02x95 - Costume Wars and Elder Abuse Accusation

[bunniefuu]

You contracted with him
to make you a costume.

Yes, ma'am.

-And what was wrong with it?
-Many, many things.

I'd like to see it.

[slow snare drum beats]

It's a costume. Get a life.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

♪♪

[narrator]
Cade Newton is suing costume designer

Robert Estrada for a deposit,

lost wages, and a superhero costume.

[Kevin]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Case 2162, Newton vs. Estrada.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Mr. Newton, you retained the services
of Mr. Estrada to make you a costume.

-Yes, ma'am.
-And it was... According to your complaint,

-you make a living as an influencer?
-Yes, ma'am, I produce content.

Okay. Now, Sarah has actually tried
to explain that to me, what that is,

and I think the kindergarten version
of what she told me was,

you are on the internet, and your idea
is to get as many people

to follow the things that you do
in your life as possible.

-and you post on the internet,
-[Cade chuckles]

Your picture's doing
whatever you're doing,

and then when you have enough people,

advertisers, people
who make products, pay you

to tout their products one way or another.

-And that's how you make a living.
-Yes, ma'am.

-Thank you.
-[Sarah] No problem.

-Anytime.
-[court laughs]

So, you don't produce anything.

You're just being you.

Well, no, but I do own three companies,
and one of them is

-a social media advertising company.
-[Judy] Okay.

So it's important to meet and mingle
with as many people as possible.

I get that, but it's all to support
your primary function...

-Yes, ma'am.
-as... We had a case...

years and years ago.
It was one of my favorites.

It was a guy who was
being supported by a woman,

and quite frankly I couldn't see what this
perfectly delightful, productive woman,

what she saw in this guy.
But I said, she gives you this,

she pays your rent,
she pays for your food,

what does she get in return?

And I'll never forget his answer.
He said, "She gets me!"

I don't know why that came to mind when
we're talking about being an influencer.

-What do you... How does that happen?
-[court laughs]

Anyway, you asked Mr. Estrada to do a
costume for you, you like to go to events,

I don't have to hear all about it,
I sort of understand it a little now.

You contracted with him to make
this costume for you for $1000,

you paid him a $500 deposit,

he delivered the costume,
albeit he delivered it a little late,

but you accepted it, and then
you didn't pay him for it

-because you say it was not made well.
-Yes.

-And you have the costume now?
-Yes, ma'am, I do.

Okay. In addition to the costume,
you gave him another costume

that you wanted him to just put
another appliqué on of something.

-It was a relatively minor thing.
-I just remember glue on the chest.

Whatever, you asked him to do something,
it was work, he's not your

brother, uncle, father, you're not related
to him, that's his business.

And when you refused to pay him
the balance of the costume

that he made for you, he has
the other costume, and he says,

"Well, when you pay me,
you can get your costume back."

-Am I clear?
-Uh, yes, but...

we have talked about creating multiple
different costumes in the future,

and every single time there was
a dollar amount mentioned,

this was never discussed,
we discuss it prior.

-But that wasn't ever discussed.
-That's true. And whose fault is that?

-Um, it was never brought up, but...
-[Judy] No, no, no.

-Whose fault is that?
-I assumed...

[Judy] Just a second.
If the complaint about the costume,

that he was just supposed to
put an appliqué on of some sort of

a creature, a spider or something,

if you gave it to him,
and this is his business,

then you say,
"How much is it?"

So, I'm just letting you
foment that in your head, sir.

When did you order
this costume from him for $1000?

-Uh... August 7th.
-[Judy] And he delivered it in October?

-October 8th, I believe.
-And what was wrong with it?

-Many, many things...
-[Judy] So you have it with you?

I have every single bit
of the costume with me.

-I'd like to see it.
-Like, one piece at a time?

No. Just a second.
That's a boot. What else?

-This glove...
-[Judy] Just a second, that's a glove?

-Yes.
-Okay.

And, uh, he actually has plenty
of pictures that he sent me

in the chat that he was actually
making the glove himself.

This comes from a costume store
from the main movie this comes from.

-Okay, put it...
-And it came out in 2005.

He sold me a glove that was
almost 20 years old, and he said

-he was making me me one.
-Okay, keep going.

And this belt right here...

I only tried it on once
to see how everything fit,

and by the time
I tried to take the belt off and on,

it broke, between... 20 minutes of use.

In the house,
just testing it out in the mirror.

I just want to see that.
I see boots, I see a glove,

looks perfectly normal to me.

-And that's put on with Velcro?
-Yes.

No big deal. You put on another piece
of Velcro. That's a substantial belt.

Put it back. What's your next complaint?

Well, number one, not only did...

[Judy] Just a second,
I don't want to see the glove anymore.

I saw the glove, I saw the boot,
I saw the belt.

Where's the rest of the costume?

Here's the other boot.

Just a second. Hey,
where's the rest of the costume?

We don't have a mannequin or something
we could put this on?

-What?
-We don't have a mannequin or something

-we could put this on?
-We can put it on him!

Put it on him. Ask him to put it on,
I want to see what's wrong with it.

It's a costume.

♪♪

Listen to me.
I'm not hearing you anymore.

I don't think you're being very fair.

It's not a popularity contest, sir.

You bought something.
I've bought many things... This is not...

It's also the principle. Which is why
I took this to court, the principle.

This is not... You're out. Goodbye.

[narrator] And later today...

So you were there for a little less
than twelve hours, right?

You came at five o'clock
in the afternoon...

-I went at 11.
-And at 4:30 in the morning, you left.

I didn't actually leave,
I was told to leave.

But you left!

♪♪

[narrator] Cade Newton claims
costume designer Robert Estrada

sent him a poorly-made superhero costume.

Robert is counter-suing
for the balance owed on the costume.

Okay. Now, would you do me a favor,
just put the belt on?

I know that you can't use the Velcro
because a piece of the Velcro came off.

Put the belt around, I just want to see
how the belt's supposed to go.

-For the record, it doesn't go like this...
-[Judy] Just a second.

I didn't ask you anything,
I just said, "Put it on."

-It's really difficult with this robe on.
-Now turn around.

Oh, very good. Now you can
take all the show-and-tell away.

-And you can take it off.
-Your Honor, if I could say something?

[Judy] You don't have to say anything.
I've seen the costume

-for which he wanted to charge you $1000.
-Well, there's still more...

Yeah, but you don't
want to put that on now, 'cause...

No, it's not something you have to put on,

it's... We're looking at the sewmanship.

This should be one continuous piece.

Mr. Newton. Get a life.

Get a life.

Get rid of that stuff.
Put it over there on that chair.

This is not a $25,000 costume.
It's a $1000 costume.

If you go into a store to buy any costume,
without boots, without a leather glove,

it's a couple of hundred dollars,
not made.

And if you don't like the way it was made,
don't use his services again.

According to what I read,
you have lots of costumes.

I have two. The one there and the one
that he brought of my possession.

-Oh! Okay, so you just have two costumes?
-Yeah.

Great! Now you have two.
Now you're paying $500 for the costume

that he made for you, that's the balance
that you owe him for the costume.

Now we're going to talk
a little bit about the...

I'm not accepting the costume
because it's not up to my...

Just a second.
That's why you're in court, sir.

I don't care if you like it or not.

Don't use his services again.
He made it, you bought it.

Based upon my view of that,
it may not be perfect,

I paid for it to be perfect,
that's the reason I bought it.

Just a second. I'd like a lot of things
perfect, sir. Life is not perfect.

-You gotta pay him for the costume.
-I paid for the professional...

No. You gotta pay him
for the costume. That's it.

That's why you're here.
For me to make a judgement.

If I looked at this thing
and didn't think that, for instance...

When you sent him those boots,
were the soles falling off the boots?

-No, they were not.
-I didn't think so. That's for my benefit.

He's gonna pay you the $500
he owes you for the costume.

-The belt wasn't...
-And then he bought it.

The belt wasn't falling apart either.
It got one use.

And within 20 minutes
of trying it on... And voilà!

[Judy] Just a second, Mr. Newton.
I'm done with that!

I'm onto the next gig.
I'm onto your other costume

that he was supposed to put
an appliqué on. Do you have that costume?

-I do.
-[Judy] Very good.

Now, I want to tell you something.
He didn't send those boots with soles off.

-They don't fall off by themselves.
-[Judy] Just a second.

-No, they don't fall off by themselves.
-And I didn't wear it anywhere.

I don't care whether you wore it anywhere.
I know they don't fall of by themselves,

and you didn't send them that way.
So, you figure out,

let the people out here figure out
what's in my head,

how the soles came off
both of those shoes.

Well, can he tell me why one piece of the
costume has a bigger arm than the other?

-Listen. I'm not hearing you anymore.
-I don't think you're being very fair.

Just to be... I'm a big fan of you, but I
don't think you're very fair right now.

[Judy]
It's not a popularity contest, sir.

You bought something.
I've bought many things... This is not...

It's the principle. Which is why I decided
to take this to court, the principle.

You're out. You're gone. Goodbye.

Your case is dismissed.
Do you want your costume back?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Good. How much was it

-to put the appliqué on it?
-It was $100.

$100. Very good.
Judgement on the counter-claim,

$600, he gets the costume back.
Do you understand?

-Yes, I do.
-We're done.

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

I had paid a pretty penny for something
that was just fabric and boots.

I tried to explain how
the costume works, and unfortunately,

he didn't really listen.
He doesn't listen.

It's one of my favorite things
of all time. I've always wanted it.

Well, I gave him what he wanted,
but when I delivered it, he actually

didn't take the time to hear me
tell him how the suit goes on.

So, what do you think the likelihood is
that the defendant shipped those boots

with the soles the way
we saw them in court today?

-Zero!
-[laughs]

I totally agree. I think the plaintiff
thought it would help his case

to have a little bit more destroyed
of a costume than...

-Drama.
-...maybe it was.

-And it doesn't look good for him.
-Actually, I thought that what was sent...

The boots were substantial, there's
no question that he dislodged the soles

from them before he came here.
The belt was a really substantial belt.

What he was complaining about
was a piece of Velcro.

And it's a costume belt, Velcro comes off.

Yeah, and you put it back on.

You just superglue it back on.

Absolutely right.
There was clearly $1000 worth of work

that went into the costume,
putting it together with the boots

and the belt and the glove.
And it was really sort of outrageous

that he didn't pay him.
Anyway, made my life easy,

beside the fact that he was a nudnik.

Case 2135, Coleman vs. Washington.
All parties, please step forward.

[narrator] Kawana Coleman is suing
caretaker Jessica Washington

for stolen money,
travel costs, and elder abuse.

-Miss Coleman, how old is your mother?
-Ninety.

-Do you live with her?
-I do.

-How long have you been living with her?
-Um, three years.

-Are you her primary caretaker?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] She suffers from...

-[Kawana] Dementia.
-[Judy] For how long?

I identified it
in December of 2019.

And I just stayed from that point on,
sleeping on her couch.

At some point, you had to
go out of town for a period of time.

-Yes.
-[Judy] You hired the defendant?

-[Kawana] Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] How did you get to her?

My cousin Andrea was friends with her,

and she said that
she would be a great candidate.

Did you interview her?

I spoke with her later on,
she came by the house, and...

[Judy]
What date did your first speak to her?

[Kawana]
Maybe about a day or two before I left.

[Judy]
And on what date did you leave?

Um, the 11th of August.

-How long were you going to be away for?
-About seven days.

[Judy] And tell me, Miss Washington,
are you employed now?

-Yes, I am.
-By whom?

Well, I do self-employment,
and I also have my own little business

on the side as well, you know,
caring for elderly people.

[Judy] Okay.
Did you have any special training

for the care of the elderly?

I got my AED and my CPR.
No, not really. 'Cause basically,

I've been just dealing
with family members.

-[Judy] For how long?
-I'm gonna say at least five years.

And you had no special training
for the care of the elderly?

-[Jessica] Exactly.
-Okay. And did you explain that

-to the plaintiff?
-She knew that.

Don't tell me what she knew.
I didn't ask you what she knew.

♪♪

You left. And when you left,
you took the $400 that you found.

-Because the mother told me to.
-You mean the mother with dementia

and Alzheimer's who you stayed up with
at 4:30 in the morning...

-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.
-...told you to take the $400?

-Mm-hmm.
-Uh-huh.

♪♪

[narrator] Kawana Coleman
claims caretaker Jessica Washington

stole money from her mother,
who suffers from dementia.

Okay. On what date were you supposed to
report to take care of her mother?

-August 11th.
-Did you?

-Yes, I did.
-[Judy] Who was there?

It was Miss Coleman and her mother.

[Judy] And the arrangement
that you made with her

was for seven days...

-Mm-hmm.
-...and you'd be living with her mother?

For seven days.

[Judy] And what was she to pay you
for the seven days?

We never discussed a payment.

[Judy] Well, this is what you were doing
for a living. And you had jobs

-for the last five years.
-Mm-hmm.

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

And when you work for other people
who you tell me about,

-what did you charge them?
-I didn't really charge them anything.

That's why I'm saying me and her
never discussed a price,

because she didn't know
if I was gonna charge her or not.

Because I could've watched her mother
for nothing, just because. That's family.

Okay. Well, this is what the case
is about. You watched her mother

for one day, and then you left.
And according to her, her mother fell.

When you left after the one day,
she had left $400.

And you took the $400.
That's what she says, when you left.

Your answer is that you
earned that $400 in the one day,

that's why you took it.

You have the counter-claim because
she has said to someone that

what you did amounted to elder abuse.
Now, you started on the 11th,

-tell me when you left.
-The date that I left was August 12th

at 4:30 in the morning
because I was put out.

-[Judy] Who put you out?
-Her cousin Andrea. Which is my godmother.

Because I called her to help me
pick her mother up off the floor,

-which her cousin told me to leave...
-[Judy] No, no, no. You can't tell me

what anybody else told you.
Prior to 4:30 on the 12th,

did Miss Coleman's mother suffer a fall?

-Yes, she did.
-[Judy] Okay. And where did she fall?

She fell on the floor.
She was sitting at the table

where I was sitting at as well, too.
I got up to use the bathroom...

-[Judy] At 4:30 in the morning?
-Mm-hmm. She was... We was up all night.

-Could you tell me why?
-[Jessica] Because she was waiting

for her daughter to come back because
before her daughter left the house,

being as though the lady has dementia
and Alzheimer's, they think about

the future, the past, and the present,
she's thinking her daughter is coming back

because her daughter said,
"I will be right back."

So that's why she sat up all night long.

I was trying to put her to bed, she didn't
want to go to bed, so I called...

Okay. So you were there from what time
in the morning on the 11th?

I got there at five o'clock
in the afternoon on the 11th...

[Judy] So you were there for a little less
than twelve hours, right?

You came at five o'clock in the afternoon,

and at 4:30 in the morning, you left.

I didn't actually leave,
I was told to leave.

-[Judy] But you left!
-Yeah, and I didn't want to.

[Judy]
I don't care whether you wanted to or not.

It's not particularly relevant
whether you wanted to or not.

I understand what happened.
You left. And when you left,

-you took the $400 that you found.
-Because the mother told me to.

You mean the mother
with dementia and Alzheimer's...

-[Jessica] Yes, her mother told me...
-[Judy] Shh, just a sec.

You mean the mother with dementia
and Alzheimer's who you stayed up with

at 4:30 in the morning
told you to take the $400?

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] Uh-huh. Okay.

Now, you're suing her for a lot more
than the $400, because you said you had to

come home from your travel,
she's not responsible for that,

she has to return the $400 to you.
You told me two minutes ago,

Miss Washington,
that you never discussed a fee...

-We didn't...
-[Judy] Shh.

This isn't a question-and-answer.

You didn't even know whether
you were going to charge her anything,

because as far as
you were concerned, "It's family."

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] "Uh-huh" is not an answer.

And you listened to the woman
that you had been hired to care for

because she has dementia and Alzheimer's
and had fallen, and she said to you,

"Take this $400, it's yours."
What if she told you to take

a piece of her jewelry?
Would you have taken that?

-No.
-[Judy] Yeah, you would've taken it,

-because she gave it to you.
-No I wouldn't, 'cause I'm not no thief.

-I wouldn't...
-No, no, that's not...

that's not what I'm telling you.
You say that you took this $400

because this woman who can't
make a judgement told you to take it.

What if she said to you,
"I want you to have my pearls."

-Mm-mm.
-Why not?

I'm not taking no jewelry 'cause I have
my own, I don't need her jewelry.

Okay. Okay, that's ridiculous. Judgement
for the plaintiff in the amount of $400.

I'll take a look at the instance
that you have on your counterclaim

for slander when she says
that you were guilty of elder abuse.

-What do you have to show me?
-It's in the court order.

What do you mean,
"It's in the court order?"

It is, she went and filed elder abuse
on me, plus the traveling expenses.

-I have that court order.
-Just a second.

Is that what you're telling me?
In her case against you for the $400,

and for any other travel expenses, which
I'm dismissing that part of her claim,

she said you were guilty of elder abuse,
that's protected. Okay, your counter-claim

-is dismissed. We're done.
-[Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I think the judge did a great job.
I assumed that she would be able to

deal with my mother. It's difficult
being a caregiver, and we as people

need to do much more
to protect our elderly.

We've seen a couple of these cases,
and it's so unfortunate to see

the elderly, and whether they're ill,
or sick, or mentally not capable

of caring for themselves anymore,

zero training that
some of these people have

to really care for them.

It's scary,
and we've seen it too many times.

And $400 on the counter, for someone to
just take it for 12 hours' worth of work...

You know, it's always struck me as a shame
that society has, and the government has,

created situations where
you need licenses to do certain things.

You need a license
to tweeze someone's eyebrows.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] You have to be a cosmetologist,

you have to have a license, you have
to go to school, you have to pass an exam,

you need a license to have a dog,

but the most vulnerable people
in the population, those people who...

As she said, she didn't
know whether her daughter was coming back

or not coming back, she said she'd be
right back so she was waiting up for her,

that vulnerable person, when it worked
to the defendant's advantage,

they said, "Well, she was perfectly
capable of saying to me..."

-Take the money.
-[Judy] Take the money.

Terrible. Really frightening.

[narrator] Want justice?