03x45 - Defamation, Drugs, and Betrayal Part 1

[bunniefuu]

An incident occurred
on a business trip together.

She said I drugged her with an edible.

What exactly was the complaint
that you made?

I blacked out.

I did not give her anything.

Just, shh!

You're interrupting me.

I honestly don't remember
how I got back to my room.

That is a lie.

If you interrupt me again,
I'm gonna dismiss your claim.

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Edwina Hardy
is suing her former coworker,

Adonijah Abner,
for defamation, lost wages,

and filing a false police report.

[Kevin]
Court, come to order.

All rise.

Have a seat, everyone.

Hello, Judge. Case number 3003,
Hardy versus Abner.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

[Judy] Ms. Hardy,
you and the defendant worked together.

Yes, ma'am.

From when to when?

Briefly, maybe, October to February.

[Judy] Of what year?



And what was your job?

When she started, I was area manager.

-[Judy] When she started?
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
So you were in the company first.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
When were you hired?

I was hired in August.

[Judy]
Was Ms. Hardy there already?

-Yes, correct.
-[Judy] Okay, fine.

Anyway, this is what your case is about.

You're suing the defendant
for defamation,

which you say
caused you to lose your job,

that she reported to your superiors
that an incident occurred

while you were traveling
together on business,

and as a result of that,
you were let go.

[Edwina] Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
The defendant says that the allegations

that she made to your employer were true.

That as a result of that,
you retaliated against both her

and her family members
by a constant barrage of harassment.

She's got a counterclaim as well as for
the incident that occurred on this trip.

So when you start out
with a case of defamation,

I always like to start at the beginning.

You were working at the same company

and found yourselves
on a business trip together.

From when to when?

December, for nine days.

I was only around her for eight.

She flew out almost a week and a half
before I got there.

I came a week and a half later.

-[Judy] Where?
-To Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[Judy]
Were you there on business?

Correct. Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
You were staying at a hotel?

[Edwina]
Yes, ma'am.

-[Judy] You each had your own room?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Company was paying
for those two bills?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judy] So I know a little bit
about you, Ms. Hardy...

married, single, kids, no kids?

Married, four kids.

All girls.

[Judy]
How long have you been married?

Um, a year.

And you?

I'm single with no kids.

[Judy]
Okay. So during this business trip,

you allege that one evening
an incident occurred,

which forms the basis
of this whole case.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Why don't you tell me about it.

On December the 16th,
me and Edwina had went out

to get our nails done
that afternoon after work.

We had made plans to go out that evening
to see the city of Tulsa.

I had never been.
It was my first time.

And later that evening,
she had texted me.

We had got dressed already
in our separate rooms

and told me that she was
ready for us to go out.

Upon coming to get her,
I went to her room.

I knocked on the door
and she let me in.

She was still finishing her makeup
and we were getting ready to head out.

She told me that,
"Hey, let's have a few drinks

so we don't have to pay
when we get to the bar."

Which I guess, you know,
bars are a little overpriced,

so I said okay.

We had about
five to six shots in the room.

[Judy] Was it from the minibar,
or did she travel with it?

We bought it together, Your Honor.

Okay. Did you buy it together?

Yes, I was with her.
I didn't purchase it.

[Judy] But you were together
when she purchased it.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Where did she purchase it?

Um, it was from a liquor store.

Well, that's not getting your nails done,

unless you were getting your nails done
and there was a liquor store nearby.

So before you went back to the hotel,
you went to a liquor store.

Correct.

[Judy]
Okay. About what time was that?

Um, I would say it was around,
like, 4:00 in the afternoon.

And when you went to the liquor store,
you were having conversations

'cause that's what happens.

You don't just go without conversations.

You had your nails done.
Just your nails or toes, too?

We did not get any nails done, Your Honor.

We were getting our toes done
in which Adonijah initiated it.

Okay, well...

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Nails, toes,
and during the course of that,

you were having conversations
with each other.

So there were things to chat about.

When you got to the liquor store,

there was some discussion
about going into the liquor store.

I don't recall, like, a clear discussion.

Um, I do know,
while we were in the car,

Ms. Edwina did tell me
that her and her husband were swingers.

-That's a lie.
-[Adonijah] And she was making diff...

I don't want you to interrupt again, okay?

She was making different gestures
and things like that,

just letting me know
about her personal life,

which I thought was her way
of just gaining my trust.

And so from there,
we went to the liquor store.

Well, then, somebody must have said,
"Should we have some drinks later,

I'm gonna stop at a liquor store."

Something happened.

Right.

You didn't just stop
because when you got to the liquor store,

did you go in with her?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Yes.

When you went in together,
did you discuss your alcoholic preference?

-We did.
-[Judy] You did.

So she asked you,
"What do you like?"

-[Adonijah] Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay. And what did you tell her?

Um, I told her I didn't
really drink that much.

-I didn't really know, um...
-[Judy] Just a second.

So you didn't give her an answer?

Not a specific name of an alcohol,
no, ma'am.

[Judy]
Well, a type of alcohol?

Not that I can recall.

[Judy] Do you remember the conversation
when you went to the liquor store?

We were standing inside the liquor store
and I asked her, "So what we drinking?"

And she was like,
"It doesn't matter to me."

And I was like,
"You wanna do tequila? You wanna do this?"

We picked out the tequila together
because I do not drink.

Okay. So you together
picked out the tequila,

then you went back to the room.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Okay, go ahead.

You got the tequila
and you went back to her room?

We went back to the hotel.

We went our separate ways,
and we got dressed for going out.

After we got dressed,
I went down to her room.

I knocked on her door.

And she was still doing her makeup
or her lashes or whatever.

And so I came inside,
which was actually normal for us.

We had all been in each other's rooms,

so I didn't feel anything
uncomfortable by it

or like it was something to worry about.

Upon coming in her room,
we had a conversation.

We listened to some music,
and then we headed to the car

after, of course, having those shots
that I mentioned earlier.

Once we got to the car,

Ms. Edwina pointed out to me that,
"Adi, you're too drunk to drive."

I was in the driver's seat
and I was supposed to be taking us out,

so we headed back into the hotel.

We went back to her room and we sat there
and we chatted for a while.

After talking,
that's when she offered me the Lortab,

which I found out later to be a Lortab.

She said...

How did you know it was a Lortab?

And I don't know what that is.

You're gonna look that up and tell me.

As I was stating earlier,
in our conversation in the car,

when we got our nails done,

when she mentioned being a swinger
and things like that,

-she told me that...
-Toes done.

-[Adonijah] I'm sorry?
-Toes done.

[Adonijah]
Yes, when we got our toes done.

She also told me that she took pills

and that she needed to hit her plug up
for some Lortabs.

That's the only reason
why I'm under the impression

that the pill that she gave me
is a Lortab.

I honestly am not sure.

Okay, you're guessing.

[Adonijah]
Yes, ma'am.

Oh.

So a Lortab
is in the same class as Vicodin.

It's a hydrocodone pill.

When she gave you that pill,
why did you take it?

I was already under the influence.

I was just a little tipsy,
and I trusted her.

You were under the influence?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay, so you were drunk,
which is what it says here in your answer.

"December 16, after a night
of drinking," is what you say.

Yes, ma'am.

"Edwina invited me back to her room
to have more drinks

because it was less expensive
than paying for the drinks at the bar.

That's when Edwina offered me a Lortab."

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
But you don't know what she offered you.

No, ma'am.

[Judy]
Okay. Did you offer her a pill?

No, ma'am.

Do you know what Lortabs are?

[Edwina]
Yes, ma'am, I do.

Do you take them?

[Edwina]
No, ma'am.

Do you have them?

No, ma'am.

You have to remember
to tell me the truth.

It's an odd thing.

What she's referring to,
I did not give her anything.

I was released from the hospital
two days before I came.

I only had, like, syrup medicine.

I didn't have anything to offer her.

[Judy]
Now, just a second.

You were released
from the hospital for what?

I have peptic ulcers.

That's why I said
I don't even really drink.

Okay, but they did give you medication.

Yeah, they only gave me sucralfate
for my stomach to cover the ulcers.

[Judy] Okay. Now, you say after
taking this pill, you're intoxicated.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Tell me what happened next.

Okay. I was sitting in the chair.

She was just kind of pacing
around the room while we were talking,

listening to music, and I blacked out.

The last thing that I remember
from December the 16th

was seeing Ms. Edwina naked,
and she was coming on to me, touching me.

[Judy]
Well, just a second.

That you remember.

Yes, ma'am, a glimpse of it.

[Judy]
Just a second.

That's not in your answer,
that the plaintiff was naked.

I have it in my warrant here
that I filed against her for the...

Well, I know you have it.

You may have it someplace else,
and I'll look at it.

But in your answer,
you don't write that.

You said, "After taking the pill,
I don't remember anything

besides some vague memories of Edwina
touching me inappropriately.

Seeing her naked,
and she was touching me.

Where?

She was grabbing me
and wrapping her legs around me.

She was sitting on an ottoman.

That's pretty specific for someone
who doesn't really remember.

[theme music playing]

[announcer]
Edwina Hardy claims her former coworker,

Adonijah Abner, lied to their bosses,
causing her to lose her job.

Adonijah is countersuing Edwina
for harassment and defamation.

Okay, why don't you tell me
the vague memory that you have.

Yes, ma'am. That is what I remember
is seeing her naked,

and she was touching me.

-[Judy] Where?
-[Adonijah] Where was she touching me?

-[Judy] Yeah.
-She was just groping me.

-[Judy] Where?
-I really, honestly don't remember.

I just remember her hands were on me.

[Judy]
Was she holding your head?

She was wrapping her legs around me.
Like, that's what she was doing.

She was grabbing me
and wrapping her legs around me.

She was sitting on an ottoman.

That's pretty specific for someone

who doesn't really remember
inappropriate touching.

All right. Now, when you woke up
the next morning, where were you?

I was in my hotel room.

[Judy]
So you went back to your room that night?

That's the big mystery.

I honestly don't remember
how I got back to my room.

You don't remember walking to your room?

No, ma'am.

[Judy]
Or being carried to your room?

[Adonijah] No, ma'am.
After that, I don't remember.

[Judy]
So what's the last thing you remember?

The last thing I remember
was seeing her naked and her touching me.

[Judy]
And that was on December 16.

[Adonijah]
Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
What happened on December 17?

I believe we were off that day.

And I slept in.

Um, I was actually
trying to avoid Edwina,

so I was in my room
for the majority of the day.

I thought what happened
was just, maybe, like, a dream

or it was just, like, a bad memory
and it didn't truly happen.

But, later that evening,
she had texted me and said,

like, "Hey, you left your underwear here
and I had fun," and all this.

And that's when it hit me.

[Judy]
I'd like to see that text.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
What were you smoking?

Come on. What were we smoking?

-Everybody.
-Weed.

[Judy]
Okay. Is that correct?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay.

So in addition to the six shots,
you were also smoking marijuana.

Yes, ma'am.

Not that evening,
we did not smoke.

-Yes, we were.
-[Judy] Just second.

Just let's be clear.

-[Edwina] Your Honor, I have a...
-Shh! Just a second.

You're interrupting me.

You were both
smoking marijuana that evening.

-That was the following day.
-No, it was not.

[Judy] Just a...

-[Edwina] Yes, ma'am.
-If you interrupt me again,

I'm gonna dismiss your claim.

-Do you understand that?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Perfect.
So now what you're telling me is,

the following day after the 16th,
not the 16th,

you smoked marijuana together.

That's what the texts are referring to.

[Judy] No, no, no.
Just answer my question.

Were you smoking together on the 16th
or the 17th or the 18th?

Or all those days?

To my best recollection,
um, we did go to a dispensary,

and honestly, we may have
smoked every day of that.

I don't recall.

-[Judy] Okay, so...
-I just don't...

Just a second.
So you both went to a dispensary together.

On what date?

-When we first got there.
-[Judy] Six...just a second.

[Judy] Sixteenth,
that's when this incident happened.

Who had just arrived on the 16th?

I didn't get with them until the tenth,

and that is the day
we went to the dispensary.

-[Judy] The tenth.
-Yes, ma'am.

Okay, so you went
to the dispensary.

Is she correct, on the tenth?

Correct.

[Judy]
Did you buy anything at the dispensary?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
What did you buy?

I bought a pen.

-A pen.
-[Adonijah] And edibles.

Not a writing pen.

[Adonijah] No, ma'am.
It was, like, a vape pen.

A smoking pen and some edibles.

So, you had them.
You took them to your room.

Yes, ma'am.

After the 16th,
did you get together again?

On the 17th, she did invite me out.

[Judy]
For dinner? For what?

No, ma'am. She actually
invited me to a swingers club.

[Judy]
Okay. Where?

In Tulsa.
It's called, um, the House of Sin.

[Judy]
Did you go?

[Adonijah]
Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
How long did you stay?

Maybe, like, an hour or two, or three.

I can't recall.

[Judy]
Did you leave together?

Yes, ma'am. She was my ride.
I didn't have a car.

[Judy] That's all right.
There's an Uber, there's a walk.

You can do a lot of things.

Did you see each other
after you got home from this club?

We went our separate ways.

[Judy]
What about on the 18th?

[Adonijah]
We were working together the entire trip.

-I understand.
-[Adonijah] Yes, ma'am.

You're working together,
working together.

Did you socialize?
Did you go out together?

Afterwards, did you have a drink together?

Anything on the 18th?

Um, on the 18th,
I believe we may have had dinner

with the other managers there.

[Judy]
What date did you leave?

[Adonijah]
We left on the 21st.

-Between the 18th and the 21st...
-[Adonijah] Yes, ma'am.

...did you see the plaintiff every day?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Did you see her every day

in a social setting
in addition to the work setting?

Yes, ma'am.

Did you ever discuss with her
your vague recollection

of what had happened on the 16th?

No, ma'am.

[Judy] And I assume that if you went
to a club with her, as you describe,

you weren't as appalled
as that document

that you're going to show me
would suggest.

Now show me the document.

Okay. Who is this?

[Adonijah]
This is my father.

Um, this is the man
that she also harassed after.

[Judy]
Could you step up, please?

-Tell me your last name, sir.
-Abner.

Mr. Abner, does your daughter
live with you?

As of now, she does.

-[Judy] Did she then?
-No, ma'am.

[Judy]
How far away did you live from each other?

I would say approximately 20 minutes.

And do you recall
this business trip at all?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Did you see her when she came back?

No, I didn't see her immediately
when she came back.

[Judy] On what date did you see her?
Do you remember?

[Solomon]
I may say it was in the month of December,

but I can't say exactly the date.

So was it in January?

It may have been very well January.

It could have been
the latter part of December.

Like I said, the holidays.

[Judy]
So you're not sure?

-Directly, no, ma'am, date-wise.
-[Judy] Okay.

And did she tell you about
this incident that happened?

[Solomon]
She did inform me of the...

[Judy]
In person or on the phone?

Initially, it was by phone.

-[Judy] On what date?
-That date I don't have.

It may have been in the month of December,
maybe early January.

[Judy]
Could it have been in February?

There could be a possibility then.

So initially, you said she told you
about an incident,

about this trip, on the phone.

Tell me what she said to you,

exactly what she said to you.

Well, to the best of my recollection,
she told me that a coworker of hers

had given her some sort of medication
and had sexually assaulted her.

My response was,
"You need to notify your managers."

[Judy] When you told her
to go to her superiors,

did you see her subsequently in person?

Ultimately, I did see her.
Yes, ma'am.

Do you remember when?

Maybe in February.

[Judy] Do you recall,
was that before or after

there was some change
in her circumstance at work?

I believe it was before because
after the reporting of it took place,

that's when her occupation,
she resigned

because there was a backlash
from Ms. Edwina,

who then proceeded to contact people
on Facebook such as myself.

She reached out to me on Messenger,
posting a photo of the litigation action

that she was taking against my daughter.

She was making statements,
and I have the documents here.

Well, I'm gonna look at them
as part of your counterclaim.

Yes, ma'am.

Me seeing her naked
and her touching me inappropriately.

I didn't tell them anything about weed.

Because you were terminated
from your job about drug use.

And that's how the drugs got into play

because they wanted to investigate
who bought the drugs.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Edwina Hardy has accused
her former coworker, Adonijah Abner,

of making false accusations
and filing a false police report.

Adonijah is countersuing
for harassment and defamation.

Okay. You at some point
notified your superiors.

Did you notify them
verbally or in writing?

I notified the operations director
over the phone on February the fourth.

[Judy] So that was a month and a half
after this incident.

[Adonijah] Correct.

Did anything happen
from December 16th to February

that caused you to report this
after a month and a half

rather than immediately?

Came back from the holiday,
maybe in January,

did anything happen?

[Adonijah]
Yes, ma'am.

-What happened?
-[Adonijah] I was notified.

The area director had came back into town
and notified me

that I will be working with Ms. Edwina
directly on a day-to-day basis.

And with everything that
had transpired already,

I wasn't ready to face her as...
like that.

[Judy] Well, was that a promotion for you
or a demotion?

It was a demotion.

So you notified your superiors after you
were notified that you were demoted?

[Adonijah] Correct.

How much after?

Maybe about a week, approximately.

It was February the fourth.

Okay, so the only intervening act

between December 16th
and the time that you notified

your superiors of this incident
was that you were demoted.

Correct.

Now, you have some photographs
that you want me to see.

The first photograph
that I'm going to hand

is that we went out to a bar
on December the 18th,

when she stated
we had not did anything.

Okay, I'd like to see that.

[Edwina] Would you like me to wait
for the second one?

-Just a second. Just a second.
-Okay.

December 18th?

Just wanna know.

That was the swingers club
that I mentioned earlier.

-[Judy] Is that correct?
-Yes, ma'am.

-And that's just the bar.
-[Judy] Okay.

Next photograph.

[Edwina] Yes, ma'am.
The next photograph was, um...

We got dressed together in the room,
when she was stating

that she knocked at my door
and stated she was ready.

-That's the reason why...
-Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

It states about the clothes being in...
um, that she left behind.

December 16th?

Yes, ma'am.

This is the actual day that we departed.

We were getting on the airport
to the plane, and she sent me this club

that she wanted to go to with me.

It said "Club Seduction."

Can I see it?

[Edwina] That was the 20th,
boarding the plane.

[Judy]
Who wrote "Club Seduction"?

That was me, Your Honor.

So this was on Tuesday,
December 20th.

This was four days after the incident.

Correct.

[Judy] You're suggesting
going to a "Club Seduction." What is that?

I'm not sure.
It was a club in Birmingham.

-I had looked it up.
-That you looked it up.

-[Adonijah] Yes, ma'am.
-Okay.

I was with Edwina
when I sent her that photo.

We were looking up clubs,
and I sent her the picture.

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

You know, you're traumatized from an event
that you now recognize happens,

and you're looking up clubs to go to
that are the same kind of clubs

that you went to with her before,
and that was after this vague memory.

Okay. So, this was your suggestion?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okey dokey.

Next.

Here is the text message she sent stating
how she gave up everything to become a GM.

And...

Yes, ma'am.

Do you know what date this was?

Yes, ma'am. It was February the second.

Kevin, would you show this
to the defendant, please?

I want you to explain this to me.

This was after, uh...

-[Judy] This was in February.
-Right.

-February 2.
-Correct. Yes, ma'am.

I was just explaining to her
that I dropped out of college, um,

with the promotion.

I had given up a lot of things
for that promotion,

-and I was just explaining this to her.
-Why?

I'm not sure what
the relevancy of this is, but...

The relevancy of it
is that you're reaching out to her,

discussing things with her,
in February.

Correct. I still worked with her.
She was my area director.

[Judy]
Yeah, that's...

And this was relevant to me
working with her.

That day when I got demoted,
she asked me to go out to lunch

'cause she was actually
telling me what was going on,

as far as me being demoted.

[Judy]
She was the one who gave you the news?

Yes, and then we had
a meeting after that.

[Judy]
A meeting with whom?

The entire store.

And on what date
did you notify your superiors

of this alleged incident
on December 16th?

On what date did you notify them?

Um, it was February the fourth.

Now, what exactly was the complaint
that you made to them?

I told them what happened,
and I just told them

that it made me very uncomfortable,
and I didn't want to work with her.

[Judy]
Did you say anything to them

about smoking marijuana
or purchasing it?

I showed them the text messages,
so that would be...

[Judy]
About what?

About everything that we did in Tulsa,

which in the text,
there was mention of weed,

so that's where they got that from.

Can I see the text message
that you're talking about weed?

I believe I gave those to you.

-[Judy] You gave those to me?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
I'm gonna find them then.

I'd like you to tell me when you were
talking about going for Italian food.

That was on...

It was the 17th.

It was before or after the incident
that you allege occurred?

-It was after.
-[Judy] After.

And the reference to a little weed,
when you reported that,

did you report
that you used a little weed

or that she used a little weed?

I didn't bring up the weed
in the investigation.

I sent them the messages,

but the main focus
was what happened on the 16th.

[Judy] In your answer
to her defamation case,

you said, "I wasn't exactly sure
what I remembered.

All I know is that something happened
that made me uncomfortable."

Correct.

You gave me a more specific answer now,
but that's what you wrote in your answer.

Yes, ma'am.

What exactly did you advise
your superiors happened?

Exactly what I've told you today,
as far as me seeing her naked

and blacking out before that
and her touching me inappropriately.

And that's the only thing
that I stated to them.

I didn't tell them anything about weed
or whatever the case may be.

You indicate in your complaint
that in addition to discussing

this alleged thing
that she remembers vaguely,

there was some discussion
that you heard from your superiors

because you were terminated
from your job.

-Is that correct?
-Yes, ma'am.

About drug use.

Yes, ma'am.
I was investigated and terminated.

She, initially, called the job
and said I drugged her

and supposedly r*ped her
with an edible.

And that's how the drugs got into play
because they wanted to investigate

who bought the drugs.

And from the investigation,
everything just started spilling out.

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