02x92 - Business Partners No More

[bunniefuu]

[Judy]
This used to be your husband.

You purchased a truck
in your name for him.

I said I am not doing this again,
like I did on the last truck.

And you said, "I couldn't pay it."

It's only a few months late.

[Judy]
How many months?

I can't remember exactly.

Well, that's too long.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

♪♪

[narrator] Teri Smith is suing
her ex-husband, Tony Smith,

for three ATVs and a lawnmower.

[bailiff]
Court, come to order, all rise.

Have a seat please.

Hello, Judge, case number 2148,
Smith versus Smith.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Smith, this used to be your husband,
you haven't been married in a long time,

but after your divorce,
you sort of remained friendly,

and you've had some business
transactions together.

What kind of business?

I would refer
Real Estate business to him,

and I'll refer flipping homes
and the construction work.

[Judy]
Did you take part in matters as well?

I did.

- And what year were you divorced?
- 2015

So just briefly is what I gather
from the complaint,

and the answer, and the counterclaim,

at some point, according to you,
you purchased three ATVs.

Those three ATVs

were originally supposed to be used
in business?

We purchased more than three.

[Judy]
How many did you purchase?

There was just three that were left.

It was 14 of them that we had.

And when you purchased those,
you purchased those together

as part of a business?

No, those were mine.
I purchased for the business.

- [Judy] 14?
- The business was mine. Yes.

- 14?
- [Teri] Yes.

- You purchased them, you paid for them?
- [Teri] Yes I did.

- Okay, and you can prove that to me.
- I can.

[Judy] Okay.
Do you agree with the fact,

your former wife purchased the 14 ATVs?

Yes, I agree but it was underneath
an LLC that was formed.

I don't care whether it was under an LLC,
or a little umbrella or a big shoe.

- She bought the ATVs?
- Yes.

So one of the things that's in question,
is the ATVs now

are in your custody?

The remaining ones are in my home now.

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

- And you want them back?
- I do.

She bought them,
why doesn't she get them back?

Because, Your Honor,
there is an outstanding invoice

for work that I have done for her.
- [Judy] What?

It's construction work and other
odds and ends, I was helping her...

That's not part of your counterclaim,
[indistinct], sir.

That's not what you say at all.

Okay, and also there is a counterclaim.

[Judy] You have a counterclaim,
that has to do with your truck.

So there really is no reason that
you are holding those ATVs.

Are they new?

No, they are demonstrator models,
there's one new and two demonstrators.

[Judy] Okay. So within five days,
you make arrangements to get those.

Okay, I assume that

- you have children together?
- No.

[Judy] So I assume
that you are two civilized people,

I don't know
whether you need a police officer

to accompany you to get those.

But within five days,

make arrangements to pick them up
from his house, they are yours.

- They're yours.
- I will, thank you.

Are we then finished with your claim?

No, there is a lawnmower,
an electric zero turn lawnmower,

- [Judy] Okay.
- that is also a part of that claim.

Okay, I've sort of remember that.
Is that an old lawnmower?

No, it was purchased in May of 2021.

And who was it purchased for?

He asked me since he could not get it
on credit, if I could buy it for him

and the next Real Estate transaction
that I referred to him,

he said when he got paid
he would pay me the $4800 back.

- Okay.
- [Teri] And so when I asked for it,

he said that he had put it
in a separate savings account

to save it for me, and I said
"I don't need you to save me my money."

Got it.
So you have the lawnmower?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] You pick that up with the ATVs.

- Thank you.
- [Judy] Got it?

- Thank you.
- [Judy] Perfect.

Now we have to come to your counterclaim.

Your counterclaim is sort of interesting,
and it could be, I think,

probably equally swiftly disposed of.

After your divorce, you needed a truck

You didn't have any money or credit,
according to what I've read.

And you purchased a truck
in your name for him,

and the agreement was that
you would make the payments on the truck

because you couldn't get credit.

- Is that right?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] The truck was purchased
in what month and year?

August of 2020.

How much did the truck cost?

$58,000. Somewhere in there.

[Judy] And how much of the down payment
did you put down?



- [Judy] Is that right?
- Yes.

[Judy] That's good,
you must have had good credit.

- I did.
- [Judy] Good.

And what were the monthly payments, sir?



It was under a thousand.
It was $940 something, I think.

And you paid for the truck,
in the month of August of 2020

and all through 2021.

Until when?
When was the last payment on the truck

that you made that you can prove
to me that you made?

I have all the payments...

Just tell me when was the last payment
you made on the truck.

It was August of this year.

- [Judy] August of 2022?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And that is what
your bank records will indicate,

that you made payment of $900
and some-odd dollars in August of 2022.

And in what month
did your former wife repossess the truck

which was in her name?

It was September 20th.

Now you're going to tell me
why you repossessed the truck.

Let's talk about the violations,
driving without tags, only two months?

When we forget that we are traveling,
and we don't get registrations

for our cars, we don't drive those cars.

Because if you drive it with expired tags,
that's against the law.

[narrator]
Teri Smith claims her ex-husband,

Tony Smith, owes her three ATVs

and a lawnmower.

Tony is countersuing
for the value of a truck.

Okay, you made a payment
of 900 and some-odd dollars.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] August of 2022.

And in what month did your former wife
repossess the truck which was in her name?

- It was September 20th.
- [Judy] Okay.

Now you're going to tell me
why you repossessed the truck.

Yes, that truck's first payment was due
on October 30th of 2020

- I made the payment on November 28.
- No, no, no.

- I'm not interested in history.
- Okay.

I'm interested in, he says that
he was making payments on the truck,

you say he stopped
making payments on the truck.

Which is why you repossessed it,
you didn't want your credit to be at risk.

It was two of the first payments
that I made and I said,

I'm not doing this again
like I did on the last truck

where I make every payment
but he... the insurance,

I asked for the insurance to be paid
since April of 2020,

and I requested this
on June the 28th of 2022.

And I said, "Here's the insurance premiums
I've paid on the GMC truck

since we've had it."

And it was $1,596.

His reply was, "I'm happy
to pay the insurance on my truck

But don't just dump two and a half
years on me at a time,

I will need to break this up
into three increments."

This was June.
"I don't have any money."

The insurance and taxes,
the taxes this year...

It was the first time
he's ever paid taxes on the vehicle.

And it was one year late.

He drove on an expired tag
for a total year. The reason...

[Judy]
Just a second. Is that correct?

- I'm sorry?
- [Judy] Did you drive on an expired tag?

No, it was only a few months late.

- So you drive...
- It wasn't an entire year.

- How many months?
- Two months.

- Well, that's too long.
- I agree.

And was your agreement that you would

maintain the insurance
for the truck as well?

That was something that we discussed.

And because of the...

The real reason she actually agreed
to purchase the truck.

We had a previous truck
that was also, I was driving.

And because of the LLC
that the truck was under,

it was a very high
commercial insurance rate.

So she felt that it would benefit her

to get another truck and come out
from the... under the commercial rate

that she was paying for insurance.

And she was going to put it
in a group insurance policy.

[Judy] Where is the truck?

- You've had possession of the truck.
- That's correct.

So you get all the benefit of the truck,

and she gets all the detriment.

- I'm just referring to the...
- [Judy] No, no I'm just...

What I'm not getting from you, sir,

is any sense of the whole idea was
"This was going to be my truck.

As soon as I finish
making all the payments on the truck,

the truck is going to be mine."

- Right?
- That's correct.

And if you didn't make payments
on the truck, absolutely.

She has a right to repossess it,
if that was your agreement.

And you acknowledge
that that's your agreement.

- Right?
- That is the agreement but I have made

every payment and I have paid
all of the tax.

Well, the word paid
all the tax eventually...

didn't pay them when due.

That happened once.

Didn't pay them when due.

Paid them eventually.
What about the insurance?

The insurance,
I agreed to catch up and pay her back for,

when she told me what it was.

- [Judy] Okay.
- I never received any information

about the insurance amount
until she sent it all in.

Okay, she sent it to you in one email.
That was in June.

And you said "I couldn't pay it,"
and she repossessed the car in September.

Between June and September,
did you make any insurance payment?

- No I did not.
- [Judy] Why?

It was a lot of things
going on at that time, that...

There was money owed to me
as well from her.

So it was a lot of discussion
going back and forth about that.

Well, but one thing is clean,
you know about the insurance.

And if there's money that she owes you

from construction or real estate,
or whatever it is,

you have to put that in compartments.

Where is the truck now?

I took the truck back and it is sold.

[Judy] Did you ever tell him?

He wouldn't talk to me.
He hasn't talked to me since May.

So you had the truck
for approximately two years?

Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] And how much in total
did you pay for the truck?

The exact amount added up was $18,736.

So you paid approximately $9,000 a year.

- Right?
- Correct.

Your Honor, we had an agreement of
$1,200 a month on the truck

to cover the insurance and taxes
upfront before it was purchased.

That's not true.

Well, if you paid approximately $9,000,

Mr. Smith, and you used it for business,
correct?

That's what you used the truck for.

So you paid approximately $750 a month.

If you paid $9,000 each year,
for the two years, $1870.

You say the payments were $900 a month.

That means that there was a shortfall.

Can I bring s...
It was more than two years.

It was August of 2020 until...

- [Judy] September.
- August of this year.

That's two years.

There's also a downpayment.

[Judy] Of $500 on the...

- Okay.
- [Judy] So that's $750, sir.

I always have a problem
with people who are no longer married

and no longer happy with each other,
when one party has the obligation

and has all the liability on a vehicle,

including their credit,
and their insurance,

when the other person
is being either irresponsible

or blinking at certain violations.

Let's talk about the violations.
Driving without tags.

Only two months?

When we forget or we're traveling
and we don't get registrations

for our cars, we don't drive those cars.

'Cause if you're driving
with expired tags,

that's against the law.

I would like to point out if I may

that the bill for that
obviously went to her address.

It was not given to me.

That's not my... I understand that
I need to be aware of it.

But I never received that bill.

I gave it to him the very month it came.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- That's not true.

Just a second.
You're a big boy.

You know when your car
has to be registered,

you have a little yellow tag
on the back like everybody else.

And insurance, you know,
you're supposed to pay insurance.

That was your agreement,
you were supposed to pay insurance.

and you didn't pay insurance.

She's going to show me
how much was left on the loan,

and how much you sold the truck for.

If she sold the truck for more

than was left on the loan,

the difference between...
Look at me.

The difference between that
belongs to you.

♪♪

[narrator] Teri Smith is accusing
ex-husband, Tony Smith,

of wrongfully keeping three ATVs,
and a lawnmower.

Tony claims Teri owes him
for the cost of a truck.

- Okay, well, are you working now, sir?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Great. She sold the truck.
How much did you sell it for?



And how much was left
on the loan?

- 48, it was even.
- [Judy] Well, show me.

- It was even.
- [Judy] I'd like to see that.

So $48,000 was...
He paid $18,000?

Hang on one second, I got it...

- Can I submit this to you, Your Honor?
- [Judy] What is that?

This is my bank statement,
showing the payment.

[Judy]
No, you told me, and I accepted it.

She doesn't dispute it, and I accept it.

I do have a copy of the title here
somewhere.

[Judy] What I'm looking for, Mr. Smith,
just so that you know,

what I'm having her look for for me.

She's going to show me
how much was left on the loan

and how much she sold the truck for.

If she sold the truck for more

than was left on the loan,
the difference between... Look at me.

The difference between that
belongs to you.

- Oh, I see.
- Because you paid it, right?

[Tony] I see. Yes, ma'am.

- Got it? That fair?
- Yeah.

Did she tell you that she sold the truck?

No ma'am.

He went and bought a truck two days later,
so he was able to buy a truck.

Okay.
Would you find those papers for me?

While you're looking
for those papers for me,

- Mr. Smith, did you buy another truck?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Good. Did you put
a down payment on it?

Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] And you own it now.
- Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] And you're driving it now.
- That's correct.

What would you do with a second truck?

Well, I was forced to buy one
because it... I...

[Judy] I understand
you were forced to buy one, sir.

But if you had the truck
and you weren't going to use two trucks,

you would sell this truck
for whatever amount you sold it for.

And if there was any overage,
you get...

I offered to purchase the truck from her.

In fact, she understood
that I was planning

to purchase the truck from her.

Don't tell me what she understood.
Right now, you don't need a truck,

and I'm going to find out whether or not
she has to give you any money

as a result of what you sold
the truck for.

This bill of sale does not have
the amount on it, I didn't realize that.

I'll have to get that from...

This is the time to get it.

I'm sorry I did not realize
it didn't have it on there.

- Okay. Oh, you sold it to a company.
- [Teri] I did.

- Oh, okay. Not to a private party.
- [Teri] No.

[Judy] Is that the same company
that you purchased it from?

No, I purchased it
from a different dealership.

[Judy]
Okay. Do you have the exact amount

that the loan, the extant loan was?

- The original loan was six...
- [Judy] No, no.

- I'm sorry. The exit loan?
- Yeah, the exit.

It was between 48 and 49,000.

Give or take. Hang on, hang on.

And the truck was purchased for 56.

So that's amounts...
his payment plus interest.

I have it. That's the difference
of what they gave me.

I originally put the down payment
on that truck as well, he did not.

That doesn't matter.

Yeah, that was a difference
they gave me in the sale.

- Okay, so this is the difference?
- [Teri] Yes.

- [Judy] Between what was on the loan.
- Exactly.

- [Judy] Between what was on the loan.
- Exactly.

And this. Okay, so the excess, sir,

was $2,225.

She put in the deposit for the truck
when it was originally purchased for $500?

- She did not.
- [Judy] Who did?

I did, and I have that in this record,
right here.

Show me.

We added tires,
we added all kinds of extra stuff to it.

and everything. I paid for that as well.

- I don't care.
- Oh.

- This is actually...
- [Judy] Just show me

It's on my phone.
Can I show it? Can I...?

From 2020?

Yes, what had happened,
that amount actually came off

- of this statement copy.
- Let me see.

Can I submit this, too, where I made
the two payments on the truck?

When he first started, I made
the very second payment

and the fourth payment
on that truck because he wouldn't make it.

I also notified him on June the 20th
that he had 30 days

to get the truck in his name,
and I never heard anything

You can't notify him within 30 days
to get it in his name.

That's not the agreement.
Let me see.

[Teri] Yeah.

[bailiff] It's in yellow.

Yep, purchased authorized August 22nd.

And this is two thousand and...?

- [Tony] Twenty.
- Twenty.

For $500.

Okay, so the difference of $500
that came out of your account,

brings the total excess
that she received $1,725.

She's coming to pick up her lawnmower
within five days and her three ATVs.

At the same time
she's going to give you $1,725,

which is the difference
between what was owed on the truck

and the profit that was made
that she didn't pay for.

We've finished here.
Thank you very much.

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

I think it was fair.

Well, it was a little less than I thought
I was going to get back from it,

but there's a lot more to the story
that obviously I couldn't get in.

Well, I mean, I had the truth. So...

She understands why that is
because there's an outstanding invoice

from me for work that I've done
that she's refusing to pay for.

I have supported him since 2003.

Construction work, I did a lot of planning

and helping her with
her current home that she's living in.

It is just one thing after another
and I can never owe him one dime.

I mean, everything was fine between us.

His trauma bonded me and manipulated me

and gaslit me for all these years
and kept me around

just in case other relationships
didn't work out.

Until she found out
I was seeing someone else.

No, no, no, I've been asking
for everything of mine

that he kept for and held hostage

for a long time before that,

but he's probably had
many more before that,

I just didn't know about 'em.

But I'm happy.

I was thinking,
he was making me think

that we were reconciling,
while he was using me.

I don't see us talking anymore.

The bank is finally closed,

and the bad bargain is...
just been a nightmare.

It's been hundreds of bad bargains.

No more business ventures.

You see, it's always a mistake.

- Unless you're married,
- Mm-hmm.

- to cosign a loan for anybody,
- Mm-hmm.

a boyfriend or somebody.

- An ex-husband.
- An ex...

- And especially an ex-husband.
- Yeah.

Because I think what you said was true.

There's always one person
that gets no benefit

and get slighted and has their name
on the line for their credit

for future purchases
that they want to make.

And the guy who gets to drive the truck.

And the guy who gets to drive the truck.

Of course, he says that the reason
she got all hot and bothered

is because he has a girlfriend now.

I would have felt a little
more sympathy towards him

had he not gone out two weeks later
and bought a new truck.

Yeah, well. [chuckles]

[narrator] Want justice?