03x32 - Scooter Standoff and Dad's Work-for-Debt Dilemma

[bunniefuu]

The two of you were neighbors.

Correct. He had this habit
of turning his music up so loud.

So, I called the police. The next day,
I get out of my car and he calls me...

Did the two of you ever
see each other socially?

Just the two of us?

Just the two of you.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Robin Shepler is suing
her former neighbor,

Garrett Tappendorf, for a mobility scooter
and harassment.

[Kevin]
Court, come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case 3053,
Shepler versus Tappendorf.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Ms. Shepler, am I correct
that the two of you

were neighbors
in a mobile home community?

Correct.

[Judy]
How long had you been neighbors

in the community where you lived?

Two years.

[Judy] Did the two of you ever
see each other socially?

Just the two of us?

Just the two of you.

Uh, one time we went
for a Friday night fish dinner, yes.

[Judy] Other than the one time
Friday night fish dinner,

did you ever go out socially with him,
either the two of you or another couple?

With other neighbors
in the mobile home park.

Your case is about a scooter
that you sold to the defendant.

Correct.

I want you to tell me exactly
what kind of scooter it was,

because I wasn't able to
get enough information about it.

It's called a Golden Companion II Scooter.

Where did you get it from?

[Robin] My father bought himself a scooter
and a wheelchair.

He never used them
before he moved into a nursing home.

[Judy]
So, you got it from your father.

-Correct.
-[Judy] When? What year?

Two thousand eighteen.

And how long had he had it
before he gave it to you?

Three years.

And where did he get it from?

He purchased it from a connection he had
at the VA center.

From a private person?

Um, no, it was from the company, directly.

Any luck?

So, I just need to know if
it's a three-wheel or a four-wheel.

Three-wheel.

Then I have, for a new one
from Golden Tech, I believe...

Well, this one's eight years old.

Well, I have what a new one is, and then
I have what some eBay offers are.

-Okay, good.
-But 2,756...

-Is new?
-[Sarah] Is new.

And then I could look up some
used ones if you want, just to get...

Could you do that from 2015?
I would appreciate it.

Okay.

At the time that you claim the defendant
purchased this scooter from you,

was it running?

No.

[Judy] In what month and year
did he purchase it from you?

[Robin]
May of 2021.

[Judy]
And how long had it not been running?

You had had it since 2018.

As far as I know,
it just needed two new batteries.

-[Judy] That's not what I asked you.
-Okay.

How long had it not been running?

I'm not aware.

[Judy] So, as far as you know,
it had not been running since 2018?

Yes.

Tell me what the arrangement you made
with Mr. Tappendorf was

with regard to the scooter.

He said he wanted it, you said...

I said, "Well, it's not running."

I wanted to get new batteries for it
and sell it myself for about $3,000.

Yeah, well, that would be hard
since it's eight years old,

and a new one costs less than $3,000.

So, I said we can work out a deal.

[Judy] Just a sec. Do you understand
what I just said?

-I do.
-Okay. Go ahead.

[Robin] So, he said
he's interested in buying it.

And I know he's a handyman, so I asked

if he would be willing to
install a dishwasher in my home

and a water softener in my home
and we could work out

a discounted price
for buying the scooter from me.

So, what price did you work out?

At that time, I had mentioned $1,500.

[Judy]
Is that what he agreed to?

[Robin]
It was a verbal agreement.

-There was no talk on price.
-[Judy] No, there's no...

There cannot be a contract
without terms.

There have to be terms.
You say this is what you want.

He says, "This is what I'll pay you."

And I will do something
to reduce that price by so much."

-Do you understand?
-[Robin] I do.

Okay. So, so far,
we don't have a contract.

No.

In what month and year did you
take possession of the scooter, sir?

I believe Robin is right, May of 2021.

[Judy]
How much money did you give her for it?

[Garrett]
None.

[Judy]
Did you ever give her any money for it?

-[Garrett] Yes.
-[Judy] When?

Close to eight months to a year later.

Tell me the circumstances surrounding you
giving her money for it.

Well, I thought we had already worked out
with all the labor that I did.

And my girlfriend took it
down to the mailbox,

and as soon as she left,
Robin's right across the street,

she come running over
and she said she wanted more money.

Okay. Well, I'm missing that whole...

There's a whole piece missing there, sir.

Eight months later, you gave her money.

-Yes, I did.
-[Judy] How much?

Five hundred dollars.

Okay. Sarah, in your...

-I looked up... [chuckles]
-...adventure on the machine,

did you come up with a price for a used...

Yes.

So, there's actually one right here
on eBay that's the same, three wheels,

that needs batteries for $350.

And then there's another one for 250.
And they range up to about 750.

Your Honor, I have the information on that
too from two companies in Lacrosse.

No, I don't need any information from you.

I have a very trusted clerk here

who's just looked it up and indicated
that for a used scooter,

the range is from $250
for that year model,

to $750 for that year model.
Right?

That's what she looked up.
This was an unused, never used scooter.

-[Judy] That's what she looked up.
-Yes.

Also, if I may ask you, Your Honor,
or show you.

It is a manufactured...

So far, you're not losing, sir.

So, I don't know what you want
to contribute to this.

I'm sorry.

I just have an old flip phone
with the date on it.

It was manufactured 05/28 of 2007.

Okay. So, it wasn't 2015, it was 2007.

That's what I found on the scooter.

Kevin, can I see the document
that the defendant referenced?

[Garrett]
Okay, I will show you...

No, you had it right over there.

This one.

[Judy] Yeah.

Well, that's just...

Here, it's on my phone, Your Honor,
and I don't know if you can look at it.

I just wrote it down
so I had it in front of me, but...

[Judy] Okay.

I have it on this phone,
if you can operate it. I don't know.

I can't operate it
and I don't want to operate it.

-Here, return this to him.
-[Garrett] Okay.

Anyway, the $500 that you gave to her
is more than...

reasonable for the scooter.

So, my question to you is,
if it was vulgar then,

which to me, it would've been,
why did you let him in your house

to install a dishwasher?

I was not aware
of those actions that he had,

-at that time.
-[Judy] Okay.

[narrator]
And later today.

He advanced the money for security
deposits so he had a place to live.

And the next month, you decided
to be a stay-at-home dad.

I had no option.

I don't care! What does that matter
to Mr. Huntsman?

Do I care? Does Sarah care
that you had no option?

Whitney doesn't care. Not even Kevin cares
if you have no option.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Robin Shepler
claims her former neighbor,

Garrett Tappendorf, harassed her for
months and owes for a mobility scooter.

Now, you did other work for her. Tell me
what other work you did for her.

Uh, the work that I performed for Robin
was she had no dishwasher there,

so I cut the cabinet out, prepared a spot
for the dishwasher.

I had to go through more cabinets
to get the plumbing over to the sink.

Then it needed to have electrical work
to power that up.

And she asked me to install another
electrical outlet for her microwave.

Now, Ms. Shepler, you seem to acknowledge
that the defendant did, in fact,

install a dishwasher for you.

I did some of the work as well for that.

-Well, that's your home.
-[Robin] Yes.

-It's not his home.
-[Robin] Mm-hmm.

So, you can do as much work as you like.

And this was part of the deal
for the scooter

which he paid you $500 for,
which already covers

the cost of the scooter,
so now he's working off nothing.

So, he installed a dishwasher for you.

He did sub-quality work, though.

-[Judy] Well...
-I have photos if you'd like to see.

[Judy]
I don't want to see, madam.

If you want a professional installation,
call a professional.

If you want your neighbor to do it
in exchange for a scooter,

then you don't complain
that you don't like the work.

Does it wash dishes?

I had to replace it. No.

-It was used, Your Honor.
-[Judy] What?

It was a used dishwasher.

Yeah, you're replacing the dishwasher.
Does the current dishwasher work?

Yes.

[Judy]
Is the current dishwasher a new one?

Yes.

[Judy]
Was the one he installed a used one?

-Yes.
-[Judy] There we go.

So, so far, he's paid for the scooter.

Punitive damages for harassment.
You want to go into that, Ms. Shepler?

[Robin]
Yes, please.

Go ahead.

I knew him for six years
prior to being neighbors.

In that time, we would have
community fires, bonfires.

And he had this habit
of turning his music up so loud...

Just a second.
Give me a month and year.

This specific time, uh, for the last time,
was on March 16th.

This was during the day.

[Judy]
March 16th, two thousand...

Twenty-three.

[Judy]
He played his music too loud.

I was working and I couldn't do my job
across the street

because his music was so loud.

Next.

So, I called the police.

[Judy] And?

The next day I came home from work,

I get out of my car
and he calls me a...

Mm, that's a nasty word.

-No, I did not.
-[Judy] Just a second. And?

And other vulgar terms.

[Judy] And?

And he had the habit
of standing outside urinating

where my grandchildren would see him.

[Judy]
Well, tell me when.

-Give me a date.
-Every other day he did it.

[Judy] Well, then you shouldn't
have let him in your house

to install a dishwasher.

-He also had...
-[Judy] Just a second.

So, my question to you is,
if it was vulgar then,

which to me, it would've been,
why did you let him in your house

to install a dishwasher?

I was not aware of those actions
that he had,

-at that time.
-[Judy] Okah.

Next!

The harassment comes from after he was
served his small claims case that I filed.

I witnessed him putting spotlights out
in his front flower bed

and running extension cords to power them,
and I kinda wondered what he was doing.

At 6:30, I proceeded to go
to an evening activity.

I came home at 10:30 at night,
I turn the corner onto my street,

to see the entire street lit up because
these spotlights are shining on my house.

I proceeded to call the police.
The police came within 11 minutes.

I have documents of the police,
I have a video of the police

going to Mister... the defendant's house
in which they spoke to him.

And within three minutes, the lights
went off, but I had my camera rolling.

I could see the police were standing
ten feet away from the door.

Next thing I know, the police are coming
over to my house to talk to me.

And when they came to my door,
I turned on my front light.

When the police came, they asked me
to turn off the light

so they could talk to me.

And I told them,
"This man is harassing me.

I'm afraid of him.
He has a problem with alcohol."

Why did you file a small claims case
against him?

I don't understand. You were paid
more than the scooter was worth.

Between the $500 he gave you,
that you accepted,

plus, in addition to that,
he did some work on your house.

Whether you liked the work he did,

whether you didn't like
the work that he did,

I'm not understanding why you filed,

'cause you say this harassment started

-after you filed the small claims case.
-Yes.

And I don't understand why you
filed a small claims case against him.

I feel it was a brand-new, unused scooter

that happened to be six years old
at the time.

So, I think that the value
was higher than $500.

And I brought over a flyer to him,
which I have here,

and we sat down and we discussed it
that $1,000 would be the going price

for what he owed for the scooter,
having done the work.

Okay. First of all, whatever it was,
it was a plus item for you.

It was given to you by your father
who couldn't use it anymore.

You don't know what he paid for it.

He says, from the scooter,

it was built in 2007,
despite the fact that you say

your father bought it new in 2015,
which I'm not so sure about.

But the highest price
for that scooter is $750.

The highest.

The lowest is 225 in the same year.

So, you got paid for it.

I don't understand why a busy woman
like you would waste your time.

I just don't understand.
You seem like an intelligent woman.

You have a counterclaim.

It is your claim, Mr. Tappendorf,
that because the plaintiff

called the police on you several times,

it caused you to be evicted
from your home.

That's true.

Show me.

I filed a counterclaim
in the amount of $1,800...

I have it. And it says punitive damages
for losing home and moving expenses.

Which I read your counterclaim and you say
because of her constant complaints...

I don't have any proof,
other than I know...

[Judy] Mr. Tappendorf, you know what
happens when you don't have proof?

You get nothing.

Right.

Right. Because you filed the counterclaim.
And I can't tell you what happened.

You have to have proof
and be able to show me

that the reason you were asked to leave
the leased property

that your mobile home was on
was because of the plaintiff.

It's possible that it was,
'cause the police,

based upon what she tells me,
were called twice.

It was more than that.

Well, that may be more of a reason.
You don't have to help his case.

I've never had a ticket,
never had a warning.

I just had a warning one time
that the radio was too loud,

please turn it off.

These lights
that she's talking about are false.

Sir, all you have to do is show me
that you were evicted from the property

because of the plaintiff.

It's all hearsay then, Your Honor.

Well, then I have a problem...

I do have proof of
what he harassed me with.

[Judy]
Just a second.

[narrator]
And later today.

According to what I read,

the money was going
to come from your work.

Could we ask that question
one more time? Just so I know...

The money was supposed to come...
Listen, he didn't give you $2,800.

I want you to understand that right now.
That's not going through my mind.

-[Jesse] Okay.
-This is a very smart old mind.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Robin Shepler
claims her former neighbor,

Garrett Tappendorf,
harassed her for months

and owes for a mobility scooter.

He has no case.
Why are you helping him?

I'm not helping him,
I have my own case against...

No, your case is dismissed against him.

[Robin]
Thank you.

Because you have no case.

You were paid for a scooter
more than handsomely.

You had work done on your house.

You were paid far more
than the value of it over the internet

for a scooter that's between
eight and fourteen years old.

More than handsomely, and you had work,
and he did work for you.

That you may not have liked the work,
but he did the work.

And you installed
a new dishwasher that works.

And he did the cabinetry.

You may not like the way he did it,

but you installed a dishwasher there,
and it took time.

-Would you agree with that?
-[Robin] Yes.

Okay. So, we're done here.
Go, be well, have a happy life.

You're not living there anymore?

No, I am not, Your Honor.

[Judy] Good. You're living someplace else
that you like?

-A more peaceful place.
-Good.

Glad to hear it. That's it, we're done.

He's not supposed to be in our park
and he continues to.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

He was in front of my camera
riding in circles,

[sing-song] "I'm on Robin's camera,
I'm on candid camera,"

doing burnouts with my scooter.

It goes four miles an hour. [laughs]

[sing-song]
I'm on candid camera.

He taunted me with the scooter and
he knew he owed me more money on it.

I have another girlfriend
that lives in the neighborhood

and they're all jealous of her.

And they just want me out of there now.

Well, he's been evicted from the park.

And all of the people are very happy
that he's no longer there.

That defendant
has definitely watched you before.

He knew he had no proof and he knew
he was going home because of it.

But I mean, I guess, at least be honest.
When you come in, he knew...

He knew he didn't have it, but...

-"What do I have? Got nothin'."
-Yeah.

At least he knew it was hearsay
and he knew you weren't hearing it.

I actually thought
he was pretty sharp.

Yeah. But I think, you know,
she was adequately paid.

And he did work, she didn't like it.
Hire a professional.

Yeah, well, he put in a used dishwasher
in the work that he created.

Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
So, he really more than paid for it.

Yeah.

There's something else there.
There's some other annoyance there.

I'm not exactly sure what it is
between the two of them.

-You don't want to know. [laughs]
-[Judy] And I don't want to, yes.

Case 3043,
Huntsman versus Valdez.

All parties please step forward.

[narrator] Vincent Huntsman
is suing his former employee,

Jesse Valdez, for an unpaid loan

and fraudulently cashing
one of his checks.

Mr. Valdez, from when to when
did you work for Mr. Huntsman?

Sometime early July
to November first.

[Judy]
Of 2022?

[Jesse]
Two thousand twenty-two, yes.

[Judy]
And in September of 2022,

what was the address
where you were living?

[Jesse]
Uh, September first was Midvale, Utah.

[Judy]
And how long did you live there?

I'm still currently living there.

[Judy]
And in order to get that apartment,

you needed security deposit.

Yes.

[Judy]
Now, you were working for Mr. Huntsman

-and doing insulation.
-Yes.

And he wanted you to be a worker
and you wanted to be a worker.

-You have children? One or more?
-Two.

[Judy]
Do you have a wife?

Um...

-[Judy] "Um" is not an answer.
-She's a girlfriend, sorry. Yeah.

[Judy] You have a girlfriend.
Is she the mother of the two children?

She is.

[Judy]
Does she work?

[Jesse]
She does.

And you don't work anymore,
you are a stay-at-home dad.

Currently, yes. I do what I can.

You needed security deposit
for this apartment when you moved in.

I didn't need it.

[Judy] Well, in order to live there,
you had to have security deposit.

-[Jesse] Yes.
-[Judy] And you didn't have it.

Correct.

And this total security deposit
that was needed for this apartment

-was $2,800.
-Correct.

[Judy]
You were also living there,

in addition to your girlfriend
and two children,

with one other employee
who was a friend of yours?

It's my cousin's boyfriend
but also a friend, yes.

He was eventually evicted
from the apartment.

He was.

[Judy] Now, you took
from Mr. Huntsman the $2,800

which is currently with the landlord.

It is, yes.

And according to what I read, the money
was going to come from your work.

Yeah.

[Judy]
For Mr. Huntsman.

[Jesse] Yes.

-Oh, could we back up just a second?
-[Judy] Sure.

Could we ask that question one more time?
Just so I know...

The money was supposed to come...
Listen, he didn't give you $2,800.

I want you to understand that right now.
That's not going through my mind.

-Okay.
-This is a very smart old mind.

[Jesse] Okay.

[Judy] I can understand that you needed
an apartment, you needed a place to live.

He wanted you to come to work for them
and he advanced the money

for security deposit
so you had a place to live.

-Yes.
-[Judy] That's what happened.

And then, the next month,
you decided to be a stay-at-home dad.

I had no option.

I don't care! What does that matter
to Mr. Huntsman?

Do I care? Does Sarah care
that you had no option?

Whitney doesn't care. Not even Kevin
cares if you have no option.

[Jesse]
Okay.

Nobody cares if you have no option,
especially a stranger.

Tell your girlfriend to get two jobs,
you get two jobs,

-put your kids in daycare.
-Okay.

That's what people do
when they need money.

I didn't need the money,
it wasn't for me.

What do you mean it wasn't...
You're still living in the apartment.

Yeah, I know, it wasn't...

[Judy]
You're still living in the apartment.

The landlord still has the $2,800

-that he gave you.
-[Jesse] Yeah.

[Judy] And giving it to you with the idea
that you were going to be an employee.

That's what you said in your answer.

That's why I don't understand you,
Mr. Valdez.

You said that in your answer,
that he gave you the money

because he wanted both you
and your girlfriend's cousin's...

whoever else
moved into the apartment with you.

He wanted you to come to work for him.

And it was important enough for him,
you say, to make a gift

for you of $2,800 because
he needed you to be a good worker.

That's what you say in your answer.

Yeah.

-[Judy] And then you quit.
-I did.

A month after you got the money,
you quit.

That's this timetable.

Yeah, but there's some context to it
that you're not picking up on.

The context was?

The context was that
I had the money for my half.

My cousin and her boyfriend did not have
the money to come up with the other half.

Did you use your money?
No, my question, did you use...

For my half, yes.

[Judy]
So, you used your $1,400 for your half?

Is that what you're telling me?

I used $2,500 of my own money for my half

because after the background checks came
and the credit checks came,

it went from $1,400 to 2,550.

-[Judy] Was that for rent or security?
-Security.

Show me a check where you used
your money for the security.

Then I'm gonna dismiss his case.

September, 2022.

At the top is some money that we moved
from our accounts from our credit.

So, I had to move some funds around.
Here, here's your pen.

I had to move some funds around
to cover our end.

And then slightly after that...

There's a difference
between security deposit and rent.

[Jesse]
Yeah.

[Judy] Well, I see a deposit here,
September third, 2022, $1,400.

Where'd that come from?

That would be the first check
I received from Vince.

And then I see another deposit
on August 19th, $1,400.

-[Jesse] Yes.
-[Judy] Where'd that money come from?

That came from Vince as well.

Okay. Twenty-eight hundred dollars,
judgment for the plaintiff.

We're finished here.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

You know, I just, I've always been...
I've owned my own business

and I like to see people succeed
and help 'em out.

He gifted us the money, hands down.

Hopefully, he just can't keep doing it
to people over and over and over and over.

And then he can move on with his life
and be a better person, period.

I guess I just gotta make
better decisions, really.

I actually thought that was hysterical.

Because in the defendant's paperwork,

he acknowledged that the plaintiff
really wanted him as a worker.

Mm-hmm.

And therefore, he made a gift to him,

in anticipation of him
being a worker for him...

-[Sarah] Mm-hmm.
-...of this deposit.

And then a month later,
he quit to be a stay-at-home dad.

It's convenient when your debt that's owed
is tied to your wage payments.

Very convenient.

Oh, my God, I don't know
what these people are thinking.

The audacity!

Yes. I always find that fascinating

when people just take advantage
of good nature.

But then don't even see it themselves
as taking advantage of the good nature.

"No, I had to, I had no choice."

Yeah, "I had no option, no choice."
It's the problem with today, I think.

[narrator]
Are you a victim of a scam?



[theme music playing]