You did get in the car with your sister and her husband,
and it was an unpleasant trip.
[Kendra] It was basically him with the--the agitation and the argument.
I'm sorry, ma'am, but that is not true.
I didn't ask you a question.
[Rena] 'Cause she was trying to fight him and threatening him.
- That's not true. - And, she did.
Out.
Period.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Kendra Dubois is suing her sister, Rena Peak.
For the title to her car, nursing services, and lost wages.
[Kevin] Court come to order.
Have a seat, everyone.
Hello, Judge. Case number 1114, Dubois versus Peak.
Thank you.
- Ms. Dubois, this is your sister? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] This case has many, many parts to it.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Let us deal
with a car first.
You say that several years ago, I assume,
or in the past couple of years,
you were having difficulty with either an ex-husband
or soon to be ex-husband?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] When was that?
Uh, It was in January-- it started January of 2020.
Is he now your ex-husband?
[Kendra] He's soon to be.
We're in the process of getting a divorce.
[Judge Judy] And during this nasty period,
you had a car that was in your name?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] That I assume,
- you felt was your car? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] And you didn't want your soon to be ex-husband
to have any right or interest in that car?
Oh, no, ma'am. He was vandalizing the car.
- [Judge Judy] Did you keep the car? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] So, whether he was vandalizing it or not,
you didn't want him to have any interest in the car
because you put it in your sister's name?
- [Kendra] Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] So, let's be very real.
Okay? The physical car never went to your sister?
- No, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Point is
you didn't want him to have any interest in the car.
Well, I, I moved to a different state, so I was in a different state.
So, anything that had to do with Florida,
she was kinda my support system
and was handling any affairs I had in Florida.
[Judge Judy] Ms. Dubois, this face has been sitting
for four decades on a bench.
I've done matrimonial work for 25 of those years.
So, I don't wanna hear a lot of gobbledygook.
When people are in the middle of a divorce,
the only reason they transfer title to somebody else
is because they want their soon to be ex-spouse
not to have any interest in that property, period.
There's no other reason.
We--we don't have any issue
with, um, property and stuff like that between us,
like, whatever was in my name was mine and whatever was in his name was his.
Then, what's the issue with the title to the car?
For whatever reason, you put the title to the car
in your sister's name.
You're still not divorced from your husband.
- Why do you want it back? - Uh, it-it's my, car, like, I--
[Judge Judy] Well, I wanna know why, (chuckles) Ms. Dubois.
You--yeah, I mean, I know you-- I know you think you're smarter,
but I want you to give me a reason that she understands.
[Kendra] Okay. Well, I wasn't in Florida
and my car was registered in Florida, and I work COVID.
So, I didn't wanna have my car registered
in another state that I wasn't gonna be living in.
I wanted to--it to stay, you know, registered in Florida.
And I wasn't there to handle it at that time.
All right. So, let me read to you what you wrote in your complaint.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] It says, "In January,
I had an unfortunate situation with my ex-husband,
so I asked Rena, to put the title to my vehicle in her name."
That's what you wrote.
That's what you swore to in your complaint.
Do you wanna read the first line?
- Yes, ma'am. I just kinda simplified it. - [Judge Judy] Just--just a second.
That's what you said.
You didn't say I was living in Florida, that I was gonna move someplace else.
I wanted my business there. I want--that's what you wrote.
You wanna make sure that you wrote it?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
Well, what kind of unfortunate business were you having with your ex-husband,
which is the reason that you give here
for putting the title to the car in your sister's name?
That's the reason that you give, Ms. Dubois.
Tell me. Sarah is waiting.
[Kendra] I had to move away from Florida
and so she was my only support system in Florida,
so I asked her, would she handle my business,
like she was paying my mortgage and anything that I had,
like, business-wise in Florida,
- until I can... - [Judge Judy] Well, just a sec.
Do you mean she was paying it or you were sending her money?
[Kendra] No, I was sending her money to pay it.
She was handling, like, all of my affairs,
anything that had to do with Florida while I wasn't there...
[Judge Judy] Well, that-- was there something wrong with you?
- No, ma'am. - So you were sending money
out of state from your bank account?
Was it from a joint bank account or an individual bank account?
It was the individual.
But that's being done for a reason because--for instance,
I live in Naples, Florida.
I come to California to work.
I still carry my checkbook with me.
I have my paperwork with me.
I pay my bills from wherever I am.
I'm a lot older than you are
and I don't need a conservator to pay my bills.
So, let's start out with the fact that I don't believe you.
Let's start out with the fact that
the reason you put the title in your sister's name
is because you didn't want any issues with it with your soon to be ex-husband.
- But--Ms. Peak--don't speak... - [Kendra] That's not the [indistinct]
...because we already are not-- well, I don't know about you,
but I'm already not crazy about you.
Coming to you, do you remember when your sister
asked you to put the title to the car in your name?
- Yes, ma'am. - Would you take the title out, please?
This right here.
And would you hand that to Kevin?
And Ms. Peak, do you remember the conversation
that you had with your sister when she asked you
to put the title in her name and signed it over to you?
- Uh-hmm. She... - Not--uh-hmm is not is not an answer.
- That's a yes? - [Rena] Yes, ma'am.
She called me and asked me while she was going through it with him.
And she called me and asked me if I will put the car in my name
because she was afraid that
he might try to do something to her and find the car.
So, she wanted me to put it in my name, so that he wouldn't be able to find her.
- Find her? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Great. And was it your understanding
that you were supposed to return the title to the car to her
when she asked you?
- Yes. - Good. Sign it.
Okay.
[Judge Judy] That takes care of one issue.
Sign your name right here and print your name at the bottom.
- Okay. - Okay.
[Judge Judy] Great. Now you have your title back.
You said to her, "I'm not charging you
when she says I'm gonna give you something anyway."
Yes, ma'am. So, when we got to the, uh, Airbnb,
that's when we--actually, I told her what I was--
- will be charging [indistinct]... - Yeah, but that's, that's too late.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Kendra Dubois claims her sister Rena Peak
owes her for nursing services.
Rena is countersuing for a broken laptop.
[Judge Judy] Okay. The next thing you're suing her for
is non-payment of nursing services?
Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] And what I understand is that you are a registered nurse.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] And that your sister
- was having some liposuction surgery. - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] And she lives in Florida and you live in Texas.
No, Ma'am. I was in Virginia at the time.
- [Judge Judy] And working in Virginia? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] According to you, she asked you to come down
to assist her when she was leaving the surgery
and you did.
And you told her that you would charge her $400.
- Yes, ma'am. - Which is half your normal rate?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] You drove 10 hours
- from Virginia to Florida. - [Kendra] Yes, ma'am.
The surgery was where?
- [Kendra] In Miami, Florida. - In Miami, Florida.
[Judge Judy] And you live in Jacksonville?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] So, your sister traveled
from Virginia to Jacksonville to pick you up?
- Yes. - And when she picked you up,
your husband was going to join you?
- [Rena] Yes. - [Judge Judy] Your sister says that
initially, she wasn't thrilled about that, that your husband was joining,
that had not been previously discussed with her.
Now, did you tell her that your husband was going to be on the trip?
[Rena] I told her that I need her to come with me
to help assist me with my lipo after the surgery.
I told her that my husband would be there to help do most of it,
but I need her to help me, like, take vitals and stuff like that
right there to make sure I didn't catch fever
and I--I wasn't getting really sick.
- Um, Judge, that's not true. - When did she call you?
[Kendra] We never discussed him going.
I only saw that he was going once I arrived to their residence.
[Judge Judy] Tell me about the conversation,
your version of the conversation that you had.
Okay. In February she called me and asked me
will I provide the services for her,
I was supposed to provide the entire services
because she couldn't leave the surgery center
without having a licensed caregiver for the first 24-hours.
He's a mechanic, so there's no way
he could even do provide medical services for her.
[Judge Judy] Okay. You understood that
you were having this surgical procedure done in a center, not in a hospital?
- Yes, it was in a center. - And you could not be discharged
from the center without...
[Gregory Williams] I'm sorry, ma'am, but that is not true what she's saying.
[Judge Judy] Just a second. I didn't ask you a question.
I mean, it's very easy.
You get the name of the surgical center, you put in a call.
Is it true that you needed someone to sign you out,
a nurse to sign you out of the surgical center?
No, I didn't need a nurse. I just needed someone to sign me out.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Whatever.
You did get in the car with your sister and her husband?
- Yes, ma'am. - And it was an unpleasant trip?
Yes, ma'am.
The arguin' started the minute we got in the car.
So, from Jacksonville, you went to the center in Miami,
and then you went to an Airbnb for two days?
- Yes, ma'am. - And during those two days--
so, then, you're close to the surgical center
- in case there's an emergency? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] I assume that that's the reason.
- Yes, ma'am. - And you did in fact stay there with her?
- Yes, ma'am. - Was there ever an agreement for you
to stay with her in Jacksonville or only at the Airbnb?
- No, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Following the surgery?
Only the Airbnb to complete the two um 24-hour shifts that she needed.
Tell me when you discussed payment for those.
[Kendra] I--I told Rena. She asked me about payment.
I told her that I wou--
[Judge Judy] Just when is the question.
Oh, this is February um 20 when she contacted me about it.
So, I told her that I will charge her half of my service fee plus the travel.
Did you tell her what that fee was?
[Kendra] Initially, I did not tell her what the service fee was.
But when we got to the Airbnb, me and her had a conversation
and we discussed what it will be.
[Judge Judy] Tell me, when you got there before the surgery?
- [Kendra] Yes, ma'am. - Okay.
Tell me what the conversation was at the Airbnb.
The conversation was that I wouldn't be charging her
the full amount of whatever my services fees was,
that she would just be responsible for the $400 for the two 24-hour shifts.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Now, that was a mistake.
- You do understand that? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] Because if you're a professional,
before you embark upon a contract with somebody,
- and you did when you left your house. - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] You have to tell the other side
what the cost is gonna be or if there's a cost involved.
- Yes, ma'am. - So, you didn't discuss that with her
- until you got to Miami? - Yes, ma'am.
So, you'd already been through this unpleasant car ride
with the husband, right?
So, at this unpleasant time,
you're having a conversation with her about what you're gonna charge her?
Well, it really wasn't unpleasant between me and her, at first.
It was basically um him with the--the agitation
and the arguments, and the tantrums...
- [Judge Judy] Who was he... - Oh, Gregory.
[Judge Judy] ...having an argument with?
[Kendra] Uh with Rena. It was kinda--you know,
the argument were really between them two at first,
but me kinda being the third wheel,
it was like I'm constantly in the middle of the arguin'
trying to keep everybody calm, you know?
- What were they arguing about? - [Kendra] Just anything random.
There's a shoe on the floor, it's a argument,
you know what I mean?
Like, it was just random arguments, like, constantly the whole time.
[Judge Judy] How long have you been a registered nurse?
I just got my license last year.
[Judge Judy] I assume, that as part of your training,
- you knew how to take blood pressure? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] I don't know if you've got training
in wound dressings.
- What else did your sister do for you? - [Kendra] Yes, ma'am.
She--she took blood pressures.
She took my, um--my temperature.
Okay. She took--she came in and checked my temperature regularly.
And she gave me my pain meds around the clock,
so that the pain wouldn't wear off and I will be in pain.
And she helped me-- like she made a few meals for me.
And just basically that was it.
I had, like, little incisions, like,
here, and here, and here around the back
and they--they--they--they drain out,
so it really didn't need really a lot of padding just like--
'cause it's supposed to--all the fluid's just supposed to come out.
Who checked those drains?
[Rena] She checked my drains but she was against me
putting um sanitary napkins pads on my drains,
but the plastic surgery people told me I can.
[Judge Judy] Don't--don't-- don't tell me what anybody told you.
- [Rena] I'm sorry. - She checked your drains?
- [Rena] Yes. - [Judge Judy] And she did all of that
- for two days? - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Judy] Uh-hmm is not an answer.
Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.
Did you ever have a discussion with her
about how you were gonna compensate her
for the 10-hour drive to you
or going with you to Miami and taking care of you?
Did you ever have a discussion with her about compensation?
- Yes, ma'am. I--I... - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- I'm sorry. - When and where?
[Rena] We were texting and I asked her
how much will she charged me for my services
to come there and help me out doing my nursing services to Miami.
I have text messages here.
- [Judge Judy] I'd like to see them. - Where she told me that
um she's doing my care for free, and I told her
that I would give her something anyway.
Okay.
- [Rena] And then... - Just a second.
Okay. I'd like to see the rest of emails.
And my husband, he also helped me with going, um...
[Judge Judy] I don't care about your husband.
- I don't care... - [Rena] But this is the other--
this is the other-- and the contract that she sent me,
and it's saying that the services were free.
Yes, but you told you her
you were gonna give her some money, right?
- Yes, ma'am. I told her... - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
You told her you were going to give her some money.
- [Rena] Yes, ma'am. - [indistinct] that I would provide...
[Gregory Williams] And she did.
- Out. - [Rena] Be quiet.
Out!
[suspenseful music playing]
You already traveled from Virginia,
to Jacksonville, to Miami
in an unpleasant ride.
That is not the time to tell your sister
while you're there that you're gonna charge her $400.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Kendra Dubois claims her sister, Rena Peak,
owes for the nursing care she provided.
Rena says Kendra broke her laptop after an argument.
[Judge Judy] Okay. You paid a hundred dollars?
I--I gave her a hundred dollars travel to come down with me.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - And then, I also sent her another $100
- during the stay. - So far, is that correct?
- Yes, ma'am. She did. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
You said to her, "I'm not charging you,"
and she says, "I'm gonna give you something anyway."
Yes, ma'am. So, when we got to the uh Airbnb,
that's when we actually-- I told her what I was--
will be charging [indistinct] the full...
[Judge Judy] Yeah, but that's--that's too late.
That's actually too late. You have your car title back?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Yeah,
you already traveled from Virginia,
to Jacksonville, to Miami
in an unpleasant ride.
That is not the time to tell your sister while you're there
that you're gonna charge her $400.
You tell her before you leave Virginia
'cause you say, "I'm not charging you."
And she said, "I'm gonna give you something."
She did give you something. She gave you a hundred dollars.
She gave you a hundred dollars to get there.
And she gave you another hundred dollars.
Whatever happened with your brother-in-law is not my problem.
Now, let's get to the computer that's you counterclaim.
It is your claim that your sister broke your computer.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Were you there
- when it happened? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] Okay. That was in Jacksonville
- on your return from Miami? - Yes, ma'am.
Okay. Let me hear.
[Rena] When we pulled back up to the house, they were--
they were doing a lot of arguing on the way back.
[Judge Judy] Who was doing arguing?
[Rena] Um Kendra and my husband.
She was trying to fight him and threatening him
on the way back from Miami.
When we got to the house, she told him--she said,
"You just wait right there. I got somebody coming for you."
So she started getting all irate.
She jumped out of the car.
She said somebody was coming there to fight my husband.
So, I walk--I walked inside and I told my son here, Gregory,
to go outside and get my belongings out of the car
because his aunt was acting all crazy and stuff outside
because she was arguing with my husband.
[Judge Judy] Just a second. She said they were arguing?
- [Rena] Yes. - Okay.
And then, when--my--my son, he came, and then when he walked outside,
she was throwing all of the stuff out of the car.
And then, she threw--she picked up my laptop
and she threw it out on the ground and it shattered, and broke my laptop.
Your Honor, I never took their belonging...
[Judge Judy] Don't--I don't want-- I don't want to listen to you right now.
- Did you see her throw your laptop? - [Rena] Yes, ma'am. I did.
And my son also saw it.
[Judge Judy] I don't know what he saw until he tells me.
- Tell me your first name. - Gregory.
[Judge Judy] You remember the date that your mother came home
- from the hospital? - May 27th.
[Judge Judy] You remember what time of day they came home from Miami?
Yes, ma'am. I remember.
It was around 4:50-ish,
around 5:00.
[Judge Judy] Who was in the house with you?
[Gregory Williams II] It was just me and my sisters, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] Tell me what happened in that afternoon.
So, basically, when they came back, it was the day of my graduation,
so I was already trying to get a ride
around to the theater where my graduation was being held.
[Judge Judy] You were graduating from?
Um, high school.
What time is your graduation?
[Gregory Williams II] I had to be there around 5:30, 5:45.
Did you attend your graduation?
[Gregory Williams II] Yes, ma'am. I did.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
[Judge Judy] Did your mom go with you?
Yes. Um yes, ma'am.
My dad dropped me off
and they had to come back at a later time
'cause the graduates, and the students, and stuff like that
- had to be there early. - [Judge Judy] Had to get first?
- Yes, ma'am. - So, he drove you to graduation,
came back, and picked up your mother?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Tell me what happened
outside when they came home with your aunt.
[Gregory Williams II] Okay. So, I was getting dressed at that time
and my mom walked in, and she was, like,
"Can you go get my stuff and my belongings from outside?"
Because--well, my aunt, she was, you know, acting crazy or whatever.
So, I walked outside to go get it.
And from the looks of it, she's getting her belongings
out the car and she intentionally picked up my mom's laptop,
threw it on the ground.
While following all of that happened,
she threw out the rest of her um belongings,
as in her suitcase, and her purse, and stuff like that
out to the middle of the road.
When you say she threw her suitcase, did she open the suitcase
and throw it out or just threw the suitcase of your mom...
No, she picked the whole suitcase out and she threw it.
And she also threw out--
picked up her laptop and intentionally, threw it at the ground as well.
[Judge Judy] Did you say anything to your aunt?
[Gregory Williams II] I didn't say anything.
I just went out there to retrieve the belongings out the middle of the road,
so they wouldn't be damaged any further...
[Judge Judy] Who was she yelling at?
She was yelling and screaming at my dad
because they were getting again to it as they were pulling up to the house,
but anything before they got to the house, I was not aware of.
What did you hear them say to each other when you got outside?
It was all type of-- it's a lot of derogatory language.
[Judge Judy] Okay.
Who retrieved your mother's things from the street?
Me and my sisters.
[Judge Judy] Who picked up the laptop?
- I did. - [Judge Judy] Tell me
what the damage was to the laptop.
[Gregory Williams II] The whole screen was broken,
the back panel where the um screen
and the um bottom part comes together,
it was, um, like, coming apart from each other or separating.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Tell me what kind of laptop it was?
It was a MacBook.
[Judge Judy] Do you remember when your mother got it?
[Gregory Williams II] No, ma'am. I do not remember.
In January.
[Judge Judy] Do you have a receipt for it?
- [Rena] Yes, ma'am. I do. - I'd like to see it.
It's the receipt, and then the insurance that I bought for it.
Did the insurance cover it?
[Rena] It didn't cover it because I-- I was locked out of the email,
so I couldn't.
But at the time when the laptop was broken,
I couldn't go back and find the email to get the insurance information.
But the--the laptop winded up getting stolen
when my house got broken into.
You mean, after it was broken?
Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] You bought the laptop for $400?
- [Rena] Yes, ma'am. I did. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
Now, Ms. Dubois, all I want you to do
is to describe to me the scene
when you, and your sister, and your brother-in-law
came home to Jacksonville from Miami.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] All I want you to do.
That's all I want you to do is to tell me your version of those events.
Yes, ma'am. When we arrived back to the house,
when I was--when I got out of the car,
her and Greg walked towards the front of the house.
I went to the trunk and they had their bags packed on top of my bags.
I picked up a suitcase that was on top of my bag, a big suitcase,
and I threw it out of the car like it's just a suitcase.
I never touched any other computer,
I never touched any of their stuff that was in the trunk.
I just lifted up what was on top of my stuff and took myself out,
and was cursing them out and got to my car.
[Judge Judy] Good. Great.
On the counterclaim-- judgment for the defendant
on the counterclaim in the amount of $400 for the computer.
Thank you very much. You have the title to your car back.
- We're done. - [Kevin] Court is adjourned.
This is what I thought was gonna happen.
It was basically gonna be a wash.
I was gonna get my car title and she was gonna get paid for her computer.
She knows she broke my laptop. She should have just paid for it.
They're bums and they were trying to steal my car.
It's been too many issues and this right here was just the last straw.
At this point, we have no relationship, we never had relationships.
It's time to just not deal with it anymore.
[Judge Judy] Sisters, sisters never were
there such devoted sisters.
You know, I actually don't think it was the sisters.
I actually think it was the husband who was...
- Uh-hmm. - ...a catalyst there.
A plaintiff would not have driven from Virginia to Jacksonville,
unless she really wanted to help her sister.
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge Judy] And I have a feeling
that there's a history with this brother-in-law anyway.
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge Judy] I don't know
what the takeaway from that is.
Maybe taking long car rides with people
(chuckles) is something that should be avoided.
I think, also, for a professional
after, like, you told the plaintiff in the courtroom,
I think after you have a quarrel
with your brother-in-law in the car
and there's constant bickering, that's not the time to discuss your price.
- Yet they... - I think that was a good lesson as well,
that even if it's your sister,
if you're planning on being compensated at all,
that's a conversation that should have taken place before.
- In Virginia. - Exactly.
Between Virginia and Jacksonville on the telephone.
- Exactly. - [Judge Judy] And the only thing
that was there actually was I'm doing this for you for free
and she's saying I'm gonna compensate you anyway
but with no specific amount.
Anyway, I--I promise not to say anyway anymore.
I'm releasing anyway from my language, like, I omit like...
- [Sarah] Uh-hmm. - ...and basically
from a lot of other people's--
anyw-- I--I hope they make friends.
- I caught myself. - Uh-hmm.
[announcer] Want justice?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music playing]