02x131 - Pit Bull Ambush (Part 1)

[bunniefuu]

[Judy] She was bitten by your pit bull?

Yes. In my home.

But I told her, "Do not go in my house".

But not because she had a k*ller dog.

She even said it was her fault.

No, don't make things up as we're going.

Be very careful when you talk to me.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Myla Bazen
is suing her former employer,

Sarah Adams,
for lost wages

and pain and suffering from a dog bite.

Court come order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge.
Case 2177, Bazen versus Adams.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judy] Ms. Bazen, you had a job
as a dental assistant.

- Is that right?
- Yes.

And you went to school for that?

- Yes, your honor.
- Where did you go to school?

[Myla] Medical Institute.

- Did you graduate?
- Yes.

- I get that you didn't like it.
- No.

[laughing]

I say that, because you didn't stay
in that career path for very long.

Just for my own curiosity,
I come from a long family of dentists.

Tell me why you didn't like
being a dental assistant.

Had to be a reason.

Cleaning people's teeth

and having them fight you and tell you

that they don't have cavities,
when they do.

You didn't like whole experience.

Yeah. All day explaining you have to do.

- Ok, got it. Wasn't for you.
- No.

You've got it in your hit pocket
should you ever need it again.

- Right? You have the degree.
- Yeah.

In any event,
the defendant was a patient of yours,

- she came in as a patient?
- Yes.

And you've had to know each other,
according to you,

and she offered you a job
at a place that she manages.

- You manage a store?
- Correct.

What kind of store?

It's an appliance store,
so we sell scratch and dent appliances.

When was that?

Oh, jeez, um...

this had to have been in May.

- May of 2022?
- Correct.

Is that when you
started working in the store?

I started July, 3rd.

- That was your start day?
- Mm-hmm.

And what were your duties?

Sales rep, she taught me how to sell
the scratch and dent appliances,

how to run the store,
help her manage it.

I was making more comission,
so I did take the job

besides the dental office.

- So you worked in the dental office too?
- No.

You left the dental office.

I left the dental office
so I could pursue more.

[Judy] Pursue? Ok.

- And you did make more money?
- [Myla] Yes.

There came a time,
according to what I read in the complaint,

that you, Ms. Adams, asked the plaintiff

to do an outside job for you.

No, that was not correct.

[Judy] Tell me how it happened
that she ended up at your house.

What happened was

I was going to take my lunch,
to take my kids, who were at home,

lunch, because they were on school break.

- She offered to go...
- How old are your children?

Sixteen, 13 and 10.

She offered to go in my place,
that she wanted a break.

She clocked out for her lunch,

I have her money to go

one, pick up the food,
and two, a little bit of gas money.

She then went to my house...

[Judy] Just a minute, we're not there yet.

She clocked out for her lunch break.

- I was clocking out of work...
- [Judy shushing]

- And you're the store manager?
- Yes, ma'am.

- And how long do you get for lunch break?
- An hour.

That's an hour during the day
that's yours.

- Correct.
- Now, from the store

where she was, where she clocked out,

to the place where she was supposed
to pick up lunch for your children...

Mm-hmm.

...how far was that?

Because you said you gave her gas money,
so it wasn't around the corner.

Fifteen minutes away.

And how far,
from this place where she got the food,

- is your house?
- Right down the road.

- Five minutes?
- Not even, two.

Two minutes. Seventeen minutes.

- And then she's got to get back.
- Correct.

- So that's almost 40 minutes.
- Correct.

- Out of her one hour lunch.
- Mm-hmm.

- So she was doing you a favor?
- Yes, ma'am.

Then why didn't you just say that?

So you made me go through
this whole exercise.

It was more than half a lunch,
it gave her 15 minutes for lunch.

- She was doing you a favor.
- Yes, ma'am.

Did she ask you to do her this favor?

Yes.

Tell me how she asked you
to do her this favor.

It wouldn't go through
when we were ordering the food,

I was already on my way home,

it was two o'clock in the afternoon
so I was ready to go.

She said, "Go ahead,

here's some money,
deliver the food to the children.

Thank you for your help."

- Did you have to pick up the food?
- [Myla] Yes.

Ok, she gave you money...

...sat in the drive-thru,
ordered the food, drove to her house.

So is what you're telling me,
that you did not volunteer.

No, I was going home,
and it canceled,

- I said, "Ok, I'm on my way home anyway".
- [Judy] Oh, so step back.

Step back. Did you order food?

- To send to your kids?
- I did and it did not go through.

- Okay. So you ordered food to get there.
- Mm-hmm.

- And this was lunch time.
- Correct.

And how did you find out
that they canceled?

They sent me a notification to my phone.

- To your phone?
- Correct.

And what time was that?

One o'clock, 1:15.

Had you already taken your lunch break?

No ma'am.
Most days, I do not.

- So you're in the store all day.
- I am.

Well, then it would seem to me
she had to find out that they canceled

because you said
that they sent the note to you.

- We were right next to one another.
- [Judy shushing]

I don't know, she wasn't
looking over at your phone.

- Right?
- [Sarah Adams] Right.

She wasn't looking over your phone.
If you work right next to each other,

common sense would dictate
you said something like, "Oh",

whatever," or what expletive
you used,

- "they canceled my order."
- Correct.

"Could you take stuff
to my kids, for lunch?"

I was going to do it. She offered.

I want you to tell me
exactly what you said.

You say you stay in the store all day.

Now, and you thought about it,
and you thought about your defense,

and you did, in fact, according to you,

just remember something,

because, "Here's 20 bucks.

Would you take the food,
drop it off for the children?"

And in addition, voilà, you said to her...

"Please, do not go in my house,
my dog is aggressive."

[theme music playing]

Myla Bazen claims her former employer,

Sarah Adams,

owes for injuries from a dog bite.

Sarah is counter-suing for harassment
and slander.

I want you to tell me
exactly what you said.

- You say you stay in the store all day.
- Yes.

- But on this part...
- Ok, but she was ready to

leave.

No, so she was leaving for her lunch.

- No, you were sending me...
- I was going to leave

and take the kids food.

Myla stated
she wanted to go out of the store,

she needed a break,
so I told her, "Ok,

if you wanna clock out
and take your lunch,

if you will do this for me,

I will give you
an extra 20 dollars for gas."

She said, "Ok, no problem".
So it was doing me a favor.

That's what I want you to say.
She was doing me a favor.

Because I wanted to get
my 16-year-old lunch,

- that she couldn't get for herself.
- Correct.

That she couldn't walk around the corner
and get for herself.

Or open the freezer
and put it in a toaster.

- Right?
- Right.

[Judy] Ok.

So you had one of your subordinates

go to your house

and deliver the food.

That's the bottom line.
You had one of your subordinates...

Because you're in the store,
where you stay all the time,

you had one of your subordinates,

gave her 20 bucks,
"Here's a little gas money for you,

go pick up the food
and bring it to the house."

By the way,
your 16-year-old doesn't get around?

No, she's not driving out.

She walks.

Correct,

but I don't like my children
to leave the house.

In the middle of the day, one o'clock?

- Correct.
- Ok.

- Not in this world that we live in.
- Okie, dokie.

Anyway,
"Here's 20 bucks,

thank you."
Did you say anything else to her?

No.

Has she ever been to your house before?

Not at that time, no.

Prior to giving her money and say,

"Could you pick up the food
and drop it off?"

- She had not been to your house before.
- Correct.

I did state to her before she left...

Just a second.

- She had not been to your house before.
- Correct.

Now, and you thought about it,
and you thought about your defense,

and you did, in fact, according to you,

just remember something,

because, "Here's 20 bucks.

Would you take the food,
drop it off for the children?"

And in addition, voilà, you said to her...

"Please, do not go in my house,
my dog is aggressive."

- And that's why...
- I did tell her

to call me when she got there,

I would call my daughter,
have her go out and get the food.

And, your honor, I do have a video
of my ring doorbell, of what happened.

- I'm gonna watch that.
- Ok.

Because, what happened was,

there was a lot of food,
according to what I read.

- It needed...
- Three children.

- [Judy] Shush.
- Sorry.

It needed two trips, daughter took in some

she took the other,
and she was bitten by a pit bull.

Correct, but I told her,
do not go in my house.

And she was bitten by your pit bull?

Yes, in my home.

She wasn't trespassing
in your house, madam.

She wasn't burglarizing your house.

She was bitten by your pit bull.

- That's what this is about.
- But she was told...

She was told not to go inside the house.

If I believe you.

- If I...
- I have evidence.

- I'm gonna look at it.
- Ok.

If I believe you.

Whether I believe you or not,
she was bitten in your house

by your dog.

How old is your pit bull?

Seven years old.

Where did you get her?

From the pound.

[Judy] So you went to get food.

You took to your car
and you went to get food.

And you picked how many bags of food
for the three children?

There was, at least, I think, two bags.

Or one big bag and then two drinks.

Three drinks in total,
I had to carry on drink back in,

behind April.

I should have waited in the car.

Now why should you have waited
in the car?

- Why?
- [Myla] Bec...

Now that I've been bitten,

I say that.

Well, what would've made you think
that you should be waiting in the car?

No reason.

Did Ms. Adams say to you when you left...

- No, your honor.
- ..."Text me

when you get there,
my daughter will come out."

Yes, to make it easier for me

but not because she told me
she had a k*ller dog.

- Did she tell you she had any dog?
- No.

I knew of a one little dog.

Her little Mookie,
her baby Chihuahua dog.

Your honor, I bring a dog with me
to work every day.

That she just got

- ...while I was working there
- [Judy] Just a second. Just a second.

Don't interrupt.

She said she knew of one little dog,

a Pekingese.

That's all you knew about?

I knew of her Chihuahua at the time.

The Pekingese came later,
she inherited her dad's dog.

But all I knew of
was her little Mookie Chihuahua.

I also have a Chihuahua,
I thought we both had Chihuahuas,

I would not get to anyone's house
if they had a k*ller pit bull.

Pit bulls, period.

Ok, you picked up the food,
you got to the house. What did you do?

April came out to the car,
grabbed what she could

I had her remainder drink,

I got up and followed Ms. April
inside the house.

- Once we got to the door...
- Is April the 16-year-old?

[Myla] Yes.

- That's you?
- Mm-hmm.

Once she stepped inside,
I stepped in behind her,

she turned around to grab it
and the dog was right there.

- Step up.
- Bit my leg.

[Judy] Ok.

- April, do you have friends?
- Yeah.

Do they drive?

No.

- None of them?
- No.

And you live in a rural area?

Or are there stores there?

- There's some stores down a few streets.
- What kind of stores?

A grocery store.

So, if you wanted to, and you were hungry,

you'd have gone to the grocery store
and gotten something for lunch.

Mm-hmm.

- "Mm-hmm" is not an answer.
- Yes.

So, on that day,

let me make sure
what they were talking about here,

July 18th.

On July 18th you and your siblings
were home for the day?

Yes.

Tell me about the conversation you had
with your mother about ordering lunch.

My siblings were hungry

and wanted something new,
so I asked my mother...

- [Judy] You called your mother at work?
- Yes.

I called my mother at work

to ask if she can order some food.

What time did you call your mother?

It was around one.

[Judy] And that's all you said to her?

And what did your mother say?

She said, "Yeah".

She said yes, but she must've also said
"What do they want?"

I mean, they didn't wanna go
to the grocery store,

so she said, "What do you want?"

She said, "I can order a McDonald's"

and I said "That's fine".

She said "I can order McDonald's", and...?

And, I said that,

"That's great, that's ok,
thank you for doing that."

Ok. Now, she called you later

to tell you
that they had canceled the order.

- Yes.
- Hm?

- Yes.
- Yes!

And what did she say
and she said they canceled the order?

She said that Myla was coming over
to drop off the food,

and she already told her about...

No, don't make things up as we're going.

Be very careful when you talk to me.

Yeah.

She said
"Myla is on her way over with the food"?

Yes.

Now, Myla came over, she pulled her car up
in front of your house.

Yeah.

And did you see her pull the car up
in front of the house?

Yes.

- Ok, did you come outside?
- Yes.

All right. Came outside,
did she get out of the car?

We're gonna go step by step.

- She got out of the car?
- No.

- She stayed in the car?
- Yes.

And you took a bag?

I took all I could. Two bags and a drink.

Ok.

- But that wasn't all the food there was.
- Yes.

I told her I would come back for the rest.

- Did she say that to you?
- [Myla] No, your honor.

I didn't hear you say to her
when she turned around,

"Stay out there",
I didn't hear you say that to her.

- I said that...
- Do you understand?

I didn't hear you,
and I heard everything,

say that to her.

She had one drink
that she was gonna give you

and she actually
leaned over to give it to you.

I didn't hear you say anything to her.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Myla Bazen
is accusing her former employer,

Sarah Adams,
of refusing to pay for injuries

caused by her pit bull.

Sarah claims Myla already agreed
to a $300 dollar settlement.

- [Judy] Now, she got out of the car?
- No.

- She stayed in the car?
- Yes.

And you took a bag?

I took all I could. Two bags and a drink.

Ok.

- But that wasn't all the food there was.
- Yes.

I told her I would come back for the rest.

- Did the say that to you?
- No, your honor.

I was just nice
and got out of the car and followed her.

Yeah, and you didn't have
that much of a discussion.

It doesn't make sense
that you had that much.

So, there was a drink left?

Yes.

So she was walking
and following you with the one drink?

- Mm-hmm.
- No.

She didn't follow you
into the house with the one drink?

Not until later.

What do you mean, "Not until later?"

What happened in between the fact
that you grabbed the food,

the food and two drinks,

there was a drink left.

Now she's out of the car...

I didn't realize she was out of the car,
I thought she would stay in the car.

So I'm walking over
to the house to open the door.

Ok. Now, I want you to point
to some place in this room,

where the car was,
and where your front door was.

Make believe I'm the car.

Point to some place in this room.

If it has to be more, you can say,
"It's twice that distance".

Twice the distance from the front
and the back of the courtroom.

Or half the distance,
or it's the same distance.

How far is it from the car to your house?

- The car was right here...
- No!

- I'm the car.
- Yeah.

And?

How far away is the front door?

About right here, not that far away.

Where?

Where those...

So, maybe 20 feet.

Yes.

Now I'm gonna look at your video.

Thanks.

- [Myla] You got it?
- [April] Oh, my god.

[several dogs barking]

- [growling and snarling]
- [Myla crying out]

[April] I am so sorry.

[barking continues]

[groaning]

[April] I am so sorry.

[indistinct talking]

Get the door!

[child] What happened?

[heavy sighing]

- [barking continues]
- [April shouts indistinct commands]

Give me a towel.

I am so sorry.

Give me a towel. Hurry.

[child] You are an annoying little puppy!

I didn't hear you say to her
when she turned around,

"Stay out there",
I didn't hear you say that to her.

- I said that...
- Do you understand?

I didn't hear you,
when I heard everything,

say that to her.

She had one drink
that she was gonna give you

and she actually
leaned over to give it to you,

as you were in the door.

I didn't hear you say anything to her.

"Stay outside, don't come near here."

That's a long walk.

I didn't hear you.
Is that because you didn't say it?

No. Before the video,
when I went to get...

- She was inside the car...
- Oh, we're gonna hear it again!

We're gonna go right from the beginning.

I heard you speak to your brother,

"So, open the door, food's here."

I heard that.

I didn't hear anything else.

I may have missed it.
We're gonna play it again!

Thanks.

[Judy] You turned around, you saw her,
you saw her walking in after you.

[barking]

[growling and snarling]

[April] I am so sorry.

- [barking continues]
- [Myla groaning]

Ok.

Anyway, Ms. Bazen.

As a result of this dog bite,

according to you,
you've had some serious medical issues.

It became infected,
couldn't walk for a period of time.

Do you have any of the medical records?

- Yes.
- I'd like to take a look at them.

I have them, the bill, and the records.
You want just the records?

Yeah, both.

[Myla] Both...

They're color-coordinated
by two paper clips.

Does the job that you have

give you health insurance?

So, I have AHCCCS with Arizona
and they pay up a percentage of it,

but not everything.

Do you have what is left over?

That is of your responsibility?

So they wouldn't give me
until the end of the year, I guess,

but that's what they billed me
and they keep calling me every day

saying I have...

Your honor,
I have a text message from Myla

saying that she had
unlimited health insurance

and they can bill her
for whatever she wants

- I would like to present that for you.
- [Myla] That's before I knew...

- ...I was going to have surgery.
- Let's try not to talk to each other.

Also Myla went to the hospital four times

and I have records of all of that
and what they did each time

per her text messages.

[Judy] Yeah.

And I have pictures of the bite,

when it happened,
if you'd like to see that as well.

She has, you don't have to prove her case.

I'm sure you have pictures.

Yes.

[Judy] Yes, I'm sure.

How long were you on antibiotics?

For, at least, almost, like,
two months, off and on.

I had to go back multiple times
and have it aspirated.

[Judy] Yeah, I see. Yeah, got infected.

Do you rent
or own your own home, Ms. Adams?

I rent it.

- Do you have renters insurance?
- I do.

[Judy] Did the renters insurance
that you have...

is the company aware of the fact
that you had a pit bull?

Yes, and it is extremely hard
to find a place to rent with a pit bull.

No, I didn't ask you that.

I asked you whether your insurance,
your renters insurance,

had a provision
that excluded the insurance

- from a pit bull bite.
- I do not recall. No.

- What state do you live in?
- Arizona.

What's the name of the company?

It's through our insurance, um...

...on the car, it's...

and I'm not 100%.

Did you notify them of this dog bite?

- No, I did not.
- Why not?

Because she even said it was her fault.

It wasn't her fault!
It was your fault.

You had the dangerous animal.

- How was it my fault?
- Now, just a second.

- I told her not to go in my house.
- Don't ask... don't ask me...

Don't ask me any questions, madam,
and I'm gonna tell you something.

Based upon that video,

there's no indication that you told her

- "Don't go into my house."
- I told her at work.

[Judy] Listen to me.
Based upon what I saw,

If you knew...

If you knew that you had a dog
that was territorial

and she shouldn't go into the house,

that you, when you speak to your daughter,

who was too lazy
to go to the grocery store,

say to her,

"I have one of my employees
that I'm sending with your food,"

which is exactly what happened,

you would have said to her,

"Make sure that you take
the stuff from the car,"

and she wouldn't have,

unless she's an idiot,

she wouldn't have,
when she saw the plaintiff

coming up with the extra drinks,

she would have said,
"Do me a favor, just stay out here,

put them down on this shelf
where I put the other drinks,

don't walk into the house."

She said nothing.

She walked into the house
and in effect

held the door open
so that she could deliver

the other one or two drinks
for your children.

That's what happened!

[announcer] To be continued...

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