02x42 - Water Damage Control

[bunniefuu]

You had some sort of a problem in a shower

- in your house?
- Yes, your honor.

The damage to her wood floors,
resulted the day after

he touched it. When you left,
it was still going to be leaking?

Did you tell her that? You're trying to
sell me that story,

I have a bridge I want to sell you.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

Carla Czako is suing plumbers,
Robby Shelton and Scotty Foy,

for water damage.

[Rasco] Court come to order. All rise.

Be seated, please.

Hello Judge. Case number 2077,
Czako versus Sheldon/Foy.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Czako, you had some sort of a problem
in a shower in your house?

- Yes, your honor.
- Tell me briefly what the problem was.

I had a small dribble coming from around
a shower valve

that was in my master bathroom shower.

Tell me what valve it was.
You know, I'm not a plummer.

Well, I have a picture that I'd like
to show you.

Just make circle where the problem was.

I believe it was the top one.

Thank you.

Who is Mr. Shelton?

Change places with each other.

Thank you.

Okay, and you saw a water drip?

Yes, very fine little drizzle
coming from it.

[Judy] You saw water dripping and
according to my complaint, you had seen,

around the neighborhood, a truck,
Foy's plumbing.

- Yes, I have.
- [Judy] And that's how you got

- to Mr. Foy?
- Correct. My neighbor had used him.

[Judy] Did you speak to the neighbor,
or did you just remember seeing the truck?

- No, I spoke to my neighbor.
- Okay, could you tell me on what date

you noticed the leak and on what date you
spoke to the neighbor?

Probably on the tenth or so of December.

That was in the shower that you don't use,
but your husband uses?

Correct. I'm widowed, so I don't...

- [Judy] So who told you about the leak?
- [Czako] The housekeeper.

Okay, and then did you check it yourself?

- Yes.
- [Judy] And this small leak had been

there for a couple of weeks before you got
to Mr. Foy?

- Correct.
- After you spoke to the neighbor

and confirmed that this neighbor
had used Mr. Foy...

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] When you called Mr. Foy,

- did you actually speak to him?
- No.

- [Judy] Who did you speak to?
- It was a woman that answered the phone.

[Judy] Who answered the phone?
Do you know?

- Alma did.
- I'm the office manager.

[Judy] Okay, could you stand up please?
Tell me your name.

My name is Alma Valdez.

- [Judy] And you work for Mr. Foy?
-Yes.

- And you have a plumbing company?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] How many employees do you
have in the company?

Right now, only 3.

- He's not one one of them?
- Yes, he's one of the employees.

[Judy] How long has he been an employee?

Well, on and off, fifteen years.

What does that mean, on and off?

A couple times he went to work for
another plumbing company and came back.

Was he an employee of your company,
pay careful attention,

- in December of 2021?
- Yes, he was.

- [Judy] Okay. And paid on the books?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Is he still an employee?
- Yes he is.

Do you recall receiving the call in
December from Ms. Czako?

Yes, I got a call from her, on I believe
it was December 28th,

saying that she had a leak and so we set
up an appointment for the next day.

Do you remember the conversation
you had with her?

Did she tell you she had been recommended
by a neighbor?

You know, I don't recall. We did set up
the appointment for the following day.

- [Judy] That would be December 29th?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Have a seat.
- Thank you.

[Judy] Okay, Mr. Shelton was the person
that Mr. Foy sent to you?

- Correct.
- [Judy] And you were a full-time employee

of Foy's plumbing. Tell me what happened
when you got there?

Well, when I first got there, I noticed
water running out of the handle.

It was dripping out of the handle because
it had been there since December tenth?

It was kinda... It was streaming out.

It was a pretty decent stream of water
coming out.

[Judy] The plaintiff doesn't use that
shower correct?

- Correct.
- So, the first thing that someone

would have done, even me,
is turn off the water.

- Is that what you did?
- Well, I wanted to go see

what the leak really was.

- [Judy] Well, you looked?
- Yeah, first and then I went out

shut the water off. And then came back
in to pull the cartridge to identify

And there's no markings on the plate, so I
couldn't really tell what brand it was.

We do carry a variety of brands,
but more of your typical...

You're getting too technical with me, sir.

- Okay.
- This is what the case is about. He came

in, out, the same day. The 28th.
He said he didn't have the part.

You have other complaints about his
behavior on that day.

You say he was a little bit off. He left
without a different part being put in

and you called another plumber? When?

I called, actually, my contractor,
that night

to come over and look at it.
He came over in the morning

- with the...
- So he didn't come over that night.

- He came over the next day.
- Correct. The next morning he gave me

- a referral.
- [Judy] No, you can't tell me what

he gave you. He's not here.

It is your claim that because of the
actions of Mr. Shelton,

which are attributable to Mr. Foy,
who owns the company,

you suffered severe water damage

in your house, causing you
to have to replace

substantial flooring in the house and you
want Mr. Foy to be responsible?

- Correct.
- You have insurance?

I just want to make sure. You do have
insurance? You're a company.

We're licensed in the State of California.
We're required to carry insurance.

That's what the case is about... you want
the company to be responsible.

They did not come back and fix
the problem. Someone else did.

But by the time it was remedied,
water had already seeped through

and under the floors.
You have evidence of that.

Mr. Foy says that's not his problem.

So I'd like you to tell me what happened
on the 29th when Mr. Shelton came.

What time did he come in?

I think he came around 12:00, 12:30.

So he came in, went to the bathroom.
Looked at it.

Um, took out the cartridge. He did turn
off the water.

And then he said he had
to go look for the part.

He left. He was gone for over an hour.

Returned and said I don't have the part,
they don't have it.

And as he's talking to me,
his phone rings again

and it's the plumbing place and they say
"Oh, we have the part."

He left again, for another hour.

He comes back the the third time and he
says they still don't have the part.

By this time, it's like three hours have
passed, and I'm sitting in my living room

and I hear tools dropping in the shower.

I said to him at one point, do you
think you need to call

for somebody else. Some help?

And he said, "No, I can handle this."

- Did he leave?
- Five o'clock. I'm waiting,

I have a friend that shows up at my house,
'cause we were going for dinner.

And I said, "Well, we have to wait for the
plumber to leave."

And she goes, "There's no car out front
of your house."

- You didn't know when he left? Okay.
-No, I did not know when he left.

Did the shower look as if it had been put
back in place. Did it look...

pretty much like this?

It was like that, but the stream of water
that was minuscule before

was much stronger.

-Okay, that doesn't actually help you.
-[Czako] No.

That hurts you, because he said,
"The water was a pretty rapid...

- is that what you told me?
- No, a little...

Just one second. Could you read back,
Whitney, how Mr. Shelton

described the water?

He said, "It was streaming out, it was a
pretty decent amount of water coming out."

[Judy] Yeah, you said it was pretty decent
when you got there.

And I am correct Mr. Shelton,

that when you left the house that day,
you had not found a part to fix it?

- Is that correct?
- Correct.

And I am correct, that when you went to
disassemble it, you turned the water off?

-Yes. Yes.
-[Judy] Because it was leaking.

And then you didn't fix it, because you
didn't have the right part?

- And then you turned the water back on?
- Mm-hmm.

Uh-huh. Don't speak.

Did you tell her that those where
her options?

-Yes.
-No way.

-It would still be leaking.
-No way did you say to her,

"This shower is still going
to be leaking."

[announcer] Carla Czako claims plumbers,
Robby Shelton

and Scotty Foy,

owe for damage from a water leak.

Now, when you left, on the 29th, without
putting in an appropriate part,

because you couldn't find it,

this leak, which caused you to turn off
the water,

because it was a pretty significant leak.

You turned the water back on?

The reason why I turned the water off,

because you have to take
the cartridge out.

If I left the water on and took the
cartridge out...

-Would it be...
-Listen, Mr. Shelton,

-I know and that's why I turned the water.
-Mr. Shelton. Mr. Shelton.

You're not being a two process thinker,
sir.

Let me explain something to you. I came
to California from Connecticut.

To the place where we live in California.

I walked into the master bath,
to the toilet.

A viola. I see a puddle of water
around the toilet.

I say to myself, "Self, you went
to law school.

"You don't know what this is.
But it's not a leak

"that's coming from the back, it's a leak

that looks like it's coming
from the bottom."

So I called engineering,
fortunately I live in a place

where somebody will come up.
They came up right away.

The first thing they did
was turn off the water.

Smart, just like you did.

Then they opened up the problem,

looked at the problem. and said,
"We need a part."

Unfortunately, those are not the same
parts that we keep in the hotel.

"We'll have to order it."
Turned off the water.

Use a different bathroom.

For the two or three days it needs
to get the part.

You weren't there, so just pay attention
to me, Mr. Foy.

You weren't there. I'm just letting you
know what common sense is

living on the planet for a long time.

If you have a leak that's caused by
a faulty part

and you don't fix the part
because you don't have the part,

- you turn the water off.
- May I point something out?

He had to turn off the water
to the whole house,

because there is no shut off
to the shower.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- He had turned the water off

to the whole house ad he had put this
cartridge back

before he turned the water on.

What difference does it make if he put the
cartridge back?

He has taken the cartridge apart.

- No.
- In order to see what it was.

- He took it out of the wall.
- [Shelton] He took it out of the wall,

Mr. Shelton, if your employee... and if
what you're saying is accurate,

which I don't actually think is accurate,
because every room in a house

usually has a turn off valve,
especially in the bathroom...

so you don't have to turn off all the
water to the kitchen

and to other bathrooms, perhaps,
if there's a problem in the shower.

There's a master lever for the whole house
and then there are smaller levers

- for each. I don't...
- For everything except the shower, ma'am.

What do you mean for everything except
the shower?

The shower does not have
an individual shut off.

You do indeed have to shut off
all water to the house.

The vanities, the toilets,
all have individual angle stops,

but the shower does not.

Where you ever at the house?

- No, ma'am.
- No, so you were never at the house.

- [Foy] No, ma'am.
- How many square feet is your house?

It's 2,500.

That's a substantial house.
So you're telling me

in a 2,500 hundred square foot house,

if you have a leak in the shower, you have
to turn off all the water

if you want to turn off the shower water?

- Yes, ma'am, that's absolutely correct.
- [Judy] That's absolutely correct.

- Having not been there?
- Yes, ma'am. I build houses.

No, no, no, no. I don't care if you build.
You weren't in that house.

This has no shut off, ma'am.
Other than the whole house.

You have to shut the water to the house
off to shut that off.

So, now here's my question.
Did you tell the plaintiff

that she had two options?
Either to shut the water off

in the whole house
until you could get a part

because there was still a leak,
or you could leave it on

but you have to watch it,
because according to you,

the water was substantial that was
coming out.

She said it was a trickle.
You said, oh, no, no, no.

It was a steady stream of water.

And that was before you started
messing with it.

So my question to you is did you tell her
that those were her options?

She's not a plumber. That you had to
either turn off all the water in the house

and you would return the next day with
a part,

or you could leave the water on but it
was still going to be leaking.

- Did you tell her that?
- Yes.

- It would still be leaking.
- No way.

- No, no way, Mr. Shelton.
- It was leaking when I left.

[Judy] No way did you tell her that.
No way did you say to her,

"This shower is still going to be leaking,

"because I can't shut the water off
just to the bathroom,

I have to shut off all the water in
the house."

If you're trying to sell me that story,
I have a bridge I want to sell you.

- 'Cause I don't believe it.
- There's no way to isolate that valve.

- [Judy] I didn't ask you that.
- When it comes to the shower...

- You were never there.
- ...or the tub.

- Just a second. You were never there.
- You can't turn it off, individually.

[Judy] I have this question for you. How
many bathrooms do you have in your house?

- Three.
- When he left the first time

and he shut the water off, did he indicate
to you that you couldn't use the water

- anywhere in the house?
- Yes. I believe he told me at first

that he was going to shut off the water to
the house.

Okay, so you knew... so you couldn't use
any other of the toilets in the house?

- No.
- Okay, you maybe getting better.

When he left, did you use the bathroom?

- The answer is yes.
- Yes.

So you knew that the the water had been
turned back on?

- Oh, absolutely.
- [Judy] In the house. Just a minute.

So you knew the water had been turned back
on in the house

even though he didn't tell you I'm turning
it back on, you knew?

And you knew he hadn't fixed the problem?

- Correct.
- So you knew that you better watch this,

which is why you called your contractor to
come and look at it?

- Correct.
- You're getting better, Mr. Foy.

You're coming into a better place,
you see?

Things work themselves out.

Now, you know that the water is still
dripping. You know there's still a leak.

- Correct.
- You know that if you use the water,

that water is still going to be a steady
stream coming out.

You didn't get another plumber there
until when?

- The next morning.
- Well, that's your contractor.

- You said he came.
- No, I got a plumber there

- the next morning.
- Okay, and they came and did

- they fix the valve?
- They had to open the wall

to cap off the hot and cold water.

- So it was a big job?
- It was huge. I neglected to say

it in the beginning, but when he took the
shower valve off,

he looked in the wall and he said,
"It's dry in there, you're lucky."

So, that next morning when I walked into
the master bedroom and I was

- walking in wet, I did call the guy.
- Foy.

- Mm-hmm.
- Now, tell me where you felt it

when you walked into the master bedroom.
Do you have wood floors there or carpet?

It's all wood and it was right as I got to
where the bathroom

and the master bedroom meet.

- There's no door.
- So, it was outside that it was wet?

I thought my dog had an accident
on the floor.

And prior to the 29th, it's not
getting to look good for you again.

- Prior to the time Mr. Shelton...
- May I clarify.

The room that she's talking about,
the shower's here.

Robby's working in the shower,

- where it's all tile.
- [Judy] You weren't there.

- We never went into her bedroom.
- Yes, you did. You have to.

You can't tell me that,
'cause you weren't there.

Is the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom?

So to get to the master bathroom, you have
to walk into the master bedroom

- and make a left.
- [Judy] Okay, now Mr. Shelton,

you recall saying to the plaintiff,
when you looked in the wall,

"You're lucky it's dry in here"?

I said it looks dry. I'm not an ex...

Just a second. Mr. Shelton, you wouldn't
have said to her,

"It looks dry in here. I'm not an expert."

- Expert in water damage.
- [Judy] That you say...

Yeah, I didn't... You can't really see
into that wall, 'cause it's tiled, right?

You can't really look into the wall unless
you open it, but there was no reason

- for me to open it.
- Evidently you're wrong.

Either you were wrong that it was dry,

or when you put the thing back together
again, something didn't work.

After he touched it, it was no longer
leaking in the shower.

Now it was going through the wall.

I'm just telling you that's the time
sequence, unless you believe in

miracles.

[announcer] Carla Czako has accused
plumbers, Robby Shelton

and Scotty Foy, of causing water damage to
her home.

Robby and Scotty claim the leak had been
there for weeks.

Mr. Foy, you have a lot to say for someone
who was never there.

Someone who's been a plumber for 40 years.

I've been alive with houses for longer
than you've been a plumber,

and there are certain things from just
being on the planet.

This leak was first detected more than two
weeks before your plumber got there.

Right, that's what she says. However,
within that two week period,

there was no water damage to the wood.

The only time there was water... Listen,
you can shake your head all you like.

- This is the time we got...
- We got called because

- there was a leak, ma'am.
- [Judy] No, you got called

- 'cause there was a leak in the shower.
- According to her, it was leaking for

- ten days.
- Mr. Foy, Mr. Foy... what I'm telling you

is he would never tell me that when he got
there, he noticed

anything that would suggest to him that
he best keep the water off in that house,

because there was water damage.

He didn't notice that. He just took it
apart, couldn't find a part,

put it back together again... whichever way
he put it back together again...

and the next morning there was a flood.
Now, that's the time sequence,

because she called you the next morning.
Couldn't get you at eight thirty.

I don't know whether she used the house
phone. I don't know if she used a cell...

- A cell phone.
- [Judy] Cell phone. So she would have

a record of calling you at 8:30 the next
morning, because there was a problem.

She felt water. So before your technician
got there, there was no water

coming up in her bedroom on the wood.
And that had been water dripping...

he says a lot, she said it was a trickle...
for 18 days.

Into the shower, ma'am.
It was dripping into the shower.

Until he touched it. After he touched it,
it was no longer

leaking in the shower.
Now it was going through the wall.

I'm just telling you, that's the time
sequence, unless you believe in...

Miracles. Things that, you know,
just happen.

Something had been going on for 18 days,
and there was no incident of water damage

in her bedroom. Your technician comes.
Doesn't fix the problem.

But takes it apart, puts it back together
again, then the next day...

voila, there's water damage on the wood,
which has to be replaced.

Now, either that could have happened
by itself,

because your technician says it's not
my job. I don't look behind the wall.

But he did acknowledge saying to her,

"It looks dry in here."

He does acknowledge saying that.
Now, if I had a plumber

and the plumber said,
"I'm not the expert."

I had a leak in my apartment
with a leaky toilet.

The floor started to go like this.

Couldn't figure out where it came from.

They came down,
they pulled all the walls apart

in the apartment. Water travels down.

I said, "Well, if water travels down,
why don't you go look at

"the apartment above me

instead of pulling out the walls
on the side?"

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

Can you, Mr. Foy... and you were not there.

Could you give me another explanation
of why?

Because I believe her. This woman is not
faking damage to her wood floors

that resulted within that day. If he left
at four o'clock in the afternoon,

the next day she called you at 8:30,
so during that time period

was sufficient water that came through
her house to cause damage to her floors.

Give me another explanation.

I contend it was a leak that was there.

- She didn't notice it. As she said...
- [Judy] No, no.

she didn't use that bathroom. She never...
she wasn't in that room.

- He was in that room.
- I know, but what I'm saying is

- the water damage was there...
- [Judy] He was in the room.

- before he was there.
- So your explanation is

that you sent a technician there. Now it's
not looking so good for you, Mr. Foy.

Your explanation is your technician

didn't notice sufficient leaking

from that valve, to say to her

"You best turn the water off in the house
and not use the water

until I get back to fix it."

He wasn't looking in the bedroom, ma'am.
He's in the shower.

He saw the leak in the shower.

Can I see pictures of the floor please?

- Can I say something? When I left...
- Sure.

it was not leaking. It was leaking the
same way it was leaking when I got there.

- Out the front.
- Well, just a second. That's a lot.

- [Shelton] It was coming out. Well...
- According to you. According...

- According to you.
- Well, what a lot to me is...

- A little stream is a lot of water.
- Mr. Shelton, listen, Mr. Shelton.

Listen Mr. Shelton.

She said a trickle. You said,
"No, it was a steady stream."

- A little stream.
- That's steady?

- Steady stream.
- Steady stream.

That's what you said, right?

Can I see pictures of the floors, please?

Between four o'clock and 8:30
in the morning.

Can I see the bill to fix it, please?

I also have the person that fixed it.
He wrote what he did.

- Oh, yeah.
- Kind of itemizes that.

Would you show this, please,
to the defendant?

Yes.

Thank you.

[Judy] So, Mr. Foy, I assume you have
insurance. You should have used it,

because I think you're responsible for the
damage to her floors.

And I think that was done because your
technician did not do an adequate job

protecting it between the time he found
the leak

and between the next day. Nothing else
makes sense to me.

$3,589. Judgment for the plaintiff.

- Thank you.
- [Rasco] This court is adjourned.

I don't really agree with it because it
was already leaking

before I got there and she admitted to it.

I'm just thankful this is over.

That is a wood floor. Water could have
been underneath

the wood floor and not showed itself.

You would think once they pull up the
floor, there would be mold.

- I have nightmares about leaks.
- Got justice today. Thank goodness.

So, you tell me that there are houses that
you know

- where there is a master switch?
- Yes.

That you have to turn off the shower.

I know that it can be expensive to have
all the valves in your house

be the individual shut off valves.

I do think it's safer, but honestly, not
everyone has the luxury

of being able to afford them.

- Even if that's the case...
- Mmm-hmm.

...you should give the homeowner
who called you...

say, "Listen, there is a leak here.

"I can shut off all the water until
I return tomorrow

so you won't have any water
in the house overnight."

He didn't give her that option,
and I honestly believe

that what he did... in according to the
second plumber's report

was accurate... he didn't put that valve
back on

the same way that it was. So between four
o'clock in the afternoon

and the next day, which is, you know,


that water was gushing from the inside

- where it had not before.
- Mm-hmm.

But I think he actually didn't put the
valve on correctly.

- That's also possible. Yes.
- The broken one.

- And just put it back on and said I'll...
- Either way, they were negligent.

- [Judy] I think so.
- You have to pay for that.

[announcer] Have you been cheated?