His dog played with your dog?
Uh-hmm.
I didn't know the severity of what was going on.
The puppy is deceased.
You were told by the vet
not to have your dog around other dogs.
Do you understand that? Listen.
No, you listen to me.
- She wasn't supposed to be there. - I'm supposed to listen to him.
Cut off his mic.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Michelle Ordonez is suing her former friends,
Cooper Currie and Ethan Clasen, for the cost of a puppy,
vet bills, and emotional distress.
[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.
Be seated, please.
[Kevin] Hello, Judge.
Case number 1168 Ordonez versus Currie, Clasen.
- Thank you. - [Kevin] You're welcome.
- [Judge Judy] Ordonez. - Yes.
You bought one dog
from one of these gentlemen in 2019.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] From which gentleman?
[Michelle] I had actually bought it from both gentlemen,
their business BHB.
They presented it to me as an entity.
So I paid Ethan and...
[Judge Judy] Just a second. Your complaint says
that in September 2019,
"I bought a puppy named Dolly from Ethan."
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] So can we keep it simple
and consistent with what you wrote here?
It should have been BHB.
Well, it's not BHB.
BHB is a corporation that cannot appear in court without a lawyer.
When they had sold me the dog, they had presented it as a real company.
- So I had... - [Judge Judy] Uh-hmm.
- Can I see the paperwork? - Yes.
- So when I received... - [Judge Judy] Oh, don't say anything,
just give me the paperwork.
Do you have a copy of her contract?
- Yes, I do. - [Judge Judy] I'd like to see it.
[Michelle] They had withheld the papers.
- So I wasn't able to see anything. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
Who is Michelle Montford?
[Michelle] It was my married name.
I put a O on top for Ordonez.
But when I paid her off, I should have been given the UKC papers which can...
[Judge Judy] Don't tell shoulda, woulda, coulda.
I don't care shoulda, woulda, coulda.
This says that you paid $2,000 for the dog.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] And 50%...
Breeding rights.
[Judge Judy] Breeding rights.
- Which meant that... - [Judge Judy] Just--
not really germane to this case.
But it means that if you breed the dog that I assume
that whoever is Ethan.
- [Ethan] Yes. - [Judge Judy] That would be you.
You have 50% breeding rights which means that you get
to breed the dog once and she does or you get 50% of the litter?
- What does that mean? - So it means I would split
the stud fee with her,
go half with it. And then I would get half of the litter.
So, let's say she had ten puppies, I would get five and be able to sell it.
- Well, you'd have to make that clear. - [Ethan] Okay.
That's not what it-- that's not what this means to me.
With regard to Dolly, and you still have Dolly?
- Yes, I do. - [Judge Judy] Yes. We're gonna get rid
of your counterclaim because your counterclaim
is for the return of a co-owned dog, right?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] You don't co-own this dog.
This is not a co-ownership agreement.
So, that takes care of your counterclaim.
There's nothing in this contract that suggests that you co-own the dog.
Good. Now, dolly is still alive.
Yes. Gladly. (chuckles)
This is--your last name is.
- Currie. - [Judge Judy] Currie.
And are you partners?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] You also sold
the plaintiff a second dog.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] That wasn't in 2019,
that was in 2021.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] And you two became friends.
We've been friends for a long time.
- How long? - I wanna say since I got Dolly,
- maybe a couple months before that. - Since 2019,
- that's a year and a half. - I was approached by the defendant
to buy a dog as a friend.
- You bought another dog. - [Michelle] Yes.
From him, same breed?
- Same breed. - [Judge Judy] And they're...
From the same kennel. It's actually his a long time...
[Judge Judy] No, just tell me what kind of dog is it.
Oh, it's an XL Bully, American Bully.
Is that a Pit Bull breed?
[Michelle] It's a Pit Bull mixed with a Staffordshire Terrier.
So they're quite-- they're probably about this tall.
And they get up to about 160, males probably like 170.
[Judge Judy] Okay.
And so now you have two,
you have one that's two years old and you have a new puppy.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] You also...
Well, the-the puppy is deceased.
- [Judge Judy] I know that - Yes, yes. Uh-hmm.
Yes. I know that the puppy is deceased. Well, that's what your case is about.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] You became friendly
with Mr. Currie.
- Both of them actually. - [Judge Judy] Just--
- try not to interrupt me again. - Sorry.
[Judge Judy] And you were moving.
You were moving with whom?
With my children and my husband at the time.
- How many children do you have? - [Michelle] Two.
- Two sons. - [Judge Judy] And you had a husband?
Yes.
And so you were moving from where to where?
So we were moving actually into an apartment because our home...
[Judge Judy] Don't tell me because, you were moving from where to where?
From my home to an apartment.
Were you renting the home?
At the time, yes, I was.
What month and year were you moving?
I moved in the beginning of August, the end of July.
What date were you planning on moving?
I was trying to move the 1st of August,
but it so happened that I moved a little bit earlier.
Was Mr. Currie supposed to move into your house?
- [Michelle] Yes. - [Judge Judy] Is that the arrangement
- that you had made with him? - [Michelle] Yes.
And was he going to pay you rent?
He was gonna be paying partial rent. Yes.
How much, rent?
At the time, I think I told him 1,600.
- [Judge Judy] How much? - She told me 1,800.
I gave him 900 upon my deposit and connect...
[Judge Judy] When did you give her the $900 deposit?
Uh about a week or two prior to me moving in.
- There was no contract. - [Judge Judy] On what date--on what date?
- There is no contract. It was... - [Judge Judy] Just a sec.
I didn't say contract. I never used the word contract.
- Okay. - You said deposit.
- Deposit, yes. - [Judge Judy] On what date
were you supposed to be moving in?
I believe it was around the...
[Judge Judy] Don't say I won't believe. Just...
26th of July, it was around approximately upon getting there.
She was still there and her kids.
Now you also have one of these dogs.
- I have three. - [Judge Judy] All the same breed?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] All American Bullies?
- Yes, ma'am. - You got yourself and all three dogs?
Two live with my mom and one live with me.
So you had one.
- Yeah, at the time. - [Judge Judy] That you were moving
- into the house with? - At the time, yes.
That's all I care about. What do I care about the rest of your life?
I don't even care about this portion of your life, but I--it's my job.
So you were moving into this house that she was vacating
- with one dog. - Yes.
That's an answer.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] I don't care how many cats
- or dogs or canaries your mother has. - Well, I own them.
- I don't care. - That was your question, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] I don't care.
You had one dog that is relevant to this case
- that moved in to her house. - Correct.
- Sick dog. - [Judge Judy] Now--
what did I tell you?
- Sorry. - [Judge Judy] It's getting towards
the end of the day, I'm getting testy.
Your family may care about you.
I on the other hand have an idiot who was given specific instructions
not to have their dog around other dogs.
And you specifically didn't listen.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Michelle Ordonez claims her friends,
Cooper Currie and Ethan Clasen,
owe for the cost of a puppy and vet bills.
Now, the dog was sick.
She had just been released from the vet,
so she was no longer sick.
[Judge Judy] Just a second, the dog's name is?
Carmela.
What was wrong with her?
She had had parvo.
When you say she had just been released from the vet,
what was the name of the vet who cared for her?
Animal Kingdom.
Is that the regular vet?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] How long was Carmela
at the vet?
- Three days. - [Judge Judy] When she left
the vet after three days, she had been diagnosed with parvo.
What were her symptoms?
She was just groggy and not very dog-like,
I don't know how explain it. She wasn't loving.
She was just sickly.
[Judge Judy] What was she like when you took her out of the vet?
[Cooper] The vet called me and...
- Don't tell me what the vet told you... - [Cooper] ...I can get her.
[Judge Judy] Don't tell me what the vet told you.
The dog was in prime condition to come home.
The dog seemed fine.
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] And if I called
Animal Kingdom--you have that number?
Yes, ma'am.
They would tell me that the dog was released
and had been tested and was free from parvo.
Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] Okay, Sarah. - [Sarah] Uh-hmm.
Do this for me, please.
Take that number.
Go in the robing room call Animal Kingdom.
Tell them that you're calling from Judge Judy Sheindlin.
We're calling about
Cooper Currie's dog Carmela
that was released from Animal Kingdom
end of July of this year. The dog had had parvo.
Would you find out from the vet whether the dog was free from parvo
- when the dog was released from the vet. - Sure.
Would you do that? Thank you.
And if you have any problem with them...
- [Sarah] I'll let you know. - ...let me know.
Mr. Currie was supposed to move in to your home
and you were supposed to be out of your home.
We were in the process of moving. Yes.
Mr. Currie came to your house with his dog.
- Uh-hmm. - Did you have a conversation with him?
He actually came unannounced and no,
I did not have a conversation with him at--before he came.
Did he ever discuss with you that his dog had had parvo?
- He told me... - [Judge Judy] Look at me.
- No, he did not, no. - [Judge Judy] Did you?
- Yes, I did, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] Yes, he did.
I'm gonna ask you again.
Did he ever discuss with you
that his dog had parvo?
- Make sure I get an answer. - Right.
No, he did not.
Okay. So, you have two of the same kind of dogs.
And you wouldn't have left your dog around a dog that looked sick.
- Never. - [Judge Judy] That looked sick, correct?
- [Michelle] Correct. - So his dog didn't look sick.
- No. - [Judge Judy] Played with your dogs?
Yes.
- I even asked him to watch the dog. - [Judge Judy] Don't--I know that.
Played with your dogs?
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge Judy] Appeared healthy?
Correct.
And that was on what date?
- July what? - I wanna say the--
from the 24th through the 25th.
So you had a full day to see them interacting
and to see how his dog was behaving?
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] And then you left.
- And you left him with your two dogs. - Yes.
So you left him on the 25th with your two dogs.
That was by arrangement?
[Michelle] Yes. I asked him permission if I could leave...
[Judge Judy] Leave the dogs, fair.
And when did you come and get the dogs?
The next day.
Within the next day, he had called me and said the dogs will not stop--
excuse my language [...] and throwing up everywhere.
[Judge Judy] So that's the 26th?
Yes.
- [Judge Judy] So you came back the 26th. - [Michelle] Correct.
I picked up both dogs.
She didn't, Your Honor.
When did she come back?
Her baby daddy picked him up and it was about two or three days later.
[Judge Judy] Her baby what?
- My baby's father. - Her baby's father.
- My ex-husband. - He came and picked them up.
- Okay. - [Cooper] And she would not answer
the phone for two or three days.
- So she didn't come the next day? - No.
[Judge Judy] And neither did anyone else?
No. I had a housekeeper come and clean the house
of all their throw-up and poop while they were ignoring my calls.
- That's funny. I had a housekeeper. - [Judge Judy] Okay. Do you have any--
do you have your phone with you which would show the messages on...
I actually got a new phone.
Everybody gets a new phone when I ask them for proof.
I got a new phone.
My phone fell in the pool, it fell in the toilet.
The dog ate the phone.
My husband smashed the phone.
My wife threw it out of the car.
Whenever you came the next day,
the day after?
Did you come personally, or did you send the father of your baby?
- So he was threatening me... - [Judge Judy] Just to answer
- the question. - The father of my child went to go
- pick up the dogs. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
And when you went to get the dogs,
did you take them immediately to the vet?
I took 'em the next day.
Why didn't you take them that day?
Because I didn't know the severity of what was going on.
They looked groggy, but I didn't know exactly if they were sick or not.
- So I had set up the appointment... - Were they--were both...
- [Michelle] ...for the next... - Were both dogs fully inoculated?
At first they were just acting like themselves and then...
- [Judge Judy] No. That's... - ...they just started deteriorating.
Just listen to my question.
Were both dogs fully inoculated, vaccinated?
- Had they received... - Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] ...all of their shots? - They were. Both of them.
[Judge Judy] You have proof from the vet from that?
From the vet, yes. I have her vet records and her vet bill.
Okay. Now I wanna see the records of her inoculation,
the one that died.
No, don't get me all those things.
I asked you for a specific piece of paper.
[Michelle] That's her--or that's his vet records that I got from the vet.
[Judge Judy] No, that's not what I asked you for.
I asked you for her records of vaccination.
That's the only records I had gotten.
[Judge Judy] Then you don't have-- the answer is that you don't have
records of that puppy, that was the puppy that died.
How old was the puppy?
When he died, he was about 14 weeks.
He was 14 weeks.
[Judge Judy] Sarah?
Yeah, got a lot of information.
Okay.
[Sarah] So, Carmela was diagnosed on 07/12/21
with not only parvo but intestinal parasites as well.
And she had a hospital stay until approximately the 14th,
in hospital, where she was treated and picked up.
And then there was a revisit-- with a strict instruction
to not be around any other dogs as it was still a highly contagious disease.
She revisited on August 23rd for her second vaccine.
- [Judge Judy] August 23rd. - Of 20--of 2021.
- [Judge Judy] That's his dog. - [Sarah] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] August 23rd. - [Sarah] For a revisit
after the hospital stay where she received her second vaccine
which was a combo vaccine including for parvo,
with again, another instruction not to be around any other puppies or dogs
and not to purchase any more puppies and dogs until she was revisited,
but there was no negative test result when she left for...
[Judge Judy] No negative?
[Sarah] She said there would not have been a negative test result but she left
with the second dose of the vaccine and the strict instruction
- to not to be around other dogs. - Not to be around other dogs.
Your Honor, I was homeless and she was lying...
[Judge Judy] I don't care whether you are homeless,
hapless, sad, snowflake.
I don't care.
It's irrelevant to me.
- Do you understand? - Yeah.
- Homeless [indistinct] couldn't get... - [Judge Judy] Maybe, maybe--
just a second. Hey, I'm gonna throw your case out.
Do you want me to do that?
- She wasn't supposed to be... - [Judge Judy] She was there, fool.
[Cooper] She was not supposed to be there.
- She was--listen. - No, you listen to me.
- She wasn't to be there. - [Judge Judy] You don't--you don't--
I'm supposed to listen to-- I'm supposed to listen to him?
Cut off his mic.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Michelle Ordonez has accused her former friend,
Cooper Currie, of bringing his sick puppy into her home
and giving her dogs a serious illness.
Now, I don't know if you have family.
Your family may care about you.
I on the other hand, do not.
I on the other hand, have an idiot who was given
specific instructions not to have their dog around other dogs.
And you specifically didn't listen.
And whether you're homeless or not, who gives a rat's behind?
Well, I paid rent to move into her house
and I was supposed to be moving in and she...
I don't care if you move in. You're not gonna give her dog parvo.
- She wasn't supposed to be there. - [Judge Judy] It doesn't matter.
It does, if she wasn't supposed to be there.
- She was--she was there. - [Cooper] She wasn't supposed to be...
- She was there, fool! - She wasn't supposed to be.
[Judge Judy] She was there, fool.
- She was not supposed to be there. - She was there--listen.
No. You listen to me. She wasn't supposed to be there.
Oh, I'm supposed to listen to-- I'm supposed to listen to him.
- Cut off his mic. - [Michelle] Oh, my God.
[Judge Judy] He's not only homeless, maybe homeless,
maybe a little high, maybe a little stupid.
I'm not exactly sure which one.
- All three. - [Judge Judy] Maybe all three,
you were told by the vet not to have your dog around other dogs.
Do you understand that?
You understand that?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] And when you're told
not to have your dog around other dogs and you're supposed to be a dog lover,
then whether she's there or not there.
If she's there, she's got her dogs there,
you're not supposed to take your dog near her dogs.
That's what you were told that it's a highly contagious disease.
Don't take your dog near other dogs.
That's what you were told.
Can I see your vet bills, please?
Do you have anything else to do with this case anymore?
I already dismissed your counterclaim, you can sit down.
[Michelle] So this is for each treatment for--per dog.
[Judge Judy] I just wanna--I just want the total amount of your vet bills.
How much did you pay him for that-- for the dog that died?
Three thousand dollars.
It wasn't paid off either.
How much did you actually pay him
- of the $3,000? - Three thousand dollars.
[Judge Judy] Show me.
There's--we did it cash exchange,
but on here it says--I have a text message that says I paid for the dog.
[Judge Judy] Okay. I'm looking.
So is what you're telling me the entire vet bill for both dogs was $303?
No. That was for each treatment for each dog.
You say for each dog, this doesn't say for each dog.
- If you call the vet... - [Judge Judy] I'm not calling the vet.
Your responsibility is to bring me proof.
- Right. - [Judge Judy] This isn't proof.
You're suing for vet bills.
So far, the only vet bill I have is for $303.50.
No, excuse me.
- It was 478.50. - Correct.
You paid 175, the balance is 303.
Did you ever pay them?
- No. - [Judge Judy] No.
So you actually only paid 175.
Now I'd like to see the text showing me that you paid him the $3,000 for the dog.
I have her papers-- or his papers and whenever they...
[Judge Judy] I wasn't--stop talking.
I asked you for a specific thing.
I said show me the text that you referred to
when you say you paid him the $3,000 for the dog.
[Michelle] It's not specific on there, but he says that I own the dog.
I can read.
You said you had a text, I'm reading it.
"You paid for her as a pet and co-own
but I'm primary owner on papers.
Well, Ethan is technically--"
- you're Ethan, right? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] (laughs) So that's you who's writing this?
- No. - [Judge Judy] You...
- Cooper actually writing that. - [Judge Judy] I--yeah, I said.
[Michelle] Uh-hmm. Yes.
You're Ethan so it's Cooper writing this.
- Sorry. - [Judge Judy] Listen, try to shut up.
"Yeah, you breached the contract. Laugh out loud.
I've had my attorneys on this all day,"
your attorneys, you're homeless and hapless.
Okay, 3,000 plus 175, $3,175.
I'm also demanding her papers 'cause I had paid for her.
- And I didn't... - [Judge Judy] Oh, I'm not--
I'm not dealing with papers.
First of all, you only need papers for a dog if you intend to breed her.
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] Right?
- Yes. - And you don't want anything further
to do with him.
Never.
[Judge Judy] So I would have her neutered.
- [Michelle] Honestly, that's... - That's a very good idea.
That's what you say in here.
She's a pet and I want-- so that's what I would do.
- So you don't need papers for her. - That was...
[Judge Judy] Three thousand one hundred and seventy-five dollars,
judgment for the plaintiff.
We're finished. Thank you very much.
- Thank you. - [Kevin] Court is adjourned.
She knew my dog had parvo,
she knew my dog wasn't supposed to be around dogs.
She just lied to the judge about that.
I would have never let him in my home if I knew he had parvo--
or the dog had parvo.
By letting me come into a house with a sick dog and her knowing it,
that's negligence on her part.
You know, I opened my doors to him
and he opened his parvo disease onto my animals.
She never came through to get the dog.
I don't know why she said one to two days, because it was more like three to four.
You know, justice is gonna come either way.
If it's not for me, it's from someone else.
The vet was very helpful on the phone.
I asked her if he took the dog, discharge with a negative test,
and she said, "Well, that's not exactly how that works,"
and explained to me how she gave strict instructions on both occasions
that he brought in the dog to not have that dog be around any other dogs
because it's highly contagious.
And not only that, but also she said not to purchase any new dogs
for him to acquire any more dogs due to the contagious nature of the disease.
So, very helpful.
You know, sometimes in the past I would have made that call myself.
(chuckles) I have to tell you it was delightful
for you to get that information.
- [Sarah] Uh-hmm. - And be able to convey it to me,
- and decisive actually. - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] Very decisive. You know, one would think,
if you're discharged from a vet's office
that you're okay but clearly not.
It's discharged from the hospital stay that she was in.
Yeah. The dog was in the hospital...
She said around two or three days,
but that it was a fairly young dog,
so that she recovered quite quickly from her symptoms.
However, that did not take away from the contagious nature of the disease.
- [Judge Judy] Sad. - Yeah.
[Judge Judy] Well, one puppy died. If you can't take care of yourself,
- don't get a hundred and sixty-pound dog. - [Sarah] Good advice.
That would--yeah.
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[theme music playing]