02x33 - Family Divided

[bunniefuu]

You're suing your parents for
money that you put into a truck?

I'm about to put all my money into it.
I want the truck.

No, no, no. I worked all my
life with that truck.

[grunts]

I want you to stop it.

It's from my work, blood,
sweat, and tears.

-I mean, I can't. I need a break.
-That he can take.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

♪♪

Levi Shaw is suing his parents,

Davrye and Nathan Celestine,

for the repair costs
of an 18-wheeler truck.

[bailiff]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

-Hello, Judge.
-How are you?

Case number 2032.
Shaw versus Celestine.

-Thank you.
-[bailiff] You're welcome.

Mr. Shaw,
these are your parents, is that right?

-Yes, they are.
-How old are you?

I'm 26.

[Judy]
Just a very broad framework of this case.

You're suing your parents for money
that you put into a truck

-that belongs to them.
-Correct.

And they are counterclaiming
for money that they say you owe them

for a balance of a dog
they purchased for you.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] The truck that you fixed

belonged to your parents.

Yes. The agreement was...

No. The truck that you fixed
belonged to your parents.

And what I gather is that
you had come into some money.

-Mm-hmm.
-"Mm-hmm" is not an answer.

Uh, yes, ma'am.

And when did you come into that money?

I never came into any
money from them after I finished...

[Judy] Not from them. I didn't say from
them, that you came into some money.

-Uh-huh.
-"Uh-huh" is not an answer.

[Levi]
I'm...I'm sorry. Yes, ma'am.

-I came into some in October.
-[Judy] So I want you to...

In October. You were not employed?

I was employed.

-By whom?
-[Levi] Construction.

Is that their company?

No, I was working
with them and their brother.

So you were working with the family?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

That was in October. October of 2021.

-Mm-hmm.
-Uh-huh is not an answer.

I mean, yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.

And how much did you come into?

About $10,000 for the
month of September and October.

And then your father said to you,
I assume,

you should take some of that money
and buy a 16-wheeler truck so that...

No, ma'am.

Well, how did that happen, sir, that
you got possession of your parents truck?

-So...
-Did you try to buy a truck on your own?

-Yes, ma'am, I did.
-[Judy] Okay, in what month...

Just a second. In what month did you
try to buy a truck for yourself?

-January.
-[Judy] January of 2022?

Yes, ma'am.

And tried to buy a truck so
that you could have your own truck

-for long hauling and business?
-Yes, ma'am.

And you went to a dealer and
you found the truck that you liked,

but you didn't qualify for financing.

-Yes, ma'am.
-And how much is a new truck?

That truck, it wasn't new, it was 2015.

And they priced it at $60,000.

-[Judy] 60?
-Yes, ma'am.

-And you told your parents about that?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
And there was a discussion

that they had an older truck
that wasn't running.

-It needed minor work that fell to me.
-[Judy] It needed...

Okay, so they said to you,
it needs minor work.

Was it running?

It was running,
but the diamond seal was cracked,

so eventually the truck was
just going to break down completely.

[Judy] Okay, so you took that truck
with the understanding

that you were going to
repair the truck and then what?

To make money. But...

So you would repair the truck
and then use it?

Yes, ma'am.

And you would keep most of
the profits from using that truck?

I mean, I'm trying to understand
what the agreement was.

The agreement was my dad Nathan

told me that the truck
was only going to be worth

$4,000 to fix, which was a diamond seal,

it needs some bushings,
it needs something for the exhaust pipe,

and I was like, "Okay."

But when the dude
kept calling me for the truck,

and he was like,
"Okay, this needs to be done..."

But you took the truck into a mechanic?

-Yes, ma'am.
-And did they give you an estimate?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Okay. Before or after they did the work?

They gave me one before,
but I don't have that estimate,

but I have the one for after.

You mean after they completed the work,
they sent you a bill?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Well, that's not an estimate.

An estimate, sir,
is when you go in and say,

"Here is a truck,
I want you to give me an estimate

-of what it is to have it fixed."
-Mm-hmm.

And they give you an estimate,
and then you determine whether or not

you want them to do
any or all of that work, right?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Okay.

I would never bring a truck
into any mechanic or any dealership,

mechanic and say "Fix it."

When they was calling me,
telling me additional problems

that was wrong, I will call them,
which I have my phone records

that showed that I was also calling them

once the dealership
called me to fix the truck.

-Because the truck wasn't able...
like, it needed a new gear,

it needed new...
transmission was messed up on the truck.

[Judy] Just a second.
All I want is what you're telling me

that your father told you to go ahead

and fix those things
each time you got a call?

-Yes. Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

So you would call him,
and your father would not say to you,

"Well, how much is that to fix?"

Well, yeah, he was,
but I had already had

a settled amount that I told him
that I was willing to spend,

which was $10,000.

Well, did you spend $10,000?

The truck was actually over $10,000.

I understand to fix it.
But you actually spent...

[Levi] They did have $10,000.

-You actually spent the $10,000.
-$10,900.

-[Judy] Okay. To fix the truck?
-Yes, ma'am.

-[Judy] And you have the truck?
-Yes, ma'am.

-And I think the truck was $13,000 to fix.
-Yes, ma'am.

So you paid the additional $3,000?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Now the truck is running?

Yes, ma'am, it's running.
It was running before, Your Honor.

-[Judy] But it's running now better...
-Yes, ma'am. Yes.

because there's... Just a second.
I can only hear from one of you.

He said the truck is in use.
You said no.

It's not used. Or... is the truck...?

No, Your Honor,
I misunderstood what you said.

I thought you
was talking about the repair.

You're saying is the truck operatable now?

Yes, it's operable,
but it's not on the road.

It's not on the road?
Who cares if it's not on the road?

Oh, yes.

[Judy] The idea was
he was supposed to fix the truck.

And supposed to be able to use the truck.

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Is he able to use the truck?

-Yes, he's able to use the truck.
-Okay, great.

When was the last time
he tried to use the truck?

He never tried
to use the truck after it was fixed.

He said that he no longer
wanted to be a part of the deal,

to give him his money back.

-[Judy] Okay.
-I have something.

Now, when the truck
originally got fixed in February,

my dad came into town multiple times.

It was one more piece that needed to
be fixed, which was the ABS module,

which, if you get pulled over,

they're gonna stop you
and shut you down completely.

-I don't know that.
-[Levi] And I told him,

"Hey, we need to get that fixed."

He came into town three times,
and I asked him,

"Hey, are you going
to take the truck to the shop?

Hey, are you going to take
the truck to the shop?"

He said no. And he's like,
"Well, it don't have any insurance."

And it was just
a whole bunch of excuses why he

couldn't take the truck to the shop.

[Judy]
Whether he can or he can't,

he says, and your mother says
you're able to use the truck.

But I don't have a CDL,
so I'm not able to drive it.

Well, you didn't have that
when you took it in anyway...

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] to be fixed.

But I didn't take the truck over there.

He drove the truck to the mechanic shop.

[Judy]
Whatever. I don't care who drove it there.

But your agreement with him
was you tried to buy a new truck,

it was much too expensive.

Your agreement with your parents was

that you would take
an older truck of theirs

that needed a lot of work,

and you took it into a mechanic,

and the mechanic
was going to fix the truck,

make it operable so that you would have

an opportunity to use it
and make money.

Yes, ma'am.

And so I'm asking you, now
the truck is fixed to the tune of $13,000.

When was the last time that
you asked to use the truck

that your parents said you can't?

Well, I asked him,
can I have his dad take the truck

to get the additional piece put on?

And he told me no,
just to wait till he come into town.

Okay.

♪♪

After the agreement that your
son was going to pay the money,

fix the truck, was your agreement
with them that he could use it at will?

I gave him a specific time.

I'd like to hear what
the specific times were.

The specific time was...

[Judy]
Don't let's make it up as we go.

No, no, ma'am.
I'm thinking straight to you.

I'mma tell you just like it
[indistinct].

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Levi Shaw claims
his parents Davyre and Nathan Celestine

owe for the repairs
of an 18-wheeler truck.

Levi's parents are countersuing
for the balance of an English bulldog.

Was the additional piece put
on the truck that he's talking about?

No, ma'am,
it didn't actually need that addition.

It was an ABS modulator,

which on that particular model,
was a 1995 FLD Classic.

On that particular model, you
don't need that to reset the ABS light.

All you need is a sensor
that goes in the hub of the wheel.

What I'm asking you is, your
son said that you needed this one part.

This is your business?

-Yes, ma'am.
-How much is that one part?

This is a part that I never researched,
so I can't tell you,

-But according to him...
-[Judy] Okay, so perhaps...

I didn't ask you anything.

Perhaps you can tell me.

The part was $900.

That was returned back.

It was never returned
because they wouldn't let me return it

because they're dealing with wires.

So when I asked them, "Can I return it?"
They said no.

And I have a text where I text her,
and I said,

"Hey, they will
not let me return this piece.

[Judy] Return what piece?

The ABS module.

They will not let me return it
because it's electrical,

and they do not
accept returns on electric pieces.

So is what you're telling me
that you bought this piece for $900?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay. And it...it wasn't necessary.

You didn't buy it from him?

No, but I don't know if it was necessary,

but what the mechanic told me was...

You can't tell me
what the mechanic told you.

Well, I'm just saying,
the mechanic told me...

No, you can't tell me
what the mechanic told you.

All I'm telling you, Mr. Shaw,

is you had an agreement with your parents

-to fix a truck...
-Mm-hmm.

and then to be able to use it.

And I want to know whether
they have ever denied you the right,

because that was
the contract that you made.

You never made a contract
with them that you would

take a truck to the mechanic
and they would pay for the repairs.

You never made that contract with them.

You want me to say that
that was your contract with them.

They say the truck is
operable now and that you can use it.

When do you want to use it?

Well, if they're willing to let me use it,
then I want to use it as soon as possible.

Okay, and you can drive the truck?

No, I was gonna hire a driver.

Okay. And the truck now
is not on the road.

Is that correct?

-That's correct.
-[banging on desk]

-Yes, ma'am. That's right.
-Truck now...

-That's right, Your Honor.
-[Judy] The truck is not on the road

-No, ma'am. It is not.
-is what you said, but operable?

-Yes, it's not operable.
-[Judy] Okay.

And after the agreement that
your son was going to pay the money,

fix the truck,
and then be able to work at it

so that he's getting some
benefit from what he put into the truck...

-Yes, ma'am.
-did you have an agr-

-I wanted to ask something.
-[Judy] I'm not looking at you.

-Okay.
-Did you have a discussion with him

about how much of the time he would
be able to utilize the truck,

or was your agreement with
him that he could use it at will?

I gave him a specific time, yes, ma'am.

I'd like to hear what
the specific times were.

The specific time was...

Don't let's make it up as we go.

No, no, ma'am.
I'm thinking straight to you.

I'm going to tell you
just like it at [indistinct].

I gave him a... specifically,
according to him,

about three months
when he probably needed it

you know, to get himself together.

[Judy] Now just a second.

You mean he was gonna
spend $10,000 on fixing the truck

and you were going to let
him use it for three months?

-Well, what was wrong with it was...
-Put your hand down.

I'm not talking to you.

Well, as long as he
needed it, I'mma put it that way.

As long as he needed the truck.

-[Judy] Okay, so now that's better.
-Yes, ma'am.

So that he can use the truck
whenever he needs it

and he's going to get a driver.

I just want to know because
we're going to have to

memorialize all this in an order.
What do you want?

We had a driver.
My brother was a driver.

I don't care whether your
brother was the driver or not.

That was not the agreement that
your husband said he made with his son.

That's right.

He says he made an agreement
with him that if he paid to have it fixed,

he could use the
truck whenever he wanted to.

That's what your father says.

No that is not compl...
That is...that is not true.

Okay. So when did you ask
to use the truck?

So in January,
when I was getting the truck fixed,

they told me $4,000.

But as the mechanic kept calling me,
adding on stuff,

I said, "Hey, I'm not about to
pay all this money."

And you all telling me
I could just use it.

If I'm about to put all my money into it,

I want the truck.
And my mom was like,

"Okay, you can do that because

in January they didn't make any money.

[Judy] Just a second.
So what you're telling me is

what you said to your mother,

"I'm not going to put in all this money
unless the truck belongs to me"?

-Correct.
Well, that's not unreasonable, Mr. Shaw.

I can actually see that.

You're spending $10,000 of your money

-and you want to be able to use the truck.
-Mm-hmm.

And you want it to be able
to not have it on a whim of somebody else.

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] How old is this truck?

This truck is exactly 22 years old.

How long have you owned it?

I've owned it since I was 23 years old.

Okay, so you've owned it since it was new?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Did you make a living from it?

Yes, ma'am, I did.

[Judy]
Good. Do you have any other trucks now?

-Yes, ma'am, I do.
-[Judy] How many others?

Just one other.
I'm not no big-scale company.

I just got one other truck.
Yes, ma'am.

Can I see the title to the truck, please?

-To the truck we're talking about?
-[Judy] Yes.

I don't have that title with me.

-Why not?
-[Davyre] I was... [chuckles]

Under the impression
that I didn't need to bring it.

Okay. And according to you,
the truck's not on the road now?

No, ma'am, it's not on the road.

Do you remember having a
conversation with your son

about, "I'm not going to spend all this
money unless the truck is mine?"

Yes, ma'am,
I do remember that conversation.

[Judy]
Do you remember where it took place?

He was driving and I was at home.

So it was over the phone?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Remember what month that was?

-January.
-[Judy] January of 2022.

Correct.

Tell me what you said to
him and what he said to you.

I told him "I totally understand
what you're saying."

I said, Let me talk to your
daddy and we'll see what we can do but...

Great. As a parent,
that sounds perfectly reasonable.

And did you speak to your husband?

-[Davyre] Yes, I did.
-[Judy] Did the two of you own the truck?

He owns the truck.
It's in his name and Nathan's name.

So you said,
"Okay, that sounds okay.

Let me talk to your daddy."

You have to talk to
the owner of the truck,

Correct.

because now you're
seeking to change the agreement.

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

Okay. And after you
spoke to your mother,

did you have a conversation
with your father

about the ownership of the truck?

Yes, we did.

And tell me when
that was and what was discussed.

It was in January as well.

And when I told him that,
he said he totally agreed with me

that if I put in majority of the money,

-that I can have the truck.
-[Judy] Okay.

I want to tell you,
certain things sort of ring true to me.

If I were a young person and
spending all my money for a business,

because this is the
business that he was gonna be in.

He was going to hire a driver,
he was going to take a

certain amount of the profits.

I could understand him saying
to his parents,

who now have a truck
that they're not using,

because it's not on the road.

"I'm going to spend
all my savings," it looks like,

because the initial estimate was $4,000.

But it kept going up
and up and up and up.

"So if I'm gonna spend
all this m..." put your hand down.

"If I'm going to spend all this money,
I'd like to own the truck."

And in response to that,
his mother said

and acknowledges that she said,
"That sounds right to me.

I'm gonna speak to your father."

And according to you,
you spoke to your father,

and your father said, "Sounds okay."

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
So you went ahead and spent the money.

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

♪♪

Put your hand down.

-Your Honor, you don't understand.
-[Judy] This is not...

Yeah. I've made over
a million dollars with this truck.

-That's ridiculous.
-I want you to stop it.

[scoffing] Hey, man. Hey, man.

-How can you tell me to stop?
-No. Are we going to...?

with my work, blood, sweat,
and tears on he gonna take?

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Levi Shaw says his
parents, Davyre and Nathan Celestine,

owe for the cost of
repairs to an 18-wheeler truck.

Levi's parents say
he never used the truck,

and it is still not fixed.

[Judy]
I'd like to see the bills for the truck.

Oh, I have it on my phone.

What is that?

These were the bank statements,
because at first,

they were countersuing for
insurance as well,

so I was showing bank statements
where I had sent them money.

-So that's what these was for.
-[Judy] No, I... yeah.

But I have it on my phone,
but I don't have it in the statements.

Well, I need it.

-Here we go.
-[Judy] Is that the one final invoice?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] I'd like to see it.

And it also have at the bottom
where it says it needs the ABS module.

Your Honor, can I see that as well?

Yes.

So the entire amount is $13,000.

$13,000 and some change.

-And your father paid three?
-[Levi] Yes, ma'am.

-This is not the correct invoice.
-[Judy] What?

-I have the original invoice.
-She got the original.

Fine. I'll take a look at your yours.

This was the invoice
that was sent to me via...

so by their email,
which I could pull up their email as well.

And that shows that it's paid on the back.

-[Judy] Just a second.
-Yes, ma'am.

It's the same thing as he showed me.

-But it has our name on it.
-[Judy] Who cares?

The ones that he showed you,
it changed since then.

But... let me ask you a question.

-No...
-[Judy] Unless I'm missing something.

No, no, no, no.

You're not questioning the
fact that he paid $10,000

to fix the truck out of
the $13,000 that the truck was.

-Are you questioning that?
-No, I'm not.

Okay, then I don't
know what we're talking about.

Okay.

Let's go over this one more time.

When your son said to you,

you know, "if I'm going to
spend all this money,

I want to own the truck,"

and your wife had
the same conversation with you.

Right? She said,
"I got a call from Levi.

Levi said if he's going to spend
all this money,

he really wants the truck."

And she actually thought it was okay.

And what did you say, sir?

I said that
"I'm not going to sell you the truck."

-[Judy] Why?
-"I will let you use the truck."

No. When did you say that?

[Nathan]
Because I have other children.

[Judy] Oh, no, but your other children
didn't put any money into the truck.

-No, no, I know... I know...
-[Judy] No, just a second.

Your other children didn't put
any money into the truck.

-I know what you're saying but...
-Hand down.

-He didn't ask me to buy the truck.
-[Judy] Okay.

-He asked could he use it.
-[Judy] Just a second.

He was gonna sell it to my uncle

'cause when the repairs got done,

they actually didn't have enough money

because I had $8,000 saved up.

They took $4,000 of my $8,000
to pay the...

[Davyre]
But you got paid back.

Yes, but they didn't have the money,
so when they.

-You just...
-Mr. Shaw!

Mr. Shaw, I don't expect you
to talk to each other.

I don't expect you to talk to him.

-Yes, ma'am, I understand.
-[Judy] It's very easy.

I believe that you changed
the contract with your son

from a contract where
he would pay for the repairs,

which is supposed to be $4,000,

and then you have the use of the truck

to the fact that he was going to
spend $10,000,

which was all of his money.

Put your hand down. I'm not...

this 22-year-old truck

that you've had since it was new,

was going to be his,

and I am going to craft an order

to the Department of Motor Vehicles

to reissue a title in the truck to him.

Do you understand?
He's going to take that order.

He's going to get a new
registration for the car

and a new ownership,
unless you want...

Put your hand down. This is...

-This is not... This is not...
-Your Honor, you don't understand.

Your Honor, I don't understand that.

-Well, but I... just a second...
-I got other children,

-I got five other kids
-[Judy] Do you want me...?

-Do you want me to say it slower?
-And he's spoiled, Your Honor.

And I say, what about
the $3,500 that we put into it?

-[Judy] You're absolutely right.
-Okay.

But it wasn't $4,500. It was $3,500.



Man, oh, man.

[Judy]
You are absolutely entitled to that.

[exhales] Dude.

I believe you are entitled to that.

-He put in ten, that's his truck.
-[knocks on table]

I made... Your Honor,
I worked all my life with that truck.

I don't care.

I worked all my... I care.

-He's not gonna spend his $10,000
-I tell you, Your Honor,

-[Judy] to fix your truck.
-I made over a million dollars

-with this truck.
-[Judy] That's ridiculous.

I want you to stop it.

Hey, man. Hey, man.

-How can you tell me to stop it?
-Are we going to...?

with some of my work, blood,
sweat and tears on it.

-He can take.
-I need a break.

That's the judgment.
I'm not entertaining your counterclaim.

-That's the judgment of the court.
-Oh, man, man!

You get title to the truck.

You can retrieve it as soon as
you change the registration of the truck.

However, in order to do that,

you have to give your parents
the $3,500

that they put into the truck.

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

Your Honor, what about the dog?

-[Judy] We're done.
-[bailiff] This court is adjourned.

-We paid for it.

-I have a question to the...
-[Judy] We're done.

-[Davyre] We're paying for his dog.
-[Judy] No, we're done.

-It's over? Okay.
-We paying for this dog.

And we didn't...
and he's not giving us nothin'.

Let me explain something to you.

-It's over.
-The reason...

Let me explain something to you.

The reason that I'm not
hearing your counterclaim

is because the two of you
were disrespectful

and didn't listen to me.

Oh, yes, you did.
That's it. We're done.

My actions of my response
to what she was saying

is wasn't nothing...
being disrespectful towards her.

I'm very glad she ruled in my favor.

It was the initial, you know,

the...the thought of giving up

my hard-earned possessions.

It was because I did try to
work it out before we came to court,

and they was like, "No,
we're not going to pay you nothing."

I never would have
thought in a million years

sue my parents.
You know, my parents whoop my butt.

But that was just something
you had to go through back then.

It saddens me, I'm in disbelief
that my parents did that to me.

I didn't think that they would do that.

I mean, I'm not sure.
I don't know his plan.

I can't... Can't talk to him.

If you do business with family,
make sure you get contracts.

You know, I sympathize
with the plaintiff's position on this,

because modifications of contracts

are supposed to be allowed when
there's a change in circumstance.

So it's not like he was
attempting to change the contract

every Friday or for no reason.

He thought that it was going to be $4,000.

It turned out to be
$10,000 to fix the truck.

And as such,
he wanted the bargain for exchange.

That's a lot more
money than he initially intended.

So that conversation makes sense to me.

That conversation
between his parents that

"I know we had agreed to this,

but now with this new information,
this is what I'm comfortable with."

-Is that okay?
-I think so.

I think that is a common
sense interpretation of what happened.

For a truck that cost $60,000


to put in $10,000 to it is not nothing.

That's a big investment.

Well, it probably isn't
worth more than that.

And the condition that it
was in before he had it repaired.

Mm-hmm.

-Their position was unreasonable,
-Mm-hmm.

because now they have a fixed truck...

-That their child paid for.
-[Judy] That the child paid for.

And with the animus between them,
it doesn't seem to me

as if he's going to get
any benefit from the bargain.

So the modification of
their original oral contract,

-which I think happens occasionally
-Mm-hmm.

when circumstances change,
as long as both parties agree.

And I actually think that
both the mother and the father said,

"Okay," and then something
happened that I don't know about.

Yeah. Don't want to know about.

-[Judy] And I don't know about it.
-[chuckles]

But I think it's fair that he
had possession of the truck

since he paid the majority of it.

Yeah, I agree.

[narrator]
Are you having a family dispute?



[closing theme plays]