03x95 - Paint-Splatter Vandal and Cycle Catastrophe

[bunniefuu]

[Judy]
This young man vandalized your home?

-Correct.
-Come over here.

Take the pen and show me
where the damage was.

Here.

He did not vandalize her house.
He vandalized the other house.

[laughs] I don't believe a word of that.
Give me my pen back.

If you tell the truth,
you don't have to have a good memory.

-[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
-[theme music]

[announcer] Tania Labriola
is suing her neighbor, Noel Chhieng,

for vandalism caused
by her 11-year-old son, William.

-[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.
-Have a seat, please.

Judge, case 3151, Labriola versus Chhieng.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

-[Judy] You own a home?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
And it is your allegation that,

-I assume, this young man...
-Mhm.

-[Judy] ...who is your son...
-[Noel] Yes, ma'am.

-[Judy] ...vandalized your home?
-Correct.

-[Judy] Which had been freshly painted...
-Correct.

[Judy] ...because you added an addition,
so it was just painted.

And he vandalized it
by throwing paint on it,

-on it and some fencing or some wall.
-Mhm. Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And the defendant's mother
says he wasn't the instigator.

He did, in fact, do it,
but she was gonna clean it off

and she thought your estimate
to fix it was too high.

-So, what's your first name?
-William.

[Judy]
Stand up with your mother.

-You're ten?
-Eleven, ma'am.

-Tall for 11.
-Thank you.

[Judy] Okay. So, on what date
did you vandalize the plaintiff's house?

-I am not sure. I...
-[Judy] What month was it?

-December.
-Saturday or a Sunday?

-Pretty sure it was a Sunday.
-Do you remember what time?

-No.
-Morning, afternoon, night?

Morning, going...
transitioning into the afternoon.

What were you doing outside?

-Did your mother tell you to go outside?
-Yes.

-[Judy] And who did you go outside with?
-[William] My friend.

-Did you take your bikes or did you walk?
-Bikes.

[Judy] And you went over
to where the plaintiff's house is

and there's also a construction site.

So I want you to go over there and show me
where you and your friend went.

Alright.
Now, point to the plaintiff's house.

-Okay. So you went to the house next door?
-Yes.

Were they doing construction
at the house next door?

What do you mean by that?
Like, people there currently...?

You threw paint on the plaintiff's house.
Where did you get the paint from?

Show me in that picture.
That's what I thought.

So you got the paint
from somebody else's house?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Do you understand,

he got the paint
from somebody else's house

and took the paint
to the plaintiff's house?

-Can I clarify?
-[Judy] Sure.

[Noel] My understanding
is he did not vandalize her house,

he vandalized the other house.

Well, you don't know
that at all, actually.

You don't know that at all
'cause you weren't there.

-You don't know that at all...
-I believe based on the evidence

and what my son said, that it is true,

he vandalized one house and the
other kid vandalized the other house.

[Judy]
Okay. Now, come over here.

If you tell the truth,
you don't have to have a good memory.

Take the pen and show me where you
walked and where you got the paint.

You walked there, and then stop where you
got the paint. You got the paint there.

How many cans of paint were there?

-Four.
-[Judy] Four?

-So there were four gallon cans of paint?
-[William] No.

-[Judy] How big?
-Yay big. Not very big.

-[Judy] Four. So you each carried two?
-No. I took one. He took three.

And what was your intention
when you took the one?

-Use it on this house.
-Use it for what on the house?

-[William] I don't know, paint. I...
-What do you mean you don't know?

I didn't... I wasn't really thinking.

[Judy]
When did you and your friend separate?

About right there.

And show me where you stayed
and show me where your friend went.

What is that with the pen?
You stayed where?

Here. [...] went here.

[Judy]
And you let him go there all by himself?

-Yes.
-[laughs]

I don't believe a word of that.
Give me my pen back.

-[courtroom laughs]
-Give me my pen back.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Now, you can go stand with your mother.

-You have an estimate to paint the house?
-I do.

[Judy] May I see it please,
and I'd like to see the photographs.

Absolutely.
I have an estimate for the repainting,

as well as the north side of my house, the
fence was splattered with paint as well.

And then I had six boxes
of flooring that were damaged.

-And I have all of that.
-Let me just see.

-And here is the damages.
-And the estimate that you got was $3,800

and you said that the
other people paid $1,900...

-[Tania] Correct.
-[Judy] ...which is half?

-[Tania] Yup. Correct.
-Okay.

[Tania] And then I received
an invoice for the fence painting,

which I didn't have initially,
and as well as the flooring.

[Judy]
That's too bad. That's too bad.

$1,900, which as you said is half the
estimate. Now, I want to see. Huh. Okay.

-So now, I have this question for you.
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] When you came home,
your mother said to you,

-"You have paint on your shoes." Right?
-Yes.

And she asked you what happened,

"How'd you get paint on your shoes?"
Tell me what you told her.

I told her that I went over
to the house down the road.

[Judy]
You got it at the house down the road?

-Yes.
-You had to have told her more,

because she went with you
to where the damage was to the house

and you started cleaning it
with your mother,

-correct?
-Correct.

And where did you start to clean
with your mother first?

Because... pay careful attention,
'cause when the plaintiff came home,

she found you and your mother
cleaning the house in the back.

-Do you understand?
-Yes, ma'am.

So now, what I want you to do is show me,

when you and your mother
first came to the property,

where did you show her
the damage was? Go over there.

Show me where you told
your mother the damage was.

Here and here.

Well, how did you know the damage was
there? You said that you didn't go there.

How did you know
that there was any damage there?

[theme music]

When you pulled up in your driveway

and found the defendant's mother
cleaning your house,

where were they cleaning? Show me.

Okay. The mom was over here
and her son was over here.

So the son was cleaning the house

that he allegedly had
nothing to do with vandalizing?

[announcer]
And later today...

[Judy] You mean instantly,
you had a fight with him in the morning

and then you were going to pursue your
dream of motorcycle riding that day?

And so you got on the bike
and you wrecked it.

And then was terribly injured,
which you were,

because that's what happens when you ride
something with just the air around you.

[courtroom laughs]

[theme music]

[announcer] Tania Labriola
claims her neighbor, Noel Chhieng,

owes for property damage

after her 11-year-old son, William,
vandalized her house.

Now, you said that you stayed
right in the back of that first house

and your friend went all the way...
don't raise your hand.

And your friend went all the way
around the house

with the three cans of paint that
he was carrying. You only had one.

So how did you know that there was
any damage to the plaintiff's house?

Because there wasn't any trees here

and you could just blatantly see him...
doing the paint over here.

It's not a flat house, it's a big house.

Madam, walk over to the house and show me
where the paint was on your house.

-[Noel] Can I show you a more accurate...
-[shushing]

-[Noel] ...picture of the property?
-No, no, no, no, no.

-[Noel] It's very clear from this picture.
-No, no, no, no, no. Put it down.

Show me where the damage
was to your house. In the back end.

It was in all three sides. Yes, ma'am.

-All three sides?
-[Tania] Mhm. Just not the front, so...

And you said that you didn't move
from the back of the first house

when your friend went
all the way around the house.

So my question now to you is,
when you pulled up in your driveway

-and found the defendant's mother...
-[Tania] Mhm.

[Judy] ...and this young man cleaning your
house, where were they cleaning? Show me.

Okay. The mom was over here
and her son was over here.

[Judy]
So the son was cleaning the house

that he allegedly had nothing
to do with vandalizing.

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

Yeah. Okay. Step back. You, too.

-Anything else you wanna tell me?
-No, ma'am.

[Judy] You know, I sort of know
that this is the last time,

at least I believe that this is the last
time you're gonna be in court like this?

I sort of have that here, because I think
that this was an unpleasant experience

-both for you and your mother.
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
And when you get older,

you realize that you don't wanna
repeat unpleasant situations.

Because you get embarrassed,
your mother is embarrassed.

I mean, your mother had other things to do
rather than putting on plastic gloves

and going scrubbing off latex paint
on somebody else's house that day.

So, if you do the wrong thing,
the wrong thing happens.

Now, if you do the right thing in life,

it's not a guarantee
that everything will go well for you.

But I'm gonna tell you
it's a damn good start.

So, if you try to do
what is being a good citizen,

what's being a good person,
what's being a good neighbor.

-Do you live in a house?
-Yes.

-Does your mom own that house?
-[William] Yes.

But I think she's still
paying her mortgage.

Well, she owns it if she's still paying
a mortgage. But that's observant.

-So she owns her own house?
-Yes.

How do you think she would
feel if somebody came

-and threw paint on her house?
-Upset.

Right. Because she's paying a mortgage.
She wants it to look nice.

She wants you to have a nice place to
live, so... You seem like a nice young man

and you have to realize there are
repercussions when you do the wrong thing.

This lady had a house, she built
an extension, she repainted the house,

and somebody comes along and, for sport,
vandalizes it with their friend.

This was a, what we call,
a joint venture with your friend.

Then you had to get your mother involved.

-This was on a weekend?
-Yes.

So on a day when she doesn't work, and
she would ordinarily clean her own house.

-Yeah.
-[Judy] So instead,

she had to get all dressed and ready
and go and scrub a stranger's house.

-Not fair, right?
-Mhm.

[Judy] Good. Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $1,900.

-We're finished. Thank you very much.
-[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

[theme music]

Devastated, 'cause I'm a teacher,
a single mom of two,

and I've been working for years to save.
I work two jobs. So it's heartbreaking.

Ultimately, I'm the one who is going
to be responsible for paying this bill.

No, I think they were just 12 or 11,
whatever age they were,

and just wanted to do
what they wanted to do.

I hope this will put me on the path
to do the right thing, and hopefully...

I really, really will try my best
to not make this kind of mistake again.

-That actions have consequences.
-Ready to put it behind me.

Oh, how you love the youth
and to set them on the right path.

That was a very well-spoken,

-seemed confident, smart 11-year-old.
-Yeah.

[Sarah] And I think you scared it
into him to make the right choices.

And he seems... this seemed like
a one-off type situation for him.

It didn't seem like this was a trait
that he carries on daily.

-No, no, no.
-[Sarah] You know, in his regular life.

And you never know. This experience
for him might just be the thing

that keeps him from ever doing
anything like this again.

It might be the little voice over peer
pressure, over, you know, instigation,

that could save him from making
another mistake in his young years.

[Judy] Yeah, right. I used to say
that family quote all the time,

that I thought it was unwise
to allow young people,

-like this or a little bit older...
-[Sarah] Mhm.

...who committed these acts of vandalism,
knocked over somebody's vegetable cart.

-Mhm.
-[Judy] You know,

took rocks and threw it
and broke a window,

and they would go into
the probation department

and they would say,
"Don't do that again.

You know, you don't wanna have
to come in here with your mother again."

And they let 'em go home.
And I said it's a tremendous mistake.

Because if the first time you're brought
into court it's an unpleasant experience,

people usually do not want to
replicate an unpleasant experience.

But if there's no consequence
to doing these little petty things...

Then there's no contrary voice
when you're about to do it.

[Judy] If there's no consequence
then that escalates.

-Mhm.
-Because there has to be a consequence.

As a parent, if you tell your child
to be in at nine o'clock

and they come in at 11:00
and there's no consequence,

-then they're gonna come in at 12:00.
-[Sarah] Mhm.

And if there's no consequence,
then they're gonna come in next Thursday

-and you're gonna deserve it.
-Yeah.

[Judy] Because there has to be
consequential behavior.

-Anyway, I'm getting off my soapbox.
-[chuckles]

Case 3143, Child versus Huddleston.
All parties, please come forward.

[announcer] Tailor Child is suing her
former friend, Crystal Huddleston,

for the cost of a motorcycle
and riding boots.

I know very little about motorcycles.

I know that the couple of times
I've been on them, I didn't like it.

Just seems to me that when you're
surrounded with 3,000-pound cars,

you want more around you than fresh air.

So maybe I'll get somewhat of
an education doing this case. I doubt it.

[theme music]

You weren't in an accident
with another bike.

-You wrapped the bike around a tree.
-Yes.

And of course,
that had to be somebody else's fault,

not the fault of the rider
who was learning how to ride,

but it had to be somebody else's fault,

who let you use the bike
to learn how to ride.

[theme music]

[announcer] Tailor Child is accusing
her former friend, Crystal Huddleston,

of owing for the cost of a motorcycle
after crashing it into a tree.

Crystal is countersuing Tailor
for medical bills.

-Ms. Child, you like motorcycles?
-Correct.

-And you've been riding them a long time?
-Yes.

[Judy] And you purchased
a motorcycle from someone, used,

-and you paid $3,500 for it?
-[Tailor] Yes.

[Judy]
Who's Scott?

-Right here, ma'am.
-[Judy] That would be him.

You and Scott work on
the motorcycles together?

-Yes.
-[Judy] And you brought the motorcycle

back to your place and you
did some work on the chain

and a lube job and who knows what else.
But then when you tested it out,

Scott thought, according to you,
it needed a little more work

and he was gonna take it back to his house
to do a little more work on it.

-So far correct?
-Correct.

So, Scott took this motorcycle
back to his house.

Now, this young lady
doesn't ride motorcycles,

but she rides as a passenger
on motorcycles,

but she wanted to learn about it
and she too was a friend of Scott's.

-Correct.
-So she was at Scott's house

while he was futzing around
with this motorcycle

and she decided she wanted to ride it,

and wanted Scott to help her learn
to ride a motorcycle.

-Um...
-[Judy] "Um" is not an answer.

-Is that correct?
-No.

Tell me where I'm wrong.

The morning of September 29th,
Tailor had my riding equipment in her car,

and she and I had an agreement

that I was going to learn with Scott
on the bike the night previous.

We had a group chat.

And at some point, you had to have
asked her if you could ride the bike.

You know, certain things are common sense.
Certain things aren't common sense.

Don't think about
your ultimate counterclaim here

because that's not gonna be good
for you anyway, in all probability.

-You understand that?
-Yes.

[Judy] 'Cause we have to take
responsibility for our own actions.

But at some point,
you asked her if you could ride her bike.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay. And at that point,

-you knew the bike was at Scott's house.
-Yes.

[Judy]
And when Scott gave you the bike to ride,

-you rode it alone?
-Yes.

-Had you ever ridden a bike alone before?
-Yes.

-[Judy] How many times?
-Five.

-[Judy] Whose bike?
-Ryan's bike. And...

-[Judy] And Ryan is your?
-Boyfriend.

[Judy] Okay. When Ryan let you ride his
bike five times, were you good at it?

I would like to think so.

Well then, why did you wanna ride her
used bike for and learn how to ride?

I wanted to get more practice
before I bought my own bike.

[Judy]
Okay. So you wanted to get more practice.

Why didn't you ask your boyfriend
if you could ride his bike?

Ryan and I were in a fight that morning.

[Judy] So, you mean instantly,
you had a fight with him in the morning

and then you were going to pursue
your dream of motorcycle riding that day?

-Am I understanding you?
-Yes.

[Judy] Yeah. Okay. Good.
So this is what happened.

So you got on the bike and you wrecked it.

-Yes.
-[Judy] And she's suing

-for the wrecked bike.
-Correct.

[Judy] And you're counterclaiming
because you said,

"I didn't know that it didn't have
a lube job and I was terribly injured."

-Which you were, hospitalized, right?
-Yes.

Because that's what happens when you ride
something with just the air around you.

[courtroom chuckles]

[Judy] You weren't in an accident
with another bike or a car.

-You wrapped the bike around a tree.
-Yes.

And, of course,
that had to be somebody else's fault,

not the fault of the rider
who was learning how to ride,

but it had to be somebody else's fault,

who let you use the bike
to learn how to ride?

No, I take full responsibility
for crashing this bike.

You take full responsibility?

So why don't you pay her for the bike
instead of countersuing her for $10,000?

The bike was unregistered, uninsured,

and Tailor and I have an agreement,
or had an agreement

that I would pay her in full
by March 29th.

-Pay her in full for what?
-[Crystal] For the bike.

-[Judy] And?
-And the boots that she gave me.

So you had an agreement
with her after this incident.

By the way,
what was the date of the incident?

-September 29th.
-[Judy] Okay. So you had an agreement,

after you destroyed the bike, and after
you recovered from your injuries,

you had an agreement with her that
you were gonna pay her for the bike

-by March 29th?
-Yes.

-Why didn't you pay her?
-I have been paying the medical bills off.

[Judy] Okay. Well, that's fair. So, in
anticipation of your not paying her back,

she's suing you now,
and you decided to counterclaim?

Yes.

[laughs] That makes
my life so much easier.

Good. Did she agree
to pay you back for the bike?

[Tailor]
Yes.

She's telling you, this... in legalese,
we call this an anticipatory breach.

She's telling you now on March 19th that
she's not gonna pay you on March 29th.

So ten days from now,
she's not gonna pay you

'cause she's been paying
off the medical bills.

-That's why we're here.
-Correct.

Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount
of $3,500. Your counterclaim is dismissed.

-We're done here. Thank you very much.
-[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

[theme music]

What happened is Tailor blatantly lied

and said that I could ride her bike
and that's it. It's cut and clean.

I crashed, I take responsibility
for it, and that's it.

I didn't give full permission.
It was discussed prior to the case...

well, prior to the incident,

that she would... I would teach her,
and they already had access to my bike.

I was on gravel,
I lost control of the bike,

I popped a wheelie,
and then I popped another wheelie.

I received a call from Scott, my witness.

The clutch gave out
and I couldn't stop the bike,

so I made a decision to not go
into my car and go into a tree.

He said, "Hey, get here quick.
Crystal's in an ambulance.

-She wrapped your bike around a tree."
-Tailor and I are not friends.

-We're not friends.
-I don't like snakes. I'm sorry.

[Sarah] Rarely do we get one that easy.
I mean, it was clear.

She rode the bike,
she wrapped the tree, she damaged it.

-She made an agreement to pay for it.
-[Sarah] Made an agreement to pay for it.

And although she didn't
reach exactly, you know,

the ten days from now
in which she would've breached it,

I think plaintiff was entitled to it.

And you assume the risk
when you do dangerous adult activities

such as riding a motorcycle.
And just like you said,

you can't shift the blame
after the fact to anyone else out there.

That's your own fault.
And anything that comes to you...

-That's all.
-[Sarah] ...deserves to come to you.

That's... Well, you need all kinds of IQs.

[Sarah chuckles]

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[theme music]