01x15 - Mother & Daughter Cosmetic Surgery

[bunniefuu]

You and your children
lived with your mother.

She kicked me out of her home and
all of my family went against me.

We were having problems.
I said, "I can't take this anymore."

She's a kid.
She's a kid with four children.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice...

[theme music playing]

Viola Hires is suing
her daughter, Annalise Araujo,

for credit card charges resulting from
her daughter's tummy tuck surgery.

[Kevin] All rise.
Court come to order.

Hello, Judge. We have case number 1005,
Hires versus Araujo.

Thank you. Be seated, please.

-Miss Hires, this is your daughter?
-Yes.

[Judy] And this case
is about whether or not

you had agreed to pay for
a cosmetic surgery procedure for her.

Your daughter said that you did,
in fact, pay for it,

put it on your credit card, it was a gift,
it was your idea,

and it was never designed to be a loan.
That's what the case is about.

-Correct?
-Yes.

Ms. Hires, I want a little background
information about both of you.

-Are you employed?
-No, not right now.

Your daughter got her plastic surgery
in what month and year?

It was last year, around...
At the end of Mar... April

Not April, sorry, August.

In what month did you
get your plastic surgery?

It was in September.

-September of 2020?
-September of 2020, yes.

Okay. Were you working
in September of 2020?

-No.
-How do you support yourself?

I get income from my daughter,
my other daughter,

and I also get a monthly income
from Social Security.

Social Security Disability,
or Social Security...

-Yes. Yes.
-Social Security Disability.

And what kind of income do you
receive from your other daughter?

She pays for rent.

Okay, so she lives with you?

-Yes.
-Okay. What kind of work does she do?

She's a health-care worker.

And how much do you
receive from Disability?

I receive around $989.

Any other income in the house?

Just my daughter's and
my son-in-law which lives with me.

He pays rent as well.

-That would be her husband?
-Husband. Yes.

What kind of work do you do?

I'm actually not working right now,
I'm a homemaker.

Were you working in September of 2020?

Yes, I was. I was doing customer service
at a warehouse.

How long did you work?

-I worked there for seven years.
-[Judy] Until when?

Until February of this year.

And what happened in February of 2021?

In February of 2021, I stopped working
due to COVID and childcare.

Well, you didn't have any children
after February of 2021.

I had some custody of my daughter.

No, no. You didn't have any more children
after February.

-No, I didn't.
-[Judy] So, you had children

-while you were working for seven years.
-[Annalise] Yes, I did.

So, my question is,
why did you stop working?

Because my mother
kicked me out of her home

and all of my family went against me.

So I no longer had the help
that I had before.

-That's not true, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Wh... Just a second.

Where did you move to?

I moved to my boyfriend's house,
because my mother...

Ju-ju... Just answer my question.

-You moved to your boyfriend's house.
-Yes, I did.

So, what I gather is
you and your husband

and your children, some of them,
lived with your mother.

Yes, we did.

How many years
did you live with your mother?

We lived with my mother for five years.

And during that time, you were working and
contributing to the household, I assume.

-Yes.
-And so was your husband.

-Was he working as well?
-[Annalise] Yes, he was.

-[Judy] How many children do you have?
-I have four.

-How old are they?
-[Annalise] I have an eight-year-old,

a four-year-old and two one-year-olds.

Which of those children live with you now?

Actually, none of them live with me. I...

Just... J-J...

-Just answer the question.
-Okay.

So you have four children,
none of them live with you.

-Yes.
-[Judy] So, you want to explain to me

[laughing] why you stopped working
in February of 2021?

Because at the time, I did have
partial custody of my daughter.

And how old is she?

She's eight years old.

Okay. And you had partial custody
of her until what month?

Until the end of February.

And then she went to live with whom?

-Her father.
-So in February, I just wanna know

why you weren't working.

-I...
-If you'd worked for seven years,

now you are living with your boyfriend,

and childcare is not an issue...

She did say, if I'm not mistaken,
that the reason she stopped working

was to be a full-time mom? A homemaker.

I think it... Was the term homemaker
or full-time mom? I'm not sure.

[Whitney] She said, "I'm actually not
working right now. I'm a homemaker."

Who do you make a home for?

For my chil... I do have my children
on three days of the week.

Which children on which three days?

I have them Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday.

From when to when?

From 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Who fixed that time?

The judge did in my other court case
for my children.

Okay. Is there any reason
why the judge didn't make it

[laughing] on a weekend
so you could work?

I... I mean...

Just so that I understand the people
that I'm dealing with...

When you left your job in February,
did you begin to receive

assistance, unemployment insurance,
anything else?

-I did.
-[Judy] I did.

And tell me how much you received
weekly, monthly...

Weekly, I received $600.

And when you were working
for the seven years that you were working,

in the same place,
what was your salary weekly?

About the same, $600.

Now we know.

[woman laughs]

Okay. It is my understanding
that after your twins were born,

you had this tummy tuck procedure.
And tell me,

was it right after the twins were born
that you and your husband separated?

So, in January of 2020, we split.
In September of 2020, I had the surgery.

And then in October of 2020,
that's when I moved in with my boyfriend.

-In October of 2020?
-Yes.

Tell me about... Because you say

your mother put this surgical procedure
on a credit card.

And at the time you had
the surgical procedure,

-you were still working at your job.
-Yes, I was.

And your mother was receiving Disability.

You were making at least twice as much as
your mother was getting from Disability,

you were earning from your job
and you were still with your husband.

What I want you to try to explain to me
is why you think

your mother would commit herself
to a $7,000 surgery for you

without expectation of being repaid.

[theme music playing]

After the tummy tuck,
she had left her husband, like she said,

and had a boyfriend.
I didn't care for him.

I told her, "You need to move," I said,
"because I can't take this anymore."

-How old are you?
-Twenty-six.

-And you have four kids?
-[Annalise] Yes.

Yeah, you have enough children
for a while.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Viola Hires
says her daughter,

Annalise Araujo, owes her for the cost
of Annalise's tummy tuck surgery.

What I want you to try to explain
to me is why you think

your mother would commit herself
to a $7,000 surgery for you

without expectation of being repaid.

Well, at the time, I was
paying my mother's rent,

as well as other bills for her,
so she wasn't paying anything.

Well, you had another sibling
living in the house, didn't you?

Yes, and that sibling
actually doesn't work.

I paid to support her as well.

So, what you're telling me is,
on your $600 a week

you were supporting your mother,
your sister,

your children and your husband?

Is that what you're telling me?
On your $600 a week?

My husband and I were
both supporting them.

-In her house?
-Yes, in her house.

-Are you still in your house?
-Yes.

[Judy] They managed
to get along without you.

Because my ex-husband is paying that bill.

-[Viola] No.
-Is your ex-husband there

with any of the children? Shh!

When you moved out
to move in with your current boyfriend,

and when you went to your boyfriend,
did you take all the children with you?

-No, because they...
-[Judy] Shh... No... Not because.

The answer is no.

You moved out in October.
In what month did your son-in-law move in?

He moved in a month after.

And what children were left in the house
when your daughter moved out?

Three boys were left in the house

and the daughter was left
with her other father.

She coulda took her kids when she wanted.

That's not true at all.

[Judy] Your son-in-law now
helps pay rent in the house?

He pays a little bit...
He pays $600, and the rest

he pays for babysitting to my daughter.

And that's the daughter that you say
was a health-care worker?

Yes, she does health care as well.

Okay, but she's not currently working
as a health-care worker?

-Yes, she is. Yes.
-She is?

-And she's taking care of the children?
-She does on the days

he doesn't have them.
She watches the kids...

[Annalise] Which is hard
to believe because...

-Shh-shh-shh-shh.
-[Viola] She watches them

on the days that he doesn't have 'em,
the days he has 'em, I'm sorry.

And the days he doesn't have 'em,
she works.

And how do you help out?

I help out with the house.
I help out with the, uh, utilities...

No, with the children.

Oh. She's the one that babysits them.
If she needs help,

just to change 'em, or something,
I'll be there,

but she's the one that
does mostly everything.

Mm-hm. Does she get any money for doing
that other than from your son-in-law?

-No.
-And does he get any money

-for child care?
-No.

What kind of work does he do?

He works for... driving trucks,
he does on the base.

Okay. Now, I want you to tell me
about this tummy tuck.

I want you to tell me
when the arrangement was made

and when you put it on your credit card.

Okay, over the summer,
she came to me, asking me

if I could put the tummy tuck on my card
because she didn't have the money.

-When this summer?
-Oh, last year.

-She was still living with you?
-Yes, she was living with me.

She asked me to pay for the tummy tuck on
my card and she would pay me every month.

I said, "I have to think about it,"

and I said "Okay,
you know, you're working,

everything's good, I'll do it for you.

You know, you just pay me back
every month, like you said."

And she promised me she would pay it.

Because I don't have that kind of money
to pay every month.

So, then, after that,
when she did get the tummy tuck,

I took care of her,
I did everything for her.

And then after the tummy tuck,
she was better and...

a little bit before that, she had
left her husband, like she said,

and had a boyfriend.
I didn't care for him.

When you say she left her husband,
she didn't leave the house, did she?

[Viola] Yes, after I told her...
Because we were having problems,

I told her, "You need to move," I said,
"because I can't take this anymore."

-[Judy] You mean, she was... I don't...
-No, she didn't say that at all.

She can't take down
people talking out of turn.

-Do you understand?
-[Annalise] Yes.

-[Judy] Okay. How old are you?
-Twenty-six.

-You're 26 and you have four kids?
-[Annalise] Yes.

Yeah, you have enough children
for a while.

When you had this disagreement
with your daughter...

-Yes.
-That was after the tummy tuck?

No, okay, so, when the tummy tuck
which she wanted, I said,

"You know, I'll do it for you, you know,
you pay it back every month,

-like she promised me..."
-You told me that already.

Okay, and then, after a while,
she left her husband,

and she had a boyfriend,
and I said, "You know what?

I don't think I'm gonna do it because,
you know, everything's spiraling downhill,

I don't care for your boyfriend at all."
I said, "You know, he's...

To me, he's no good," but anyways,
I said, "I'm not gonna do it."

Then she went crying to my sister,
saying, you know, I promised her

I would do it for her and pay for it,
and she would pay every month.

And then, my sister came to me, told me,
you know, you promised whatever,

-So I went to her...
-Is this your sister?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay, go ahead.

So I went to her and I told her...
She came crying to me again.

So I went to her and I said, "Okay,
I'll do it, but you promise me,

you know, you'll pay the bill
every month."

-She said she will...
-[Judy] Okay.

And then she would pay her 401K to
pay the remaining when she got her 401K.

When you left your job, did you get
what you had put into your 401K?

-I didn't.
-You didn't. You left it there?

-Yes.
-How much is it?

It was a thousand dollars.

Now, you tell me your version of how it
came about that you had this tummy tuck.

So, in January of 2020, I left my husband.
Shortly...

When you say you left him,
did he leave the house or did you?

No, we were still living together.
He didn't leave the home until June.

When you say you left him,
how did that come about?

Did he go into another room,
did he sleep in another room?

We were sleeping in separate rooms.
He would sleep in the living room,

-I would sleep in the room.
-Okay.

So then, in April, that's when
I started dating my boyfriend.

My mom disliked the whole idea of it
because she wanted me to

stay with my husband because
she's infatuated with him.

Don't... Don't tell me because why.

So then, throughout those months,
she kept going back and forth with,

"I'm not gonna do this for you.
I'm gonna do this for you.

I'm not gonna do this for you."
And then she would feel bad.

And then she said,
"I'm gonna do this for you."

So then, finally...

Your initial conversation
with your mother.

-Yes.
-You said to your mother,

"I really wanna get a tummy tuck."

That sounds natural. You're 26 years old
and you've had four children,

and you got a new boyfriend,
or that's in the back of your mind.

So that sounds kinda right, to me,

that you said,
"I really wanna get a tummy tuck."

What I want to know is, what arrangement
did you make with your mother

-to pay for it?
-There was no arrangement.

She even offered to
give me her card to hold it

because she kept
going back and forth.

No, that's not what I'm saying to you.

It's clear that you
put it on her credit card.

-Yes, I did.
-[Judy] It's also clear

that your mother doesn't work,
and you did.

When you said she went back and forth,

where did you expect your mother to
get money to pay for your $7,000 surgery?

My mom wasn't paying any bills
and she still doesn't.

My ex-husband pays for everything,
so she has lots of money.

Well, tell me where she has
lots of money from.

She has her Social Security.
She gets money from my ex-husband,

he pays her for babysitting...

No, no, just a second.
Forget your ex-husband.

And he's not your
ex-husband yet, is he?

-He is my husband, still.
-[Judy] He's your husband.

Forget what her daughter contributes,
what your husband contributes.

I'm asking you where
she has lots of money.

She gets, according to what I have here,
$989 a month. Is that right?

-Mm-hm.
-$989 a month from Disability.

You have to buy clothes.
Do you have a car?

-Yes.
-[Judy] You have a car,

you have to pay insurance,
you have other things.

Where is this lots of money coming from?
You're the only one who's working.

-She is...
-[Judy] I mean, the fact

that you're getting the same
amount of money for not working

as you did when you were working

means that there's something wrong
with the government,

which is why nobody [laughing]
can get anything done

around this country now. Because everybody
says, "What do I have to work for?

I can stay home. I can be a homemaker
when I'm 26 years old, for myself."

[exhales sharply]

[theme music playing]

-I understand she's a kid.
-I trusted her.

You know, she's a kid with four children,
which suggests to you

that there's a certain
irresponsibility there to begin with.

I trusted my daughter.
She was working, she was doing good...

Well, you were a poor judge of character,

-because she soon stopped working.
-I know.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Viola Hires
is accusing her daughter, Annalise Araujo,

for not reimbursing her for the cost
of Annalise's tummy tuck surgery.

-How much is owed on the credit card?
-The credit card

-is owed...
-[Judy] May I see it?

-[Viola] Yes.
-Kevin, would you get that for me, please?

[Kevin] Ma'am?

Here's where...

You understand, Miss Hires, that I think
it was a very foolish thing for you to do.

Yes, I understand that.

To commit yourself, you know...

-I understand she's a kid.
-[Viola] I trusted my daughter.

-I trusted her.
-You know, she's a kid with four children,

which suggests to you

that there's a certain irresponsibility
there to begin with.

I trusted my daughter. She was working,
she was doing good...

Well, you were a poor judge of character,

because she soon she stopped working.

-[Viola] I know.
-What is this?

[Viola] That's the statement
of how much she paid,

and how much I have paid with interest...

[Judy] Just a second.
How many months did you pay?

She paid four months and
I paid from February to current.

You paid in October, November,
December and January.

So you paid, according to this,
during the time you were still working.

-I never paid her.
-[Viola] I have proof...

Now, just a second.
Did you pay the credit card company?

I didn't pay the credit card company.
I never got the bill.

I never received anything.
It all went to her.

-So... It all went to who?
-Her.

Well, I'm asking you.
She says you made four payments.

-I never made a payment.
-You never gave her any money?

No, I never gave her money
for a tummy tuck.

Just a second.
What did you give her money for

in October, November,
December and January?

I've given her money before...

Shh-shh! What did you
give her money for in October,

November, December and January?

You stopped working in February of 2021.
While you were working,

what did you give her money for?
You moved out in October.

You gave her money in October,
the next month,

the month after that and
the month after that.

So my question to you is,

what did you give her money for
when you were out of the house?

I never gave her money for anything

besides a car payment
that we have together, that's it.

Oh, just a second.
What car payment do you have together?

-We have a car payment...
-[Judy] Just a sec...

What car payment do you have together?

-A ch-car payment?
-What car?

-A Chevy Tahoe.
-What year?

-A 2018.
-In whose name is the car?

[Annalise] In mine and hers.

-Who drives the car?
-I do.

-So it's your car?
-Yes.

How much do you give her
for your car?

I give her $600.

Six hundred dollars a what?
A month? A week?

-Every two weeks?
-A month.

So, you give her $600 a month for the car.

-Yes.
-Okay. You have the records on the car?

Yes. As far as...
-[Judy] Just a... Bup!

I'm ten steps ahead of you.

-You own a car that's in both your names.
-Yes.

So, you co-signed a car for her in 2018.

-Yes.
-How much is left on the car?

It was, I believe, 2019,
and it's $32,000.

-And you signed that for her?
-Yes.

And how much does
she pay you every month?

It comes out of her bank account,

so it doesn't come directly to me
for the car payment.

How much is the car payment?

$594.25, around there.

-So it comes right out of her bank?
-Uh-huh. Yes.

-Goes right to the car company.
-Yes.

-Would that be correct?

-There's times that it doesn't.
-[laughs]

Because she hasn't paid
for about three, four months.

They're gonna invest...
They'll come and take the car,

and then you're gonna get stuck with it.

-Not the way she did it.
-[Judy] Okay, just a second.

[reading to self]

Care Credit, what is Care Credit?

Is that where you had
this surgical procedure?

It's the name of the company.

[sighs heavily]

You do understand

there's no way that she's gonna
keep up the payments on this car.

She has, because she's had...
Two times, she did two months

where she didn't pay,
she did a deferment.

The third time, she did through insurance
because she's not working,

so they paid it.
'Cause I called the bank to make sure.

And as far as the tummy tuck, she had...

-[Judy] Don't...
-Oh, sorry.

-I'm asking you about the car.
-[Viola] Yes. Yes, I understand.

[Judy] Yeah, well,
she likes to have a car.

She needs a car, she's a homemaker.

-Because she had kids...
-[audience laughs]

-She's a homemaker. Yeah.
-And her husband said he would

take over the payment
'cause he has the kids.

Judging for the Plaintiff
in the amount of $7,000.

We're done here.

[theme music playing]

I'm happy with the decision.
She knew right away what's going on

and how my daughter...
She's lying, of course.

Why would I pay that for her?
I woulda got it for myself, instead.

I mean, she needs somebody
to pay her bills, so I don't blame her.

My daughter cried to me and
I felt sorry for her, so of course,

any mother is gonna do for their child,
just as my grandchildren, I do for them.

My mom and I were very close,
at one point,

and she was willing to do anything for me.
She co-signed a car for me, I mean...

She complained and cried that
she needed a car for all her kids,

and so there I go, like a mother,
wanting to help my daughter...

For the sake of her grandchildren,
I mean, not on my time.

I'm not gonna let her sign for anything.
If she needed food for herself,

of course, I'm gonna help her,
she's still my daughter.

I don't... wish or hope
for anything to happen.

But as far as money-wise, for a car,
whatever she wants, that's a no-no.

So the Defendant and I, in that
last case, are practically the same age,

and I couldn't imagine trying
to prioritize yourself that young

-with four children at such a young age.
-[chuckles]

So that must be difficult,
but priorities are always key.

What do you think people
are to do in that situation?

Well, I think you're supposed
to think with your brain

before you have a bunch of kids that...
It looks to me

as if they're scattered around.
One child with one father

and three with the father,
but she has them one day a week.

And she's not working
and has a new boyfriend.

For some reason, the mother
doesn't like the new boyfriend, which...

You have young children and somebody
who is a new romance in your life.

She's 26 years old.
The whole idea is,

people really have to act
responsibly and reasonably.

And, you know, my experience tells me
that usually the children,

who are the innocents, always suffer

when supposed adults
make bad decisions.

That's what I learned in Family Court.

They're always the byproduct
of bad decisions.

So before you decide to have kids,
make sure you're emotionally

and financially and physically
able to take care of them.

Otherwise, there is
a substantial possibility

that they're going to be neglected.
And that's sad and unfair.

-Mm.
-That's what I think.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Want justice?

[closing theme plays]