02x108 - You Totaled my Car! and Gambling Girlfriends

[bunniefuu]

-You had an accident.
-Yes.

Car was totaled.

I'm out of a whole car.

So you took the car to go where?

To who I was dating at the time.

Tell me why.

I had a scare.

What kind of scare?

A pregnancy scare.

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Jennifer Laws
is suing her niece,

Jenelle Laws,
and her stepdaughter, Ari Scales,

for the cost of a car.

[bailiff]
Court, come to order.

All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case 2130,
Laws versus Laws/Scales.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Miss Laws, this young woman
is your niece.

Yes.

[Judy] And this young lady
is the ward of your niece.

-Yes.
-[Judy] You have guardianship over her.

Is she related to you?

No. She's related to my wife.

[Judy]
Okay. But you have guardianship.

We both do.

-[Judy] How old are you?
-I'm 21.

You had an automobile.

Yes.

[Judy] It was an automobile
that you allowed your niece to use...

-and it was at her house.
-Yes.

That was in September of 2020.

Her car was in the shop, whatever.

Mm-hmm.

[Judy] Anyway, your niece went out of town
for a while?

-Yes.
-Do you remember what date that was?

October 17th of 2020.

[Judy] And prior to your
going out of town,

had Miss Scales ever driven the car?

No.

Had you ever given her permission
to drive the car?

No.

[Judy] Now, Miss Scales, there did come
a time, in October of 2020,

that you took the car.

Yes.

[Judy] Tell me how you managed
to get ahold of the car.

So the keys, we have a key hook
in the front of our house,

and I just used the keys there.

-[Judy] Did you ask anyone?
-[Ari] No.

[Judy] Tell me why.

I had a scare that I was afraid
to do by myself.

-What kind of scare?
-A pregnancy scare.

-[Judy] Okay.
-[Ari] Mm-hmm.

[Judy] So you took the car
to go where?

[Ari]
To who I was dating at the time.

What time of the day did you take the car?

Between the times of 4:00 and 6:00 pm.

[Judy] And at what time did you have
an accident with the car?

I would say between 7:00 and 8:00 pm.

Had you already seen the boyfriend?

No.

[Judy]
Where were you between 7:00 and 8:00?

-[Ari] Driving.
-[Judy] Driving to who?

To the boyfriend.

[Judy] Oh, so it takes
a while to get there?

Yes.

-[Judy] How long?
-About an hour.

[Judy] In any event,
you had an accident.

Yes.

[Judy]
Car was totaled. You had insurance?

Yes.

And had you told your niece
that you had insurance on the car?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

Because she says that you had told her
you had insurance on the car.

And you had a loan on the car,
there was a note.

That's correct.

So when she borrowed the car,
she knew it was insured.

Did you also tell her that
you had the gap insurance?

Yes.

[Judy] And what year, make and model
of car was it?

A 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage.

-Did you buy it new or used?
-[Jennifer] Brand new.

[Judy] And how long was the loan
on the car?

Six or seven years.
I think it was six.

[Judy] So by 2020, you had paid up
most of the car.

Yes.

What was the balance left on the car?

I'm not exactly sure the exact balance
that was left on the car. Um...

Okay. How much did you pay for the car?

[Jennifer]
I paid $17,000.

That's what it was financed as,
so that's not with the finance charges.

Okay, so you paid 17. How much
of a down payment did you put down?

I didn't put any money down on it.

So in five years between 2015, 2017,

you paid off about 80% of the car.

Yes.

What's the car worth now?

Based on 75,000 miles, in good condition,

I'm seeing between 5,500 and 7,500.

Okay.

Now, after the accident,
you put in a claim through your insurance.

Yes.

And your insurance covered how much?

The insurance paid out $7,379.

They wrote a check to the bank?

Yes, ma'am.

And can I see the paperwork
on that, please?

[Jennifer]
Yes, ma'am.

Because what you're suing for now
is another $8,496.

[Jennifer] Mm-hmm.

[Judy] Okay. So your insurance
also paid on the other car

that you had the accident with.

You had an accident with a Ford Focus?

Yes.

Okay, so they paid $2,900 on that,

and they paid you 7379.

Yes, ma'am.

And show me what the note balance was
on the car at the time

that they paid this out,

which would have been some time
in 2020 or maybe '21.

You want the balance after they paid out
or before they paid out?

-Both.
-[Jennifer] Okay.

This is after they paid out.

And before.

[Jennifer] I don't have a copy of what
it was owed on before the accident.

[Judy] Oh, I need a whole payout
because what your niece says

is that they paid you
the value of the car,

which clearly it was the value of the car,

because the value of the car
according to Sarah

is between five and seven
thousand dollars.

They paid you 7379, which clearly
covered a substantial part of your note.

Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
What the defendant is saying

is that during COVID,
for financial reasons,

you had requested that the payments
be put on hold.

Right.

And that you not make
any payments on the car.

And that the interest
would continue to accrue.

Right.

And that that's not her fault
you asked to have the payments put off,

but you drove the car, you had the benefit
of driving the car all during COVID.

Right.

And she shouldn't be penalized.

The insurance company paid out
what the car was worth.

These additional charges are because
you put off making the payments

during COVID and it also
accrued that interest.

That's your defense.

-Am I right?
-Yes.

-[Judy] That I have to see.
-Okay.

And I don't wanna hear it,
I wanna see it.

The paper that you have there,
that's from...

It shows that a payment was made
on that car on September 4th, 2020,

and that was the last payment
that was made.

So there were no payments being made
during that time that she had the car.

-It was.
-[Judy] That's not what I'm asking you.

I'm asking you, when COVID started,
did you put the payments on hold?

I did, because I was no longer working,

so they gave me the option
to delay my payment,

which means
they tack them on to the end.

I understand that,
but you were driving the car.

You were driving the car,
she's not gonna pay for that.

She had the car
from the beginning of September,

and she was only supposed to have it
for three days when her car got fixed.

-[Judy] It doesn't matter.
-So...

[Judy]
First of all, you didn't bring me...

You didn't bring me
the documentation that I need.

You didn't bring me
what was actually owed on the car,

and what was owed on the car,

and how much was owed as a result
of your deferring payments and interest.

When I did the stop payments
on the car,

it was before she even borrowed it.

[Judy]
Well, that may be, madam,

but if what you're telling me
is you started to pay again,

you still drove the car
when you deferred payments.

Yes, I did.

[Judy]
Yeah, well, that's not her responsibility.

But the balance that's left on the car,
they pay what the value of the car was.

They said that they don't pay
finance charges.

So there was a balance of...

Well, the finance charges
were finance charges that accrued,

and you don't have the paperwork
for me here.

Not $3,700 worth of finance charges.
For two months?

No, that's not for two months.

I don't know what the finance charges
were for, it doesn't say that.

You don't have the paperwork here.

You don't have the right paperwork,
so you have to understand something.

What you're suing her for
is $8,496.

First of all,
the car is only worth $5,000.

You got $7,300 that the insurance
company paid directly to the lender,

and I don't have what you owed
here before the accident.

I don't have that, and the payments
that you deferred.

If you deferred payments
prior to that time,

that's your responsibility.

But I only deferred payments
for three months.

-That's not going to amount to 37.
-[Judy] Just a second.

I have no idea.

You should have brought the paperwork.

This is not that paperwork.

So I'm out of a whole car.

Like, I've invested almost $10,000
into this car.

I let her use the car and...

[Judy]
That's what your insurance is for.

[Jennifer]
And now I'm not...

I'm just not out only the 3,700,
now it's been late charges

and other charges on that.

And now it's $6,000 that's on my credit.

[Judy]
You deferred the payments.

I can't tell how many months
you deferred the payments.

You said, "Maybe I deferred it
three payments." I don't know.

You didn't bring me the paperwork.

-I deferred...
-[Judy] Shh.

You can't tell me.

[theme music playing]

If she would have never had the car,

then I would have been responsible
totally to pay all of that amount.

It's cost me more than just this amount
that's still on my credit.

She didn't do anything wrong so far.

I mean, you have a 21-year-old girl

who shouldn't have taken the car keys
without permission.

[announcer]
And later today...

You write to her that you saw her
take some stuff,

and you say to her, "So don't tell me
you don't steal from me.

Friends don't steal from friends.

So I won't burn you for what I borrowed.

You should think twice
before you steal from,

because I could say
I'm not giving you nothing."

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Jennifer Laws
claims her niece, Jenelle Laws,

and her stepdaughter, Ari Scales,
owe the balance on her car

after Ari totaled it in an accident.

She says you deferred the payments.

That was the reason for these overages,
which I can understand,

because otherwise the insurance company,
and if you had gap insurance,

which you say you did, would have paid
any gap between the loan...

My gap insurance was only until
a certain amount of time,

and then after that, the gap insurance
only pays a certain amount.

I don't know any of that.

What I need from you, you didn't bring.

You brought only what was necessary
to put forth your position.

I need what was owed on the car,

and for past-due payments
with accrued interest,

and for current payments,
and you don't have that.

So far, all I know is you had
full insurance on this car,

and the full insurance was paid.

And if there was a reason
that the insurance company

for some reason didn't pay
an amount of money,

I don't have an explanation
of that here, in what you gave me.

Except the explanation that she offers,

which was, during COVID,
you deferred your payments

and the interest was accruing.

And that the insurance company
was not gonna pay

because that was done
prior to October of 2020.

That's not...
That's not true.

I deferred one or two payments.
I did not...

Well, two minutes ago,
was it three payments?

[Jennifer] Because, ma'am, I'm sorry,
let me just explain that.

During this time, April 2020,
I lost my mother to COVID.

So I had two cars.

I had the pink car
and I had the car that I gave to my mom,

which is a black car,
which was also in my name,

that I was responsible for.

The car that I put the deferred payments
on was the Kia Optima.

That's the one that I put
the deferred payments on.

This car, I had a couple
late payments,

but I never stopped paying
that car note.

[Judy] I can't tell you.
You don't have the paperwork.

All that I can tell you is,

the insurance company paid
everything that they were supposed to pay,

including the gap insurance
for this accident.

-The gap insurance did not pay.
-[Judy] So I can't help you.

Listen to me.

I'm not gonna repeat myself.

This doesn't tell me
how much you owed

prior to the accident

and what it was for.

And if it shows that all you owed
currently, prior to the accident,

it had to show that that was 7379
and it included the gap insurance.

You may have had old finance fees
that had nothing to do with her.

The gap insurance never paid.

I can't help you, madam,
you don't have the right paperwork.

If she would have never had the car,

then I would have been responsible
totally to pay all of that amount.

But because I don't have a car,
it disrupted my life.

It's cost me more than just this amount
that's still on my credit.

[Judy] She didn't do
anything wrong so far.

I mean, you have
a 21-year-old girl

who shouldn't have taken the car keys
without permission.

But the car was there
and it was there with your permission.

And there's no question
that the accident was her fault.

I have been asking her
to return my car.

[Judy]
If you have the proof,

the only thing I want you to show me
is a document from your lender,

which says how much was owed
at the time of the accident

and for what.

Do you have that?

I don't because I didn't think
that I needed it.

[Judy]
Okay, well, then I can't help you.

That's... Today's court day.

This is the day you have.

-I have a ton of evidence here.
-[Judy] We're done.

Madam, you don't have
the evidence that I need.

Your request for $9,000
for a $5,000 car,

which you've already been paid


So all I have to see is
how much was deferred

and the interest on the accrued
that you deferred

while you were using the car
before she had it

for this five or six weeks
that she had it in September.

If you have that, I'll look at it.

If you don't have it, I'm not interested.

-Do you have it?
-The paperwork that you have.

Well, then I'm gonna give it back to you,

and you're going to show me
where it shows here,

in October of 2020,
how much you owed on the car,

and how much were past payments
and finance charges

based on the last payments.

You understand what you gave me?

If I can make this as simple
as possible for you,

if you never loaned her the car,

if you had the car
for that five-week period,

and you had an accident with the car
during that five-week period,

you would be in the exact same position
you are now.

The company would have paid off
what they paid,

and would not have paid off
what you still owe them

because you deferred payments.

It doesn't matter who was driving the car.

-And I do understand that.
-[Judy] Okay, good.

-And I will be responsible.
-I'm glad you understand.

-I'm glad you understand it.
-But she stole my car.

I'm glad you understand
that your case is dismissed. We're done.

[bailiff]
This court is adjourned.

[theme music playing]

She needed to borrow my car.

It was just a bad accident.

It was just me, young,
got into an accident.

So I thought that I was helping her.

You know, so when this balance is due,
I'm the one that's out.

The car hit me.
It ran the light and it hit me.

You know, I'm the one that's suffering.

I'm the one that gotta pay
all of that money.

I'm fine.

So I don't think that
that was fair at all.

So for a period of time,
let's say six or seven months,

her numbers kept changing.

First it was three months she didn't pay,

and then it was one or two months
that she didn't say,

and she may have been late a little bit.

Yeah.

Well, insurance company's
not gonna give you credit for that.

And it didn't look to me,
based on the papers,

that there was any animus...

-No.
-...between the parties until...

-Until just right now.
-Until today.

[chuckles]

And then maybe she should
be angry with me and not at them.

But they all know each other
and get along with each other.

So that the amount of money
she has to pay

is the amount of money
she should have paid...

Mm-hmm.

...while she was driving the car
but chose to defer.

And I think that that's a good lesson
about deferring payments.

Especially now with COVID and everything,

I know people my age,


have been deferring payments,

whether it be for car notes
or for interest on your loans,

things like that, that sometimes
she didn't even realize

that this was all accruing
under the surface.

So you think that by deferring,
if you don't read the fine print,

that could be a good lesson that,

-if an accident happens...
-Yeah, and she said she had

a lot of other things
going on in her life.

-But that...
-And again, it was an accident.

-It was an accident.
-They don't call it an "on-purpose," so...

Case 2133, Morrissey versus Comer.

All parties, please come forward.

[announcer] Tabatha Morrissey
is suing her former friend, Tina Comer,

for an unpaid loan
and personal belongings.

Miss Morrissey, you have a lot of claims
here against the defendant,

for a personal loan and the value
of personal belongings.

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Okay.

She was a friend of yours.

You used to go gambling together,
Miss Morrissey?

Yes, we did.

How many times a week
did you go gambling?

Probably once or twice a week.

[Judy]
And did you go just the two of you?

[Tabatha] Yes.

[Judy]
And over what period of time?

-Over...
-[Judy] A year or two? Three?

Probably a year.

[Judy] There was a time when you went
and, according to you,

Miss Comer didn't have any money.

And so you agreed to advance her money,

and she says actually you agreed
to advance her money

and the agreement was if you won,
she would pay you back with her winnings.

-Whatever it was...
-No, Your Honor, that's...

[Judy] Whatever it was, how much money
did you give her to gamble?

I loaned her 230 bucks,

with the agreement
that she would pay me an extra 200 bucks

because she was gonna get
her mother's inheritance.

[Judy]
Okay, on what date?

[Tabatha]
April 28, 2022.

Okay, and you went gambling with her.

No, she came by, and we were
gonna go meet at the casino,

but I didn't really want to do it
because I have a boyfriend

-that doesn't like me going there.
-[Judy] Just a second.

-I don't need a whole story.
-[Tabatha] Okay. All right, sorry.

So she went to the casino without me,
and then she came by my house after that

and told me that she spent
her boyfriend's money at the casino

and so, that she was supposed
to use it at the store.

And so I gave her the money to cover that,
and that's when...

[Judy]
Well, wait, you gave...

You gave her the money to cover that
because she asked you for it?

Yes.

[Judy]
And she agreed to pay you back.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

[theme music playing]

February, did you go to the casino
and lose

-some of your boyfriend's money?
-No.

[Judy] Did you go to her house
and tell her that you lost some of your...

It wasn't in February.

What month?

It was, uh, probably April.

I don't care what month it was.

Did you tell her you lost
your boyfriend's money at the casino?

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Tabatha Morrissey
claims her former friend, Tina Comer,

owes for an unpaid loan
and personal belongings.

Go!

[chuckles]
No, it was in February. Uh...

-[Judy] Okay, February.
-Yeah, I won a jackpot.

-[Tabatha] No, it wasn't.
-[Judy] Just a second. Just a second.

February, did you go to the casino
and lose some of your boyfriend's money?

-No.
-[Judy] Okay.

Did you go to her house and tell her
that you lost some of your...

It wasn't in February.

[Judy]
What month?

It was, uh, probably April.

[Judy]
I don't care what month it was.

Did you tell her you lost
your boyfriend's money at the casino?

Thirty dollars of it.

Okay, but in February I won a jackpot
and I didn't have my license with me

'cause I lost my wallet
and they told me I had to come back

-with my license to get it.
-That's the time...

-I don't wanna hear you.
-[Tabatha] Sorry.

So I asked Tabatha if she would take me
back up to get my jackpot money

and I would pay her the money
that I owe her,

plus give her sixty for gas.

And that's when I paid her the money back.

And then her boyfriend also, or some guy
that she brought up there with us,

asked if he could borrow some money

because he said
Tabatha said she'll pay me back.

So I gave him a hundred too.

When you came back
and told her that you had lost

some of your boyfriend's money,
according to you,

-it was $30, not 230.
-[Tina] Yeah, it was 30.

I already paid her the two-something
when she took me in February.

[Judy]
Oh, that was before?

[Tina] Yeah, so I didn't owe her no money
because I paid her back in February,

the money that I did owe her.

-I've got proof of it too.
-[Judy] I'd like to see it.

-[Tabatha] And I've got proof that...
-[Judy] Shh.

Okay.

Take it out, I'll see whatever proof
you have over this loan.

-Okay, yes.
-And...

Come on, let's go.

-[Tina] Okay, well here's...
-[Tabatha] Okay.

-[Tina] Here's where I won the money.
-[Tabatha] Here's proof.

I also got proof of her saying that
when she still owed me the money

back in May.

I got proof of that too.

Casino check? I'm not interested in this.

[Tina]
That's when I won the money.

I don't care.

And that other one shows when
I had to go back and pick it up.

I don't care about that either.

-And then...
-[Judy] Shh.

April 28th. "I can loan you some."

-That's in April.
-[Tabatha] Yes, April 28th.

[Judy]
So that's when she asks for some money.

[Tabatha] Yes.

-[Judy] And that was the $230?
-Yes.

[Judy]
I'd like to see what you have.

[Tabatha]
This is...

-That's April, that's not February.
-[Tina] No.

That's in June when she told me
what she owed me in cash-wise.

[Judy] Okay, so on June 11th,
Miss Comer, you write to her

that you saw her take some stuff.

Yes.

Some beads, or friends took beads
that belonged to you,

and you say to her, "So don't tell me
you don't steal from me.

Friends don't steal from friends.

So I won't burn you for what I borrowed,
which is $230.

But I decided I will not give you
the other 200.

So I'm just not going
to give you the extra.

That's what it's going to cost you
for stealing from me.

You should think twice before
you steal from because

I could say
I'm not giving you nothing.

So I'm only taking back
what I was going to give you.

We had to sign some more papers,

so I should get it any day
and I will text you when I get it.

I'm also missing
a half box of sunglasses,

and that girl is going to get it.

She lied saying the hair clippers
were hers."

I don't care about all that.

Okay, I'm gonna deal
with this loan of $230.

And it's clear from your statement,
Miss Comer,

although it's usurious interest

and I'm not going to grant you
that other $200 because it's outrageous,

she's giving you 100% interest
on the 230.

But you are entitled to your $230 back.

-But that was our agreement, though.
-[Judy] Okay, because she acknowledges...

Shh. Just a second.

She acknowledges the debt on June 11th.

Mm-hmm.

Now, what about the personal belongings
that you say...

And don't give me a lot of nonsense.

-I'm not listening to a lot of nonsense.
-[Tabatha] Okay, yes.

She came to me and said
she wanted to do a yard sale.

So we were gonna do it in May.

Okay, you were supposed
to do a yard sale.

[Tabatha] Yes.

It worked for a week,
it didn't work the next week.

What items do you say she has of yours?

She has jewelry of mine.

I'm not listening to jewelry.

Show me the insurance receipts
for jewelry. Come on.

-Let's go, what does she have of yours?
-I can show you the pictures

of her yard sale
that does have my stuff in it.

[Judy] Well, what did she end up with
your stuff for?

You were there at the yard sale.

I didn't have a car,
so she came and picked me up

and took me to my storage
to go get my yard sale stuff

to take over to her house
to do it in the yard sale.

She was supposed to contact me
and come get me

when she was getting ready
to do the yard sale.

I stayed the night at her house,

and we were setting up all night long

'cause it was a really big yard sale,
it was more like a flea market-type thing.

And she never contacted me
after dropping me back off at home,

and she said that my box of jewelry
fell out of my stuff

when she was loading it up
because she fell.

So when she got home that night
after dropping me off,

she said it was in the driveway.

You have that in a text message?

[Tabatha]
That was my personal belongings.

-Do you have it?
-[Tabatha] Yes.

-Yes, I do.
-[Judy] I'd like to see it.

[Tabatha]
Okay, hold up.

[Judy]
Thank you.

So this looks like a lot
of cheap plastic crystals.

No, my wedding ring was in that box.

No, it wasn't.

I had my box of jewelry with me

to go through
when I stayed the night at her house.

And I was taking out the other jewelry,
and the box that was coming with me home,

she was loading it up and she said
it fell out of her car.

So I don't see how it fell out,
but she said it did.

So when she got there that night,
she said she'd seen it in her driveway.

So, I mean, that had
my wedding ring in it.

And I was in the middle
of getting a divorce,

but it still means something to me.

Mm-hmm. $230.
Judgment for the plaintiff.

We're done here. Thank you.

[bailiff]
This court is adjourned.

[theme music playing]

Everything she said was a lie.

About the money, about all her stuff,
everything was a lie.

Because she just doesn't want
to pay me my money.

She just wants to get money out of me

'cause I won two jackpots
and I got my mother's inheritance.

It hurts very much.

She's done.

I don't even care to see her.

That was really very simple
when you discarded this garage sale

and crystal beads
listed as some of the items...

-Yeah.
-...in the text message.

-There were their boyfriend's tweezers...
-Mm-hmm.

But when you got rid of that,
it was actually pretty simple.

Cash loan, $230.

Cash loan, $230,
that she acknowledged in June.

Mm-hmm.

-So relatively easy.
-Yeah.

-Some easy...

-Some not. [chuckles]
-...some not.

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