My dog's not vicious.
It is vicious.
Your dog has already done it twice.
Two times.
The dog is a sweet dog, but... turned in a minute.
- Well-- - This is not a well.
When a 90-pound dog decides to turn, it can kill you.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Taleen Dunlap is suing her neighbor Regina Davidson
for vet bills from a dog fight.
[Kevin] Court come to order, all rise.
Be seated please.
[Kevin] Hello, Judge.
Case 1092, Dunlap versus Davidson.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
[Judge Judy] Ms. Dunlap, you and Ms. Davidson are neighbors?
- Yes. - She lives across the street from you?
- Correct. - How long have you been neighbors?
About three years or so.
How long have you lived in your house?
Three years. Yeah.
How long have you lived in your house, Ms. Davidson?
Three years.
When you moved in, did you have a dog?
No.
When you moved in, did you have a dog?
No.
So within the last three years, you got a dog, when?
We received our dog in November, we adopted him.
What kind of a dog is he?
A white mini Schnauzer.
How old was he when you got him?
Six years old.
What kind of a dog did you get?
A Cane Corso.
[Judge Judy] And he's a big guy?
She is a big dog, she's gonna be a big dog, she's only a year old.
And how much does she weigh?
Like 90 pounds.
- That's a big dog. - Yeah.
Your claim is a simple one,
your claim is that the defendant's dog got out,
ran across the street, bit your dog,
and you want her to be responsible for all the vet bills
- that were intended to that dog bite? - Correct.
[Judge Judy] From a reading of Ms. Davidson's answer,
I gather that she does not dispute the fact that her dog bit yours.
Her defense seems to be that your dog was also unleashed,
- am I getting that right? - Yes.
Okay. On what date did this take place?
June 5th, 2021.
And I gather from your complaint that you were not at home?
- No. - When you left your house,
you left your dog whose name is?
Sir Duke.
You left Sir Duke outside?
Correct.
[Judge Judy] Is your yard fenced?
No, it is not.
So how did you secure him if you put him outside?
He-- there's a leash back there and he was leashed,
and the leash is actually green
so it blends in with the grass but his leash is about a--
Oh, so you left him outside, in your backyard?
- [Taleen] Correct. - [Judge Judy] Did you leave him water?
Yes, we did. Yes.
What time did you leave?
We left at about 9:45-ish.
- In the morning? - [Taleen] In the morning, yes.
[Judge Judy] What time were you due home?
We were due home at about 10:00, 10:30 at the latest.
[Judge Judy] Do you usually leave Sir Duke outside when you go?
Not normally.
Every, every so often if we know if it's a quick trip,
we'll leave him on a leash in our backyard
with a bowl of water because he loves to be outside,
he actually barks at the, uh, neighbor's dog,
we say they talk to each other in the backyard.
Well, some of the neighbors don't have dogs might not love that.
However, you have motion detectors?
- Yes. - Facing the backyard?
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] Are they in the back--
Backyard and the sides of the house, yes.
- So you put Sir Duke outside. - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] So tell me what happened on the 5th.
So on the 5th of June, so we're away from the house at this point
and we have our security cameras set up to where there's any type of motion
on our property, it alerts us on our phones.
So we were getting an alert that there was movement on the side of our house,
and we noticed there was quite a bit of movement for it to be Sir Duke,
it was just strange.
So we, we pulled up the security camera
and that is when we noticed the actual attack,
we saw Regina's dog attack our dog
and then shortly after that we saw a young man come
and grab the dog off of our dog and run away,
you don't see where they go but they leave out of the sight of camera.
So we see this and we rushed home, immediately.
We're home at about, I would say maybe--
the attack happened at 10:00,
we're home at about 10:10, 10:15-ish.
So we rush in, I go immediately to Sir Duke,
I get him off the leash, and I pick him up,
I see that he's bleeding on his back.
And so I pick him up and now he's in my arms,
I also have a two-year-old daughter
so I'm holding her hand and I have Sir Duke in my arm.
And so now we're coming from the back of the house
because at this point he was bleeding in the backyard alone,
and so I picked him up,
took him around to the front of the house where my husband was,
speaking with Regina in the front of the house.
So he's having a conversation with her, he confronted her.
Could you stand up?
You-- your last name is?
Dunlap.
Mr. Dunlap, pick it up from where your wife left off.
She said you were having a discussion with Ms. Davidson.
How did that come about?
We rushed home and pulled up in the driveway
when, uh, my wife grabbed my daughter and they went to the back.
I looked over and I witnessed Regina
and she was taking pictures in front of her lawn of her kids,
uh, it looked like a graduation because they had--
they posted on the, uh, front of yard.
I was heated 'cause I noticed, you know, you're doing that
and-- and this situation just happened.
So I went over there and I confronted her, and I said, "Look--
What did you say to her?
I said, "You need to get rid of that dog or do something about that dog."
And she said, "How are you gonna tell me to get rid of my dog?"
I told her twice, "Your dog came into our yard."
I said, "But this time it actually attacked our dog,
with the first time it jumped over my bushes and ran our window
trying to get at our dog while he was barking in the house.
When did that happen?
[Calvin] When did that occur?
Two maybe three months prior to the incident.
Did you discuss with Ms. Davidson at that time
that her dog was in your backyard?
She was present when it happened.
So the incident that happened, I was in the yard with the lawn guy,
my dog was in the house but in the window, barking.
And so her dog ran to our window
and was trying to get in through the window
and through my front door,
and she came over into my yard to get her dog as well
as the young man she has with her.
- You remember that incident? - I do.
So that incident should've been a warning to you.
- It was. - [Judge Judy] It was.
- It was. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
When Mr. Dunlap came over to see you on June the 5th,
- [Regina] Mm-hmm. - on the date of this incident,
the young man who went and retrieved the dog is who?
My son.
Were you taking pictures out front?
I was.
Where was your son?
He was coming out through the garage and--
[Judge Judy] What's his first name?
Darren.
I have a question for you, stand up.
The dog was not under his control, went on the plaintiff's property,
bit their dog, you tell me what possible excuse you can have
for not paying the vet bills?
[announcer] And later today...
All you need is a letter from them, sir, that refund on the trip was made.
How am I supposed to do that?
Just say, uh, it was paid, I spoke to somebody on the phone.
That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
- Yeah. - [Judge Judy] Yeah. It sounds ridiculous.
I'm glad you agree with me.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Taleen Dunlap claims her neighbor, Regina Davidson,
owes her vet bills
after Regina's dog attacked her dog.
How did you let the dog out on June 5th?
I was coming out of the garage and I usually close the door pretty quick
and on that day, the dog was right behind me.
So when I went to go close the door,
she ran out because she heard barking across the street,
so when she ran, I ran up right behind her to go get her
and she was in the middle of the street
and she heard the barking
and she made a left into the backyard
and I was right behind her so as soon as she ran into the dog,
- I grabbed her by her collar. - [Judge Judy] Oh, just a second.
So you actually ran on the plaintiff's property?
- Yes. - In the backyard?
- Uh-huh. - On the side.
And that's what-- don't speak to him.
And that's where you pulled your dog off of the plaintiff's dog?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
Thank you.
Ms. Davidson, I want you to try to explain to me
on what possible theory you believe
that you are not responsible for all of these vet bills.
What possible theory
because you appear to be an intelligent woman,
he appears to be an intelligent young man,
what possible theory knowing that your dog
has the propensity to run across the street
because it's done it before,
knowing that it's a 90-pound animal that's unpredictable,
knowing that as a result of your son's negligence,
the dog is out of the house, not under his control,
went on the plaintiff's property, bit their dog,
which they incurred hundreds of dollars in vet bills,
you tell me what possible excuse you can have
for not paying the vet bills?
Well, when I spoke to Ms. Dunlap
about the incident that happened
when her husband approached me in a very negative way,
and it was beyond my control because I was outside at the time,
like he said that I was--
Just to say you were outside, but it's your dog, it's not his dog.
- It's your dog. - It's our dog.
[Judge Judy] No, it's your dog.
How old are you?
Twenty-five.
What do you do for a living?
I'm a student right now.
It's your dog.
You pay for it, you feed it, you provide all the food for it
but he's a student, it's your dog, it's your responsibility.
He's in your house, his negligence is your negligence.
I mean, if you have homeowner's insurance, do you?
Yes, I do.
Well, does your homeowner's insurance policy
- cover this kind of incident? - No.
Did you report to your insurance company when you got this dog?
- No. - Where do you live?
I live in Missouri.
You wanna tell me why you didn't report this dog?
My brother purchased the dog,
I am his power of attorney so as I explained to her,
my brother was gonna try to make restitution for the dog bite,
but when Ms. Taleen went to call
the animal control on my dog
after we had discussed the fact of trying to work something out
during that time and if my dog is that vicious,
why would you come to my house with your dog?
[Judge Judy] Let me ask you this question.
- Mm-hmm. - If your dog ran across the street
and she has a young child, and instead of biting her dog,
jumped on her child, your dog has already done it twice,
two times, I might've reported it the first time to animal control
that this ninety pound dog ran across the street,
I have a young child that also plays in the backyard.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] It's your dog
in your house, I don't care if your brother got it for you,
I don't care if it was a gift, it's your dog,
it lives in your house, it's your responsibility.
Is that dog on the vicious list?
- Yes. - In Missouri?
Generally it depends by insurance company
but there's a list of generally blacklisted high-risk animals
- and a Cane Corso is-- - [Regina] Well, the animal control--
Ju-- just let me explain to you, just so that you know.
- Do you own your house? - No.
Do you own property? Do you have money in the bank?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Yes?
You have to have renter's insurance.
- I do. - [Judge Judy] Good.
You better tell them that you have a dog that's on the high-risk list
in the state where you live, do you understand?
- Yes, I do. - Otherwise, if God forbid,
that dog which has already been out at least twice that I know about
hurt somebody else, they're gonna take away everything you have.
- Well-- - Not a well, I'm telling you.
- This is not a-- - [Regina] I under-- I understand--
- This is not a well. - [Regina] I understand--
This is-- I'm telling you.
[Regina] exactly what you're saying
when the dog patrol came to my house
and she said-- what she had told her that my dog was vicious
- and she came to see the dog-- - [Judge Judy] It is vicious.
- [Regina] My dog's not vicious. - Of course it's vicious.
- [Regina] I don't think she's vicious. - It came across the street
and it attacked their animal that was on their property
and if a child had been outside screaming, or crying,
or laughing in the backyard
and for some reason your dog didn't like the pitch of that
and ran across the street,
which it has done so far as I know two times,
maybe more, but I know of at least two times
then that dog is potentially vicious.
Well, my dog's around kids all the time.
[Judge Judy] I have to tell you this, madam.
Mm-hmm.
They put dogs on a potentially vicious list for a reason
and that's because probably 40% of the 330 million people
that live in this country have dogs.
And they report dog incidents, vets report dog incidents.
- Mm-hmm. - Hospitals report dog attacks.
Newspapers print articles and print the breed of a dog
that has caused either injury or death.
So insurance companies have compiled lists of those dogs
and there are hundreds of registered breeds of dogs,
the list of potentially vicious dogs is relatively short,
10, 12 out of hundreds.
If you choose to have one of those dogs
and that dog has already injured somebody or something,
a living thing, they are absolutely, not only within their right,
it's almost a public service and a mandate,
for them to report it to animal control.
You know, I used to do another program.
On the desk of that program,
I had articles and letters people sent to me
who complained that they thought I was being unfair to a particular breed of dog
and I remember one letter
that was by a man who's grandchild, only grandchild,
was mauled by a Pit Bull and he said to me in the letter,
I was the last person my son call to tell me
that my five-year-old grandchild had been mauled by the dog
because I had been begging them to get rid of the dog
and they said the dog is a sweet dog,
the dog loves the boy but... turned in a minute.
- Mm-hmm. - [Judge Judy] And when my Shih Tzu
decides that it doesn't like me and wants to nip me or a child,
it gets a nip but when a 90-pound dog decides to turn, it can kill you.
So you have to make sure that there's no negligence
so that it's not out of your control
and you don't cup an attitude because they called animal control.
- Don't look up in the sky. - Sorry.
[Judge Judy] Look down at a piece of paper.
Just tell me the total cost of the trip.
- Three thousand. - Three thousand even?
No, it was--
Oh, my God. I'm almost ready to leave.
[Monique] Sorry.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Taleen Dunlap claims her neighbor Regina Davidson
owes for vet bills
after Regina's dog attacked her dog.
- How much were your vet bills? - I believe $705.88 to be exact.
$705.88?
Judgment for the plaintiff, we're done here.
[Kevin] The court is adjourned.
Well, dogs do what they do.
When a dog is barking at you, a dog is gonna come
and-- and answer that bark.
I'm still trying to figure out how she's justifying that.
But at the same time, like I said,
sometimes things happen beyond my control.
And I almost shed a tear because as she said,
- we have a two-year-old daughter. - Yeah.
It wasn't like I sent my dog over there to knock on her door.
And now we don't-- we're not comfortable with either one of them
being outside right now un-- unattended, you know, so--
I don't have any animosity or grief against them
but, uh, I'm moving anyways. So--
It's unfortunate, I'm glad that she says she's moving.
The neighborhood will be much better.
You know, I remember we had a dog that I loved dearly.
We had her for 13 years.
Her name was Lulu, remember Lulu?
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah. And she was a sweet dog,
she didn't like a couple of things,
she didn't like when you got too close to me,
and she didn't like it when we woke her up
in the morning on the bed.
When I would go to pick her up on the bed, she would nip at me.
You know, that's the way an animal responds.
That's why they're animals and unpredictable.
But you have to be careful when you have big ones.
I mean, that's the takeaway message from
if you choose to have a big dog
then you also have to accept the responsibility
that that big dog can have a bad day.
It has the potential no matter how friendly
or loving you believe the dog to be, it can turn on a dime and,
- [Judge Judy] Just-- - at the end of the day,
- they're uncontrollable.
So you have to be careful.
When you have a big dog,
you have bigger responsibilities and you have to recognize it.
Case 1075. Porraz versus Baldeon.
All parties, please step forward.
[announcer] Monique Porraz is suing her former boyfriend
Christopher Baldeon for his portion of a trip.
Well, the case is relatively simple.
Ms. Porraz, this used to be a friend of yours,
- little bit of a boyfriend? - Mm-hmm.
And you and some friends all decided to take a trip.
The trip was I think to Cancun, Mexico.
Trip had to be paid, you ended up paying for the trip according to you,
you broke up and initially he said he was gonna take you on the trip
but since you are no longer together as a couple in any way, shape, or form,
you're prepared to take care of your own ticket,
you just want him to take care of his
because according to you, you did not get a refund on the trip?
- Correct. - The defendant says, well,
he did in fact pay $600 towards the trip
and that's all he's gonna pay.
He said that he believes you got a full refund for the trip,
- that's what you say, correct? - Mm-hmm. Yes.
- And you have proof of that? - I don't have proof of that.
Well, you are not coming to the beach today Mr. Baldeon.
Yeah, everything was in her name
so I didn't have access to pulling the information.
I called and I verified with Priceland, they said that the refund could--
Well, all you need is a letter from them, sir,
that refund on the trip was made,
how am I supposed to do that?
Just say, well, it was paid, I spoke to somebody on the phone.
- That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] Yeah. Sounds ridiculous. I'm glad you agree with me.
Yeah, I wasn't expecting to hear--
[Judge Judy] And the facts are relatively straightforward.
I don't have to go into the back and forth, and back and forth,
you weren't married, you were together
then you weren't together then you were together for a little bit,
who cares, there was a trip that was paid for
and the entire cost of the trip was what?
- It was... - [Judge Judy] Don't look up in the sky.
- Sorry. - Look down at a piece of paper.
Well, there was two different loans,
one for the hotel and one for the flight, and the--
- Just tell me the total cost of the trip. - [Monique] Okay.
- Three thousand. - Three thousand even?
- No, it was-- - Oh, my God.
- I'm almost already ready to leave. - [Monique] Sorry.
It was $3,811.
- I'd like to see proof of that, please. - [Monique] Okay.
Okay. So that's one total and then that's the other one.
- So one was $1,981. - [Monique] Mm-hmm.
And the other was $1,016?
- That's $2,997 not $3,800. - Yeah. [chuckles] Sorry.
I get nervous around math.
That's what I was dealing with for months,
trying to get a number.
A-- don't m-mutter.
I have a difficult time enough hearing when you're speaking up.
I sent him those exact shots--
Don't talk to me when I'm trying to use my calculator.
That means that each of you-- I cut that in half,
each of you should've paid $1,498.
So what kind of a credit or refund did you get?
So they separated it with the flights.
So I can't change the name of the flights.
There's $945.34 is for the hotel, that's his--
- Did you get that back? - So yeah. It--
it's a refund but that only he could use under his name.
It's split between both of us for the hotel and the flight.
Okay. So he could use it and you can use it.
- [Monique] Yeah. - He can use $900 worth.
For the hotel and then it's four-something for the flight.
I don't care. Did you give that to him?
No. Because I want him to pay me for his portion
and then I'll give him his e-ticket.
His portion is $1,498, he says he paid $600, did he?
- On the loan? - He did--
Ju-- just think before you answer the question.
He says he paid on his credit card
that you took $600 towards the trip,
- is that correct? - Uh, I don't know if it's $600
but he did put the down payment for each loan
which was I think two-something--
You know something? Let me tell you what I think.
- I think you have to be prepared - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] when you come to court. And neither of you are prepared today.
So I'm gonna do you both a big favor.
I'm dismissing your case without prejudice.
You can re-file it.
And before you come back to me, have all your ducks in a row,
all your evidence here,
anything that you need to plead your case, do you understand?
Perfect. Goodbye.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
I'm a little frustrated.
Uh, I think it was perfect.
Um, she didn't have enough evidence at all to begin with
which is the reason why we're here.
I just want his half of the trip, that's it,
because it-- it's just sitting there, I already paid for it. So--
You know, I wanted to see some proof that she, you know, actually paid it.
Oh, we weren't interested in each other at all.
So cancel the trip.
Oh, she wants to see me one last time, okay?
Yeah. Um, I'm gonna be a little more prepared this time.
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