03x46 - Defamation, Drugs, and Betrayal Part 2

[bunniefuu]

Did the two of you get high
while attending business trips?

We went and got weed.

Were you both getting paid
from your employer to be on this trip?

Yes, ma'am.

You were both getting high during the day.

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[announcer]
Previously on Judy Justice...

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.

Mm-hmm.

We had about five-to-six shots
in the room.

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

which I found out later
to be a Lortab.

And I blacked out.

The last thing that I remember
from December 16

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

What were we smoking?

-Everybody.
-Weed.

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

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

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.

And now the conclusion.

Edwina Hardy
is suing her former coworker,

Adonijah Abner, for defamation
and filing of false police reports.

Adonijah is countersuing,

claiming Edwina threatened
and harassed her.

Okay. Do you have
any paperwork from your job?

Yes, ma'am.

May I see it?

-It's stating that...
-Shh-shh!

Don't tell me what it states.

It says that Edwina Hardy
attended a dispensary

and purchased a medical substance,
which is marijuana.

"Although legal in the state,
it was found to be outside the guidelines,

which we require for our staff
while attending business trips."

So this is my question,

how did the dispensary issue
get to your superiors?

I gave them the text messages.

I sent them the entire thread.

So, from them seeing
that us mentioning weed

and things like that, I'm assuming
that's where they got it.

But I never told them that,

"Hey, we went and got weed."

Were you
terminated as well?

No, ma'am,
I resigned from my position.

-When?
-I had to resign on the 21st.

I mean, on the 17th. I'm sorry.

-Why?
-I resigned

because it was so much pressure on me

working in an environment where everyone
knew that I had been drugged and r*ped.

And they had her narrative first.

I don't know
why you keep saying that.

You have no memory of that.

Am I missing something?

No, ma'am.
I was just saying appropriately,

-Sir.
-I just wanted to interject, once again,

going back to the messages
that she sent me

while she had an active
litigation against my daughter,

saying that your daughter said
"she r*ped me," so forth, and so on.

She also reached out to family members
that weren't family members.

Just... She spread it out
amongst the employees.

What is that have...
What...

I'm letting you know the hostile
environment she was working in.

I assume... Listen, I assume,
but hearsay is an out-of-court statement.

So, that you have to understand

if your daughter said that she r*ped her,

I don't know whether that's true or not.

But she doesn't know...
an inappropriate touching...

Do you understand? If she remembers
something vaguely because she blacked out,

she doesn't even know
how she got to her room...

Is not a r*pe.

She hasn't described that.

She describes that,
exactly what happens,

and sort of what she remembers,
but she blacked out.

And I understand exactly
what you're saying, Your Honor,

in that regard, but also want to point out
the line of harassment that took place.

Well, that's after.
Just a second.

-Okay.
-Just a second, Mr. Abner.

-That has to do with your countersuit.
-Yes

Because you're saying
after your daughter

got her fired from her job,
you understand?

Rightly or wrongly.

That's sort of one of the reasons
we're here today.

But afterwards, she retaliated
by putting out Facebook posts

and stuff to not only your daughter
but to other family members.

Yes, ma'am.

Well, that's in retaliation
for her getting fired.

-Right? Just a sec...
-And she was fired just her own actions

and purchasing cannabis.

It wasn't my daughter,

Which nobody would have known about

but for your daughter,
who also purchased edibles.

That's not in question.
She stated that, but she was...

Not in the answer.

-You understand?
-Okay.

She presented her employers with the
information leading up to the incident.

Mr. Abner, I'm going to tell you
your daughter seems like

a perfectly reasonable young lady.

-The company, and this is a major company,
-Yes, ma'am.

dismissed her because she went to
a dispensary and purchased marijuana.

Your daughter did the exact same thing,
according to everybody.

She wasn't fired.

She resigned.

Why do you think that is?

-I don't...
-You don't know?

You understand that this letter,
which I have

only discusses the reason
for her termination as being,

although not ill*gal in that state,

it was unbecoming their employees
while away on a business trip.

Perhaps it was due to
she was a superior over Adonijah,

and, therefore, the actions
were taken against her.

-I'm not sure, Your Honor.
-Well,

would being a superior impact
on your daughter

going into a liquor store
and a dispensary

and selecting an alcohol
and selecting her own edibles

and drugs.

That has nothing to do
with being, you may say...

Maybe her superior took advantage
of her physically on the 16th,

but then they continue to go out

and your daughter continued
to communicate with her.

Even suggested the name of another club
to go to in another jurisdiction.

Do you understand?

Yes, ma'am. I was only referencing
to the grounds she may...

she may have been terminated for.

That's why I referenced that
for you.

She was terminated for one thing,
and the conduct she was terminated for

was the same conduct
that your daughter was involved with.

But your daughter was not terminated.

-Well, I don't know.
-You don't know?

-You don't know about that.
-You know...

-Okay, fine.
-She may have resigned prior to...

Okay. Now we're going to get to you,
Miss Hardy,

because this case has to reach
some sort of a resolution.

Did the two of you get blind-drunk
and high on the 16th?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Would you agree that
the both of you got blind-drunk

and high on the 16th?

-No, ma'am.
-Okay.

-You had six shots
-Correct.

-and smoked marijuana,
-Correct.

-and ate edibles.
-No, ma'am.

No edibles.

You purchased the edibles.

She gave me a pill.
There was no edibles.

I just asked,
"Did you purchase edibles?"

-I thought you said you purchased...
-Edibles that night.

You're referring
to the 16th, correct?

I'm referring to the 16th.

You already had the marijuana
and the edibles.

-Correct.
-Okay.

And when you left
the hotel to go out,

you decided, both of you,
wisely enough, not to drive

because neither of you
were in a condition to drive.

No, ma'am. That is not what I stated.

What I stated was Edwina had pointed out

that I was drunk
and that I should not drive.

So we went inside.

-I asked...
-Does she drive?

-...if she were drunk or not...
-Does she drive?

We were just...
She was concerned about me.

Okay.
So she said to you

-you were too drunk to drive.
-Right.

And you must have agreed with her.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay, fine.

Let's get to your version quickly of
what happened the night of the 16th.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Let's get to when

you went back to the hotel room.

Okay, so we were at McDonald's.

This is what made me tell her
that she could not drink.

She was driving.
I could not drive, Your Honor

'cause I do not have a driver's license,

so the company could not
even rent me a car.

So, she had the vehicle.
She was driving

and she drove over the curb
straight over the front curb.

And I instantly in my mind
was like I'm going to get fired.

'Cause I'm in the wrong place,
the wrong time.

Common sense came really fast.

Let's go back to the room.

Got back to the room.

She went her way.
I went mine.

Through the investigation on the job,

I even told them they could run the camera
footage back, which is what cleared me.

Because she stated that I took her to
the room and made her do all this stuff,

but now she's stating
that I stood on top of her.

She stated that the drug of preference
at first was an edible,

and now she stated it was a Loratab.

The whole reason the company
did investigate and I got terminated,

to answer his question
about the marijuana situation,

was because the accusations she had,

in order for me to clear myself
of drugging her with the edibles,

I had to tell my job that we went to
the dispensary in order to clear myself.

Not only that, I did reach out
to her father, your Honor,

but I did it thinking
that I could talk to an adult.

Because your daughter
had to go inside my home

and tell my husband, who I had only
been married to about seven months,

that I was suspended
for harassing somebody.

Not only harassing somebody,
but a woman.

I just want to know something.

Were you both getting paid from
your employer to be on this trip?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Right.

And at least for two days
during this, that I know about,

you were both
getting high during the day.

[announcer] Edwina Hardy claims
her former co-worker, Adonijah Abner,

falsely accused her of sexual misconduct
during a business trip.

Adonijah says Edwina defamed her
and harassed her family.

-Go ahead.
-When we got back to the hotel room,

my biggest concern was checking on her.

So the next morning, I woke up
and I texted her, "Are you okay?"

-Can I see it?
-Yes, ma'am.

Do you have it?

And that's when she stated
in the messages that she had six shots

and she would never do that again
because she knew she got too drunk.

Do you have any confirmation
that your employer

checked the cameras in the hotel?

-No, I don't have any confirmation.
-Okay.

The answer is you don't know.

-No, ma'am.
-Okay.

But the reason
for your termination was the marijuana.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Let me see the texts.

Oh, here we go.

What does that mean,
"Spin the block"?

I didn't even know
what she meant by that.

What does that mean?

It means, like, go outside.

Oh. Could we
get back to where it is?

I touched the wrong thing.

Such a moron when it comes
to that machine.

Or any machine.

All right.
What's "GM girl, you up"?

"Good morning, girl.
You up?"

"Headed to get some brunch.
You hungry?"

-That's you're saying to her.
-Yes.

"Just now waking up. My fault.
As long as you're alive.

I was worried.

I'm about to smoke. Can we smoke
when you're ready to come down."

That's in the afternoon.

That's, like, 1:00 in the afternoon.

She had just woke up
from the previous day.

I don't care.
"As long as you're alive.

I was about to smoke."

-That's you, right?
-Yes, ma'am.

"It was just funny. It's because I've got
to finish my weed before we go.

When you're ready,
I'm finished rolling it up now.

You need a 'rollo' still?"...
"Rillo."

I don't know what that is.
What's "rillo"?

A cigar.

And she says, "Yes, for later.

I have half still in my container.

I will get it from you
when I'm headed outside in two minutes.

Can I get the keys
to get my stuff out of your car?

Yes, girl.
I'm at your door."

Hmm. "Friend, I want
a piece of chocolate."

-What does that mean?
-That's the edible.

-She...
-It's an edible.

Okay, "Me too.
I just took two Advil PMs.

I'm beyond ready."

-Okay. This is Monday, the 19th.
-Yes, ma'am.

Okay, you could return that now.

I just want to know something.

Were you both getting paid
from your employer to be on this trip?

-Yes, ma'am.
-And at least for two days during this,

that I know about, you were both
getting high during the day.

According to this, right?

No, ma'am.
The day that...

-According to the...
-It wasn't a workday.

We were... I had a free day.

-But...
-How do I know? It's a Monday.

I mean, we're not talking about a
Saturday or Sunday. It was a Monday.

We're typically... Like, the manager,
typically off on the weekdays

because we're busy on the weekends.

When they were busy on the weekends.

So, we got their free day their Monday,
because we were flying out.

So, we didn't have to go and do anything.

And what about on the 16th?

The 16th, we did that after work
when we got off.

-Yeah, but on the 17th?
-After work, when we got off.

Well, on the 17th, she slept in.

She was sleeping.

You were worried about her?

Yes, ma'am.
When she woke up at 1:30,

because I reached out
because I was worried.

Your Honor.

Okay, now I'm going to finish this up.

The letter that you gave me
says that you were fired

-from your job because of the drugs.
-Yes, ma'am.

-Which is true.
-Yes, ma'am.

Whether she told them
or somebody else told them

or somebody from the dispensary store.

So, the fact that you lost your job
was your fault, not her fault.

I want to see where she said

that you r*ped her
because that she doesn't even remember.

So, if she published that someplace,
that's a problem.

Your Honor, I have...

Just show me.
Don't speak.

I'm trying to find a copy
of the warrant that she wrote

because she put it in the warrant.

I might've erased it
before this.

But I had a twelve-hour hold on me.

I filed a warrant for the
harassment,

but I did not state
that she r*ped me.

She said, "She drugged me and r*ped me"
in the warrant. Yes, she did.

I'd like to see it.

And, also, the reason why...

No, don't speak.

Just show me.

It's three...

You have to slide it over.
It's three pages.

-She wrote three pages.
-Shh.

I see it says, "Her groping me."

But, later on, in the statement,
she states that she wished

she had enough money
to fly back to Tulsa.

So, I don't know that she even
gave you the entire statement.

But the three-page statement states that
she wished she had the money to go back

and sue me for sexual harassment
because I r*ped her.

This is the statement,
and perhaps I'm missing it,

But I don't see the word "r*pe" here.

Do you want to find it for me?

This is the same statement that you
gave me the first page of

that she says...
and, at the end, she said,

I want to go back
and file a two-page police report.

I may have missed it, so, I'm going to
give you an opportunity to find it.

Okay. I'm sorry, Your Honor.

She said,
"I wanted to heal and move forward

because I can't afford to fly
to Oklahoma for a police report.

But this woman has not only
taken her authority over me

at work for her advantage,
but she's even sicker

for continuing
to trauma and harass me.

Okay.
That doesn't say anything about r*pe.

Okay. May I have it, please?

-But she...
-That's the defamation...

Listen to me.
That's the defamation.

Your defamation claim
is that she accused you of r*pe.

Someplace that she published that.

-All I'm asking you is to show me where.
-She went to HR with it.

-I had...
-I... Listen to me.

Yes, ma'am.

You can't tell me
what happened with HR.

-HR did not find that a plausible...
-No, that...

Story. Just a second.
The company dismissed you,

it says, because of drugs.

You did, in fact, use drugs.
You did, in fact, purchase drugs.

So, that without
anything that's been published

accusing you of really a serious crime,
I cannot consider defamation.

You were released from your job
because of silliness, really, silliness.

And it's very unfortunate
because It looks to me

as if you both really liked your job
and it was a good company to work with.

You have a counterclaim.
Your counterclaim is for...

-Yes, ma'am.
-...harassment.

Okay, let us take a look
at what you claim is harassment.

"And the catch was you lying on me
about raping a girl?

I would never. See you in court.

This is really unlike you.

White lie blew up.

You tell Daddy you're lying too.
There's room for him in this lawsuit too.

That's not harassment.

It says, "You keep lying on me.

I messaged your mom.

I also pressed criminal charges on you.

You cost me my job.

You lied and said I r*ped you.

I drugged you with an edible.

You tried to destroy my life over lies

and break up with my boyfriend
and my job promotion."

That's not harassment, either.

And then she wrote to you, sir,

and she was clearly she was angry,
but that's not harassment.

She's allowed to write to you
on Facebook

and complain that because of your
daughter's false allegations,

she was terminated from her job
and she's going to sue her.

She can say that.

Absolutely.

[announcer]
Edwina Hardy is suing her former coworker,

Adonijah Abner, for defamation
and filing a false police report.

Adonijah is countersuing,

claiming Edwina threatened
and harassed her.

Okay,
"I did not r*pe your daughter, sir.

I am suing and pressing
criminal charges.

My name will not be slandered.

I already lost my job,
and she's been bragging about it

and making social media posts.

I have all of them as proof.

Also, the case files will be in the court
from the investigation.

Do you really know
why I got terminated, sir?

It wasn't because of r*pe.

Adi is lying to you.

But in the end she will be in jail."

That's also not harassment.

-Your Honor...
-Just a second

I would just like to say
after the investigation

she was told not to contact me,
and I was not supposed to contact her,

so, could you define harassment for me?

Unless there's a "no-contact order"
in place by a court,

she's allowed to contact you
and your father and your mother

and tell them exactly what she thinks.

This is not harassment. Okay.
This is not a criminal trial.

This is a civil trial,
and the burden of proof is much lower.

But in any trial,
you have to have some proof.

You are alleging that she defamed you.

And if you allege that she said that you
r*ped her

and I haven't heard anything
in this testimony that she just gave me

to suggest that you r*ped her,

that would be defamation.

But there is nothing that you've shown me
where she says that you r*ped her.

-[indistinct]
-Just as...

No, you could just show me if I missed it,

and aside from throwing out
the word here casually

and I said to her,
there's no proof of that.

Did I miss
any document?

Do you have any documents she published
that said you r*ped her?

Okay. Because there was
certainly no proof of it.

It was verbal.
She did this verbally.

-And
-Well, I can't help you.

You have to get somebody...

Then it was your responsibility
to get somebody in here

who can testify that she told them
that you r*ped her.

You can't secondhand...
that's hearsay...

say that, she told people verbally,
and they told me about it.

I can't do that.

-I understand, Your Honor, but she...
-Okay.

I spent twelve hours in jail.
It's just so much behind this.

She quit because the store participated
in the investigation.

I didn't tell anyone anything.

They had to ask people
about me and my character.

So, they had to tell them
what was going on.

That's why she quit.

-It's all...
-This is just crazy.

You're right, and I'm not so sure
the motivations of the whole thing,

when the demotion took place,
when the reporting took place

of this incident to superiors.

I'm not comfortable.

I know this, certainly,
Mr. Abner and Miss Abner,

there is no evidence of harassment.

Unless you have a court order

that says she is not to have
any contact with you,

and she violated that order,
which doesn't exist,

she's allowed to write to you on Facebook

and complain that because of your
daughter's false allegations,

she was terminated from her job
and she's going to sue her.

She can say that. Absolutely.

That's not harassment.
That she can say that to you,

your daughter, her mother, her friends.

She can write to anybody
that she wants to

that your daughter
Is spreading false rumors about her

and she's going to sue her.

She could do that.
Your counterclaim is dismissed.

I feel... Actually, I feel sorry for you,
Miss Harding.

Some things you sort of bring on yourself.
Do you know what I mean?

Whenever you get too drunk or too high
to remember what's going on the next day,

that's never a good thing, right?

-Right.
-And you had a really great job.

But part of the responsibility
has to rest with you.

And, Mr. Abner, I don't think you got
the whole story, sir.

I'm just telling you, I don't think
that you got the whole story.

I would suggest that you
learned some things today

about this travel
that you didn't know before.

-Definitely.
-Would that be a fair statement?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Oh, I believe that.

that you learned some facts
about your daughter

and her conduct
that day and the next day

and going to club and suggesting
another club and going to a dispensary,

that you didn't know before.

-Exactly.
-Okay.

So, your claim's dismissed.
We're done. Thank you.

[Bailiff Rasco]
This court is adjourned.

She never put it in writing.

Her story changed five times.

I don't understand it.

I continued speaking with her
because I had to work with her.

I only reached out to him so that,
hey, maybe we could talk as adults,

but they're about
the same in the brain.

I do believe that I was harassed
and my family was harassed,

and it's caused me great
distress and anxiety

because of everything
that has transpired.

I'm just glad it's over.

I wish it all never happened

and I didn't have to
be here today at all.

I understand the burdens
of proof for defamation,

and, in this case, I understood
why you were asking the plaintiff

to show any document
that used the word "r*pe,"

if that's what the defendant was claiming.

And I feel terrible that she didn't
have that concrete proof,

because to me, that's a serious claim.

That's a serious issue.

And every time it gets thrown around,
the word "r*pe," in a casual context

of inappropriate touching,
a blacked-out night at a bar.

things like that,
it diminishes the claims of the women.

that already have to fight hard enough
to bring their claim for something

that egregious and that serious
in a criminal setting.

I wish we could have done something
for the plaintiff just for the fact

that the defendant used it so loosely
here in your courtroom today.

I thought that was egregious

and I thought that that deserved
some form of punishment

just because of how terrible
it's gotten in today's climate.

You know? I just I take it serious,
and it hurts me to see women like that...

any woman, any person...
throw that around

and just know
that you're using it so casually now

and the repercussions
that's going to have

-for years to come
-Right.

on people
who are really suffering.

I also found interesting,

and I always find interesting, Sarah,
when a parent is here.

In this case, it's a parent
of an adult child.

And he came here
with a fixed scenario in his mind

of what his daughter had told him.

And there's no question
that facts were developed today

-that he didn't know,
-Sure.

and he may still defend her.

But he should know that she participated

in the same conduct
as the plaintiff got terminated for.

And that she did, in fact, suggest...

While she said, "You know,
she took me to a swingers club."

Well, then your text to her,

"Great. We're in Alabama.
I found another one,"

and gave the name of it,
suggests...

That a few days after what you're claiming
was a r*pe occurred...

Right. And I think that those are things
that her father didn't know.

-So, he may still defend her as...
-As parents do.

-As parents should do.
-Now he has the fuller picture.

Yes. Right.

[announcer]
Are you a victim of an as*ault?