You now have the ring back.

You're entitled to the ring back.

Now we're gonna talk
about your counterclaim,

which is for 5,000...it's more than $5,000.

That's all I'm really interested in.

- You bought a motorcycle?
- [Jamal] Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And you bought that
motorcycle in October of 2020?

Uh-hmm.

And I assume today you're very sorry
you bought that motorcycle?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Yes.

Say that loud and clear.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Yes. Perfect.

But you bought it,
it was $12,000, you had 7?

[Jamal] Yes.

[Judge Judy] It didn't have enough credit.

- She gave you 5?
- Correct.

- And that was in October of 2020?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] And during that time,

you were sort of back and forth with her
at your aunt's house?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And so, in October,

November, December,

did you give her any money
towards this $5,000?

No, ma'am.

She moved out in February

and you went to her house in February.

You visited her
because you brought your dirt bike there

and some other gear,
so you were there in February, right?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
And when he was there in February,

now, you had an engagement ring.

You had a ring on your finger, right?

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah.

But I didn't wear it.

Well, I don't care
whether you wear it or not.

You had a ring February.

He was there in March.

Were you in her house, sir,
until the motorcycle accident?

No.

[Judge Judy] When did you stop
going to her house?

Weeks prior to the...

[Judge Judy] So sometime in April?

[Jamal] Yes.
Weeks prior to the accident.

[Judge Judy] Well, you just bought
the dirt bike in April.

- [Jamal] Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] And you brought it there?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So she was in the house
just the month of March

- and maybe a little bit in April.
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] During that time,
you were in a relationship?

- Yes.
- Same kind of intimate relationship.

Now, you have October, November,

December, January,
February, March, and April.

During that seven-month period,

I want you to show me

when for the first time
did you ask him for this $5,000 back?

Well, that's why I brought my phone

because my phone is broken

and all the messages
that was in this phone is...

Then you don't have any?

[Michelle]
The only thing I have is him asking.

Oh, I have one message of me
asking him on Messenger

when we were separated.

- In what month? [Michelle]
- I forgot.

Let me see.
That was in September, ma'am.

- September, last month?
- I believe so.

[Judge Judy] I don't care
about what happened September.

Okay. I'm just saying that
just something because...

[Listen if doesn't...listen.

I lost my phone.
The dog ate my homework.

I don't have a phone.
I got a new phone.

Whatever it is, I don't care.

You wanna tell me
your version of the circumstances

surrounding her giving you $5,000?

I went to the Harley-Davidson dealership.

I was going up here to get me a bike.

I didn't care what it took to get it,
I wanted to buy it, legally.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Jamal McDuffie is accusing
his ex-fiancee, Michelle Irving

of selling his motorcycle
and keeping an engagement ring.

Michelle says she loaned Jamal money

to purchase a used Harley-Davidson.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You have no proof to me

that you asked him
to give you back this money.

You wanna tell me
your version of the circumstances

surrounding her giving you $5,000?

I went to the Harley-Davidson dealership,

and I was going up there to get me a bike.

I didn't care what it took to get it.

I wanted to buy it, legally, you know,

but I went in there.

- We looked on...
- [Judge Judy] She went, went with...

Yes, she did.

We went and looked on
the showroom floor

and it was a little expensive
for my taste.

So I went into the used department.

And I looked around, she looked around,

she picked the bike out.

And I said, "Okay, yeah, I like it."

- In the used department?
- [Jamal] Yes.

I looked at the price tag and I'm like,

"Whoa, you know,
I can put some money down on this bike.

And I'll just make the payments
once a...once a month."

And I guess she went ahead
with the salesperson.

And she discussed it with the salesperson

that she didn't want me
to have make payments on this bike.

She wanted me to just cash the bike out.

[Judge Judy] How much was the whole bike?

The bike was 11,500.

How much money did you have?

I had $7,000.

And from that point on, I liked the bike.

We went and did the paperwork.

I did not know offhand

that she gave the rest of the money

for the remaining balance of the bike

until we start filling out the paperwork.

[Judge Judy] Do you remember
where you bought the bike?

Bartel's.

[Judge Judy] Do you remember
who the salesperson was?

[Jamal] It was a young lady
with blue hair and only...

With blue hair? [chuckles]

[Jamal] Yeah,
I don't think she works there anymore.

She doesn't because I called.

Does not?

She doesn't work there any longer.

[Judge Judy]
Do you have the paperwork for the bike?

- Yes, I do.
- [Judge Judy] I'd like to look.

[Michelle] And, Your Honor, may I add,
when we were counting out the money,

we counted it out together

in the presence of the...
in the finance department.

Yes. He says, "By the time
we went to fill out the paperwork,"

was when he found out that you...

that's what he says
that you had spoken with the...we...

cash price for the vehicle was 10,100

and the total crash price was 11,228.

And you had $7,000?

Yes, ma'am.

So the difference between the 7,000
you had was $4,200.

- What?
- I do have the video

where she said that
she gifted me the money for the bike.

I'd like to see that.

[Jamal] All right here.

[Judge Judy]
Well it says she gave you the two.

- Right. Yeah.
- $2,000.

[Jamal] Uh-hmm.

So she gave you $2,000.
That's what she says.

She gave me all the money for the bike.

The balance that I didn't think...

[Judge Judy] Well, what she acknowledged
is she gave you the two.

Could you play that again, Kevin,
so that you can hear it?

Or give it to Sarah. Listen to it.

[Michelle] The lady was like,
"Look, either you can take

the rest of the balance
which was like two,

we could finance you."
I'm like, "Nah, babe.

I'll just give you the two, feel me like?

- She does say two.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

And you sold his dirt bike
that he paid $800 for.

So that's $1,200.

If I thought it was a loan,

but that's not what you say in this video.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. Okay.

- [Michelle] Yes, it was.
- Okay, babe.

I gave you the two, so I'm dismissing
your counterclaim, Ms. Irving,

based upon your own words.

And on your claim, sir, you have the ring

and you have the $800
that you paid for the dirt bike.

Do you understand?

That's it. We're done. Goodbye.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

We just wasn't eye-to-eye anymore.

He definitely was taking advantage
of the whole situation.

/I brought the police to our house
just to safeguard myself

to retrieve my property
without any arguments whatsoever.

That's why he bought his aunt here to lie

to try to get money
in any way they could.

I went down on my motorcycle,
so I was not able to come back

and get it until I was healed.

That ring wasn't even worth nothing.

That's why I brought it to court

'cause I went to go
get the ring appraised

and it didn't appraise for nothing
but $1,000, $1,200.

Don't trust no woman all the time.

I got me a real fiancee that ain't a user.

He work hard and he makes sure

he takes care of his woman
and his fiancee.

[Judge Judy] Nice man,
clearly permanently damaged.

I don't know
what the cause of the accident was.

I don't know
whether he was wearing a helmet,

because clearly he had some brain injury.

I know that it's a terrific sport.
[chuckles]

[Sarah] Can be fun.
but the cost doesn't outweigh the risk.

[Judge Judy] And, you know,
not to me, I brought your Papi

a tricycle for his 85th birthday.

He's only allowed to drive it up
and down the driveway.

Sometimes I catch him sneak...
trying to sneak out onto a main road.

But he has a place where he can go,

and he wears a helmet
and it's a trike and it's...

[Sarah]
Makes you feel better that it's safer.

Makes me feel better,
but I still won't get on it and ride it.

- [Sarah] No.
- [Judge Judy] No.

I like to be surrounded by a lot of metal.

If other people have to tons around them,

I want to at least have two tons
around me.

- He was a young guy.
- Yeah.

But he rues the day in October of 2020
that he bought that bike.

- [Sarah] Yeah. I'm sure he does.
- Yeah.

[announcer]
Want justice?

[theme music playing]