03x85 - Hairpin Turn

[bunniefuu]

Okay. So you hit his parked car.

Yes, ma'am.

[crashing sound]

I was coming from being chased.

There was no speeding car following you.

They should've been right behind you.

I turned, so, and they, I guess,
maybe they kept going straight.

I guess not.

Pssh. Yeah.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Andre Scates is suing motorist,
Melissa Lachapelle,

for vehicle and property damage.

[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

[Judy] Have a seat, please.

Judge, Case 3132,
Scates versus Lachapelle.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

[Judy] Ms. Lachapelle,
I'm gonna start with you

because this case is relatively simple.

You hit his parked car and moved it
from the street where it was,

by virtue of the force of the hit,
onto somebody else's lawn.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And the date that you did that
was May 1st of last year.

What time of the day?

I believe it was in the afternoon.

What do you mean,
you believe it was in the afternoon?

How many times have you hit a parked car?

My first accident.

[Judy]
Well, then, I would know what time it was.

Approximately what time was it on May 1st?

Around 2:00, 3:00.

-[Judy] In the afternoon.
-Yes.

[Judy] Where were you coming from?

I was coming from being chased.

Where were you coming from?

Prior to the accident,
I was just sitting in a parked car.

So I was driving and I had
a conference call come in,

so I just pulled over so I don't...

[Judy]
You pulled over randomly and parked where?

On Florence and Western.

How far is that from
where you hit his parked car?

Maybe about a couple of miles.

Did it take you five minutes to get there?
Ten minutes to get there?

How long were you traveling?

Fifteen minutes.

So you were driving for 15 minutes
from the time your car was parked

until you got to where you hit his car.

[Melissa] Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
And what kind of car were you driving?

A Dodge Journey.

[Judy] Was it your car?

Yes, ma'am.

Was it totaled
as a result of this accident?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Now you're going to tell me
the story that you're gonna tell me

about the circumstances surrounding
your hitting his parked car.

Well, on September 16th of 2022,

I had a hair appointment.

I showed up at my hairdresser,

and there was no show, no call.

So, moving forward, I set an appointment
with another young lady in the salon,

and I got my hair done.

And so when I reached
to make the payment to pay her,

I came across being scammed.

-So I explained to her...
-[Judy] Came across being...?

Scammed like someone hacked
my bank account for the funds.

Okay. And you have proof of that
from your bank.

No, I do not have that.

So the answer is... just a second.
So the answer is

you do not have any proof
as to the beginning of this story.

No. I have no proof
of the bank account being hacked.

Well, but you showed the hairdresser,
according to you,

that your bank account had been hacked.

-That that's why you couldn't pay her.
-Correct.

Well, I'm just asking you
for proof of that.

-No. I don't have it on me.
-[Judy] So you don't have it.

-No.
-[Judy] Well, that's easy enough to get.

Your bank account was hacked.
We're not talking about 30 years ago.

We're talking about a year and a half ago.

So you would've had that
if the story you're giving me is true.

What's the name of the hairdresser?

[no audio]

[Judy] Have you ever used her since?

-No. Never.
-[Judy] No.

What was the name of the hairdresser
that you had an appointment with

that you didn't see that day?

[no audio]

Have you seen her since?

Not since the incident
of wrecking his car.

I seen her on that day.

[Judy] So you haven't seen either
the person you were supposed to see

or the person you stiffed
in September of 2022.

-No.
-[Judy] Right? And then...

allegedly on the day of this incident,
you saw one of them?

Yes.

[Judy]
Yes. As you were sitting in a parked car

where you had randomly pulled over
to make a conference call.

I'm just following the story.

And then what you said in your answer was
these people started to chase you.

They started to vandalize and attack
me and my car first.

[Judy] So you took off.

[Melissa] Yes.

Now, you had been on a conference call.
Did you stop the conference call?

-I just dropped the phone.
-[Judy] Just a second.

The answer is
you stopped the conference call.

[Melissa] Yes.

[Judy] But you still had your phone.

[Melissa] Yes.

And somebody was chasing you,
according to you, for 15 minutes

in your car where you were
with your phone.

-Just want to know that.
-Yes, ma'am.

-Someone was chasing you.
-[Melissa] Yes, ma'am.

That's a lot of baloney.

Okay. So you hit his parked car.

And this was a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass,
is that right?

Yes.

[Judy]
That you had been working on restoring.

Now, when had you purchased it?

I purchased it in...
when did I purchase that? It was...

[Judy]
Just a second. The questions get harder.

When had you purchased it? A month before?
A week before? A year before?

Two and a half years ago.

When you purchased the car,
who did you purchase it from?

I don't have his last name,
but I have it in my phone.

His name was Jose
and he was from San Diego.

And that's where I purchased it from.

[Judy]
And how much did you pay him for the car?

I paid him 10,000 for it.

[Judy]
And you also have proof of that.

-Yes.
-I'd like to see it.

Mm-hmm.
Where did I put that? Uh...

I don't think I brought the bill of sale
with me though, uh...

[sighs]

[Andre]
That sucks. I didn't know I needed that.

Do I got the bill of sale?
No, I don't have the bill of sale.

[mumbles] Let's see if it's in my phone
from that day.

[Judy] Yes or no, sir?
That's a very easy thing.

Don't waste my time here if you don't have
a bill of sale in your phone.

I don't... I don't have it in my phone.

Okay. Very good.
And you don't have it there. Okay.

You have a video of this accident?

-Yeah, I do.
-[Judy] Keep looking.

Okay. All right.

Do you have a video of this accident?

Yes, I do.

Play it. I wanna see
what the car looked like.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Andre Scates claims motorist,
Melissa Lachapelle, owes for damages

after Melissa struck
his classic Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Melissa says she was fleeing
from a dangerous situation.

Now, you say that you were notified
that your car was hit.

You were either on your way
to or from work.

-What kind of work do you do?
-Security.

[Judy] And you left your house.
I assume it's a private house.

Do you rent or do you own?

I rent.

[Judy] How much do you pay in rent?

[Andre] $1,000.

-[Judy] To whom?
-[Andre] To the landlord.

[Judy] How do you pay him?

I pay him through Cash App.

And you were driving to work,
is that right?

[Andre] Yes.

Okay. What kind of car do you have?

A 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT.

[Judy] Do you have a note on the car
or do you own it free and clear?

[Andre] Yes, I do have a note on it.

And you pay for your car payment
from a bank account, right?

-Mm-hmm, yes.
-[Judy] I'd like to see your bank account

where you paid $10,000 for this car.

Oh, you'd like to see it? Uh...

Ooh, yeah. I wanna see that.

'Cause I assume if I said,
"Could I see a check for the $10,000,"

you don't have a check.

-No, 'cause I paid cash.
-[Judy] No. Just a second.

Well, you don't carry $10,000 in cash,
'cause you can transfer the cash

just like you do for your landlord.

-Right?
-Yes.

-And you don't want to carry that amount...
-[Judy] And for your car payment.

So that's the way...
your generation, not mine...

but your generation pays things.

They walk over to some machine,
and they go like this with their phone.

And it's paid.

So you pay your other bills that way, sir,
so you don't walk around with cash.

I want to see where you had
$10,000 in the bank two years ago.

I didn't know you were gonna ask me that.
Okay.

-[Sarah] Want to see a photo?
-[Judy] Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

[Judy] Okay. Automobile classic.

So tell me how much
this Oldsmobile Cutlass... okay.

So they range.
There are some that are very expensive...

like 28,000 that I've seen
that are fully restored.

And then there are some,
like this one was 22,000.

-But then there's some...
-This is the '81. Yeah.

Yeah. But then there are some
that were not restored

that I saw for about 8,000 or 9,000.

-Mm-hmm. Not restored.
-Yeah.

-Okay, great. Thank you.
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy] While he's looking, do you have
a copy of the police report?

No. We didn't have a police report
because no one was injured.

That's not why you don't have a police
report on that kind of an accident.

Could've k*lled somebody.

Okay. Mr. Scates, let's go.
Do you have it or do you not have it?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have it.
It's just... it was two years ago,

so I gotta go all the way back.

[Judy] Well, you should've had it
with you. You're suing her for $10,000.

So all I wanna see is
how much you paid for the car.

You say you paid 10,000.
You don't have a bill of sale.

I just want to see where you had
$10,000 in the bank

and then it was paid out to Jose.

You do understand, Mr. Scates, that
that would be on you.

You have a whole bunch of papers there.
You do not have a bill of sale on the car.

You don't have any proof
of what you paid for the car

except your word
that you paid $10,000 for it.

It's very easy to go back
and get those records.

We're not talking about 30 years ago.

[mumbles] I know.

I know, I know. You got a whole lot
of papers there that are irrelevant.

And your insurance company,
according to you,

valued the car at $3,500 and paid you
'cause you did have insurance on it.

Yes.

So all I want to see is
what you paid for it.

[mumbles] I know. I'm trying to...

Just a second.
You have a video of this accident?

-[Andre] Yeah, I do.
-Keep looking!

[Andre] Okay. All right.

Do you have a video of this accident?

Yes, I do.

Play it.
I wanna see what the car looked like.

-[tires squeal]
-[crashing sound]

Play it one more time.

Keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going.

I'm just looking, by the way,
Ms. Lachapelle,

for the people who were chasing you.

'Cause now you hit the car.
They should've been right behind you.

They were chasing you, right?

I'm looking at this, and now you're
all slowed down 'cause you've hit a car.

I don't see one car pass by there.

Not a one.

-Correct.
-[Judy] Yes, correct.

Of course it's correct.

I turned, so, and they, I guess,
maybe they kept going straight.

And then that's when I had the accident.

I guess not.

Okay. Mr. Scates, I want to tell you,
your exercise in exploring your phone

to find proof that you paid
$10,000 for this car

is going nowhere. Got it?

Yes.

Now, you insured the car, correct?
This old car.

Because it was going to have value
once you restored it.

Yes.

Now, restored, the average price
is about $10,000.

That's what Sarah tells me. Correct?

It ranges, but I could find a couple
if you want.

No. It ranges 9, 10, 11...
it can go anywhere around that amount.

But that's fully restored, right?

Well, restored means like when
it has mint condition.

'Cause when it's in mint condition,
that's how much it would go for...

like 9,000 or 10,000.

But the features that were on the car
were an extra couple of little features

that people like on those cars,

which is the stick in the floor
and the T-top features that are on there.

I have no idea, sir.

Show me what the car looked like
before she hit it.

[Andre] Here you go. Right here.

This is the one with the rims.

Here goes one.

Where's the other one at?

Oh, that's good looking.

Now, when you bought the car, sir,

was it running? Were you able
to drive it back from Jose's?

No. I had to get it towed.

[Judy] So when you bought it,
it was not running.

No.

So you didn't pay $10,000 for it.

Yes, I did.

Yeah. I don't believe that, sir.

There's one car available for sale
that's a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass

that's drivable that's $5,100
not fully restored.

That's today.

That's why I was saying
the features that it has on it...

[Judy] I don't care about the features.
You bought a non-running car

that had to be restored to running
so that you could resell it.

You hope for a profit.

But there's no way you spent
$10,000 on the car.

Because then if you were putting in
all new parts and restoring it,

you would never be able
to recoup your money.

Yes, you can.

-Nah.
-[Andre] Can I explain?

Because I put a lot of money into it,

-and the resale value... okay.
-[Judy] Just a second.

So, so far, I don't believe that
you paid 10,000 for it, not running.

Now you're gonna show me
what you put into the car.

Okay.

[Judy]
You see, if you told me the truth, sir,

and if the insurance company
only paid you $3,500,

I would've paid you what the value
of a non-running car would be,

plus everything that you put into it,

less the $3,500 that the insurance company
paid you for it.

So if you have everything
that you put into it,

the only thing you don't have
is what you paid for it.

Am I correct?

Yes, you're correct on that part.

Okay. So now let me see
what you put into it.

You told them that you had insurance,
and you didn't have insurance.

I did not tell them I had insurance.
I told them the truth.

The same thing I told you.

You know, I want to introduce
you both to the truth.

Hello. How are you?

I understand who you are.
Thank you very much.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Andre Scates has accused
motorist, Melissa Lachapelle,

of crashing into his classic
Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Melissa claims she was being chased
by another vehicle.

Now, all of your receipts
for the car parts that you purchased

total $9,393.

Less the $3,500
that you were paid by your insurance

leaves, just for the parts alone, 5,893.

Even if you paid $5,000 for the car,
you're at $10,000. Do you understand?

Yes.

So if you had given me a figure
that I understood...

because right now you want me to believe
that a man who works very hard in security

paid $10,000 for the car
and $10,000 for parts.

Yes.

And the average range for the car is...

-Between 9,000 and 18,000.
-...between 9,000 and 18,000...

-Yes.
-[Judy] ...to buy a restored car.

And you've already put in $20,000
into the car before you sold it.

And I don't even know if it was
ready to be sold. Do you understand?

That's how much I was
going to sell it for... for like 20,000.

That's what I was trying to explain.

Just... I understand that.
You've already...

If you want me to believe, sir,
that you bought the car for 10,

you're already at 20.
So even if you sold the car

for its highest price, which is 20,

you'd be breaking even.
That's not what you bought it for.

-Well, no.
-[Judy] You bought it to make money.

No, I bought it to keep it actually,
because it was sentimental...

-What?
-[Andre] I said I bought it to keep it

because this was something
that I wanted to have for a while

because this was something
that was kind of sentimental to me

because we all used to ride
in these cars when I was younger.

So it was something
that I kind of enjoyed and liked,

and I wanted to keep it.
I wasn't planning

on selling it right away
once I finished.

How old are you?



[Judy] So what you're telling me is

you remember driving around in this car
when you were two years old.

No. In my 20s.

[laughing]

You know, I want to introduce
you both to the truth.

Hello. How are you?

I understand who you are.
Thank you very much.

Okay. Mr. Scates, you're owed
some money from her.

Even though you've inflated some figures,
she owes you some money.

Do you have any reports
from the police on this?

I have the vehicle incident report.

[Judy] I'd like to see it, please.

Can I see just the proof
from your insurance company, please,

of what they paid you out on the car?

And her insurance paid you,
is that right?

No.

[Judy] It was your insurance?

Oh, you said my insurance?
Yeah, my insurance paid me, not hers.

Why didn't you... hey!
Put your phone down.

Oh, I have it on my email.

Why didn't your insurance pay him out?

I didn't have insurance.

I was switching my insurance policy
to a new company.

[Judy] Oh, so... just a second.

So when there was a traffic report,

you told the police you had AAA insurance
'cause that's what's in the report.

No. They asked me for my information,
and that's what I told them.

Well, I said that's what you told them.

You told them you had insurance
and AAA was your insurance company.

-And that's a lie.
-Well, the paperwork that I...

[Judy] Just a second. That's a lie.

You told them that you had insurance,
and you didn't have insurance.

And there was no speeding car
following you.

I did not tell them I had insurance.
I told them the truth.

The same thing I told you.

No, you didn't, because then
they would've given you a summons

for driving your car without insurance
if you created that kind of an accident.

Did they give you a summons?

-No.
-[Judy] No. Okay.

Some piece of work.

So your policy limit was $3,500.

-Is that correct?
-Yes. Mm-hmm.

Okay. Where is the car now?

-The car? Uh...
-[Judy] "Uh" is not an answer.

Where is the car now?

In front of my yard.

[Judy] Okay, so you have it.

Yes.

And this incident took place on May 1st.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Why is it still at your house?

'Cause I plan on getting another one
and rebuilding it.

[Judy] So you plan on using it.

Well, I plan on using it for parts,
'cause I can't do anything else with it.

You plan on using it for parts.
Whatever it is.

Do you have a photograph of it now?

Yes, I do.

[Judy] I'd like to take a look at it.

Here's one. Oh, here's a couple more.

Oh, gee whiz.

Pssh. Yeah.

Yeah, there's no way you can use this car.

Why don't you just scrap it?

Well, because I was planning on if I took
her to court and won some money,

I was gonna try to buy another one,
rebuild it,

use some of the parts off of that one,
and try to get my car back.

You know? That's... I mean, it's a big loss
for me, you know what I mean?

What am I gonna do?
You know what I mean?

That's the only thing I can see
I can get back, you know?

Okay. I'm valuing the car at $10,000,

which is $9,000
of what you put into the car.

I have no idea what you paid for it.
You got $3,500.

I'm awarding you
a judgment, sir, of $6,500

against the defendant.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $6,500.

We're finished here.
I would've taken your license away.

[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

Because I was running from
someone chasing me for my life.

It was self-defense.

That she was being chased by some girls,

that they stole some hair
or something like that.

And I was like, "Well, where are they?

We didn't see anybody there
if they were chasing you.

Why didn't they stop and come
and get you when you crashed?

Because that was their time to get you
if they were gonna get you."

Because the person was not turned
down the street as me,

so it is what it is.

But then she mentioned it to the judge,
but didn't mention it to the police.

And she said it to me
'cause I was wondering

why you were going so fast down
a narrow street with a bump on it.

And that's when she said that some girls
were chasing her over some hair.

I am still driving.

But not that vehicle.
It's totaled.

It's time to get a new one.

You know, common sense is
a great indicator of truth.

And I think that
if the defendant's story was true

that she was being chased and harassed
by these two hairdressers,

you have your phone in your car.
You laid it out perfectly

that you make a quick 9-1-1.

You call them and you say, "Oh, my God!
These crazy people are chasing me!"

-Or...
-Or none of it ever happened.

Or when you finally cause
an accident like that

and your car is severely damaged
and there's nobody chasing you,

you stop to wait for the police.

And when the police finally come...

'cause she was looking
to boot out of there...

you say, "These women were chasing me.
I know who they were."

-You would create a police report.
-Yep.

Just a lot of who shot John.

It's unbelievable to me that people
can make up interesting stories.

In 2022, she had
one hairdresser appointment...

Very intricate.

Very, very intricate.
Nobody has any proof.

Yeah. They never do.

Sometimes they do,
but not in fish tales like this.

[narrator] Want justice?

.

[theme music playing]