There was an argument that was on Bourbon Street.
He was yelling at me in front of everyone.
You left him downtown and went back to the hotel.
He then left you at the hotel
- and went back to Texas. - That is correct.
I've learned to avoid long road trips.
Trust me, I know.
[Announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Kyana Guidry is suing her ex- boyfriend, Tavon Hughes,
for a car down payment, travel cost,
and the value of her belongings.
[Kevin] Court come to order.
Be seated, please.
Good morning, Judge.
Case number 1103, Guidry versus Hughes.
- [Judge Judy] Thank you. - [Kevin] You're welcome.
[Judge Judy] Well, Ms. Guidry, I have several questions for you.
- How old are you? - Twenty-eight years old.
- What kind of work do you do? - [Kyana] I have a small online business,
but I'm not currently employed right now.
[Judge Judy] What is the nature of this online business?
- [Kyana] Cosmetics. - [Judge Judy] You make any money at it?
A little bit, I mean, I'm--I was just starting out, very small.
Other than your business, how do you support yourself?
I do Uber, like, DoorDash, stuff like that.
[Judge Judy] And before you became involved with the defendant,
- who were you living with? - Uh, my brother and I
- had an apartment together. - [Judge Judy] And then what I gather,
- around 2018, you met the defendant? - [Kyana] Yes.
[Judge Judy] And then in the summer of 2020, you became a couple?
- Yes, ma'am. - According to you, in the summer of 2019,
the defendant gave you money to put down on a car?
- [Kyana] Yes. - [Judge Judy] How much money
- did he give you to put down on the car? - He gave me a thousand.
And when in 2019 did he give you the thousand?
That was in September?
[Judge Judy] Okay. One of the things that was curious to me,
when you decided to move in together,
you said you moved in with a goddaughter?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Did she live with you
during the whole time that you were living with the defendant?
[Kyana] No, ma'am. Not the whole time.
Well, where does she go when she's not with you?
Um, well, she was living with her mother,
but some family issues and then she came to live with us.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Well, then I'm gonna get back to that in a moment.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So gave you the down payment in September of 2019.
Then you decided to trade in that car,
use that car as a down payment, and buy another car?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] And you bought
another car that was in both your names?
[Kyana] Yes. He convinced me to put it in.
- Right. - [Judge Judy] Both your names?
It was in my name and her name, yes.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah. Both your names? - Right.
[Judge Judy] So part of this case revolves around this car
because when you had some sort of a kerfuffle
in May of 2021,
when you went on a road trip with this car. (chuckles)
Listen, I've learned to avoid long road trips.
- [Tavon] The road trip was not... - Long road trips with children,
long road trips with mates. Uh, you know...
- [Kyana] It's so terrible. - ...certain things are very stressful
on a road trip,
unless everybody can watch a movie on their...
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge Judy] Anyway,
you traveled from Texas to New Orleans and from what I gather,
there was an argument that was in New Orleans, on Bourbon Street.
You got annoyed, you left him on Bourbon Street,
then he left you in New Orleans. (chuckles) That's...
- [Kyana] No. That is not the full truth. - That's exactly...
- [Judge Judy] Just a... - ...how it went.
[Judge Judy] You had a fight in New Orleans, not in the car,
outside of the car, in a restaurant, on the street?
- In the street. - No, it was on the street,
he was yelling at me in front of everyone about something so insane,
and I asked him multiple times can you chill?
We're trying to enjoy my birthday.
It was my birthday, it was the day after my birthday
and he would not chill, so I was like, "You know what?
Let's just go 'cause you killed my vibe, so let's just go."
- So we're... - She left on her own.
[Judge Judy] Don't--[makes noise]
- Don't--try not to say anything. - [Tavon] Okay.
- [Judge Judy] Again... - All right.
[Judge Judy] Usually, if you let her talk, it's gonna come down to the fact
that she said, "I lost my vibe,
- let's just go and she left. - [Tavon] Yes.
I told him, "Let's go."
[Judge Judy] Well, not let's go together. (laughs)
[Kyana] Yes. Let's go together, let's go back to the hotel
because I don't wanna be here anymore. I'm not just gonna leave him,
we're in his car, first of all. And we came in together.
[Judge Judy] No, you weren't-- you weren't in the car
at the time you had the argument, that's what you just told me.
- [Kyana] No, we drove there and parked. - You were outside the car
and you said, "Just let's just go." When you said "just let's go..."
- Uh-hmm. - ...where did you go?
I proceeded to walk to the car where we parked at.
[Judge Judy] Okay. And where did he go?
[Kyana] He was behind me,
but then as I'm walking, I turn around and he's gone.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - So I turn around and I go back
- to where we were initially standing... - [Judge Judy] Just a sec.
Did you go back to the hotel?
- [Kyana] Yes. - [Judge Judy] Did you go back
- to the hotel together? - No.
- Did you go back to the hotel? - No, I did not.
[Judge Judy] Were your things at the hotel?
- [Tavon] Yes. - [Judge Judy] Did you just leave
- them there? - [Tavon] Yes.
- What things were there? - My luggage.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. Did you... - My cell phone and also my wallet.
[Judge Judy] Well, how did you get those things?
I ended up getting a Uber-- not a Uber, but a Lyft
at about 5:00 AM Saturday morning
back to the hotel to get my things.
Was there any drinking involved during this time?
That is correct, 'cause she was gonna buy everything.
Oh--shh, shh, shh. I'm getting a clearer picture.
So you got back to the hotel at about 5:00 AM.
- Was the plaintiff there? - Yes, she was there.
[Judge Judy] Okay. He comes back at 5:00?
- He gathers his things? - Uh-hmm.
- Do you have any conversation? - [Kyana] Yes.
He walks into the hotel room and he slams the door extremely hard,
and he starts yelling at the top of his lungs,
"Why would you leave me downtown in New Orleans?"
And I was really scared so I didn't say anything.
[Judge Judy] Just a sec. Had you taken the car back to the hotel?
- Yes, I did. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- So you had an argument with him. - Uh-hmm.
And you were not near the hotel, you were far enough away
from the hotel to drive there.
Yeah, about seven minutes.
I don't care. To drive there.
And when you got back to the hotel, his
- phone was there, right? - [Kyana] Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] His wallet was there? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] All of the things that would have enabled him
- to get back unless he walked back... - [Kyana] Yes, ma'am.
...to the hotel. So in effect,
you left him downtown and went back to the hotel.
- After looking for him for an hour. - [Judge Judy] Not after.
- That's either a yes or a no. - [Kyana] Yes.
You left him downtown,
he then left you at the hotel,
took the car, and went back to Texas?
Correct.
It's--simply, this is not a novel,
it's maybe a novella, but it's not a novel.
So you stranded him downtown New Orleans,
he stranded you in Louisiana?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] That's part of your case,
how you got back from Louisiana to Texas,
it's not my problem, that's your problem, you got yourself back to Texas.
This whole case revolves around this car.
And also my belongings that he disposed of.
- No. - [Judge Judy] We'll get to belongings.
Yes, ma'am.
Make sure you tell me everything that's true, understand?
- Yes. - 'Cause you see how fair I am?
- Yes. - That can turn on you on a dime.
- Okay. - All right?
- [Tavon] All right. - Perfect.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Kyana Guidry claims her ex- boyfriend,
Tavon Hughes, owes for a car down payment,
travel cost, and the value of her belongings.
- You now have the car. - Which car?
[Judge Judy] The car that's in both your names?
[Tavon] No, I no longer have the car.
- [Judge Judy] Where is it? - I gave the car back.
[Judge Judy] Oh. You gave it back to the company that you bought it from?
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] And there was
- a car loan on it? - That is correct.
[Judge Judy] And so neither of you are obligated
- under the car loan anymore? - That is correct.
[Judge Judy] Was there any loss on the car?
- Uh, yes. - [Judge Judy] How much?
About $3,000 of a difference
between what was owed on the car and what it was worth.
[Judge Judy] Okay. And did the plaintiff
share with you the difference of what you lost on the car?
- No. The plaintiff never paid for... - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- ...any of it. - So, I'm dismissing that part
of your case that wants money for a car.
When two people aren't married
and they sort of complicate their finances,
courts are disinclined, unless there's some real unfairness,
to get involved with that, you decided to do that.
It was ridiculous, I keep telling people,
I've told people for a quarter of a century, don't do that.
It's ridiculous to get so involved.
- Yeah. - [Judge Judy] Don't move in
with your boyfriend and decide
to solidify the relationship by getting a dog.
Or a pony.
Or a car. (chuckles)
Or an anything.
It's ridiculous. He did the absolute right thing.
He turned the car back
because you weren't going to easily sign off on the car...
- [Tavon] No. - ...he didn't want to be obligated
on a car and be paying off on a car
that you partially owned
because your name is on the title, he did the absolutely smart thing,
turned in the car, took a loss...
- Right. - [Judge Judy] ...just like you did.
So he was holding the car for me,
I couldn't even say, "Hey, let me take the car..."
- [Judge Judy] No. - "...and I'll make payments on it."
- [Judge Judy] No. - I was making payment--yeah.
- What did I tell you? - [Tavon] Right.
No. He wasn't gonna do that because you weren't gonna do that.
- You see... - How would we own...
[Judge Judy] Well I'm gonna tell you--
I'm gonna tell you why
because I've been doing this for a long time.
If he gave you the opportunity,
the loan company,
which now has two people on the hook for money,
isn't gonna say, "Okay.
We're gonna take the person who's a wage earner
off the obligation to pay for this car
and we're going to let just you,
who occasionally drives for Uber and has a small business
be the primary and sole obligor on this loan."
No lending company would do that.
That's why the smartest thing to do was to do exactly what he did.
He has removed the obligation of either one of you to pay on this car,
he took a hit on the loss just like you took a hit on the payments
that you made on the car since he put down
the down payment for that year.
So, make believe, you rented a car for a year
and you had the use of the car for a year, I assume you had another car?
- I did, um... - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So you used the car-- you used the car for driving Uber,
according to you, occasionally.
So the part of your (indistinct) requests,
money for the car is dismissed.
Now, we're going to get to that part of your lawsuit
that asks for your property back.
I'd like to know specifically, because this is what happened.
You finally made your way back to Texas,
he had stuff packed up,
you say you got some of the stuff that was there,
but there was a lot of stuff missing.
You called the police, you went in with the police,
they looked around, and you say that you left items
in the house that belonged to you, that he's retained?
So, tell me specifically,
and I don't wanna hear about a hair dryer,
I don't wanna hear about makeup,
I don't wanna hear about two pairs of shoes
or three pairs of jeans,
that's not what this whole thing is set up for.
What large-ticket items
do you say he didn't return to you when he packed your things?
- Like, my business supplies. - [Judge Judy] Okay. Business supplies.
Tell me exactly what business supplies.
So I had, um, my eyelashes,
I had about 80 pairs that I was (indistinct)
[Judge Judy] Okay. Do you know what happened to her 80 pairs of eyelashes?
- No, I do not. - What else?
- [sighs] Um... - [Judge Judy] Make sure you tell me
everything that's true. Understand?
- 'Cause you see how fair I am? - [Tavon] Yes.
That can turn on you on a dime.
Okay.
- All right? - [Tavon] All right.
- Perfect. - [Kyana] I mean, I don't have a ton of...
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
- What else? - [Kyana] Mostly just my business stuff,
really, but all of my other stuff, like, I had just bought
a bunch of clothes, a bunch of shoes,
like, literally, everything that I own was in that house
'cause we lived together, all of my stuff was there.
I want you to tell me exactly
what date and time you went to the house
and he gave you some of the stuff that was there.
Um, it was on July 1st.
- [Judge Judy] 07/01. And... - No. June 1st. Sorry.
[Judge Judy] June 1st. And the trip was in May?
- [Kyana] Yes. - The end of May, May 28th.
Now, when he gave you your things,
- what were they packed in? - [Kyana] It was a wagon that I had.
He had like a suitcase and it contained some of...
No, you mean a wagon that you pull?
- Yeah, the wagon that you pull. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So in that wagon was a suitcase?
- Uh-hmm. - What else?
[Kyana] Inside of the suitcase, he didn't throw away
- my LED mirrors that I sell as well. - [Judge Judy] Your what?
LED mirrors. That's something for my business as well.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - And, um, my passport was in there,
- my laptop was in there. - [Judge Judy] So that's big.
- [Kyana] Yes. - [Judge Judy] Now,
when did you purchase this laptop?
- The beginning of 2020, end of 2019. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- Who purchased it? Who paid for it? - [Kyana] Me.
- It came out of my-- - I did.
It came out of my account.
Money provided by me into her account.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - [Kyana] The money was a gift...
- [Judge Judy] Just a second. - ...and (indistinct)
Is what--just a second. No, no, no, no, no.
Listen to me, Ms. Guidry.
Let's not play games
because there's a reason for my asking you these questions.
If I believe what you say in your complaint,
which was your role was to stay home,
take care of the house, not work,
and he was providing for everything.
So if he bought you a laptop as a gift,
that's a gift, you're entitled to take it.
If he bought you an LED whatever it is,
if he provided the income
that provided this cash to pay for
and he gave it to you, that was a gift, that's fine.
- But he did return that to you... - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Judy] ...because those were gifts.
So he wasn't saying, "I paid for it, therefore it's mine,"
there was an understanding that he had
that they were purchased with his funds as the source,
but he recognized that they were a gift,
so he returned it to you.
What else was in the suitcase in the wagon?
[Kyana] Bubble mailers,
like, mailers for me to mail out my products, and...
[Judge Judy] Okay. So he returned business items.
- Uh-hmm. - Uh-huh is not answer.
- Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Business items.
What else was in the wagon?
[Kyana] That's really all I can remember.
Just a second. Were there any clothes in the wagon?
- Any clothes? - No, ma'am.
The only clothes that I had was the clothes that I went to New Orleans with.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Where were the rest of her clothes?
[Tavon] The other clothes that she did have,
she had already gotten her clothes from the apartment.
We had been back and forth with issues,
and so she was in and out of the apartment all the time.
When you say she was in and out of the apartment all the time...
- Going to her brother's house and... - [Judge Judy] She would go
- to her brother's house and take clothes? - Right.
[Judge Judy] When you left for New Orleans,
she had a lot of stuff at her brother's house,
- is that what you're telling me? - That's correct.
- Okay. - [Tavon] The thing she had
at the apartment, she took with her to New Orleans.
[Judge Judy] To New Orleans, except for these--some business items...
- [Tavon] Correct. - [Judge Judy] ...that were there
- that you did put in the... - [Tavon] Yes.
That I gave to her when she returned to Houston.
[Judge Judy] Okay.
Do you have any proof that he acknowledged
that he had property of yours in your home
after the breakup that he threw away?
- That's either a yes or no. - [Kyana] Yes.
[Judge Judy] I'd like to see it because, you know,
my mind is always capable of being changed.
[theme music playing]
[Announcer] Kyana Guidry has accused her ex- boyfriend,
Tavon Hughes, of refusing to pay
for travel costs and throwing out her belongings after they broke up.
I'm curious where the goddaughter was
when you went on this trip to New Orleans,
and when you came back. Where was the goddaughter?
She was with her mom,
and he also disposed of her things as well.
[Judge Judy] What I'm just not following
is why sometimes with her mom, now you're back living with your brother?
No, I have my own place now. The only reason why she was with her mom
that weekend is because we went to New Orleans.
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
You have to understand, my background is family court.
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge Judy] So, if you say
you moved in with him in Texas with your goddaughter,
there's a family court reason
why she wasn't with her mother.
We never went to court,
it was just a family thing, like, I took the responsibility of having her.
- [Judge Judy] There's a reason for that. - And he agreed.
[Judge Judy] And I'm just curious
what happened to her
when you were on this trip to New Orleans.
If she's not gonna answer me, I'm gonna let you answer me.
[Tavon] Yes. Uh, she was probably with her brother,
that's where the little girl went when we went to New Orleans.
[Kyana] We stopped in Lafayette, Louisiana,
and dropped her, meet her mom.
That is not correct.
- Are you really gonna lie in court? - [Tavon] She knows that's not correct.
- That is definitely correct. - I...
[Tavon] Yeah.
[Judge Judy] How long did she live with you?
(laughs) About a couple of weeks.
Oh, she was only with you a couple of weeks?
- [Tavon] Yes. - [Kyana] That's not true.
She was not with us more than a couple of weeks.
She was with us, we lived in the house together,
I have a copy of the lease, I'm on the lease, I live at the house,
I have a YouTube channel, I'm in the house every single day.
Not you. I'm talking about your goddaughter.
- [Kyana] Yeah. - [Tavon] The kid did not live with us.
- [Kyana] She did live with us. - [Judge Judy] Shh.
For how long is my question?
For a couple of months, like...
[Judge Judy] Okay. Not a "couple of months like."
So she lived with you for a couple of months.
What months did she live with you? I just would like to know.
So she lived with us from, like...
[Judge Judy] Not "like" I take out the word, "like," it's a filler word.
- Don't ever use it again. - Okay. Sorry.
[Judge Judy] Except if you wanna say "I like you."
But other than that, don't use the word "like."
She lived with you from when to when?
- [Kyana] From March of 2021. - [Judge Judy] 2021. Okay.
- Until the breakup. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- Who is she living with now? - [Kyana] With me.
- [Judge Judy] And you're living alone? - Yes, ma'am.
- Do you have custody of her? - [Kyana] I don't have court custody,
no, ma'am. I have guardianship.
- [Judge Judy] You have guardianship... - I'm her guardian.
- [Judge Judy] ...through a court? - No. Not through a court.
- Any reason why not? - We just never went that route,
it was just an understanding that she's gonna stay with me.
[Judge Judy] Well, you know,
you have to permanently plan for this child's future.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] That's the important thing.
I see that you have a certain affection for her
and it's fair for a child to know where they're gonna be.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] And if you're stepping in
to do that, good for you, but child should have some sort of a plan.
Okay. Now, did you dispose
of any of Ms. Guidry's clothing, shoes, anything else.
- Even if you bought it? - No.
[Judge Judy] Do you have anything of hers in your home that belongs to her?
No, I do not.
And when I allowed the police officer to come through the home,
I allowed him to go in every single room in that home
to check it out to see if she had anything.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - And there was nothing there of hers
'cause she didn't have anything in there.
- Because you threw it all away. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
He doesn't have anything that belongs to you.
Now, this is what you're asking for.
Money owed for travel expenses.
Those are the travel expenses that you incurred
moving from Louisiana back to Texas
because he took the car and went home.
You had a fight, that's what happened.
He just traveled a shorter distance when you left him on Bourbon Street.
The car down payments, I've already dealt with,
he did the absolute right thing by returning the car.
- Okay. - He doesn't have any property of yours.
[Kyana] He had all of my property.
- [Tavon] I do not-- - I live in that house.
[Judge Judy] Right now he has none of your property.
- She knows I don't have-- - [Kyana] I moved into the house--
- --any of my property. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- --with all of my clothes, my shoes-- - [Judge Judy] Just a sec--
[Tavon] [indistinct] everything for her.
- Don't argue, just don't-- - [Kyana] Everything.
please do me a favor, don't argue with me.
Right now, I have to make a decision about who I rely on,
and Mr. Hughes says, which is supported by his conduct
that big-ticket items like laptops, which are expensive,
which clearly he paid for, he gave to you.
So since he gave you things that had value that he paid for,
why would he keep your shoes?
- Why would he throw away [indistinct] - [Judge Judy] No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Don't say why. I don't answer questions.
Do you have any proof that he acknowledged
that he had property of yours in your home after the breakup,
which would have been around June 1st,
when you came with the police, that he threw away?
That's either a yes or a no.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] I'd like to see it
because, you know, my mind is always capable of being changed.
- [Kevin] I'll take it. I'll take it. - [Kyana] So this and--
- that's what I said on [indistinct] - [Judge Judy] Okay.
Yeah.
The only thing he says here is "I want closure,"
and that was on May 29th.
You have 'till the end of next week to secure your things,
he says, "or they will be disposed of."
And this was on May 29th, and according to what I heard,
I believe June 1st is the day you went there with the police--
- [Tavon] Correct. - --is that right?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] That was within that week.
- Yes. - Okay. Your case is dismissed.
We're finished. Thank you very much. It's over.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
Okay. So this man came after me.
I cared about Kyana.
I did a lot of things for her.
And I told him, like, "Okay.
Well, you know, I like to be taken care of."
Including, you know, paying for her things that she didn't have.
I like to be provided for, he agreed to everything, he even...
And that's the way it was.
...made sure I had money on a specific day, every day.
She was taking advantage, exactly.
He did that on his own.
I got closure that I'd been wanting for a very long time,
so I'm happy with the verdict.
[Judge Judy] (chuckles) So, what do you think?
You know, number one lesson I've learned since being here,
don't co-sign, don't co-own, anything,
with anyone that's not your legally married husband, wife, partner,
because these problems arise all the time
and courts don't wanna be involved in people's petty relationship drama.
Right. We don't wanna decide whether those are your underpants
or somebody else's underpants.
- Exactly. - Uh, you know, my father used to say,
"Keep it simple, stupid. Use the KISS principle, keep it simple."
You're absolutely right, I'm glad you learned a lesson.
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