03x36 - Family Road Rage Drama

[bunniefuu]

I do not know who you are...

Or why you're harassing me right now.

She forced you off the road.

She went like this, and I had to swerve.

All you told the police was,
she flipped you off.

If somebody attempted
to k*ll me and my children

by forcing them off the road,

that would be the first thing
that I would tell a police officer.

[announcer] This is Judge Judy Justice...

Samantha Rojo and Gabriel Fate
are suing their former landlord,

Amber Richardson for
a security deposit,

harassment and filing
a false restraining order.

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

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case #3059,
Rojo, Fate, versus Richardson.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

-[Judge Judy] Ms. Rojo...
-Yes, Your Honor...

Boyfriend? Fiancé?

-Hopefully fiancé, just boyfriend.
-[Judge Judy] Boyfriend.

[Judge Judy] And you were living together,
and leased a home,

with your children...
Are they his children?

We have a blended family.
Two each.

[Judge Judy] Okay. So, four children.

The two of you leased
a home from the defendant.

-[Rojo] That's correct.
-[Judge Judy] You're her husband?

Yes.

It was a home that
they had recently purchased

with the intention of living there.
Did you ever live in the home?

Yeah, a couple of months.

Okay. And then,
work took them away,

and they hired a management company

to find tenants for the house.

In what month and year
did you lease the house?

We moved in Octo-
Excuse me, November 1st, 2021.

We had signed our lease in October.

-[Judge Judy] And it was a year lease?
-[Rojo] It was six months.

-[Judge Judy] Terminating when?
-April 30th, 2022.

You were notified
by the management company

that the Richardsons
were moving back into their house,

-and would not be extending your lease.
-Yep.

[Judge Judy] Now, after you were given
notice by the management company

-you called Mr. Richardson.
-I did, yes.

I want you to tell me why you called him.

Um, the school year was nearing its end,

and so I was wondering if there was
any way to extend it just another month

or maybe even a couple of weeks
just to get to the end of the school year.

And when he said, no,
they were moving back in

-that was the end of our communication.
-Okay. Did he explain why to you?

He said, in his words,
his wife was a "tough sell,"

and she said that
we couldn't extend the lease.

And so, that was the end
of our communication.

Stand up, sir.

-Your last name is Richardson?
-Yes, ma'am.

Do you remember the conversation

-that you had with Mr. Rojo?
-Yes, I do.

Tell me what he said to you,
what you said to him.

He expressed a desire to extend the lease

-Um...
-[Judge Judy] He said to you,

I'd like to extend the lease,
my kids are going to school,

-could we extend a few weeks until...
-Yes, absolutely.

-...after the school year.
-Yes.

And dad to dad I totally understand

Um, I expressed to him that...

-No, what did you say to him. Look at me.
-Oh, I told him that, you know...

I didn't initially see
a problem with that, initially.

-However, the reason we are moving back...
-Just a second. Just a second.

-When he said that to you, you understood?
-Yes. Yes.

Did you say to him,
I'll speak to my wife and call you back?

-Yes, I have to talk to my wife.
-[Judge Judy] Just a second...

What you said was,

I understand your problem.
I have to talk to my wife.

How did I know that?
I have a crystal ball in my head

'cause things make sense to me,
Mr. Richardson.

Because you knew that you couldn't
make that judgment on your own.

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judge Judy] You have children?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-How many?

-Four.
-Now,

where you had relocated
your children were in school

-Yes, Your Honor.
-So, moving back May 1st

also required you taking
your children out of school.

-Yes, Your Honor.
-Well, why would you do that?

-Um...
-[Judge Judy] No, no. Don't ask her.

Don't ask her. Are you allowed to hear?

Listen to me, Mr. Richardson.
Here, you're allowed to speak.

-Do you understand?
-Yes, Your Honor.

Great.

So, only one of my children,

out of the four,
was enjoying their school.

It's still taking them out
a month before school started.

Absolutely.
It wasn't something I'd like to do,

but I had a job in Minnesota
that started May 9th.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
So now, we're gonna go back.

So, you say to Mr. Fate, "Listen,

That question is above my pay grade."

-Yes, Your Honor.
-"I have to speak to my wife."

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[chuckles] Sounds right.

-And did you speak to your wife?
-Yes, Your Honor. I did.

-[Judge Judy] And what was her response?
-Um...

-She wanted to move as soon as possible.
-[Judge Judy] Got it.

Okay. So, he called you back
and said, my wife's a tough sell.

-Correct.
-Okay. Your case is about two things.

First, a return of your security deposit,
and then harassment,

and filing a false restraining order
against you.

So now, you move out
on April 30th or May 1st?

April 30th.

And how much of a security deposit
did you put down on the house?

-Uh, when we moved in we paid $2,400.
-Did you get any part of it back?

No, they noted that we would
but we did not.

[Judge Judy] Just a second.
They noted that you would where?

When we got our disposition letter
from the rental company

there was an amount noted
that we were going to receive.

-[Judge Judy] May I see it, please?
-Sure.

Thank you.

Okay. So, they list a whole bunch
of things that were problematic.

Something in there's supposed
to refund $340 of your $2,400,

-is that right?
-That's correct.

-Did you receive the $340.88?
-No, ma'am.

Okay. So now, what you're
going to show me, Mrs. Richardson,

is move-out charge,

a thermal fogging of garage
to remove dog odor.

-Yes. Um... I don't know...
-[Judge Judy] $199.

Let's go.

[sighs] There's so much stuff.

By the way, do you have a move-in report

for when you moved into the house?
I'd like to see it.

There. Thank you.

[Judge Judy] So far,
I'm looking at all these pictures

Now, these pictures were the way you found
the place when you moved in or out?

-In.
-[Judge Judy] In.

-These pictures coincide with the move in.
-Correct.

For instance, I'm looking at this,
Mrs. Richardson and one of the things

that you complain about,

is that they painted a wall blue
in the master bedroom.

-Yes.
-Okay, well, the wall was blue.

Okay. I bought my house... this color.

I never gave permission
for any modifications of my house.

And then they painted it this ugly color.

Who cares? You had to paint this anyway.
There were holes in the walls.

[theme music playing]

She was pointing, flipping me off,

screaming, like, leaned over the driver
and then grabbed the wheel,

went like this... and I had to swerve

-because she put the wheel that way.
-That's a lie!

-Okay?
-I'm gonna tell you how I know it's a lie.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Samantha Rojo and Gabriel Fate
claim their former landlord,

Amber Richardson
owes for a security deposit

and filing a false restraining order.

Amber is countersuing for harassment
and child endangerment.

Now, are you allowed to have dogs?

-[Rojo] Um...
-Just a second.

Don't-Don't... Were you allowed
to have dogs in your lease?

-I believe we could have, yes.
-What do you mean, you believe?

What does the lease say?

The dogs were not in our lease
at the time it was signed.

-Was it asked whether you had pets?
-No one asked us.

-Does the lease ask whether there're pets?
-It does note zero pets, yes.

So it says there're zero pets.
How many pets did you have?

-We had two dogs in the house.
-Well, that's wrong.

-Yeah, it was...
-Well, that's wrong.

And they say that there were
urine stains all over the carpet.

-No, that's...Sorry.
-[Judge Judy] Oh, yeah.

[Judge Judy] In the closet this says...

If I may give you
just this one text from Keith

stating the urine smell in the home,

and they asked us to clean
the carpet before we moved in.

-[Judge Judy] Yeah, I'd like to see that.
-[Fate] That's a text message to me...

-[Rojo] Before moving in.
-[Fate] ...prior to us moving in.

Okay.

Mr. Richardson...

What were you gonna have your wife
take care of in the carpet?

I just wanted my wife
to actually clean the carpet...

No, no, no, no.
What was wrong with the carpet, sir?

I wanted the carpet cleaned.
Nothing was wrong with the carpet.

How many dogs did you have
in the two months you were living there?

-Uh, I have two. I have two.
-"Uh" is not an answer. Two.

-Two's the answer. Okay, sit down.
-Right.

Okay, I'm gonna deal with
the security deposit in a moment.

I want you to tell me,
after you moved out there was an incident

between the two of you
and Mrs. Richardson.

I want you to tell me
your version of that.

Sure. Um, so, it was May 26th
when the incident happened.

So, a little under a month
after we vacated their home.

We were picking up children
in our little town...

There's only one gas station
and one restaurant.

Um, we pulled into the gas station.

I got out of the passenger side of the van

and a vehicle whipped into
the spot next to us.

It was a white Tahoe, um,
that apparently belongs to the defendant.

She was screaming at me, saying that
I'd done something I didn't do.

[Judge Judy] No, I want you to tell me
what she said to you.

She said, I flipped her off.

Um, she knew who I was,
which was frightening. I'd never met her.

Flipped her off, when?

She states that she saw my vehicle
and that I reached over Gabe

and flipped her off driving on the road.

But I don't know her and I never met her.
So, I don't know how that's possible.

[Judge Judy] Okay. And...

[Rojo] And that was the reason
she followed us to Quik Trip

to start an incident.
I don't...

-[Judge Judy] So, what happened?
-Yeah, she called me fat

and told me that
I knew exactly who she was.

She was yelling about me flipping her off.

Um, she said, "Yes,
you rented my house, I know who you are."

And she just kept saying my name.

And that's when I got out my phone
and started recording.

-Do you have that recording?
-Mhm.

-I'd like to hear it.
-I didn't get very much of it, but...

Just have to press play.

Who you are
or what you're talking about.

I do not know who you are...

why you are harassing me right now.
-Okay Samantha.

Who you are or what you're talking about.

I do not know who you are...

why you are harassing me right now.
-Okay Samantha.

[Judge Judy] What happened after
you had that confrontation with her?

She left when I started recording.

I then called the police.
Obviously, I was upset and crying.

My children were in the car.

I was embarrassed for her that
her children were in her own vehicle

and she's chasing people down.
I called the police and made the report.

-I do have a copy.
-You have a police report?

I'd like to see it.

[Rojo] Thank you.

[Judge Judy] See, Mrs. Richardson,
this is your problem...

If I were driving in my car
with my young children

and someone forced me off the road.

That's a situation where your car can be

flipped over.
Your children can be injured.

And that would be the first thing

that I would tell a police officer.

Now, the police were called.
They spoke to Ms. Rojo,

and then they came to find you.

I'm going to read to you exactly
what the police officer said.

"I left Quik Trip
and drove to the house location.

As I was driving past the house,

I observed a female
sitting in front of the house

and she waved me over to speak.

Richardson was on the phone
with dispatch as I arrived.

Richardson hung up the phone,
and I asked her what took place?"

What did you tell the police officer
that took place?

Now, this just happened, Mrs. Richardson.

Pay careful attention. It just happened.

-So, what happened was...
-No, I didn't ask you what happened.

I asked you what you told

-the police officer?
-What I told the police officer

is that my children and I
were coming back from in town,

-and...
-No, you didn't tell them that, at all.

You and your children were in the car,
that's what you told him.

Okay. And...

We were in the car heading home
and in the opposite direction,

my younger daughter
noticed Ms. Rojo's vehicle,

-and... exactly.
-They were in the opposite direction.

-Go ahead.
-And right then,

I noticed she was in the passenger side

and Mr. Fate was driving.

And she was pointing, flipping me off.

Screaming, like, leaned over the driver

and threw her middle finger up
against the driver' window screaming,

and then grabbed the wheel, at me,
grabbed the wheel... went like this...

And I had to swerve because she

-put the wheel that way...Okay?
-That's a lie!

That, you're making up as...

not only as you're standing here,
but when you filed

your answer and your counterclaim,
'cause that's a lie!

And I'm gonna tell you
how I know that's a lie.

Because that would be a terrible...
You can stand up with her.

...because that would be
a terrible thing that happened.

'Cause what you say in your answer
and your counterclaim

is that she forced you off the road.

That's what you say in your counterclaim.

But moments after this incident,
when you spoke to the police,

-you mentioned nothing about that. Or...
-I did...

[Judge Judy] No, nothing!
All you told the police was,

she flipped you off.
That's what you told the police.

I'm gonna read it to you
because that's...that's reckless!

That's terrible

Someone going and forcing you off the road
with children in the car.

That's dangerous.
She could be arrested for that.

But that's not what
you told the police officer.

This is what you told the police officer.

You ready?

[theme music playing]

If somebody almost k*lled me
and my children,

that would be something
that I would tell the police

right off the bat.

He wouldn't make a report
'cause there was no physical...

That's bologna.

-He wouldn't do it.
-That's bologna.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Samantha Rojo and Gabriel Fate
have accused their former landlord,

Amber Richardson, of refusing
to return their security deposit

and filing a false restraining order.

Amber is countersuing for harassment
and child endangerment.

"I asked her what took place.
She told me that she was driving along

when she noticed a minivan
in the opposite direction.

She observed the female passenger
lean over and begin to flip her off

as they passed each other.

Richardson said she and her kids
were in the car and it made her upset.

She turned around and pulled into
the Quik Trip lot shortly behind them

and confronted them about the incident."

It doesn't say anything
about being forced off the road.

-Well...
-It doesn't say anything about swerving.

All it says was is somebody made
a nasty gesture to you...

That's what it says.

-He...
-[Judge Judy] But if somebody

almost k*lled me and my children,

that would be something that
I would tell the police right off the bat.

[Amber] He wouldn't make
a report because there was no physical...

That's bologna.

-He wouldn't do it.
-That's bologna!

-[Judge Judy] I don't believe you.
-I even asked for a restraining order...

-I-I don't... Listen to me...
-...she had to physically do something.

I don't believe that she attempted
to run you off the road.

I believe she was disrespectful
in flipping you off.

There's no question in my mind
because you don't look like an idiot.

And if somebody attempted
to k*ll me and my children

by forcing them off the road,

that would be the first thing
that I would tell a police officer.

Not that she flipped me off,
so I turned around

and confronted her about it.

So, that's how I know
that it didn't happen.

-It did happen.
-Well, I have to make that judgment.

I say it didn't happen,
'cause if it happened,

it would've been the first thing
that you told the police

moments after this incident occurred.

I even said it on dispatch
when I was on the phone with 911

-and waiting for an officer.
-Just a second. Just a second...

If you have a 911 call
that talks about being

pushed off the road
with your four children in the car

I would like to hear it or see it.
Do you have it?

-[Judge Judy] The answer is no.
-I didn't obtain one

-because I did not get ahold of dispatch.
-No, your counterclaim's dismissed.

Now, you filed a restraining order.

-Was the restraining order granted or not?
-Yes.

[Judge Judy] Can I see
the restraining order?

[Rojo] This is the original petition.

-Did you go to court and have a hearing?
-I contested it, yes.

[Judge Judy] Yeah, in your answer
that's what you say.

"She then took control of the wheel
and forced me off the road.

I was forced into a ditch."

You keep making things up.
You keep making stories as you go along.

No, I had someone from the courthouse
help me fill that out.

-Because I...
-Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.

-There's no lettering on that one.
-[Judge Judy] I don't... Let me tell...

Let me explain something to you.
I don't believe

that she tried to force you off the road.

Anyway, your counterclaim is dismissed.
I don't believe you.

Now I'd like to see your photographs
of what you allege

accounts for $2,400 in security deposit.

Here are the photos.

[Judge Judy] I'm not interested
in the floors.

The floors were dirty when they moved in.

You want to tell me
what this is a picture of?

Oh, that was evidence that they had a dog
in there and violated the lease agreement.

-[Judge Judy[Okay.
-I have a lot more pictures.

A photo of urine in the move-out.

[Judge Judy] I'm looking for photographs
of the damage.

So far...

What, is this a garbage can full of stuff?
What is this?

Yeah, it was what we pulled out of that.

A lot of the cleaning...
I had to take that trash to the landfill.

-Oh, terrible.
-[Keith] Um...

-[Judge Judy] Okay.
-[clears throat]

So, there are spots on the lawn here
that are clearly urine spots.

-Is that what you're showing me?
-Yes, I have more actually.

Yeah, well, you had two dogs
when you lived there for two months.

Tiny Chihuahuas ma'am, yes.

I don't care. I have Shih Tzus.
They make the same brown spot.

-What difference does it make?
-My dogs don't go out on the lawn.

They go out on leashes
on the sidewalk only because they're small

and they're not from the city,
so we don't let them run around

-freely in the backyard.
-[Judge Judy] Okay.

I actually believe
that the restraining order

that you filed against her was nonsense.

-You're staying out of each other's way?
-Yes.

-I drive...
-I try to avoid her at all.

But she goes in my neighborhood,

So, I have to try to make sure
that I get up super early

if I have to leave.
because she's stated multiple times

throughout the hearing that she in fact,
goes through my neighborhood

uh... more than three times a day.

So?

So, she doesn't live in my town.
She doesn't live in my neighborhood.

There's no reason for her
to even drive past my house.

At the other end of my neighborhood
where she can easily access through

-and go through instead of...
-Just a second.

-She doesn't have to avoid you madam.
You lied!

-I did not lie! No, I did not.
-Yes, madam, you did.

[Judge Judy] Yeah, well,
I'm telling you that in my judgment

after reading this police report,
common sense dictates

after reading this report,
that the first thing

that you say to the police is,
she tried to k*ll me and my children

by running me off the road.

And you said absolutely nothing!
You said absolutely nothing.

[Judge Judy] She gets
her whole security deposit back.

Judgement for the plaintiff
in the amount of $2,400.

We're finished.
Your counterclaim is dismissed.

[Bailiff Kevin] This court is adjourned.

[theme music playing]

She thinks that she can just
do whatever she wants,

um, and... don't care.

It wasn't only frightening,
it was embarrassing,

and we live in a small town.

So the way to go about conflict
is not to chase it down, I would think.

She, you know, harassed me.

She tried to run me off the road
with my kids in the car.

And... not, you know, care.

[chuckles] I have children.
That's not the kind of person I am.

The fact that she doesn't have
"my forever home," as she put it.

You know, we rented a house.

We didn't know if we'd be there
six months or forever.

But does anyone ever want to move?

I mean, things get said, and so, yeah.

I could never be jealous of her.

Um, it is what it is.

Yeah, leave people alone.
And don't trust. Don't steal.

And fathers' rights matter.

So, my dad always told me,
one of the ways that he used

his truth radar, similar to yours,

is if someone's telling a story
or recounting something that happened,

or in this case, the defendant speaking
to the police about what happened,

you always lead, he always said,
with the most egregious thing.

The most... the worst thing that happened.
The worst name that she called you.

The worst action that they did to you.
People tend to lead with that.

And I fought him for a long time on that.
I said, "Well, Dad,

you're just bad at telling a story.
You don't know how to set the scene,"

you know?
Sometimes you need some background.

And he said, "No, but in instances,"
which he was familiar with in the law,

with police, with anyone of authority,
with a judge,

you always are rushing to get out
the worst of the worst.

So when you went down that avenue,
I saw where you were going.

And it finally clicked for me.
So, I'll have to call him after this.

-The apple...
-...doesn't fall far from the tree.

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