01x57 - Drinking Problem

[bunniefuu]

- Is this your son?
- Yes, it is.

[Judge Judy] Did you get drunk
and urinate on her couch?

Not in my recollection.

[Judge Judy] Did you come home drunk?

- I did.
- [laughs]

That is ridiculous.

The whole couch did not have
to be replaced.

I'm not talking to you.

He's 29-years-old.

You gotta listen
to what he's saying to you.

You know the truth.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Erin and MaCaulay Davis

are suing their former landlord
Helen Borland

for unused rent and a security deposit.

[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case number 1137, Davis versus Borland.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Davis, is this your son?

Yes, it is.

[Judge Judy] Mr. Davis, were you the one
who went to this room

that the defendant was renting first?

Yes. Yes.

[Judge Judy] And when was that?

This was May 15th.

You were living with your mother
at the time?

- [Macaulay] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Where?

Before?

[Judge Judy] Before you went to her house.

- Moorpark.
- [Judge Judy] What in Moorpark?

We were living with our...
or my grandfather.

How long had you been living
with your grandfather?

About 10 months.

[Judge Judy] Prior to that, where had
your mother been living with you?

Prior to that,
I lived with my mother in Palm Desert

but that was three years
before my grandfather.

I was living in the dorms
at Loma Linda University.

- How old are you?
- I am 29.

How long have you had an alcohol problem?

Since I moved into Helen's.

- What's Helen's?
- [Macaulay] Helen's house.

[Judge Judy] You mean
before you moved in to her house,

you never had an alcohol problem?

I drank but it wasn't a problem
until I moved in.

[Judge Judy] Well, let's go back.

You're 29-years-old.

Did you graduate from college?

I graduated
from San Diego State University.

[Judge Judy] When? What year?

[Macaulay] 2018.

Well, since 2018, that's three years ago,

so it took you a little time
to finish college.

Yes.

What have you been doing since 2018?

I was a graduate
in Loma Linda University's

Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

What happened to that?

[Macaulay] Well, I was going through
the program successfully.

I wasn't drinking because
it required my full mental capacity.

But then I was put on a leave of absence

because I made a safety mistake
in the clinic,

and that's when I moved in to Helen's
and I developed a drinking problem.

But you left school?

He didn't leave school.
He was in his clinical rotations.

- [Judge Judy] Oh, please.
- And, um...

Um, yeah.

[Erin] ...we were staying
at my father's house.

And we moved out into Helen's house

'cause my dad wanted his house
back to himself.

There was a reason that your father
wanted his house back to himself.

- It was during COVID and, you know...
- [Judge Judy] He wanted his house...

...he just wanted his space.

There was no issues there.
He just wanted his house back.

I'm 10 steps ahead of you.

I want you to understand that.

Life has a rhythm.

It has a common sense and then it has
something that doesn't make sense.

And I learned many, many years ago

that if something doesn't make sense,
it's usually not true.

- Well, that's the truth.
- [Judge Judy] Now...

well, I know that your father
wanted his space back.

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] That I know

that he wanted his space back. But why?

Well, maybe we'll figure out in this case.

Now, you're not suggesting Mr. Davis

that you started to drink heavily
because you were living with her?

- You're not suggesting that to me?
- I am.

- [laughs]
- [Erin] Um, well, he was...

- That...
- [Erin] He was...

- ...is ridiculous, Mr. Davis.
- [Erin] He...

- [Judge Judy] I'm not speaking to you.
- He...

- [Judge Judy] I'm not speaking...
- She's a bully.

[Judge Judy] ...I'm not speaking to you.

I'm asking your 29-year-old son

whether he's suggesting that

[laughs] moving into a room
in the defendant's house

was the reason he started
to abuse alcohol,

and he said yes.

So what date did you move in
to the defendant's house?

Well, I know my mom moved in May 15th.

I moved in about maybe a week after that.

And the defendant
has a four-bedroom house?

Four or five.

[Judge Judy] And there are
other tenants in the rooms.

[Macaulay] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Did you meet
the other tenants?

- [Macaulay] I did.
- [Judge Judy] Were they men and women?

All men.

[Erin] Except for me.

[Judge Judy] Did you have
conversations with them?

- I did.
- [Judge Judy] Before you moved in?

- [Macaulay] Not before I moved in.
- [Judge Judy] Oh.

Right after you moved in.

Is this witness one of the tenants
in the house?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Yes.

I'm not talking to you.

He's 29-years-old.

When you spoke to him,
did you ask him how long

he'd lived in the defendant's home?

I don't believe I ever asked.

[Judge Judy] Do you know that he lived
there for more than six months?

[Macaulay] I assumed
he lived there for a while

because of the close relationship
he had with Helen.

[Judge Judy] And on what date
did you leave Helen's house?

- It was the last week of...
- July 15.

Don't...I'm telling you, he's 29-years-old.

I don't want you to speak to him.

I'm asking his questions.

When I want you to speak, I'll say
I'm asking you a question, Ms. Davis.

I know it was before the... July 20th.

- It was in July?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] So, you were there at most,

- two months?
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] How long did your mother
stay after you left?

Maybe 15 days.

And from Helen's house, where did you go?

From Helen's house,
I went to Sober Living,

because I developed
a drinking problem at Helen's.

- [Judge Judy] Are you still living there?
- [Macaulay] Yes.

And, you know, that's not the only reason
why I moved in to Sober Living.

I really didn't want to.

I moved in because I had nowhere to go
when she decided that I needed to leave.

[Judge Judy]
Well, on what date, Mr. Davis,

did you get drunk and urinate
on her couch?

I don't know the date.

Well, was it in May, June, July?

[Macaulay] You know what?
I think it was uh 4th of July.

Now, you didn't drink in her house.

You were out all night.

That night, yeah.

[Judge Judy] And according to what I read,

when you woke up in the morning,
you couldn't find your phone.

Correct.

[Judge Judy] So you knocked at her door
and said, "I can't find my phone,"

and you were looking in between
the cushions of the couch

when it was discovered that you had,
in fact, fallen asleep on the couch

and urinated on the couch
'cause you were drunk.

I don't believe that's what happened,
not in my recollection.

- Did you come home drunk?
- I did, but I don't...

[Judge Judy] Did you go to sleep
on the couch?

- I did.
- [Judge Judy] Did you feel the couch wet

when you went to look for your phone?

I don't think
we were looking for my phone.

What I'm saying is all that is true

but I don't think
that's how I found my phone.

I think she just handed the phone to me.

- Possible.
- [Macaulay] Possible.

She found it in the couch, whatever it is.

[Macaulay] Yeah.

[Judge Judy] Now,
if you urinate on someone's couch,

do you not think
that it's your responsibility

to replace that couch?

I think it is the responsibility
of coming to a solution,

and that couch could have been cleaned
with chemicals.

[Judge Judy] Well, I'm thinking about
common sense, Mr. Davis,

and I will tell you this.

If one of my grandchildren

went out at night and came home,

fell asleep on one
of my couches or chairs,

urinated on the sofa, or in bed,

I wouldn't have it cleaned.

It's not up to me to try to somehow
reduce your responsibility.

Lots of things can happen to a couch.

Sometimes you put your feet up
on a couch

and your feet will scuff a cushion.

I would say, you try
to have that cleaned.

That's common sense. This is a court.

A court is a combination of law,
common sense, morality, right and wrong.

If you empty your bladder
on a stranger's couch,

it's not up to the stranger
to mitigate your responsibility

by trying to clean it with solvents
and mask the smell

which will eventually come
from being saturated with human urine,

or dog urine, or anything else. [scoffs]

Okay.

So, is she gonna buy a new couch
if her dog urinates on it?

- You know, I wanna tell you...
- [Erin] Not dry clean?

I wanna tell you something.
I see where he has a problem.

You're not doing him any favor
by your response to me

'cause it makes you look foolish.

Well, is she gonna buy a new couch
if her dog urinates on her couch?

- Her dog didn't urinate on her couch.
- [Erin] I didn't...

- [Judge Judy] No, no, just a...
- [Erin] ...say the dog did.

[Judge Judy] No, I know you didn't.
You asked the question.

You want me to have it read back to you
what you said about the dog?

- No.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. Good.

Just a second.

Now, the real Mr. Davis is coming through.

Look what happened?
You just spend a little time

and you can't control yourself.

Spend a little time.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Erin and MaCaulay Davis claim
their former landlord Helen Borland

owes for unused rent
and a security deposit.

Helen is countersuing for late fees,
unpaid rents, and a couch.

If her dog urinates on her couch,
it's her problem, and it's her solution.

And if she wants to try to have it
cleaned or laundered,

or put in a washing machine,
that's her prerogative.

- It's her dog.
- I get that.

[Judge Judy] Just a second! You get that.

But when a stranger breaks
something of yours,

you don't have the responsibility
to try to crazy glue it back together.

That's not your responsibility.

If you break something
that belongs to somebody

and render it
so if somebody sits on it and say,

"Gee, this used to smell
like just a couch.

Now it smells like something."
That's-that's not her job.

You have to be able say,
"My son made a mistake."

- No, he did. I...
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- You have to be able to say...
- I tried to reason with her.

- [Judge Judy] ..."My son..."
- Okay.

[Judge Judy] "My son made a mistake."

And I did say that.

[Judge Judy] Just a...
"My son made a mistake."

Not that he became an alcoholic
living in your house for six weeks

because you're so crazy,
which is what he said to me.

You gotta listen
to what he's saying to you.

Because, Ms. Davis, you know the truth.

I tried to reason with her.

[Judge Judy] Well, tell me how
you tried to reason with her.

[Erin] I sat with her and I said to her
I could have it professionally cleaned.

I could replace the cushion,
'cause the cushion can be replaced,

the whole couch
did not have to be replaced.

- How do you replace the cushions?
- [Erin] I thought that was fair.

- How do you...just a second.
- [Erin] Or even have it reupholstered.

I'm just telling you,
I was trying to be reasonable with her

- and she was just not very reasonable.
- [Judge Judy] Just a...

I'm trying to figure...
I'm trying to figure out, Ms. Davis.

- I did a price calculator and she...
- Ms. Davis...

- [Erin] ...tried to tell me...
- ...stop! Stop!

Stop.

Let's start out with what you say to me,
piece by piece.

"I tried to be reasonable with her.

I offered to get her new cushions."

Well, you get new cushions for a couch,
that you can do.

But then if the couch is upholstered,

you have to have it reupholstered
to match whatever fabric is on the couch.

- I assume this was not a brand new couch.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy] So, it had certain fading.

You may not be able to find
the exact same fabric,

and I will tell you from somebody
who has both done reupholstery

and bought things new,
it's usually cheaper.

- I offered to reupholster the chair.
- [Judge Judy] She purchased...

- just a minute. Just...no. Listen to me.
- [Erin] ...for the couch.

[Judge Judy] Listen. Listen.

It's usually cheaper to buy a new one
than to reupholster it.

- You know what?
- [Judge Judy] That...just a second.

That's my experience,

having been through moves and buying,
and reupholstery,

it's usually cheaper than finding fabric,

getting the fabric,
getting it to a reupholsterer,

moving the couch out of the house,
'cause that requires a mover,

moving the couch back into the house
after it's been reupholstered.

You put the whole process together
and you say,

"You know, I wasn't so much in love
with that couch.

I can buy another couch for cheaper."
Do you understand?

So, what you said to her, by proposing
new cushions, was not reasonable.

By proposing reupholstery
was certainly reasonable.

Had you checked out reupholstering and
moving the sofa in and out of the house,

and reupholstering it and new cushions,
had you priced that?

She wouldn't allow me
'cause she wouldn't hear me out.

[Judge Judy]
You don't have to hear her out.

Did you look at it?

- Did you go on the internet?
- [Erin] No, I did not do that.

Did you go on the internet? Of course not.

Don't speak.
I'm not...I'm not speaking to you.

Now I'm speaking to your mother.

Okay. So this is what
your lawsuit is about.

It's a ridiculous lawsuit.

You say she kept your security deposit,
that's number one.

- How much was your security deposit?
- $1,550.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
And then you say she said to you...

'cause your son had moved out already,
and she said to you,

"Listen, either you're gonna pay me
for the couch or I want you out."

That's what she put on your door,
after he had left.

I'm putting the case
in a Reader's Digest, that's what you say.

She didn't return your deposit,

you left on August 1st

and you had paid through the 15th,
and you want your 15 days back

because you said,
"I'm not paying for your couch."

- I did not say that.
- Well, she said...

- [Erin] No, I did not say that.
- ...either pay for the couch or get out.

- I have the document that I sent her.
- [Judge Judy] Sure.

- I...
- [Judge Judy] Not that you sent her.

I don't care about the document
you sent her.

I'm just looking for
what you said, in your answer.

No, that's not what I said.

I had found a calculator
that prices furniture.

She told me that her couch
was two-years-old.

She paid $2,500 for it.

So I took that information,

I put it into the price calculator
that I have here printed,

and it said that her couch was worth $675.

So I was willing to give her the $675
towards the couch.

- But not even that...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

...but the couch was a piece of [...].

[Erin] And I have...

- [Macaulay] Excuse my language.
- [Judge Judy] Now you've...just a second.

Now, the real Mr. Davis is coming through.

Look what happened.

You just spend a little time
and you can't control yourself.

Spend a little time.

So, what you think is reasonable is

if she said to you,

let's say for the moment
that her sofa was two-years-old,

that's what she says,
and she paid $2,500 for it,

that you went through a calculator

to figure how much the sofa was worth
two years later as used furniture.

Just...look at me.

I don't need to see the calculator,
I wanna know if that's what you think.

- [Erin] Well, I have pictures.
- [Judge Judy] Just a sec.

I wanna know
if that's what you said to her

and that's what you think is reasonable.

Well, I was trying to open up
a dialogue with her.

[sighs] Okay.

You moved out 15 days shy of...

[Erin] I was being harassed

and I have multiple sclerosis.

And with her bullying not only myself
and my son,

there was two other guys in the house
that she was bullying and kicked out,

and it exacerbated my MS symptoms,

and I could not take living in her house
any longer.

- I couldn't handle...
- Okay. You should go back to your father.

- ...through the 15...
- [Judge Judy] You should go back to...

go back to your father.

- I didn't. I have my own place.
- [Judge Judy] So, I can't...good.

That's what you should have.
Your own place.

And if your son lives with you,
that's terrific.

And if he doesn't live with you,
that's also terrific.

You don't get your security deposit back,

and you don't get your 15 days back.

I'm not interested in how miserable
she was as a landlord.

You have options.

If she was that miserable a landlord
and drove you to drink,

you're 29-years-old, go to a shelter,

but don't deface somebody else's property

and then claim it's their fault,

that she drove you to drink. [laughs]

That's ridiculous.

Um, she barged into the room when
she shouldn't have barged into the room.

She went through his mail.

She came in
and she would close the windows

when we had them open
during the day that he was in there.

The room was 91 degrees.
I have pictures of the...

- She wouldn't turn the AC on.
- Yes.

- Very unreasonable.
- Then move.

Just a second. Move.

- It's a free country.
- We have rights.

- We were a lodger.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

It's a free country.

You stayed there for two months.

You don't like it there,
you know you don't, unless she...

unless she was crazy and said,
"I'm gonna be normal for seven weeks.

On the eighth week, I'm gonna go crazy."

You would have known she was crazy
the first week you lived there.

Then you say, "I'm not gonna live here
another month, even temporarily."

So you don't get
your security deposit back

'cause she's entitled to a new couch.

- Well, my...
- [Judge Judy] She doesn't have to live...

that doesn't require an answer from you,
Mr. Davis.

You can't control yourself either,
that's why he is like he is.

- No. That's not true.
- [Judge Judy] No. Yeah.

You can't control yourself.

That's why he is like he is.

It's not her fault
that your son peed on her sofa.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Erin and MaCaulay Davis
are accusing their former landlord,

Helen Borland,
of withholding their security deposit.

Helen says MaCaulay urinated on her couch

and owes her for the cost of a new one.

She's not required to live in a couch
that you peed all over,

and clean it, and try to sanitize it,

and try to make it smell different
from the way it smells,

this week, next week, or the week after.

You have to learn how to say,

"I got drunk. I made a fool
out of myself. It's my fault."

- It is.
- [Judge Judy] And your mother,

has to learn how to be able to say,

"He's 29-years-old
and he's gotta be able to say

'I got drunk. I fell asleep on the couch.

I urinated all over the couch.

It's my fault
and I have to pay for a couch.'"

Not a cheap couch. [laughs]

Not a, "I did a calculation
and like a car, it depreciates in value.

It's only worth $600."
Whatever it is, you have to own it.

You're young enough to be able to own it.

The defendant didn't make you drink.

What...

[Judge Judy]
Defendant didn't make you drink.

Maybe your mother did.

- Maybe.
- [Judge Judy] Maybe. That's possible.

Over the years, over 29 years. Maybe.

But she in six weeks didn't make you

the person that had to check
into a rehab facility.

That didn't happen, Mr. Davis.

And until you start owning it

and not letting your mother
make excuses for you.

- I wasn't.
- [Judge Judy] Okay.

- [Macaulay] Can I say one more thing?
- Forget your case.

No, you can't say a thing.
It's...I'm done with it.

There's nothing else.
You don't get your security deposit back.

And all I wanna see is
if you have the bill from the sofa

because you have a counterclaim.

[Macaulay]
Well, that's what I wanted to say.

- [Judge Judy] Just a...
- The couch she bought was

over $2,000 which is unreasonably priced

compared to the couch that she lost.

[Judge Judy] I didn't ask to see a bill
for the sofa that she bought.

I asked to see the bill for the sofa
that was two-years-old.

If she has it, she has it.

If she doesn't have it,
she doesn't have it.

She doesn't. She told me she doesn't.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You can't control yourself either.

That's why he is like he is.

- No. That's not true.
- [Judge Judy] No. Yeah.

You can't control yourself.

That's why he is like he is.

It's not her fault
that your son peed on her sofa.

I didn't say it. It is his fault.

[Judge Judy] It is 100% his fault

and it's not her fault
that he had a drinking problem.

He's had it for years.

- No, he hasn't.
- [Judge Judy] Oh, yes, madam.

Oh, yes.

Do you have the bill for the sofa
that was two-years-old?

- That's either a yes or a no.
- No.

- Okay. And you chose another sofa?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] And you chose another sofa
that was $2,500?

Approximately the same price,
the similar style, same type of cushions.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Well, let me see photographs

of the old sofa
and the one that you bought.

Um...

That's all I wanna see,

pictures of the old sofa
and the one that you bought.

If Mrs. Davis has photographs
of the old sofa, I'll look at it, Kevin.

- [Helen] This is...
- And then show me.

- [Helen] This is the bill...
- Don't show me a whole bunch of things.

Just show me the things that I asked for.

So this was the sofa
that was...she put outside?

- She made me carry it outside.
- [Judge Judy] Outside?

She made you carry it outside?
You wanted her to carry it outside?

She didn't pee on the sofa,
you did, Mr. Davis.

- Sam helped him carry it outside.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

Well, I know he didn't take it out himself

because it's impossible
for one person to take it out.

Okay. So that's the sofa.

Now, let me see what you purchased.

- This is the...
- [Judge Judy] Photographs.

I don't wanna see the bill.

I wanna see a photograph
of what you purchased.

Yeah, it's not a big deal sofa,
not a big deal.

Now, I'll see the bill for it.

You bought it from the store
off the floor?

No, not the floor sample.

It was in the warehouse where they,

they said it would be about eight weeks
for it to get delivered.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
You have a counterclaim.

Your counterclaim is for 1,502.

Okay. And in that 1,502
are late fees and her paying rent,

and this is why...Ms. Borland,
listen to me carefully,

and I'm not entertaining that.

Any part of your lawsuit
that contains late fees,

because it's your claim that she was
supposed to pay every four weeks

instead of once a month.

I don't buy it.

I've been a landlord. I've been a tenant.

Nobody pays rent every four weeks.

They pay rent either the 1st of the month
or the 15th of the month,

but they don't pay every four weeks.

And I don't care if that was
your agreement with her.

- Do you understand?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] She's gonna say
it wasn't your agreement

and I'm gonna say it doesn't make sense.

The difference between the sofa
and their security deposit is $1,315.

And I'm entering a judgment in your favor
on your counterclaim for that amount.

- Do you understand?
- Thank you.

[Judge Judy]
Your claim's dismissed. We're done.

[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I tried to reason with her
by having it professionally cleaned,

'cause that would have
taken care of the issue.

I researched that.

I didn't agree to her cleaning the couch.

It couldn't be cleaned.

I wanted to talk to her about it
and she refused

because she didn't wanna hear anything
I had to say,

so, I just couldn't talk to her about it.

Then I had priced reupholstering a couple
years before when I got the couch,

I would have had
my old couch reupholstered

but it was way more expensive.

Because she harassed us, she was a bully.

Well, considering I'm 75-years-old
[laughs]

and I just had surgery
and I was in a walker,

I don't think that I could have bullied
the two of them.

She didn't wanna hear anything we said.

Well, he's gone,
so, I didn't ask him to move.

He checked into rehab.

No hard feelings.
I just...it was an experience,

um something I've learned from,
and, you know,

I'll do things differently
if I ever have to rent a room again.

I hope he gets the help he needs
and maybe her too.

[Judge Judy]
I really was sympathetic with Mrs. Davis.

I know it didn't look that way.

- [Sarah] Yeah.
- I know it didn't look that way.

But she has this handsome,
clearly bright son

who I think probably has
had a problem for a bit.

And neither one of them
have found a place, you know.

He's 29, she's in her 50s.

And at her stage, she...
to not have a place is sad

- 'cause she's clearly a bright woman.
- Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
And renting a room in somebody's house

where it's unpleasant is clearly
an unpleasant thing.

But she's not helping him,
you know what I mean?

Enabling.

Yeah. It's enabling him to keep up his,
"Well, I had to...she made me..."

"She caused me to drink.
She gave me this problem.

- She made me carry the couch outside."
- [Judge Judy] Couch outside.

Yeah, who was supposed to carry
the couch outside?

So...but he actually feels that way.

"She made me carry the couch outside."

You know, that would be a comment
that maybe a six-year-old,

a bratty six-year-old would make.

But coming from a 29-year-old man,

who has really not had
to accept responsibility for the...

whatever behavior it was,
and I felt sorry for her.

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] 'Cause I had a feeling

there was a piece of her that knew
that he better get his life together.

[Sarah] Yeah. When you engrain
that lack of responsibility

and you allow your child
to push blame off onto anyone,

even a stranger, landlord,

then it's, it's difficult
to claw your way back out of that.

- Yeah. Well, you got to try.
- [Sarah] Yeah.

[announcer] Want justice?



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