03x03 - Crash Caught on Camera and Fundraising Tragedy

[bunniefuu]

You keep posting, posting stuff about her.

She was going to expose nude photos of me.

This is her saying that
she wanted to fight me.

Leave her. Alone.

-Okay, so, uh...
-No. This is not a "so."

This is a period.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice...

Hailey Chapman is suing her husband's
ex-girlfriend, Fallon Bigelow,

for defamation, harassment
and emotional distress.

[Bailiff] Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

-[Bailiff] Hello, Judge.
-Morning, Kevin.

Case 3022, Chapman v. Bigelow.

-Thank you, Kevin.
-You're welcome.

-[Judge Judy] The husband isn't here?
-No.

Where is he?

-He is currently incarcerated, Your Honor.
-Where?

In a state correctional institution
in Florida.

When did he go into jail?

He was arrested in September of 2022.

Has he been incarcerated since?

-Yes, ma'am.
-You have three children with him?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] How old are you?

I'm 20 years old.

-Twenty.
-Yes, ma'am.

How old are your children?

I actually have four in total.

Um, I have a 5-year-old
who turns 6 in December,

I have a 3-year-old
who turns 4 in August.

A 2-year-old who turns 3 in August,

and a newborn, 2 weeks old, ma'am.

-Who do you live with?
-I live by myself.

The only connection that you have
with the plaintiff

is that you have one child
with her husband.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Who is how old?

He's about to be 5 at the end of July.

Now, this is your complaint.

Many of these things,
at least start in 2022,

and it is your claim that Ms. Bigelow,
who has one child with your husband,

embarked on a course of conduct that can
clearly be described as harassment,

defamation, which you're going to
present to me.

And the allegations were serious enough,

and this is back in 2022 I would assume,

that you filed an application
for a protective order.

Um, it was in 2021
that I had filed the protective order.

What month?

It was, I believe, March.

Did you have a trial
on that protective order?

There was no trial.
There was enough evidence present...

-No, no, no. There was no trial?
-No, ma'am.

Were you present
when the protective order was granted?

-Yes, ma'am.
-And you consented to it?

-Yes.
-Okay.

So you consented to the plaintiff
having a protective order

-indicating that for 12 months...
-Mm-hm.

...and hopefully
for the rest of your life,

you would not as*ault, menace,
threaten, or harass her.

-Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
-Correct?

And according to what I've read,
that was in effect until March of 2022.

-Yes, ma'am.
-While the protective order was in effect,

there was a violation
of that protective order.

-[Chapman] Correct, Your Honor.
-What month?

Um, it was in the month of... March.
March 15.

Of 2022 or 2021?



Was there a hearing on the violation
of the protective order?

Yes, there was
and I believe at that time,

probation temporarily
was given to Ms. Bigelow.

-Is that correct, Ms. Bigelow?
-Yes, ma'am. Administrative probation.

And all of the events that are
the subject of your petition

happened between 2021 and 2022.

This has actually been going on
for longer than that, and the...

Have any of the acts that Ms. Bigelow
was prevented from doing

as a result of the protective order,

occurred after the protective order
expired in March of 2022.

Yes, ma'am, I can provide evidence.

That's what I want to see.

So now we have Ms. Bigelow,
who is on notice.

She consented to a protective order

because she knew that the evidence
would be clear

that you were entitled to it.

Otherwise, nobody consents to it.
So she consented to that order,

which means you either assaulted, menaced,
threatened, or harassed her.

I assume it was a course of harassment.

Then you violated that order
and you got the period of probation.

Okay. Now I'm hearing evidence
of acts that occurred

after the protective order...
I'm just hearing it.

...after the protective order expired
in March of 2022.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Correct?

You want to tell me
when the first incident was?

The first incident was when,

um, we had, me and my husband,
um, on TikTok, there's an algorithm,

that shows random videos,

and she had popped up
on his "For You" page.

And it was a post about her mother.

And so, she was living
with her mother at the time

and he sent it to her mother.

-[Judge Judy] Your husband did?
-Yes.

I only want to know things
that had to do with you.

Okay, um, so I was arrested
after my husband got arrested.

-They tried to charge me...
-Just a second.

You were arrested in what month?

It was in October, ma'am.

-Of what year?
-2022.

You were arrested for what?

They tried to claim
that I was trafficking drugs.

-That's what your husband is in jail for?
-Yes, ma'am.

Okay, what did that have to do with her?

It doesn't.

-Well, then it doesn't. It doesn't.
-Um, she...

She had made posts about me going to jail.

-Can I see them?
-Yes, ma'am.

This doesn't say anything
that is defamatory.

I want to know what you meant is,

"She's already lost custody
of her children enough times...

-Mm-hm.
-...I'm hoping one day

I might be able to gain custody
of my son's two daughters."

-What is that?
-Okay, um,

Hailey Chapman claimed that
she had no understanding

of the drugs being in the home when she...
-[Judge Judy] No, no, no.

-...was found guilty.
-What is, "My son's two daughters"?

-Do you mean your boyfriend's?
-No, no, her children.

She's religiously
lost custody of her children.

No, no, no, what I'm... I understand that,

I don't understand this sentence.

You wrote, "She's already lost custody
of her children enough times,

I am hoping one day I might be able
to gain custody

of my son's two daughters."

Oh, sorry, not daughters, but sisters,
I apologize.

[Judge Judy] Oh, yeah. Okay.

-Your Honor, I actually...
-Just a second.

-So far it's not defamatory.
-I have my order for reunification.

I've only lost my children one time.

Doesn't matter. But I'll look at it.

So far I don't see anything defamatory.

If she wrote you were arrested and you
were arrested, that's not defamatory.

-I did suffer anxiety and depression...
-What?

...because of this whole situation.

No. You suffer from anxiety
and depression, if you do

because you were 15 years old
when you had a baby

and then you had four more children.

You're 20 years old,
and your husband's in jail

That would put any normal person
in a situation of depression.

[narrator] Hailey Chapman claims
her husband's ex-girlfriend,

Fallon Bigelow, owes for defamation
harassment and emotional distress.

Fallon is countersuing Hailey
for emotional distress.

[indistinct] Still bagging...
You're embarrassing...

There's something wrong with you.

-You understand that?
-Yes.

You understand that this is all coming
from a very stupid place.

A very stupid brain.

That you have absolutely
nothing to do with, except that

you were mad at this guy, at this prize

that's sitting in jail for drugs.

And so... Yeah.

Don't tell me that you were trying
to be altruistic, I don't believe it.

No, that's not it.
Actually, her husband assaulted me.

I was a child when he was an adult,
for a year and a half of my childhood.

My son is a product of r*pe.

You don't get me.

That has nothing to do with her!

She has shown up at my house...

-Just a second. That has...
-...on numerous occasions... Okay.

[papers shuffling]

Okay, so she sent a picture
of your mugshot,

which is also not ill*gal,

and said that you were arrested
and charged with trafficking in fentanyl,

which you were, right? Which you were.

Those charges were subsequently dismissed?

No, ma'am, I was granted
pretrial diversion

because they didn't have the evidence
that they needed to actually...

I... That's not what I asked you.
You were arrested.

-Yes, ma'am.
-This is your mugshot.

Mm-hm.

-And you were arrested for drugs?
-Correct.

So she didn't print anything
that wasn't true?

You were arrested. You were arrested for...

I'm not saying that
what she did was right.

I'm saying what she did was stupid,

pointless, and just
out of nothing but jealousy.

Nothing. She certainly
doesn't care about your children.

Okay.

So far what you showed me,

nasty, but not actionable
because it's true.

What's next?

I have the TikTok that she posted

of her claim that she was
sexually assaulted by my husband,

which backfired on me as well.

-Um, I had to shut down...
-[Judge Judy] Just a second.

That's what she says.
That has nothing to do with you.

Well, an onslaught of people
came and harassed me

-because of her post.
-[Judge Judy] I don't know that at all.

And if they harassed you,
that's their problem.

But I'll take a look
at what you want me to look at.

But if she accused your husband
of a crime, of raping her,

and she said it's your bad judgment
to be with him

and now I assume
you have four children with him?

-Uh, three, Your Honor.
-Three, and one with somebody else?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Okay, wonderful.

Sounds terrific. Twenty years old.

Sounds like we're going in the right
direction here for a joyous life.

[scoffs] What do you do for a living?

[Bigelow] I'm a bartender.

-How many children do you have?
-One.

-Who do you live with?
-Myself, but I'm currently moving.

Moving where?

South Carolina.

With whom?

Uh, my son and I.

-Why?
-To leave Florida.

Why? Why South Carolina, are you just...

I wanna go to... I wanna go to college
for underwater welding.

and they don't offer that program
where I live currently.

Who are you going with?

Just by myself.

-Who lives in South Carolina?
-Nobody.

-Do you have a place to live?
-Yes.

-Who's paying for it?
-Me.

From what?

My job I've been saving
over the last two years.

How much money do you have in the bank?

I have 180,000.

Ooh.

Okay. All nasty, stupid,
it's not actionable.

What else?

Um, I have here that she told me
to hurt myself

and that she was going to expose
nude photos of me.

I'd like to see that.

I also have here her saying
that she wanted to

throw bed bugs in my yard and on me.

This is all stupid stuff.

But nasty and stupid and vicious.

And I must add, illiterate.

So I hope you're going to a very
good school wherever you're going.

-First, they should teach you literacy.
-Literacy.

-What's next?
-I did suffer

chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.

anxiety and depression

-because of this whole situation.
-[Judge Judy] No!

You suffer from anxiety and depression,
if you do,

because you were 15 years old
when you had a baby

and then you had four more children,
you're 20 years old,

and your husband's in jail. [laughs]

That would... That would put
any normal person

in a situation of depression.

I do have proof, Your Honor.

You don't have proof.

It's from my psychiatrist.

If your psychiatrist was here
and you wish to waive it

I'll be more than happy
to listen to your psychiatrist.

It's what you've told your psychiatrist.

I'm telling you I don't have
to be a psychiatrist.

Somebody who's 20 years old and has
four children, all under the age of five,

and whose husband is incarcerated
for the last year and a half

and has one child in between that
that's not his.

That's a reason to be depressed.

There's a reason to be depressed.

Her nagging you because she's stupid
and jealous is nasty,

but not anywhere as nasty

as your husband getting arrested,
going to jail,

leaving his three children and his wife
alone to fend for themselves.

And if he was incarcerated for drugs,

making them, dealing with them,

and you were living together,
it's kind of hard for me to imagine

that you wouldn't have some suspicion
of what he was doing for a living.

Do you understand what I mean?

-That would cause situational depression.
-I understand you.

And there is only one way to deal
with your situational depression.

Which is to get your life in order.

Currently, I am a nursing student
and I have a year left.

Is it a building that you go to?

Yes, ma'am.

I restart in September of this year.

You start or you started last year?

I started and then I took a break
and then I go back in September.

When did you take a break?

From August of last year

up until September...
This upcoming September.

-And now you're going back in September?
-Yes.

And what have you been doing in between,
aside having a baby?

In between then, I've just been working.
I have two jobs.

Where are your children?

My children are actually
with my friend at the hotel.

-All four of them?
-Two of them, Your Honor.

Where are the rest of them?

One is staying with my mother-in-law
and my son is in summer camp.

Which one is with your mother-in-law?

One of my daughters
that I have with my husband.

And how old is the child
who's in summer camp?

-He's 5.
-Is he in sleepaway summer camp?

-No.
-Well, who does he live with?

Um, he lives with me.

Who's taking care of him now?

Right now, his grandpa.

-His grandfather?
-Yes, ma'am.

Is that your father?

It is my son's dad's father.

Oh, God.

I also have the times that she made
fictitious DCF calls against me

and messages of her admitting
that she called DCF on me

because I wouldn't fight her.

-Because you wouldn't fight her?
-Yes.

I would like to actually
take a look at those.

Yeah.

[Narrator] Hailey Chapman has accused
her husband's ex-girlfriend,

Fallon Bigelow,
of defamation and harassment.

Fallon claims Hailey falsely called
Child Services

causing her emotional distress.

All right, do you have anything else
you want to show me,

so far this is a bunch of nonsense.

It's not nonsense,
it's just very unfortunate.

This is her saying
that she wanted to fight me.

I don't care about wanting to fight you.
You didn't fight with her, right?

-No.
-And she didn't come to fight you?

-And she didn't hit you? Right?
-No.

All right, we're done.

Let's see. Money owed for emotional
distress caused by leaking photos.

-All right.
-Uh, Hailey Chapman

posted child p*rn*graphy
of me, um, via Facebook.

-[Judge Judy] When?
-September of 2018.

Um, also, her and her husband
were under investigation

for extortion of child p*rn*graphy,
threatening that if I did not fight them

they would release the video of him

sexually assaulting me
while I was pregnant.

I would like to see where she, not he,

where she sent you something
that you consider harassment.

Okay, she has shown up to my house...

-No, no, she... Listen to me carefully.
-Mm-hm.

She sent you an extortion letter.

I want to see where she did
not her husband.

The police took the iPod
with the original conversation

-because it involved child p*rn*graphy.
-If I don't have it, I don't have it.

Okay, that's understandable.

Do you have it? The answer is yes or no.

-No, not the original conversation.
-Okay.

Ms. Chapman, I told you my best
long and short-term advice to you.

You are articulate, nice-looking, young,
whole life ahead of you.

It depends upon where you want
to hang your hopes.

And if you're hang it with somebody
who's incarcerated, that's ridiculous.

He's not coming out to you where you have
a new father for your baby

Do you live with that person?

-Do you live with that person?
-No, ma'am.

Who do you live with?

I live alone.

Oh, God.

I also have the times that she made
fictitious CF calls against me

and messages of her admitting
that she called DCF on me

because I wouldn't fight her.

-Because she wouldn't fight her?
-Yes.

I would like to actually
take a look at those.

Not that you're going to get
a penny from her.

-You understand that? You understand why?
-[Bigelow] Yep.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Okay, good.

And by the way, you know,

I understand that you say that there was
an a*usive sexual relationship

between you and her husband

-who is the father of your child.
-Yes, ma'am.

You did, in fact, allow him
to see the child regularly, is that...

-No, ma'am.
-No.

-No. Never.
-You mean he's never seen his son?

Um, actually, no, incorrect.

Um, when my son was first born,
he was six hours late,

he came in, he said hello,

and other than that, he was not permitted
to be around the child.

So he never came to your house
and never saw him

from the time the child was born
until the time he went into jail.

Is that correct?

The only time that he did see my son

was when she came to my house
in June of 2022,

when he was parked outside the house
and my son had come outside.

Other than that,
he has not been around my child.

Yeah, well.
You're Hailey on this, correct?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Yeah, okay.

-She's angry at you, right?
-Mm-hm.

She's angry at you

because you won't stop,
you keep posting and posting

stuff about her, about her husband,
about the kids, whatever.

It's all because...

There are more reasons
as to why I was upset with her, um,

on three separate occasions when
the restraining order was put in place,

claiming that I violated when I did not.
I was only...

-[Judge Judy] Just a second.
-Okay.

There was a final order of protection...
-[Bigelow] Mm-hm.

...and a finding that you violated
that final order of protection.

And all this stuff was harassing, nasty,

unfortunately not defamatory,

but clearly annoying
and she finally said I've had enough.

You have no case.

You have no case and you're just lucky
I'm not awarding her any money

because nothing that you
posted about her was not true.

She was in fact arrested.

I assume that you were in fact a minor
when you became pregnant

and the father of your child was an adult.

I assume all those things are true.

Listen to me, if you saved $180,000

-which is a lot of money...
-Mm-hm.

...to be able to save over
a couple of years bartending,

which is to your credit.

And if what you're going to do
is try to start a new life, good for you.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Good for you.

Put your time to better use.
Leave her alone.

She's got enough troubles just negotiating
life at age 20 with four children.

Leave her alone.

-Okay, so, um...
-Not... This is not a so!

This is a period. The end. Goodbye.

[bailiff] This court is adjourned.

I believe that she gave me
some really good life advice

and was able to hopefully open
the defendant's eyes

as to the problems
that she's been causing.

She threatened me, threatened my friends,
made fictitious CCF reports against me.

...things just mellow out
and she decides not to...

Time to get out of Florida.

...defame me or harass me anymore.

That case reminded me
of my family court days, Sarah.

Here's this guy who was an adult.

She was 15 when her first child was born,


And I don't understand
why that guy's not in jail...

-For something other than drugs.
-...for that. Something other than drugs.

-Except she probably...
-He married her,

and then had three more children.

I'm not sure when he married her,
but in between there in the beginning,

-he had a child with the defendant...
-Mm-hm.

...and I think that the plaintiff
and defendant sort of knew each other.

But there are now five children,

all with mothers... Single mothers,
who are unsettled.

And there's no question,
one's living with a grandparent,

one's staying here, one...
Back with a friend in a hotel room.

It's just so sad for these children.

I don't know how to convince
generations of young people

that you're not supposed to have children,

that you're not emotionally
and financially

and equipped to take care of.

Just do that.

And it makes every step
of her getting her life back on track

at 20, as a child herself,

all the more difficult
with four kids in tow.

So, not only, you know,
how sad it is for the children,

but she's a child herself that should
be able to get her life back on track.

It would be wonderful. She, you know...

They both seem to be articulate people.

Of course, they can't write,

but maybe it's just the way they write
when they write texts.

-Twitter fingers, you know.
-Yeah, Twitter...

It looks illiterate to me.

Maybe I'm just from the wrong generation.
That's possible.

But it's just sad for those five kids.

[narrator] Have you been cheated?