01x37 - Family, Furniture and the Fallout

[bunniefuu]

[Judge Judy] This stimulus money
went into your checking account.

Yes, ma'am.

And she was supposed to give that
to your son, and she never did?

She never gave him any of the money.

He called me, "You need
to give me the money, did it..."

I'm like, "I don't owe you anything."

She took from me.

She stole from me.

This was not your money.

Oh, yes, it was. Yes, ma'am.

This is my money.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Michelle Blake
is suing her son's ex-girlfriend,

Shanovya Boyance,

for bedroom furniture
and stimulus money.

[Kevin] Court coming to order.

[Judge Judy] Be seated, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case 1074. Blake versus Boyance.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Blake,

Ms. Boyance
was the girlfriend of your son? Son?

- [Michelle] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Stand up for a second.

Stand next to your mom.

How long were you
and Ms. Boyance in a relationship?

About eight months.

[Judge Judy] And you lived together
for all of that eight-month period?

- [Antonio] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] From when to when?

I'm bad with dates, ma'am.
I'm sorry. I don't know the exact...

I guarantee you,
she's gonna be able to tell me the date.

- Date.
- Yes, ma'am.

July was when we initially started dating.

Um, we broke up March 17th,
to be exact.

- When did you start living together?
- July.

[Judge Judy]
And when did he move out?

[Shanovya] March 17th, 2021.

[Judge Judy]
Were you living in the apartment

- before he moved in?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
So the lease was in your name?

Correct.

[Judge Judy] How long did you live there
before he moved in?

[Shanovya]
I moved in in 2019, December.

[Judge Judy]
And who were you living there with?

Myself.

[Judge Judy] Where were you working?

Um, at that time,
I was working at Walmart.

And what about you, sir?

I work for a company called [indistinct].

We make plastic
interior car parts for BMW.

[Judge Judy] How long
have you been working for them?

Roughly four months.

While you were living together,
were you working?

- On and off.
- Okay.

Now, you can sit down for a second.

Now, I'm gonna start
with what this case is about.

Because now I know that you lived
together for a little less than a year,

it was your apartment, the lease
was in your name, he moved in?

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

This is what your case is about,
Ms. Blake.

It is your claim that prior
to their breaking up,

when I say prior,
it could have been within minutes...

- Yes, ma'am.
- ...of their breaking up,

- you gave the defendant $500.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
And you say that that money

was from a stimulus check.

Yes, ma'am.

And she was supposed
to give that $500 to your son?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] And she never did?

- No, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So that's the first part of your case.

Second part of your case
is that when your son moved in

to Ms. Boyance's apartment,

- you gave them a bedroom set?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy]
And since he's no longer there,

- you want it back?
- Yes.

That's the easy part
for me to address right now.

I'll ask you a few rudimentary questions

and then I'll explain what the problem is.

When your son moved in
with the defendant,

had he been using
that bedroom set at home?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] So it was his bedroom set?

Yes, ma'am.
Since he was nine years old.

- [Judge Judy] So it belonged to him?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Where is he living now?

[Michelle] With me.

[Judge Judy] What is he sleeping on?

At first, it was the air mattress

and then I replaced it with another set.

Not the exact same set,
a cheaper model.

Okay.
Well, let me explain to you about a gift.

When you make a gift,
unless it's a conditional gift,

you don't get it back.

Now, she says she trashed it.

I actually don't believe that.

But even if she had it,

you are the wrong plaintiff
because this bedroom set,

according to you,
belonged to your son, not you.

You may have bought it
when he was nine,

but you made a gift of it to him
when he moved into her house.

So you can't sue her for it

because you have no interest
in that bedroom set.

You know, it's a simple process in law.

You have to have some right of title
to a property

before you can sue for its return.

And once you've made a gift of it,

you no longer retain
any right to that property.

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

[Judge Judy]
Okay. Now let's deal with the $500.

Where did the $500 come from?

It came out my checking account.

- It came from...
- [Judge Judy] From...

- ...my stimulus check because he...
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So you got a stimulus check?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] In your name?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] For how much?

It was for 3,400.

Well, that's a lot for a stimulus check.

It was for me, him, and my husband.
Because...

Okay. So you didn't get $3,400

because that doesn't sound right to me.

- No.
- [Judge Judy] How old is your son?

- [Michelle] He is 20.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

This account that you have,
is he on that account as a signatory?

[Michelle]
No. I claimed him on my taxes.

I got it. You claimed him
as a dependent on your taxes?

Right.

His stimulus money
went into your checking account

and how much was the stimulus money
that your son received?

$1,400.

[Judge Judy] When it came,
did you have a discussion with your son?

- Yes or no?
- Um, no.

When for the first time
did you tell him...stand up.

- Tell me your first name.
- Antonio.

Antonio, when did your mom tell you

that you had gotten
the stimulus money?

It was after the fact
when she gave it to Shanovya.

[Judge Judy]
So, she didn't tell you she had gotten it?

[Antonio] No, ma'am.

Now, between July of 2020, Antonio,

and March of 2021,
were you employed?

On and off.

[Judge Judy] Were you
contributing to the household,

- Ms. Boyance's household?
- [Antonio] Yes.

How were you contributing?

I would honestly
do what I could, you know.

I was having my own problems,
stuff I needed to work on with myself,

you know, growing up to do, you know.

- Okay. Well, you're 20.
- [Antonio] Yeah.

- That's...you're probably right.
- [Antonio] Getting myself together.

You're probably right.

- How old is Ms. Boyance?
- Twenty-one.

[Judge Judy] Does she have it together?

She has an apartment,
you know, I, I don't, maybe.

Okay. So, your mother didn't tell you

that you had gotten the stimulus money?

I mean, I knew, kind of,

but she tell me
that she gave it to Shanovya.

She called me
that day she gave it to her.

But I didn't ask.

I'd like you to tell me
how it came about, Ms. Blake,

that you gave the defendant $500
of your son's stimulus money.

Well, I call Antonio. He didn't answer.

So I called Shanovya and I told her,

I said, "I got, you know,
my stimulus money.

And I wanna give Antonio $500." She...

Well, just a second.
Let's understand something.

Unless you tell me
you were supporting him,

you're not entitled to his stimulus money.

I was helping both of them.

They came to my job several times.

And I gave both of them gift cards.

I'm talking about $200.

- I, I, I help them.
- [Judge Judy] Well, that's, that's okay.

That's okay if you help them.

You're his mother.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Michelle Blake
is suing her son's ex-girlfriend,

Shanovya Boyance,

for bedroom furniture
and stimulus money.

Now, you may have claimed him
as a dependent on your taxes,

but if he's living independently of you,

working on and off
or if he's living in her house

and therefore, if she's paying
the rent and the utilities,

and the gas, and electric, et cetera,

she's really providing
the majority of his support,

then that's not your stimulus money.

He's an emancipated person
if he's living outside of your home,

living, working, or not working

but being supported
by somebody else, Ms. Blake,

that really isn't your money.

I want you to understand that
in your head.

Once he's out of your house,
he's not a dependent anymore.

Do you understand?

Unless you tell me
that you are paying half her rent,

you were paying half of her utilities
on his behalf,

because they were just
the two of them living there.

Does that make sense to you?

Yeah, that makes sense
but I also was helping.

I was helping both of them.

They came, not one time,
they came to my job several times.

And I gave both of them gift cards.
I'm talking about $200.

- I, I, I help them.
- [Judge Judy] Well, that's, that's okay.

That's okay if you help them.

- You're his mother.
- Right.

[Judge Judy] But you didn't pay the rent.

How much is your rent?

Eight-ninety-five.

[Judge Judy]
Her rent is 900 bucks a month.

Your son says, and he's very honest,

he said, "You know,
I may have worked on and off,

but I was really working on myself,

putting myself
where I had to be as a grown-up,"

but he was really living with her.

So if you gave them gift cards,
that's not support, Ms. Blake.

Okay. So let's go back a little bit.

So, you got the stimulus money,
his $1,400,

which should've gone to him.

And you couldn't reach him,
so you called the defendant.

And tell me about that conversation.

I said, "Shanovya," um,
she was complaining

that she was giving him gas money.

I said, "So, I'll tell you what,
just come over to my job

because I got this stimulus check.
And I'll give Antonio the $500."

- And I told her, I said...
- [Judge Judy] Don't make...just...

[Michelle] No. I told her...
I'm telling you exactly what I told her.

I said, "Whatever he does with it
is what he do with it."

Once I gave it to her
and she gave it to him.

But the thing is, Judge Judy,

she never gave him any of the money.

Okay. That's what your problem is,

- that the money was intended for him.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
And when you gave it to her for him

within 24 hours,
they were no longer a couple.

They were in a...
Antonio had left the house before the 17.

If I knew that,
I would've never put $500 in her name.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.

Antonio, did you leave the house
before the 17th of March?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Where did you go?

- Stay with my mom.
- [Judge Judy] Well, that's not so

because she said if she knew
that you weren't together,

she never would've given
the defendant money.

But you say that
you went to stay in her house.

- [Antonio] Yeah.
- That's not possible

because then she would've known
that you weren't together.

Do you...no, no. Don't talk to him.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

- [Antonio] Yes, ma'am. I do.
- Okay.

Because your mother lives in her house.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] So she would know

that you were there.

So, your mother said

they were broken up
way before March 17th.

And I'm asking you if that's true,
you said, "Yes, ma'am."

Yeah, I moved in with my mom.

Right when I moved out,
I roommate with a friend.

Okay. There we go. You see?

Yes, ma'am.

You got a little work to do, Antonio.

All right. On what date
did you move in with this friend?

I think the 18th.

[Judge Judy] So right
from Ms. Boyance's house,

- you went to this friend's house?
- [Antonio] Yeah.

[Judge Judy]
How long did you stay with the friend?

It wasn't even a couple days.

[Judge Judy] And after a couple of days,

how did you notify your mother
that you will...

wanted to come home?

I can get in contact with her.

It was just the time
when she called for the money,

I didn't answer it at the time.

- Hi.
- [Judge Judy] On the 17th,

you picked up the money,
what did you do with it?

[Shanovya] Um, I paid bills
that same day, which...

[Judge Judy] What bills?

Um, I paid the electric
from Georgia Power.

I paid, um, Spectrum,

which is the internet, my car insurance.

And I gave him a hundred.

[Judge Judy] Antonio, on the 17th,

- did the defendant give you $100?
- Yes, ma'am.

- Through cash app.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So I assume at that time

that if she gave you the $100
through a cash app,

you had some sort of discussion with her

about why she was giving you money
towards the cash app, Antonio.

- Let's move this along a little bit.
- Yes, ma'am. I...

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Because there are certain things

that make sense and certain things
that don't make sense.

So, you're still living together
at this time, on the 17th.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] So, at some point,
you must've had a discussion with her

that went something like,

"I got $500 from your mother,
from your stimulus check."

- No?
- No, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
When you got this $100 in your cash app

or whatever it is,
I don't understand those things. But I...

[Antonio] That was
when I came back to her house,

- trying to get the money.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

After you split up,
you came back to the house

and she said,
"I'll give you 100 of the 500."

Don't speak.

"I'll give you 100 of the 500."

- $100 was all she sent.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Did you say to her,
"Where's the other money?"

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] You did?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Did you say that

to her in text,
"Where's the rest of the money?"

- Pretty sure I did.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Just curious.
Did you get any texts from him?

"Where is the rest of the money?"

- No, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] All right.

You want to tell me how it came about
that you gave him the $100?

Yes, ma'am.
So actually, it was three days later

that I sent him the $100 due to the fact

that I made sure
all the bills got paid first.

When I gave him the $100,
it was through cash app,

he didn't call me after
me and her had a conversation.

She hung up with me,
called him and told him

that she gave me the money.

After me and her discussed
that we would not tell him

because he did not know
how to spend the money correctly.

And that the only thing he needed
was the gas money. So...

[Judge Judy] Well, this was
when you were still together.

We weren't still together.

I have picture evidence
that can show what it is...

- [Judge Judy] Well, just a second.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
If you weren't still together,

then why would she give you the $500?

I guess he didn't communicate to her.

When she called me,
I explained to her the day...

the beginning of the day,
which was when I was...

[Judge Judy] Okay. She called you

- on the 17th in the morning.
- [Shanovya] Yes, ma'am.

- [Judge Judy] Tell me what...
- Correct.

[Judge Judy]
Tell me what the conversation was about.

Um, I was at work,
she called and she asked me,

- um, did we need anything?
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

Do we know
what day the 17th of March?

- A Wednesday.
- Wednesday.

[Shanovya] Correct.
She asked me, did we need anything?

Um, as always,
I would tell her, "You know, I need help

because he does not pay anything.

He doesn't help me with anything."

So I didn't ask her necessarily...
I didn't call her.

She called me and asked me,
I gave her, you know, a response.

I told her,
"Yes, I'm giving him gas money.

I'm feeding him,
I'm putting clothes on him,

making sure he has all his necessities
and I get nothing out of that.

So she was like,
"Okay. Well, I got the 500,"

you know,
she didn't tell me where it came from.

She told me to come pick it up.

I told her I will let her know
because like I said, I was at work.

I ended up having to go
pick up a coworker and I text her I say,

"Hey, uh, is it okay
if I come and get it now?"

She said, "Yes."

Three days later, when she finds out,

I guess she finally gets in contact
with him, they discuss it,

he calls me, "You need to give me
the money," da-da-da,

I'm like, "I don't owe you anything.

I gave you a hundred for gas.

And if anything,
that 100 should be able to last you,

and I paid the bills."

- But he wasn't living with you?
- Correct.

[Judge Judy] But those were bills
from when he was living with you?

- Correct.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

This was not your money.

- Oh, yes, it was...
- [Judge Judy] No.

...my money. I pay his bills.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Blake,
if you want to continue to spoil him,

you could do that till he's 50.

But that doesn't mean
he's not an emancipated person.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Michelle Blake
is accusing her son's ex-girlfriend,

Shanovya Boyance,

of keeping her son's bedroom furniture

and using his stimulus money
on herself.

Antonio, while you were living
with the defendant,

- who was paying the rent?
- Shanovya.

[Judge Judy]
Who was paying the utilities?

[Antonio] Shanovya.

Honestly, she paid
the majority of the bills.

- I just gave what I could.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

So she paid the majority
of your living expenses.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] So, when the government,

because you weren't working full-time,

gives you stimulus money,

and you were still together,

I must assume that your intention

was to use that stimulus money

the way it was intended,

which was for your living expenses.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
Because when I deal with this now

'cause this case is before me now,
you actually, Ms. Blake,

are the wrong person to be suing her.

This stimulus $1,400
didn't belong to you.

You didn't support your son
for the year that...

Yes, ma'am, I did.

[Judge Judy] Well, show me.

I can show you...I can show you...
I paid his car payment.

I paid his car insurance.

I paid his, um, cell phone bill.

I paid them since he's been driving a car.

- Just a...just a...
- [Michelle] I pay everything.

[Judge Judy] No. Take the car away.

He lives with the defendant.

You wanna see to it
that he has a car, that's fine.

You're his mother,
he'll always be your child.

If he's 35 years old, he'll be your child.

if you want to buy him ski lift tickets

when he's 40 years old
and they cost $1,000,

you can do that.

But that's not supporting him.

Supporting him
is putting a roof over his head,

making sure he has gas,
electric, water, food,

all of those things. You pay...

- I did that for both of them.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

[Michelle]
I gave them food. I did everything.

I, I've bent over backwards
for this young lady.

- I never thought...
- [Judge Judy] Let's just...

[Michelle] ...that this young lady
would do what she did to me.

- [Judge Judy] Okay. I have to take...
- And what...and I felt like

she took from me, that's what I felt.

- I felt like she stole for me.
- [Judge Judy] Ms. Blake. Miss...

[Michelle] And this conversation
that she's having with you right now,

that's not the conversation
we had on Wednesday.

She didn't...
I didn't ask her did she need anything,

I said, "Give this $500 to my son."
I never asked her...

[Judge Judy]
Just a second. Just a second.

- ...did she need anything.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

What I'm telling you was,
this was not your money.

- Oh, yes, it was my money.
- [Judge Judy] No. No.

Yes, ma'am. I pay...I pay his bills.

- Yes, ma'am. This is my money.
- Okay. Okay.

Ms. Blake, and I'm telling you

that when you are, legally,
when you're 20 years old,

and you're living
outside of the household,

which is your household,

the fact that you may have
claimed him as a dependent

and the government therefore
put the $1,400

that was earmarked for him
in your bank account,

he is an emancipated person.

And if you want to continue to spoil him
by making his car payment

and his insurance payments,
and buying him clothes,

because he's still coming to find himself,

you can do that...
you could do that till he's 50.

But that doesn't mean he's not
an emancipated person under the law.

That's his money.

And so you are actually
the wrong person standing in that place.

And, Antonio, I think
probably knows and would not...

I don't know
about the bedroom furniture.

She's certainly not gonna pay
for bedroom furniture

that was given as a gift.

You have a bedroom set now, Antonio?

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

And what would you do
with another bedroom set?

- Leave it where it's at and get my own.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

You should know...I don't know
whether these stimulus checks

are going to continue.

They keep the printing presses
running pretty swiftly.

They're in...wherever
they print money in this country,

they probably have to build
more printing presses

because they seem to be
spending a whole lot of money.

In any event, Ms. Blake,

you're not entitled to any money
for the bedroom set.

And the $500 was spent on bills
that were accumulated for your son

while he was living with the defendant
with the exception of your car payment.

And even though
she may be the wrong party,

I want to know
how much your car payment is.

I, I didn't make a car payment.
I paid my insurance for my car.

What was your insurance payment
that you made?

[Shanovya] Oh, at the time...

- it was 187.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

Antonio, and this is a question for you,
not your mother.

You have a problem
with her paying $187

on her car insurance out of that $500?

Car insurance. Yes.

[Judge Judy]
You have a problem with that?

Yes, ma'am.

Then I think you should sue her
for the $187.

That's all you would get in front of me,
but your mother's the wrong party.

Now, you have a counterclaim
that's ridiculous.

You have a counterclaim
for emotional distress.

This is your claim
that Ms. Blake harasses you.

She's not gonna harass you anymore.

She's annoyed
that you have a bedroom set

that she paid for a dozen years ago.

She has to get over it
because it was a gift,

she has no interest in it.

I don't know where it is.

Where's the bedroom set?

The nightstand and the dresser
is still at my home.

The bed, I moved out
the beginning of this month.

Now, let's see
if I can clean this up a little bit.

Do you want your nightstand back?

Two nightstands and a dresser.

Did you have nightstands and a dresser
before he moved in?

Um, I had places to put my clothes.

I didn't need any of the furniture at all.

Well, no, what I'm asking you
is, did you dispose

of nightstands and a dresser
when he moved in?

- No, ma'am.
- You want them back?

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

- Those are his...what?
- If I may.

Um, he's been to my home
on two separate occasions.

I've given him multiple opportunities
just to get this stuff.

I actually texted him in July
and asked him to come and get them,

he told me he could not

and that he had no one
and that his mother,

he would ask her but he didn't know.

And then I text her as well,
and she did not answer.

[Judge Judy] Okay. I'm gonna make
this very, very easy then.

You have two nightstands and a dresser.

If Antonio makes arrangements
to pick them up

on notice to you within 48 hours,

within the next five days,

you have no problem giving them to him?

Great. We'll prepare that order.

If you don't remove them within five days
on 48-hours' notice to her,

they belong to her.
Do you understand, Antonio?

- Yes, I'm able to now.
- [Judge Judy] Great.

Thank you very much. We're done.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I guess it was fair.

I feel like everything was fair.

I'm glad it's over with.

I don't never have to see
that young lady ever again.

This young man
has completely ruined my life literally.

Stay to yourself.

So now, I have to rebuild

and become the successful young lady

I know I will be.

[Sarah]
There seems to be a lot of confusion

about these stimulus checks

and who they're supposed to go to,
who's supposed to spend them.

There's no real clear guidelines,
I feel like.

Well, we've had...
I think three or four cases so far

that dealt with those stimulus checks.

In this case it was clear,
she wasn't supporting him,

yeah, she was spoiling him
with a car and gas money and...

- The extras.
- [Judge Judy] The extras.

But he was living and being
supported by somebody else.

So it was clearly his money.

He didn't claim himself as a dependent.

He was still growing up.

He's a very sweet young man,
by the way.

- Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] But what did I tell you

about gifts and once you give a gift?

No givesies backsies.

Right. That's true.

Once you give a gift, you give a gift

and you no longer have
any personal interest in that gift.

So easy case.

Good lessons.

[announcer]
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[theme music playing]