02x41 - That's a Wrap! and Ex-Con/Author Seeks the Sentimental

[bunniefuu]

You bought a car.

Yes.

I made the payment for him.

In your view, it was a loan.

She offered. It was a gift for me.

You're doing a dance around my question.

Tell me why you stopped paying her back.

Things got sour.

Things got sour with the relationship.

-I guess you could say that.
-I just did.

[Narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

Annabel Barone

is suing her ex-boyfriend,
Azael Arteaga,

for a loan.

[Bailiff]
Court comes to order.

-All rise.
-Have a seat, please.

Hello Judge, case number 2060,
Barone vs. Arteaga.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Ms. Barone,
case is not a very difficult one.

You've met Mr. Arteaga...

Arteaga.

Take your hands out of your pockets.

-At a bar?
-Yes.

-When?
-Back in June of 2021.

-Did you ever live together?
-Uh, no.

You always maintained your
own residence, and he his?

Yes, the apartment I owned was
always underneath my name.

-But he never lived there?
-No.

Good.

-But, you bought a car.
-Yes.

In what month and year
did you buy a car?

I ordered a Tesla back in,
if I'm not mistaken, May, and I...

-May of what year?
-May of 2021.

-Was it a new car?
-Yes.

Give me a rough number...
how much was it?

Out the door, $72,000.

-And what color did you order?
-Black.

This is what the case is about,
and it's going to take me

very, very little time
to resolve the case.

You ordered the $72,000 car in black

and because of whatever strange
reason you wanted the car wrapped.

Now, I think most people
know what that means

and I think I know what that means.

That means you take a perfectly good car
and you put a different finish on it.

-Is that what it means?
-Yes.

You buy a car that has a nice
shiny finish and looks clean,

and then you put something
on it that, I don't know,

looks like it's been sitting
out under a volcano.

-I guess you could say that.
-What?

-I guess you could say that.
-I just did.

And that costs money.

Costs an additional, I think according
to the papers that I read, $3,800.

No, it's $3,950.

-How much?
-$3,950.

And you had some of that money,
but you gave him... transferred to him...

$1,800 on your credit card.

-Yes, it was an agreement made between...
-No, no. I didn't ask you.

-Mm-hmm.
-I didn't...

You transferred to him $1,800
towards this wrap on his car.

I made the payment for him.

You made the payment
for him on a credit card.

Yes.

And according to you, your arrangement
was that he would pay you back

-monthly a hundred bucks.
-Correct.

-You don't dispute that.
-She offered.

Yeah she offered, and you did
in fact, on three separate months,

-pay her back one hundred dollars.
-Yes.

And that means that in your view,
it was a loan.

Well, it was more of a gift.

Well, then why would you pay her back
a hundred dollars a month, Mr. Arteaga?

Because our finances are much different.

-What do you mean?
-She knew I was getting a car.

I ordered a car, so it was a gift for me.

Because she already knew
that I was looking for a PPF,

which is a Paint Protection Film.

-So I'm more...
-Listen to me.

You're not answering my question.

You're doing a dance
around my question.

If it was a gift to you, this $1,800
towards the wrap for your car,

-why did you pay her back $300?
-To help her out.

Yeah, and then you stopped.
Because that sounds ridiculous.

-You still have the Tesla?
-I still do.

-Yes. You making payments on it?
-Yes, ma'am.

-Good. What kind of work do you do?
-I'm an electrical superintendent.

-Expensive car.
-Indeed it is.

-You're a single guy?
-Yes.

That's what single guys
do with their money.

Tell me why you stopped
paying her back Mr. Arteaga?

Things got sour very quick.

-So things got sour with the relationship.
-Yes.

-And is that when you stopped paying her?
-Yes.

Good. Judgment for the Plaintiff in the
amount of $1,500 is what he owes you

for the balance of the loan.

Thank you. We're done.

[Bailiff]
This court is adjourned.

We broke up. It was a nasty breakup.

There was bad feelings,
intentions between the both of us.

It was a bad breakup yes,
but there is a lot more details to it.

It was just out of pettiness
at the end of the day.

Because she caused a lot of rift.

I'm just not gonna loan out money
to just anyone from here on out.

I'm glad it's over.

And I'm really happy I get my $1,500 back.

Now that we've been
here for a little while

and I've been learning from you
and all these cases that we've seen...

Still, rule number one:
never give a boyfriend money

and expect to ever see it again.

You will never see it again.
It gets messy, it gets entangled.

And we see it time and time again,
so it just hits even harder at home.

Have you noticed, Sarah,
that it's probably an eighty-twenty

that women give money to boyfriends?

At least what we've seen here, yes.

So if... you know, if this is
a microcosm of the world,

and I don't know what it is,
I haven't been able to figure it out.

I've been doing this kind of business
for 30 years and I can't figure out why.

A perfectly lovely young woman...
guy's buying a $72,000 car

and says, "Hey babe, I'm short $1,800."

Well, if you're short $1,800,
buy a cheaper car.

-Yeah.
-You know there are cars that

cost less than $72,000.
Anyway...

But women should be smarter

-and not agree to do that.
-Smarter, there you go.

We ought to make mandatory
watching these cases

-as part of a growing-up process.
-A lot of great life lessons for sure.

Case 2073, Joseph vs. Williams.
All parties, please step forward.

[Narrator] Donnell Joseph,
is suing his niece, Tina Williams,

and his sister, Martha Williams,
for personal property.

Mr. Joseph,
these two ladies are your half-sisters?

My half-sister and her daughter, my niece.

-So what's your first name?
-Martha Williams.

-Martha is your half-sister.
-Yes.

-And your first name?
-Tina.

-Tina is your niece.
-Yes.

-And you and Martha have the same mother.
-Yes.

Your mother had a house.
The house was in her name.

Your mother passed away
in the early seventies.

Yes.

At that time she was
married to your father.

Not your father.

Correct?

And your father
lived in the house until he died.

Yes.

-And he died in what year?
-2018.

Somehow the house,
which had been in your mother's name,

never went through a probate process.

So, as far as the law was concerned,
the house remained in her name.

It never went to her surviving spouse
or her children when she passed away

in the early seventies.

What I'm reading is
when your father passed away in 2018,

the house sorta remained
vacant for a while.

-For how long?
-Since he passed away.

-So nobody's lived there.
-Correct.

And you knew your father passed away,
I assume.

Yes.

-And you knew your mother passed away.
-Yes.

And after your mother passed away...
she passed away in 1971 or 1972?

Did you ever visit with
your father in that house?

I visited with my father.
I lived in the house.

From when to when?

Well, I lived in the house in 1963
until like '72 when I started moving out.

But, I would still go back
to the house because...

-No, no, no.
-...it's my family home.

I want to know the last time,
Mr. Joseph, you lived in the house.



So, almost 30 years ago.
And where have you been the last 30 years?

I been in New York.
I been incarcerated.

You've been incarcerated
from when to when?

'93 to 2012.

So, 1993 is when you
last lived in the house.

Correct.

But, you were released
from prison in 2012.

Yes.

So for the last ten years,
you have not been back to the house.

I've been back to the house,
but not living there as a residence.

-So for ten years...
-Right.

-As an adult... how old are you?
-I'm 64.

As an adult, from age 54 to 64,
you had access to the house,

-visited your father in the house.
-Right.

-Not before then.
-Right.

Okay, and you haven't lived
there full-time in decades.

Correct.

This is what your lawsuit wants.

You had ten years after you
were released from prison

to go and get these treasures,

and you didn't do it.

Because my father's house was like the
treasure of all his children's property.

As long as he has...

As long as he had
a bicycle or a Boy Scout book.

-Let's start being real.
-Okay.

[Narrator] Donnell Joseph
claims his niece, Tina Williams,

and his sister, Martha Williams,
threw away his personal belongings.

Tina and Martha are countersuing
for the cost of a cleaning crew.

-Your lawsuit is seeking $10,000.
-Yes.

Because according to you,
the defendants disposed

of your property
that was invaluable.

And I'm going to describe the property
that you say was invaluable.

-A 1911 Boy Scout handbook.
-Yes.

-That you treasure.
-Yes.

You should've taken it out of the house
in 30 years if you treasured it.

A mountain bike
purchased in what year?

'71 or '72, around there.

I know it was a Free Spirit ten-speed
I got, that was in 1970, and a Univega.

You wanted it,
this 50-year-old mountain bike,

you should've taken it
over the last ten years.

-A vintage reel-to-reel tape player.
-Yes.

You know how many of
those I threw in the trash?

Do you have any idea
how many of those I threw in the trash?

You got those a half a century ago.

Oh, my God, I remember them...
big reels and how excited we were.

You could talk into a microphone and then
you could hear your voice come back.

And then all of a sudden you
got a phone. You can do that.

The same thing. So, everybody took
these things and they couldn't find

enough places to dispose of them.

It's not vintage anything.
It's a piece of trash.

Can I speak your Honor?

About what?

Okay, the reel-to-reel tapes, right?
Some of the tapes had speakings

of my brother and Martha's daughter...

Then you should've taken
them with you in 40 years.

If they were treasures of yours, Sir,
and you're 64 years old,

I would want those
treasures around me.

And you had ten years after
you were released from prison

to go and get these treasures.

And you didn't do it.

You just left them in your father's house.

Because my father's house
was like the treasure

of all his children's property.

This is how we connected to our father,
because everybody has left,

everybody has died.
So, as long as he has...

As long as he had a bicycle.

As long as he had a bicycle
or a Boy Scout book.

The Boy Scout book was
handed down to me from my father.

-Let's start being real.
-Okay.

-Okay, let's start being real.
-Okay.

And the first draft to buy
published manuscript.

Yes.

Why didn't you take that with you?

For safe keepings,
I let my father hold it because he...

That's not a good idea, Sir.

How old was your father
when he passed away?

He was 88, but my father's mind
was sharp as a tack.

He kept everything.

If you wanted it... your father passed
in 2018. Is that what you're telling me?

I couldn't get nothing
out of the house so...

I don't know whether you could
or whether you couldn't.

When did you make an...
Just a second.

When did you make an effort
to remove your man...

Forget about the bike,
forget about reel-to-reel tape recorders,

-Okay.
-Forget about the nonsense.

Your manuscript.
When did you write this manuscript?

-I write it a couple of years...
-No, no, no.

It's the first draft of this book.

-It's the first draft of that book?
-This book.

-Well, now you have the book and...
-But I needed the draft that...

Because the other draft
that I'm working on the second book

that goes along with this book, I don't
have certain notes and things that I had.

-It doesn't exist anymore.
-Yes, it doesn't.

It doesn't exist anymore.

And if you wanted it,
you should've gotten it.

In 2018, when your father died,
you were out of prison.

-Where were you living?
-I was living in New York.

-And where did your father live?
-He lived in Los Angeles.

Between 2012 and 2018, how many trips
did you make to visit with our father?

About 3.

-And when did you publish that book?
-2015.

So you published that book
during your father's lifetime.

Yes.

And if you needed the manuscript,
you came to visit your father.

A manuscript... it's this big.
That's how big a manuscript is.

Yes.

-Where were you living in New York?
-In Albany.

You have your own apartment
or your own home?

House.

-Do you own or rent?
-Own.

When did you purchase it?

My wife, we bought it together,
it was in 2009.

-So you're married?
-Yes.

-Have children?
-No.

So, you and your wife
purchased a home in 2009.

-And how much did you pay for the house?
-$109,000.

-Are you still living there?
-Yes.

So you had plenty of room in the house?

You had plenty of room
for a manuscript, tapes.

A manuscript that you were working on.

You weren't working on
the manuscript long distance.

What I'm telling you, Mr. Joseph, is the
things that you're suing for are nonsense.

-Okay...
-If things that you wanted

that a grown-up man, 64 years old,
gets if he wants them.

It's not that you were homeless. You have
a home... a home that you purchased.

You went to visit your father three times.
Anything of value...

we're not talking about furniture,
and antiques, and a grandfather clock.

We're talking about things
that can fit in a tissue box.

Yes.

You put them in your suitcase and
take them with you if they're valuable.

I couldn't visit California before that
because of the conditions of my parole.

So, the times that I could go,
I could go out there and had to have...

You told me you
went out there three times.

-Yes.
-When your father was alive.

When I had permission to go.

So, I couldn't after my father passed away
I couldn't go in the house because

that would violate the probate thing.
So I had permission to...

-No, you're not...
-...to go in the house.

-...understanding me, Mr. Joseph.
-Okay.

You're not understanding me.

You went there three times
after you were out of prison,

after you had a home,
after you were married.

When you went there with a suitcase,
don't tell me violating your parole,

-unless you told me...
-Right.

In the suitcase, should've been, when
you returned from California to New York,

small things of value that you say
were invaluable to you,

including a manuscript.

Forget the bicycle, forget the
tape to tape reel to reel recorder.

The tapes that you say were
precious to you, if they belonged to you,

put them in a suitcase, so...

There's a lot more about this
that I don't quite understand.

Your Honor.

There's a lot about this
that I don't quite understand.

And when your father passed away,
who got the house?

-The house is...
-Shh!

Your father passed away.
What happened to the house?

-The house is still in probate.
-Oh.

So during the probate thing,
I had to have permission

-to take anything out of the house...
-Forget... I'm telling you the...

-I'm telling... I've...
-Okay.

-I've answered your lawsuit, Sir.
-Okay.

I've answered your lawsuit.

-Okay.
-That you're a 64-year-old man,

and if something that could fit in a
tissue box was that precious to you,

when you visit your father
and you had a home,

you would've taken it with you
when you left.

-Certain things I couldn't take...
-This is not a tea dance.

The property, a loss as it is,
but I lost a sister in this process.

-He said he was...
-Shh!

And it makes no difference
of how this go, I lost a sister.

This isn't the probate court.

So, I would suggest that you all
take a deep breath,

and say, "Whatever it is,
let it be finished."

[Narrator] Donnell Joseph claims
his niece, Tina Williams,

and his sister, Martha Williams,
threw away his personal belongings.

Tina and Martha are countersuing
for the cost of a cleaning crew.

I asked you if the house was
still in probate, which is unfortunate,

because people can
take care of the business.

Who are the beneficiaries
of the sale of the house?

Me, my sister, Lawanda,
my half-brother, Justin Joseph,

-my sister Sherice, two sons...
-Okay.

Let's try to clarify this...
are you the executor of the Will?

There's no Will. My mom is
the administrator of the probate.

And I just got to be administrator.
We had to go back and forth to court.

We had no way of getting in and out
of the house because we had no keys.

Okay, and your father,
I assume, had no Will.

He had no Will.

-What's the value of the house?
-We don't know because since Martha

-became the administrator we have...
-Just a second.

-What's the address of the house?
-My mom had the house appraised

-at 250.
-She's going to tell me.

So, the off-market says
it's approximating $464,000.

It's a three bed, one bath,


-And the estimate?
-The range is between 400 and 515.

Ooh well, the family has a valuable asset.

And has yet to be divided
after all this time.

It's a good lesson
for everybody out there.

Make a Will.

-Now you can tell me.
-Thank you.

My grandma, which is their mother,
she bought the house on her own

with my mom's last name,
which is her dad... Statement.

It's her maiden name, which is married to.
We don't know if they were married.

That's what we're going through
in probate. It's a process.

But the beneficiaries would be Donnell, my
mom, and two heirs of a deceased sibling.

Donnell has also been
in jail for most of my life.

He hasn't been to California at all.
So, I wanted to back that up as well.

Well, he's not entitled to anything.

If he wanted these items
that were valuable to him,

he should've taken them
during his 64 years.

The most safest place that I ever had
in the world for my valuable...

Well, that's too bad if you own a home
in New York, with your wife,

and you had an opportunity
to take these valuable things.

Because you said you visited your father
after 2009, and you should've taken them.

And don't tell me it was
the safest place because...

Not only the safest thing,
but my father, he lost two sons...

-Zero.
-The only thing he had in this house,

the things that was
left over from his children.

And to take anything that was
of value away from his children,

would've hurt my father.
So, the safest place for all our...

Mr. Joseph, you don't think
going to prison hurt your father?

-Yes.
-Okay.

-That's why I changed my life around.
-Let's get real, let's get real... okay.

-You're not getting any money here.
-Okay.

You're going to wait for probate,
and in the probate procedure,

which hopefully won't take forever...

but it clearly can because people are
irresponsible and don't create a Will...

it is likely that you will have
part of the proceeds of this house.

Likely.
Only because if your mother passed away,

and if she was in fact married to
your father, or lived with him

at that time in California. If there was
a common law relationship

and they did have children together,
then you, as an offspring,

would be entitled, if there was no Will,
as part of the proceeds of this house.

-Yes.
-That's all.

When she bought the house she bought it as
a married woman so when she...

You don't have to... listen.

That's something, Mr. Joseph,
you don't have to convince me.

-You have to convince the Probate Judge.
-Okay.

You also have a counterclaim that's
ridiculous, and I'm not entertaining it.

It's really just stupid.
Stay with Probate.

When is the Probate proceeding
supposed to be finished?

Well, we're going through
mandatory settlement.

One thing I want to say, Your Honor.

However this Probate is,
I want you to know

the property, as a loss as it is,
but I lost a sister in this process.

-He said he wasn't...
-Shh!

It makes no difference of how this goes,
I lost a sister. My niece, she something...

-This isn't the Probate Court.
-I love my sister.

This is not the Probate Court, Mr. Joseph,

and I suggest that
if you love your sister...

-She knows I love her.
-Just a second.

If you love your sister
and you're 64 years old...

How could you do this to me
when you know we love you?

Shh, Mr. Joseph.
Mr. Joseph...

-Yes.
-I know you can get emotional

in situations where family is involved,
and your sister clearly is sick

-because she's using oxygen.
-I'm sick.

-I just had liver surgery.
-Mr. Joseph, what I'm telling you is

if you have an opportunity
in the Probate Court...

I'm actually telling this to
both you and Ms. Williams...

if you have an opportunity,
at your age, at your stage,

to settle for something that
gives each of you something.

Maybe less than you would get
if somebody was disinherited,

but at this stage in life at 64 years old,
somebody who just had liver surgery and

someone who must rely on
oxygen in order to breathe...

My common sense tells me that what you do
is not to give the whole thing away

to lawyers who are there sucking up
whatever profits there are going to be

in this house. Because if
the house is worth $200,000,

you're going to get a bill for $140,000,
for the probate administrator,

for the lawyers, and you're going
to wind up with zippity do dah.

So I would suggest that you all
take a deep breath,

and say, "Whatever it is,
let it be finished."

You have no case, Mr. Joseph.
Rely on the probate system.

I wish you good luck.

I said your countersuit is ridiculous,
and I'm dismissing...

Oh, I have proof.

I want to tell you something.
Your countersuit for having to rehire

somebody to move is ridiculous.

I'm telling you,
rely on the Probate Court.

-We are done here.
-Would you please let me

-present my countersuit?
-No, I read it.

I read it. I'm dismissing it on its face.
We're done.

[Bailiff]
This court is adjourned.

All I can say is
I love my sister.

Just the same thing
that's happening... nothing.

Whether it's a Probate thing or not,
that ain't gonna never change.

I don't want to hear anything else.

I'm always loving,
because that's my sister.

Let the Probate court decide.

You know at 25,
after doing Season One of this show,

I created and ex*cuted a Will,
because this is the situation we've seen

far too many times and it's so
unfortunate to see the breakdown

of a family over something
that could've been prevented

had the mother or father, grandfather,
grandmother created a Will

when they were alive to tell the rest
of us how they'd prefer their property

to be disposed of.

It's fascinating to me
that their mother is gone for 50 years,

and for 50 years that title
to that house, which is a...

-Never red-flagged, never was...
-Nobody ever thought about it.

And the father lived there for 40 years.

Must've at least paid the taxes
and maintenance on it.

Absolutely.

And then he's gone and everybody
is in this awful state of limbo.

And you know what it is?
With all those siblings and half-siblings

and grandchildren and whatever...
Even if the house...

she says she had it appraised for 250.
You looked it up, and the estimate...

-It was much more, but it's hard to tell.
-$450,000.

But even if it is and it has
to be divided with six people,

that's a substantial chunk of money.
But it doesn't look like,

for either one of them,
it's life-altering money.

He lives in a home, he has a wife,
he looks as if he's okay

since he's been released from prison,
but he has health issues.

His sister has health issues,
and they're going to spend

-the last years of their...
-Stressed.

-Stressed, angry...
-Worried about this Probate.

I mean I saw how emotional Mr. Joseph got.
"I love my sister."

Well, if you love your sister, then...

if you love your sister,
then you don't sue her!

Yeah.

I don't understand it. Anyway, your advice
is solid and sound, and I support it.

[Narrator] Want justice?