We, uh, got into an argument and we'd broken up.
Tell me what the argument was about.
It was me drinking.
[Judge Judy] Did he come home drunk?
[Ashley] Yes, ma'am. I told him he had thirty days
to move out if he could not come in the house drinking
and that lasted about five days.
- You have a child? - That is correct.
- How old is your child? - She is eight.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Ashley Ford and her mother, Glenda Bruner,
are suing Ashley's ex-boyfriend,
Chad Tennyson, for travel cost
and his share of a vacation package.
[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
[Kevin] Good morning, Judge.
- Good morning, Kevin. - Case number 1117.
Ford, Burner versus Tennyson.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
- [Judge Judy] Your last name is Ford? - Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] This is your mom? - Yes.
And she's technically here because she paid for some part of a trip?
- That is correct, yes. - You could sit down from...
[Glenda] Thank you.
You two dated for a relatively short period of time.
During that short period of time,
you did one of the most foolish things
that people do when they're just dating,
sort of feels as if it brings them together,
you bought what I used to call a timeshare.
But this really isn't a timeshare.
It's called a vacation package.
- That's what I read. - That is correct.
[Judge Judy] You bought it for two years from July of 2019 to July 2021.
- Uh-hmm. Yes. - And you're going to explain to me
what it is that you get for that, you know,
I allowed my mind to float
and it sort of suggested to me that they had several places
around the country where you could go
and have a vacation and pay something,
but you knew you were going to get that space,
that particular--one bedroom or two bedrooms, whatever it was,
and they were nice places, places that you wouldn't ordinarily go.
So far, is that relatively what it is?
- Yes, basically. - Yes.
Anyway, to make a long story short,
the vacation package lasted longer than the relationship,
which is usually the problem.
And then there was a whole kerfuffle about who paid
and a trip that you were supposed to take
that you say he canceled,
and that you had to make alternative arrangements
and you didn't have enough money.
So that's where your mother came in.
She paid part of the cost of that trip.
So, she wants to be reimbursed 'cause you all say that's his fault.
He says me, I didn't do anything.
Nothing.
Okay. So let's start with once upon a time.
Once upon a time you met when, where, and how?
We started talking in the end of May 2018.
We met about a week later, June 8th, 2018.
[Judge Judy] At the time you met,
you were living in your own home, you have a child?
- That is correct. Yes. - [Judge Judy] How old is your child?
- She is eight. - And you, sir, where were you living?
- [Chad] In Benville. - [Judge Judy] By yourself?
- Yes. - [Ashley] That's not correct, Your Honor.
He is living with his mother.
Well, she has Alzheimer's and I take care of her.
- You were living in her house? - My house. I was taking care of her.
Is the house owned by your mother or you?
No, me. It was just a rental home that she lived with me.
- [Ashley] And she paid the bills for it. - [Judge Judy] Oh.
- Sorry, sorry. - [Judge Judy] Don't do that again.
Was that what you did as a full-time job,
- to take of your mom? - Yeah. At that time, yes.
[Judge Judy] When did you first go on vacation
when you bought this package?
For the package, the first time that I used the vacation package?
No, the first time you went to a place and bought the vacation.
You went there in order to buy a vacation package.
The week of July 14th, 2019.
You hadn't bought it at that time yet?
- That is correct. - Right.
[Judge Judy] Used to get these things all the time.
Come, we'll give you a free weekend or a free night and then...
- That's how it started. - [Judge Judy] ...you go to a place
and they put you in a room with a lot of other people.
- [Ashley] Uh-huh. - And then they show you a video.
I've had these cases before.
And then before you leave, you say,
"Oh, that would be so ideal if we could go travel together."
Anyway, it's very good marketing.
And so on July 14th you decided to buy this package.
Tell me about the cost of this vacation package,
tell me what the contract was.
- Do you have the contract? - Yes, I do.
[Judge Judy] I'd like to take a look at it.
Yes, ma'am.
Here you go.
[Judge Judy] Uh, uh, uh.
Did you read all this before you signed it by the way?
- I'm just curious. - Not well enough.
- [Judge Judy] I'm just curious. - No.
[Judge Judy] I mean, everybody initialed every single thing,
and then you both signed it.
I just looked at this briefly. I'll have Sarah look at it over.
How much did it cost for the two years?
It would end up costing $4,235.20.
So $4,200 for the both of you?
- Yes, ma'am. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] That you're obligated to pay monthly?
- [Chad] Yes. - Now there's lots of stuff
there with--points, you can use points, you get points.
So what did you get points for?
So it was 400,000 points
and then each resort and each night has a point value.
So if you go to a five-star place, you use so many points.
If you go to a three-star place, you use so many points.
- Basically, yes. - [Judge Judy] Is that what it is?
- Yes. - How much do you pay monthly?
The payment is $107.84 for the contract.
- $107.84 a month for two years? - [Ashley] Uh-hmm.
There's also--I'm sorry, there's also a thousand dollar
deposit that was included in that.
[Judge Judy] Okay. So I assume you paid the deposit.
- [Chad] I did. - [Judge Judy] What?
- [Chad] I paid. - That is not correct.
I assume, when I say you, the joint you paid the deposit.
- Not that day, it was... - [Judge Judy] What day?
It was...
Came at later as a credit card.
We were not aware that we were going to be getting
a thousand dollar credit card that day.
So it wasn t explained that you were getting a credit card
and there were points and whatever.
I'm getting a headache. It's so much easier to call
and make a reservation at a hotel and say,
"I feel like going on vacation today
or next week, or next month,
or in two months."
That's just my idea of freedom.
Understand this, people who choose to live together,
without benefit of marriage, should not engage
in buying things jointly,
a pet, a car,
a vacation package, anything,
because 50% of the marriages in this country fail,
and substantially more relationships fail.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Ashley Ford blames her ex-boyfriend Chad Tennyson
owes for travel cost and his share of a vacation package
they purchased together.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Who paid the deposit?
You say you do.
Tell me, Mr. Tennyson, how you paid the deposit of a thousand dollars.
I gave her the cash.
- [Judge Judy] When? - November.
- November of 2019. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Be very careful about this answer, Ms. Ford.
Didn't Mr. Tennyson give you a thousand dollars?
He did not give me a thousand dollars.
- Did he give you any money? - [Ashley] Yes, he did.
- How much? - That day that he's talking about?
$600. Prior to that, he had deposited $80
into my bank account and another time
he had deposited $75 into my bank account.
Eighty and seventy-five,
so five--so, so far, $755...
- That is correct. - [Judge Judy] ...that he paid
- towards the deposit. - Yes, ma'am.
So you put in $245 towards the deposit.
He paid $755?
- That sounds about right. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
Then you had it paid by month.
For how many months did you pay?
I have paid one--eleven months.
[Judge Judy] So you paid for 11 months
and the obligation is now terminated?
[Ashley] That is correct, yes.
[Judge Judy] And the timeshare is over?
- Yes, ma'am. - So, either somebody is getting sued
- or he paid the other months. - Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Which is it? - He paid the other months.
- So he paid the other months? - [Ashley] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] So he paid 13 months. - Yes, ma'am.
And the majority of the deposit?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] In what month and year
did the two of you break up?
July 2019, about six days after.
So now the member ship is paid up,
you paid less than he did for the deposit.
- Yes, ma'am. - And you paid less than he did
- for the membership... - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] ...the annual membership.
So now I'd like you tell me what you're suing him for.
- [Ashley] Absolutely. So... - [Judge Judy] Because your lawsuit says
balance of vacation of package, $526.
[Ashley] That is the balance that was due after the May payment and the rate...
- Then you pay that. - I'll explain, I'm sorry.
[Judge Judy] There's no explanation.
Pay the majority of the...
I wasn't supposed to pay anything.
After we broke up, I wanted to cancel the package.
- [Judge Judy] You can... - We were within our--
we were within our ten-day grace period that s in the contract.
You--I guarantee you
that you would not have canceled this package.
- I called and they stated that... - [Judge Judy] You can't tell me...
- You're right. - [Judge Judy] If you can show me...
It's--there's a ten-day termination window in the contract.
I'll look into it.
[Judge Judy] While she's looking for that,
you broke up in July of 2019,
the same month. How many times did you use the vacation package?
A total?
Think carefully. How many times did you use...
I was actually able to use it one time.
[Judge Judy] How many times did you use it, sir?
- Zero. - [Judge Judy] You have any information
that Mr. Tennyson used it all?
[Ashley] He did not use it at all. He had said...
[Judge Judy] Don't tell me what he said.
I'm still not getting what you're suing him for
because right now, you have no lawsuit that I'd be interested in.
- [Ashley] I understand. - [Judge Judy] It appears to me
that Mr. Tennyson has--had zero benefit.
- He paid for 13 months. - [Ashley] Uh-hmm.
He paid the majority of the deposit,
so right now, I'm not seeing any basis for a lawsuit.
[Ashley] So as I said, Your Honor, I wanted to cancel within the...
[Judge Judy] I don't care whether you did or not. You went on a vacation...
- So we--he said that... - You went on a vacation afterwards.
[Ashley] He said he did not wanna cancel the package.
He wanted to keep it and he was gonna be responsible for it.
I have text messages and voicemails stating he was...
[Judge Judy] Just a second. I would like to see--
if that's the case, unless he acknowledges,
did you say to her I wanna keep the package
and I'll pay for the whole thing?
Yeah. I said, yeah, I just wanna do it 50/50 'cause she couldn't afford it.
- [Ashley] That is not correct. - [Judge Judy] No, no, no.
That's not what I asked you, sir.
What I asked you, Mr. Tennyson,
was did you say to her after you had broken up,
within this cancelation period,
did you say to her keep the package, I'll pay for the whole thing?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
I'd like to see. What date did you break up, Mr. Tennyson?
- Honestly, I don't even remember. - [Judge Judy] No,
you have to remember.
You went on vacation on the 19th.
- [Chad] A week later. - [Judge Judy] Where were you
- when you broke up? - At the house.
- [Judge Judy] At whose house? - Ashley's.
- At her house? - [Chad] Yes.
- Tell me what happened. - We, uh, got into an argument
- and we'd broken up. I... - [Judge Judy] Well, tell me
- what the argument was about. - It was me drinking.
[Judge Judy] Okay. When you had that argument on the 29th,
- you were fighting over his drinking? - Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Was he drunk? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] Okay. And did he come home drunk?
Yes, ma'am. He came home drunk.
[Judge Judy] So you told him he had to leave?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] He left the house
within 15 days of your signing this contract.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Now I'd like to see
the text message.
[Ashley] There's just some of them right there I have.
Just a second.
[Sarah] Your Honor, there is a ten-day grace period,
but it has to be submitted to Wyndham,
um, in writing of the intent to cancel.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Listen, uh, this is in September.
This is well after the cancelation period.
- [Ashley] Yes, there were no messages... - [Judge Judy] Yeah, okay.
- ...exchanged right after then. - [Judge Judy] Right.
- So he's paid for 13 months? - Yes, ma'am.
And you paid for 11 and he paid for the majority of the deposit.
So I'm not entertaining that.
What else do you think he's responsible for?
According to you, you went on a trip with your daughter
and someone canceled a reservation.
Yes. So, as I said...
[Judge Judy makes sound] Understand this.
People who choose to live together
without benefit of marriage
should not engage in buying things jointly,
a pet, a car,
a vacation package, a timeshare,
a ring, a Picasso,
anything, because 50% of the marriages in this country fail
and substantially more relationships fail.
So, you don't know somebody for a month
and then go get a vacation package.
He did the right thing. He paid for at least half.
I'm not hearing any of it. Do you understand?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Great.
Now, you say that you and your daughter used the points again,
you went once and you were using the points again from when to when?
I've scheduled it in February of 2021.
Our vacation was supposed to be June 11th
through the 17th 2021.
Okay. And what you say is on the way there,
you were driving there with your daughter
- to this vacation package. - That's correct.
[Judge Judy] And you were advised once you got there that it was canceled?
No, ma'am. As we were driving, um, my phone beeped.
I looked it down and it was an email stating your reservation was canceled.
I pulled over onto the side of the road,
I read the email.
It stated my reservation was canceled.
- [Judge Judy] I'd like to see it. - Yes, ma'am.
Email that I received and I'll go ahead and give you
the, uh, cancelation policy as well.
No, no. Don't give me a cancelation policy.
Just give me the email.
Okay. So, your reservation, they said, had been canceled.
Defendant so far has been-- so far has been a standup guy
and paying for 13 months of a club he didn't use
that you used that he paid for,
three quarters of the down payment,
you paid a quarter of it.
It doesn't sound to me as if he was a cad.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Ashley Ford has accused her ex-boyfriend,
Chad Tennyson, of canceling her vacation reservation
the day it was starting.
Chad claims that cancellation was a mistake
made by the resort.
Okay. So your reservation, they said, had been cancelled?
Yes, ma'am. So I pulled over to the side of the road and I called.
I said, "This is incorrect. We're actually on our way, we're driving."
You can't tell me what they said to you.
[Ashley] Okay. That is fine. So...
[Judge Judy] You got a notice that your reservation was canceled.
Got a notice the reservation was canceled.
I called and I asked what had happened.
- They told me--I won't tell you... - [Judge Judy] You can't...
I won't--I won't tell you what they told me.
So that prompted me to call Mr. Tennyson.
I asked him, can I tell you what he told me that first time?
- [Judge Judy] Absolutely. - Okay. And that's how...
- He's here. He's a party. - [Ashley] Okay.
- He can defend himself. - In that conversation,
I asked him how he could cancel our vacation.
- We're on our way. - Do you remember a phone call
that you received from her on the road?
- Yes, she called me. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
I want you to relay to me the conversation.
Be very careful to tell me the truth.
Uh, she just accused me right off the bat of canceling
and if I would call Wyndham with her in,
which I said--I didn't have a problem with doing that.
- Did you call Wyndham with her? - No, 'cause she sent me
a text message just going straight into the attack on--
about cancellation. So I just--I didn't.
Okay. Did you, Mr. Tennyson,
- cancel this reservation? - No.
- He absolutely did. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
Did you know that Ms. Ford
was going on a vacation and using the package?
No. No, I hadn't.
- You got no notice? - [Chad] No notice, no--
- I didn't know anything. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So the phone call that you got from her in June
of this year was the first time
you had spoken to her in how long?
Six months, seven months.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Now it's your obligation
to show me proof that Mr. Tennyson canceled this reservation.
[Ashley] Yes, ma'am. I said that I would give him a call back.
I would call Wyndham and ask that he would stay
by his phone and answer.
I called shortly thereafter and he did not answer.
That is when I sent the text stating
that he had canceled it
or that I assumed he had canceled or was told. This is an email...
[Judge Judy] Yeah. Just a second. You can't slip it in there.
All I want from you is proof.
He's been so far relatively honest with me.
- And he's been relatively fair with you. - Yes, ma'am.
He's paid for a vacation package, more than half of it,
that he never used, you and your daughter
who are at least going to use it twice,
so, so far, you know, aside from the fact that he had
or hopefully had a drinking problem
and no longer has it, that would be smart.
I need non-hearsay proof
that he canceled this reservation.
He says he did not.
This is an email from Wyndham stating...
- No, no, don't tell me what it stated. - Sorry, this is with a screen shot
- from their system. - Don t, don't tell me what it says.
Would you bring up your phone, please?
Give the phone to Kevin.
Kevin, would you hand that phone to Sarah?
Sarah, go to June 10th, 2021 5:18 PM.
It would be Wyndham Club reservation perhaps.
The thing that's interesting to me, Ms. Ford,
is that according to what you've given me
- at 5:18 PM... - Uh-hmm.
...they claim that the reservation was canceled.
You were supposed to check in on the 10th.
- On the 11th. - [Judge Judy] 11th.
And you had make this booking six months in advance.
- [Ashley] Yes, ma'am. - So that was a long time.
- [Ashley] Uh-hmm. - [Judge Judy] And within eight minutes...
- Uh-hmm. - ...they contacted you.
[Ashley] I contacted them.
Because you had received a cancelation notice.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] So within eight minutes...
- Yes, ma'am. - ...of him allegedly calling them,
they notified you that the reservation
has been canceled. You said, "Hold it,
I didn't cancel that reservation."
And the club said to you, "I'm sorry, we already gave away that room."
- [Ashley] Yes, ma'am. - That sounds suspect to me
unless I can find something here
from his email account.
It is...
beyond my imagination
that within nine minutes
of receiving this cancelation
contacting you all in that nine-minute period
saying this reservation has been canceled,
you pulling over, calling them immediately
saying this is all a mistake,
- that they gave away your accommodations. - And I can't tell you
- what they told me, can I? - [Judge Judy] Just a second. I--no.
You cannot tell me what they told you
because, unless she can find something in there,
he's not responsible for your vacation.
I don't find what he's told me suspect.
- But I... - [Judge Judy] If I can find
some communication with him, that's fine.
This is still hearsay and I don't have...
- So why wouldn t I have gone to... - [Judge Judy] Why?
- Why wouldn t I have gone? - [Judge Judy] Why?
Because it has been somewhat of an experience
between myself and family members
and friends who have these club arrangements,
things happen and there's double booking,
there are problems with reservations.
Defendant so far has been--
so far, has been a standup guy
and paying for 13 months of a club he didn't use,
that you used, that he paid for three quarters
of the down payment,
you paid a quarter of it.
It doesn t sound to me as if he was a cad.
So, I'm not figuring out
why somebody who hadn't spoken to you in six months
would call and cancel an upcoming reservation
that he knew nothing about,
unless she can find something in his email, then, then I'm gonna stay...
I can prove that he knew about the vacation,
not necessarily that one, but whenever I booked the one in October,
I never told him about that.
He knew about that because I have messages where he was telling me,
- "Enjoy the vacation." - I'm not talking about in October.
I'm talking about the following June. You hadn't spoken to him in six months.
Right. Your Honor, I can prove a history that he is spiteful
- and that he is very vindictive and... - [Judge Judy] I don't care.
Madam, this is not Dr. Phil. It's a court.
[Ashley] I understand.
[Judge Judy] And so far I don't find any of his conduct egregious
or that he took financial advantage if you.
[Sarah] There are emails from the 10th and the 11th,
but none regarding the vacation package.
[Judge Judy] Nothing on the 10th?
And there are other emails there on the 10th?
- Uh, yes. - Okay.
Did you finally have a vacation with your daughter?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Good. And you paid for it?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Yes.
Yeah, your case is dismissed. We're finished here. Thank you.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
He never takes responsibility for his actions.
She has a right to how she feels.
He denies everything.
He is--constantly just insults,
mean jabs, he's like a child whenever he's angry.
Yeah, just a bunch of jabs.
Just childish.
Obviously, don't be stupid and go into any type of a contract
with someone that you're not married to.
[Sarah] That defendant had thousands of emails there.
Scrolling through took a minute,
but there was nothing from Wyndham, there was nothing from the date,
and I agree with you that I don't think he would have gone through
all of those emails as I did and delete just the one email.
[Judge Judy] I actually thought what he did,
- continuing to pay without using... - [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
...the program, knowing that she was using the program.
- It was pretty reasonable. - [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
[Judge Judy] The lesson is never learned.
Don't buy a dog.
Don't buy a vacation package,
because you think it's gonna all bring you together.
It's usually unsuccessful.
It's kept me in business for a quarter of a century.
But it's really not a smart thing to do.
[announcer] Want justice? Go to JudyJustice.tv
[theme music playing]