[Judge Judy] Your car gets clipped at an intersection,
slams up against a divider, and is totaled?
- Yes. - He ran because he was scared
to get into trouble.
Was there a gun in the car?
Oh, no, no, no, no.
Was there a gun in the car?
That I do not wish to say.
I don't give a rat's behind what you wish to say.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Bradley Anderson and his 16-year-old daughter, Wynter,
are suing Courtney Schultz and her 17-year-old daughter, Jayden,
for car damages resulting from an accident.
[Kevin] Court come to order.
Have a seat, please.
- Hello, Judge. - How are you?
Case number 1134, Anderson versus Schultz.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
- Mr. Anderson, this is your daughter. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] And you're here as a nominal plaintiff
because you are the owner of the car that was involved in an accident
with the defendant's daughter.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] You were not present.
You were not present at the accident.
There were other passengers in the car,
but you're merely here as owners of the vehicle.
- Right? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] So I'm gonna start with you.
Tell me your first name.
Uh Wynter Anderson.
Wynter, what was the date of this accident?
Uh July 27th, 2020--2021.
What time?
Around 6:00.
- [Judge Judy] 6:00 PM? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Who was in the car with you?
Uh my friend, Alana.
Where had you been?
Uh we were just up by the mall,
shopping around Target and driving home.
And you're how old?
I'm 16.
Ever been in an accident before?
No.
[Judge Judy] What kind of car were you driving?
Um a 2013 Chevy Cruze.
- Is that the family car? - No.
[Judge Judy] Was that car purchased for her?
Yes.
- When? - [Brad] March of 2021.
[Judge Judy] Do you remember how much it cost?
Five thousand nine hundred dollars.
[Judge Judy] Is there an outstanding loan on the car?
No loans.
Okay. Your first name is?
Jayden.
[Judge Judy] And how old are you, Jayden?
Seventeen.
[Judge Judy] And who are you in the car with on July 27th, 2021?
My boyfriend, Jackson.
- [Judge Judy] Is that this person? - [Jayden] Yeah.
[Judge Judy] Anybody else in the car with you?
[Jayden] Nope. Just us.
- [Judge Judy] You were driving? - [Jayden] Yes.
[Judge Judy] Boyfriend in the passenger front seat?
Yes.
[Judge Judy] Where were you coming from?
His hair appointment, downtown.
Where had you been before that?
His house.
[Judge Judy] What time did you get to his house that day?
[Jayden] I was living there with him.
So we had been there since the day before.
How long had you been living with him at his house?
[Jayden] We had been there for about a month.
[Judge Judy] Who's we?
[Jayden] Just me and him and his foster mom.
[Judge Judy] Who were you living with before you lived with him?
I was living with a family friend.
Where did you get this car from?
[Jayden] From my mom.
[Judge Judy] When?
Um, I think she had brought it to me the day before.
- Day before what? - [Jayden] The day before the crash.
We were just using it.
[Judge Judy] What were you borrowing it for?
So that we could go get Jackson's hair done the next day.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Prior to that, you didn't have the car?
- [Jayden] No. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
The next day, his haircut appointment was what time?
We got done at 3:30, and it took three and a half hours, so noon.
- And you were finished at 3:30? - [Jayden] Yes.
Where did you go from there?
I believe we went to...
[Judge Judy] Just a second. Just a second.
Stand up.
Your first name is?
Jackson.
[Judge Judy] Stand over there.
After your hair appointment was over at 3:30, where did you go?
Um we were just in town driving around.
Was 'boutta head back to my house.
[Judge Judy] You were just driving around.
Don't look at anything. Look over here.
- Right here. - [Jayden] Sorry, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] 3:30. Think carefully.
Jackson, you went and had your hair done...
- [Jackson] Yeah. - ...for three and a half hours,
from 12:00 to 3:30.
That's a long time.
Doesn't even take me that long to get my hair done
and I'm about five times older than you are.
- So at 3:30, you left the hairdresser? - Right.
[Judge Judy] And it was you and your girlfriend?
Yup. Correct.
[Judge Judy] Not yup. That's a yes.
Yes.
[Judge Judy] She was driving
because she had borrowed the car from her mother
just for the purpose of taking you to the hairdresser.
Yeah. Correct.
[Judge Judy] So, after the hairdresser,
was your girlfriend supposed to return the car to her mother?
Yeah. We were headed that way,
headed towards the camper
and then headed back out towards my house.
Headed towards?
Hermantown where we live.
You were going to return the car to her?
- Yeah. Yeah. - [Judge Judy] What--yes.
What time were you supposed to return the car to her?
I wanna say like 5:00-ish.
[Judge Judy] So, after the hairdresser, where did you go?
[Jackson] To the camper.
- [Judge Judy] To the camper? - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] What camper?
Where her mom stays.
[Judge Judy] Her mom stays in a camper.
So you went to her mother's house? Is that on the way to her mother's house?
- Is that where the accident happened? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] But the accident happened at 6:00
and you were finished at 3:30.
Is that what the police report indicates that the accident happened at 6:00?
Um, the police report actually says 7:50.
Um the time on my phone said 6:17,
but they could have issued it later than that.
- So around 6:00, 7:00. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So what I wanna know was what were you doing sort of in between.
You didn't go right back to the camper.
You went someplace else.
We didn't have a certain location that we went to.
[Judge Judy] You were just driving around?
Yes, ma'am.
- Did you speak to anyone else? - No, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] You didn't go to anyone else's house?
No, ma'am.
So the only people in the car according to you, Jackson,
between the time her mother dropped the car off at her house
and the time of the accident,
the only two people in the car were you and your girlfriend?
No. We was with a friend too.
[Judge Judy] Ah. And--
Jackson, now you're getting to it.
Now you're getting smart.
Now the smart part of Jackson is, is hitching up, right?
Yup. Correct.
Been here a long time.
Now, you had a friend in the car.
When did you find this friend and where?
- Um... - [Judge Judy] Um is not an answer,
- Jackson. - Picked him up.
- Where did you pick him up? - [Jackson] His house.
- Him and his girlfriend. - Shh.
At what point in the day did you pick your friend up in the car?
Before or after your hairdresser's appointment?
[Jackson] Before.
So, in the three hours that you were getting your hair done,
your girlfriend was with your friend?
No, Your Honor.
It's gonna get more complicated, Jackson.
Do you understand that?
Yes, Your Honor.
Okay. It'll all come together, folks.
Just hang in there.
So let's go back, Jackson.
Where did you get your friend from and what time?
His house.
And, to be honest with you, ma'am, I don't have a certain time.
Was it before or after you had your hair done?
Before.
So then if it was before you had your hair done,
your friend had to be hanging around with your girlfriend
for the three and a half hours that it took to have your hair done.
Yes. We did not drop him off though.
What do you mean you didn't drop him off?
[Jackson] He left. He got picked up.
[Judge Judy] He left from the hairdresser shop?
Yes. And got picked up.
Okay. Now what was his name?
That I do not wish to say.
I don't give a rat's behind what you wish to say.
You picked him up at his house,
which means someone had to have contacted him.
You had to contact him
or he had to contact you via your cellphone.
So that means you have his number and he has yours.
And it would be on your cellphone from that date in July.
What was his name?
His name is [...].
What's his phone number?
That's in your phone.
- I... - [Judge Judy] Take out your phone.
I just recently got a new phone.
[laughing]
[Jackson] Like...
[Judge Judy] Now, it's gonna all come together to everybody.
- [Jackson] I got it. - Okey-dokey. Say nothing else.
My boyfriend left the scene
because he had a potential warrant for his arrest.
[Courtney] That's not--he ran because he was on probation
and he was scared to get into trouble.
[laughing]
- [Courtney] That is why... - Just a second.
I'm not finished.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Bradley Anderson and his 16-year-old daughter, Wynter,
claimed Courtney Schultz
and her 17-year-old daughter, Jayden, owe for car damages
after Jayden ran a red light and hit Wynter.
By the way, what did you think you had a warrant out
for your arrest for on July?
- I did not have a warrant. - [Judge Judy] What did you think--
just a second. That's not my question.
What did you think that you had an outstanding warrant for
on the date of the accident?
Ma'am, I did not think I had an outstanding warrant.
- I have no idea... - [Judge Judy] Okay. Just a--
just a second.
Your last name is?
- Schultz. - [Judge Judy] Ms. Schultz,
do you take any psychotropic medication?
I take what?
Psychotropic medication...
- [Courtney] No, but... - ...for mental illness.
- No. - [Judge Judy] No.
So, you don't suffer from delusions?
- [Courtney] No. - Who wrote the answer to this case
and swore to the answer in this case?
Who did? Did you or did you daughter?
Wrote the answer...
[Judge Judy] The answer. Well, who signed it? Let's see.
Let's look at here and see who signed it.
Just who signed that?
[Jayden] That was before we...
- I asked you a simple question. - [Courtney] We both signed it.
- [Judge Judy] Both signed it. - Yup.
You both read English, I assume.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
They went over it--they went over it with us.
[Judge Judy] I don't care what they went over.
That's a quarter of a page.
So you read it, you signed it, and you swore to it.
Now--so I wanna know who wrote this.
- Neither. - [Judge Judy] You or your daughter?
Well, somebody had to say who wasn't suffering from delusions.
Oh, it was your--the daughter who wrote it because it says,
"My mother's 2017 Nissan Rogue was destroyed.
My boyfriend and witness
had a potential warrant out for his arrest." (laughs)
- [Jayden] That--that... - Just a second.
That's what she said.
So when the person who wrote this said,
"My boyfriend and witness had a potential warrant out for his arrest,"
that's not saying he had some sort of a communicable disease,
that's not saying he left his dog home
or he left the light on under the chicken, whatever.
I mean, I would never say that that my boyfriend left the scene
because he had a potential
- warrant out for his arrest. - [Courtney] That's not--
- that was misunderstood. - Just--misunderstood by whom?
Yes. He ran because he had-- was on probation
and he was scared to get into trouble.
[laughing]
- [Courtney] That is why... - Just a second.
I'm not finished.
Okay. So now you're traveling,
and your car gets clipped at an intersection.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Makes a turn,
goes across to another lane,
slams up against a divider,
- and is totaled. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] And it is your statement that you had a green light.
- Yes. - Now, you're the driver of the car.
And now it's gonna all come together.
And you say you were minorly distracted...
- Yes. - ...because somebody
left a gun in your car.
- That's... - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
That's what it says here.
You can't make this up.
You were temporarily distracted
because somebody whose last name he doesn't remember
but whose address he knows,
whose phone number he knows,
which he can't tell me because he got a new phone.
- That's not how they communicated. - [Judge Judy] Just--
that's not what you communicated.
[Jackson] That's not how we communicated.
Was there a gun in the car?
I said that's not how they communicated.
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
Was there a gun in the car?
Yes. I said there was.
[Judge Judy] Okey-dokey.
And at the accident,
when the cars came to a stop,
Jackson took off.
And you say she was the one who ran through a red light.
But you say you were minorly distracted
because there was a gun in the car
that you and your boyfriend just saw
that there was a gun in the car and you were shocked.
Now, where was this gun?
[Jayden] It was in the backseat. Jack...
[Judge Judy] Okey-dokey.
Now, you're driving along.
Boyfriend is in the passenger seat.
You're driving. What made you look in the backseat?
I didn't. Jackson looked in the backseat to grab a sweater
- and realized that it was back there. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
Jackson, you looked in the backseat for a sweater.
- Yup. - [Judge Judy] Yup?
- In July? - Yes, ma'am.
- In July? - [Jayden] In Minnesota.
- In July? - Yes, ma'am. I live in Minnesota.
- [Judge Judy] In July? - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] In July at 6:00, you looked in the backseat
- for a sweater. - Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Did you find a... - That's what I'm telling you.
Just a second. Did you find a sweater?
- Yes, I did. - [Judge Judy] Good.
And the gun was under the sweater?
Yes, Your Honor, it was.
[Judge Judy] So that had to be your friend?
It was his girlfriend's gun.
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
Well, the girlfriend wasn't in the car.
- Yes. She sat there. - She...
The girlfriend wasn't in the car.
You said nothing about the girlfriend being in the car.
You said you only picked up one friend from his house.
That's what you said. You gotta get your story straight.
You just didn't listen. You cut him off before he could finish.
Mrs. Schultz.
[Courtney] I'm not happy about the situation.
- [Judge Judy] Mrs. Schultz. - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] You have to understand something.
If you continue to make excuses for her and her poor choices,
this is where you're gonna spend the next 20 years,
before a judge.
Do you understand?
It may be in situations like this.
It may be because you're gonna have to take care of children.
For a lot of other reasons,
but if you continue to make excuses for this
and believe this nonsense,
then you're gonna be before people like me,
probably much nicer, but before people like me
who are sitting here in a robe for the next 20, 25 years.
Is that what you want?
Obviously, that's not what I want.
[Judge Judy] Obviously not. That's what you want. So...
But I also know what--when I got the phone call right away,
what was told to me, when I was told what happened.
You have to understand something,
when her mouth moves she's lying.
- When her mouth moves, she's lying. - All right.
She took your car the day before.
It's probably your only means of transportation.
You lent her the car for the sole purpose
of taking the boyfriend for a haircut.
Is that correct?
And so she could use it for whatever they were gonna do.
I trusted her with my car and I still trust her with my car.
That's terrific.
- If she was gonna lie to me--will she... - [Judge Judy] Just, just listen. Just...
Why would she lie to me about there being a gun in the car?
I mean, uh, they told me that.
[Judge Judy] Why would she lie to you?
Because there were witnesses that called the police,
that's why she would lie to you.
Can I see the police report, please?
- [Wynter] Yes. - I--I'd like to see it, too, please.
- I've not seen it. - Yeah. Neither have I.
I tried to get it and it wasn't ready.
So, I would like to see it myself.
What I'm telling you is if you continue to listen
to stuff that doesn't make sense,
A, you said to me there wasn't an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
Maybe, it was a probation violation.
- Okay. Probation violation. - [Courtney] Yeah.
Probation violation isn't something
- that you're born with. - [Courtney] No.
[Judge Judy] You're not born with a probation violation.
- [indistinct] though. - [Judge Judy] Just a second. You're not--
you're not born with a probation violation.
A probation violation means that you've been convicted of a crime
and placed on probation as a sentence.
And if you're in a car and there's a gun in the car,
that's a violation of your probation in most jurisdictions.
- Understood. - [Judge Judy] Do you understand?
So, you understand that your 17-year-old daughter
is with somebody who's on probation.
My boyfriend to be exact.
[Judge Judy] Oh, just a second.
- Who's on probation for... - [Courtney] Right.
- ...conviction. - [Courtney] Correct.
And is in a car, your car...
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] ...with a gun,
brought there, he says by a friend's girlfriend.
So, I want you to figure out, by a friend's girlfriend.
Now, I've had a lot of passengers in my car.
I'm 78 years old.
I've had a lot of passengers in my car.
You?
- You? - Yes.
- [Judge Judy] You? - Yes, ma'am.
I bet you if I ask all of us who probably have a combined age of 200,
whether they ever had a friend who left a gun
in the back of their car under a sweater.
Yeah, you should know what's in your vehicle...
- [Judge Judy] Yeah. - ...at all times,
- and that I've... - [Judge Judy] What I'm telling you is,
if something doesn't make sense,
even though you may love her
when you remember--what's his name? [...].
When you remember his last name
and the name of his girlfriend, you can raise your hand.
Otherwise, I don't wanna see the hand.
I don't wanna hear you anymore.
That's what happened.
They know that that's what happened.
You ran. There were witnesses.
Now, I'm reading the police report.
You can sit down unless you raise your hand
and if you raise your hand, the only reason you're raising your hand
is if you remember [...] last name and his girlfriend's name.
- May I ask you a question? - Don't. I'm reading something.
Don't speak.
Your daughter who when her mouth moves,
you have to find it's suspect told-- it wasn't her fault.
Did you tell the insurance company that the plaintiff ran a red light?
Those were not my words, no.
You know, now I know where she gets it from.
[suspenseful music playing]
[announcer] Sixteen-year-old Wynter Anderson has accused
seventeen-year-old Jayden Schultz
of running a red light and crashing into her car.
[Judge Judy] Now, just so that you know,
the police interviewed a witness,
because this is not per her statement,
because there were witnesses to this that called the police.
Right. It was right downtown.
[Judge Judy] There were witnesses that called the police on 7:27.
Schultz, that would be her,
was driving through the intersection at Mall and Maple Grove Road.
She had a solid red light at the time she drove through the intersection,
per the witness' statement.
Schultz while in the intersection hit Anderson who was driving.
Anderson had a solid green light.
No injuries were reported at the crash.
Other criminal charges were found for a passenger in Schultz's car.
- That would be he. - [Courtney] Right.
[Judge Judy] And those charges were possession of a gun.
That's false.
[Jayden] No, the charges were probation violation.
- And they were dropped. - Yup.
Because the person who had the gun in the car claimed...
- [Jackson] It was [indistinct] - [Jayden] Claimed it.
[Courtney] ...claimed their gun and said
- that they weren't his. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
I don't know any of that. It doesn't say any of that in here.
So, if that's the story, I don't know any of it.
All I know is he ran with the gun.
- [Judge Judy] He ran... - I mean, he's on probation.
- ...with the gun after the accident. - [Courtney] That was--
- and that was really dumb. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
And from what I hear in both the complaint and the answer,
your daughter was taken out of the car,
- placed in the back of a police car. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] I assume until they got the name of Jackson...
No, until they detained him.
- They knew who it was. - [Judge Judy] Hmm?
They knew who it was.
They just put me in the back of the car until he was found and detained.
Just a second. How did they know who he was?
- Because she told them. - Because I told them who ran.
Because you told them who he was.
I mean, that's kinda what you do when the police ask,
"Who just ran out that car?"
[Judge Judy] Well, they wouldn't have actually cared
if he was just a passenger in the car
unless somebody said that he was running away from the car with a gun.
- I mean, when there's another... - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
...bystander chasing after him, I'm pretty sure.
You know, I'm listening to you. It's hysterical.
Aren't you listening to what always somebody else's fault?
Yeah, she's telling the truth. She told the police...
[Judge Judy] Aren't you--oh, my God.
[Courtney] No, I don't think it's hysterical.
- This country is in such trouble. - [Courtney] I think [indistinct]
[Judge Judy] We are in such...
Do you think I'm happy about this? My car is totaled.
We are in such trouble. They paid you for your car.
- Excuse me? - [Judge Judy] Did your insurance company
give you any money for your car?
No, I still owe on my car that I don't have.
No, no, no, no, no. That's not what I asked you.
I said did your insurance company give you any money?
Don't show me a paper.
- [Judge Judy] I'm asking you... - I'm showing you the insurance paper.
...did your--I asked you a question.
They did not fully cover my car, no.
[Judge Judy] I didn't ask you fully.
I said did your insurance company give you any money for the car?
Um, they gave the bank money because I had a loan on it.
[Judge Judy] So, your insurance company gave you money
for the car to pay the--
I don't care if you don't have a car anymore
and I don't care if you still owe money on the car.
You'll think twice about giving your daughter a car
to use and having this sort of mess,
but what you did was you listened to the story
and when your insurance company called you
- and asked you what happened... - [Courtney] I called them...
...your daughter--your daughter
who when her mouth moves, you have to find it's suspect.
Your daughter told them it wasn't her fault.
So, while you had--
- while you had liability... - Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Back up. My insurance did not say it was not her fault
and she didn't say it was not her fault.
We told them exactly what happened
- and waited for the police report. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
You told them exactly what happened.
Did you tell them that she ran a red--
- because what you say here is she... - I was not there.
- [Judge Judy] I'm asking you a question. - I wasn't there.
[Judge Judy] Wait until I finish.
Who spoke to the insurance company, you or your daughter?
- That would be you. - I did--I did and they--
then they talked to her.
You spoke to them first.
- You're the insured. - [Courtney] Of course. Yes.
[Judge Judy] Very easy to find out.
That's why we have phones.
Did you tell the insurance company that the plaintiff ran a red light?
- That's either a yes or a no! - [Courtney] I--
those were not my words, no.
I said there was--my car was in an accident.
- Period. - [Judge Judy] Oh.
I was not there, so I cannot honestly say,
whether it was her fault or her fault.
- I wasn't there. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
You know, now I know where she gets it from.
It didn't skip a generation.
Did you in fact speak to your daughter
and did your daughter tell you that the plaintiff ran a red light?
She just told me there was an accident.
(sighs) Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $5,900.
We're finished. Thank very much.
- Okay. Out. - [Kevin] Court is adjourned.
It is what it is and we just have to deal with it.
I'm happy with the verdict.
I definitely uh had my attention somewhere else at the time.
Well, she bought the car herself
and I'm happy that she's gonna get compensated
for the car that got destroyed.
Just wasn't thinking I guess
and I took off at the accident.
Like, the second after the crash, just when I opened the door to get out,
I saw someone run away and I was like, oh, this is not good.
I'm glad she's gonna be able to get her car fixed.
Uh it was scary spinning around,
but everyone was okay, so...
[Sarah] I think that case could be a great lesson to parents
because I know that parents love their children
and they want to give them cars and vehicles,
and see them thrive and succeed.
But I think that until your child shows you,
not just love, but shows you concrete evidence
that they can handle an adult responsibility,
such as driving a car, having possession of a car,
I think parents should really think twice
before they do things for their children out of love,
that they may not be ready for mentally, emotionally, you know...
My interesting take away from that case was not so much
that the mother believed her daughter
and her daughter clearly it was--clearly it was a story.
I don't know his last name. I don't know his girlfriend's last name.
The gun was in the back seat. He took off from the front seat.
This-- whole lot of nonsense.
But the daughter was just a carbon copy of her mother.
- Yeah. - [Judge Judy] That's--you know,
very often I have cases where parents wants to believe their children.
That's what you wanna do. You want--
you know, you wanna say they did the right thing.
- This mother didn't care... - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] ...because that was her MO.
- As my grandmother used to say... - [Sarah] [indistinct]
Yeah, apple don't fall far from the tree.
It's true. You have to set a good example
- if you want your children to succeed. - [Judge Judy] Right.
[announcer] Want justice? Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music playing]