[Judge Judy] The defendant has your dog?
Yes.
She just gave me the dog, Your Honor.
Put the dog down for a minute.
Clearly the dog doesn't know you at all.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[dog barking]
[Judge Judy] This is a dog that I wouldn't be asking for back.
[announcer] Yolanda Sheppard and Brian Robinson
are suing dog owner, Christina Scott,
for the cost of a Yorkie Poo.
[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
[Kevin] Hello, Judge.
Case 1098, Sheppard versus Scott.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
[Judge Judy] Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard, it is your claim
- that the defendant has your dog? - Yes.
I'm not quite sure what the defendant's defense is.
She seems to suggest that it's her dog
and she's got a counterclaim.
Her counterclaim is for defamation
because she says that you accused her
of being a thief of taking your dog
or withholding your dog.
What I gather from your complaint is you bought a dog
similar to that one in 2018.
When in 2018?
September 6th, 2018.
Where did you buy the dog from?
A kennel.
May I see the document, please?
And the puppy was born in July,
so about eight weeks old when you got it?
So you brought your puppy home on September the 6th?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] 2018.
Now we're going to flip to 2019
when the puppy was maybe six-months-old.
According to your complaint,
you let the puppy outside to relieve itself?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] In what month was
- that? - Maybe March.
[Judge Judy] When you say you let the puppy outside,
where did you let the puppy outside?
We always would let the garage up and let him go out,
take care of his business and he come back.
[Judge Judy] And where the garage is,
- is there a fence there? - No.
[Judge Judy] So you let a puppy,
a six-month-old puppy, go out without supervision,
without a leash,
and at that time the puppy was seven-months-old,
super irresponsible,
super-duper irresponsible.
A, your dog is not supposed to be outside without a leash.
And B, having had dogs for about 50 years,
they're still real puppies when they're six,
seven, eight-months-old.
I have one now that just turned a year old and very smart,
very attached to me, but clever.
If I take her outside and if I take the leash off of her,
she's taken care of whatever she has to take care of,
she turns her eyes and she looks over, she says,
"I'm gonna have some fun with you."
And then this old lady grabs her much older husband,
and we run around the property
and she l-looks behind
until we're so exhausted and then she says,
"All right, I won the game."
But you don't let a seven- month-old puppy outside
unsupervised, madam.
Because what happened is the puppy disappeared.
And it disappeared until 2021.
Well, he usually comes back or we'll sit in the garage.
[Judge Judy] I don't care! You're not following me.
You have children?
I do.
[Judge Judy] How old are they?
Thirteen, fourteen, and five.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Let's deal with the five-year-old. I assume
your five-year-old could walk when the child--a girl or a boy?
Boy.
- [Judge Judy] When he was three? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] And when he was three,
he spoke, he communicated.
Told you what he wanted, probably was stubborn,
you know, terrible twos and then you move on.
If he wanted to go out to play,
would you let him go out to play alone when he was three?
- No. - [Judge Judy] Of course not,
because they don't have judgment.
I mean, sometimes boys don't get judgment
until they're 80 and sometimes not even then.
But certainly a three-year-old doesn't have judgment.
You wouldn't let them out by themselves.
Even if, "I told you to come right back inside.
After you go out and get your ball you come right back inside."
But even if you let your three-year-old go out,
you would stand at the door and see
let me see how that works out.
Went outside picked up his ball, brought it right back.
After he did that two or three times and he was still three
and he said, "I wanna go get my ball, it's outside."
Would you let him go out alone?
- No. - [Judge Judy] No, of course not,
that's why you don't let a seven-month-old puppy out
even if they've gone out and come back once
or gone out and come back twice,
or gone out and come back 20 times!
Seven-month-old baby is a baby.
- Is this your first dog? - No.
[Judge Judy] Okay.
So you were lazy the dog was gone.
Now, we're talking about two and a half years later,
you are somehow notified that she
- is in possession of your dog? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] How were you so notified?
[Yolanda] A letter, with her name and her address.
I'd like to see it.
Okay. So you got this note from somebody
who clearly couldn't spell.
It sends you to her address and it said that,
"Person who stole your dog was her sister,
Periesha Wilson." Who was I assume your neighbor?
- Yes. - Is that you?
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
That dog's name is?
His name is Oreo.
And that's what you had named your dog?
Yes.
- [Judge Judy] You are Ms. Wilson? - [Periesha] Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] And the two of you were neighbors?
We're still currently neighbors.
[Judge Judy] Okay. A couple of questions,
when she had a dog in 2018...
- Yes, ma'am. - ...and into 2019,
and she used to let the dog out?
Yes, ma'am. She would let the dog
just roam wild with no supervision.
And the dog would occasionally, I assume,
come and do his business on your lawn and...
- Yes, ma'am. - Yeah, irritating.
- A little bit but... - [Judge Judy] Was irritating.
I have a dog of my own, so...
- That I assume you supervise? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] And her dog's name was Oreo.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So how did your sister come into possession of Oreo?
Did you ever tell her that the dog was chipped?
[Brian] Your Honor, if I may, my name...
[Judge Judy] No, no, no. That's a simple question.
- Did you ever tell the defendant... - Yes, I did.
[Judge Judy] ...that the dog was chipped?
- Yes. Yes. - Was that the truth?
No.
[announcer] And later today...
- I left for a day not even... - A day?
- [Ashley] But, yes. - He stayed in the apartment?
[Ashley] Uh-hmm.
[Judge Judy] He's not what she bargained for.
- So the whole thing wasn't happy... - Right.
[Judge Judy] ...for either one of you? Don't put your hand up.
Did I say anything that was inaccurate?
[announcer] Yolanda Sheppard and Brian Robinson
are suing dog owner, Christina Scott,
for the cost of a Yorkie Poo.
[Judge Judy] So how did your sister
come into possession of Oreo?
I believe she said a coworker gave her the dog.
And she's had him for quite a bit.
When did the coworker give you the dog
and the name of the coworker?
Adriana, she gave it to me in December of 2019.
Did you have any paperwork on the dog?
No, she just gave me the dog.
- Did you ask her where she got it from? - [Christina] No, ma'am.
She gave me this dog and another dog.
I had a Schnauzer as well.
[Judge Judy] She gave you both dogs at the same time?
[Christina] Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] How does this dog behave?
Very good.
- Housebroken? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] Put the dog down for a minute.
Just wanna see.
Periesha] Sit.
[Judge Judy] Leaving. (chuckles)
Okay.
Okay. Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard,
clearly the dog doesn't know you at all.
You understand that?
Look how long he's been gone.
[Judge Judy] Right. So according to this,
you paid $695 for the dog?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Is that what you paid?
Yes.
[Judge Judy] (chuckles) See, even now you don't let--
puppies are inquisitive. Don't let 'em out.
So you do understand that there is no way
that even if you could prove that that dog is yours,
that I'm giving that dog back to you.
- Why? - [Judge Judy] Why?
Because the dog doesn't know you,
it's been living with her for two years.
And the dog doesn't know who you are.
Dog has certain rights.
I've given dogs certain rights here for the last 25 years.
So you're not getting the dog back because you're irresponsible.
However,
you've said that you had the dog chipped, correct?
I've read your complaint.
Did you have the dog chipped?
- No. - [Brian] No.
[Judge Judy] Oh, just a second.
Did you...
[Christina] Oreo...
The plaintiff and her boyfriend came to my residence
inquiring that they had lost their dog.
They stated that the dog was chipped.
That's her statement, Your Honor.
I'm reading her answer.
Did you ever tell her
- that the dog was chipped? - I didn't speak with her.
- [Judge Judy] Hmm? - I didn't speak with her.
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
Did you ever tell her that the dog was chipped?
Your Honor, we went to her home-- if I may, my name...
[Judge Judy] No, no, no, just, just answer my question.
This is not a difficult case.
- Did you ever tell her... - Uh I told her it was chipped...
[Judge Judy] ...that the dog was chipped?
...with the hope that she would say,
"Hey, this dog belongs to you. And I'mma give it back."
That's a simple question.
- Did you ever tell the defendant... - Yes, I did.
[Judge Judy] ...that the dog was chipped?
- Yes, yes. - Was that the truth?
No.
[Judge Judy] Well, then there is really no way.
You got the dog along with another dog
- from a coworker? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge Judy] Okay.
[Christina] Can I say something, Judge?
Yes.
[Christina] I have screenshots from Facebook,
where she posted
all kinds of,
of harassing things on Facebook
concerning me in regards to the dog not...
[Judge Judy] Do you have any idea who would've sent her this note?
[Christina] No, ma'am.
[Brian] We have the text message and proof, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
If you have text messages from her,
- I will absolutely read them. - [Brian] Yes.
[Judge Judy] Yeah.
Your Honor, if I may address the irresponsible part
- from the dog. - It's okay, Oreo.
[Brian] All of us are close knit neighbors.
Her dog roams into my yard all the time,
the neighbors on both sides
dogs ro-- roams into our yard every day.
We all kind of pay attention to each other's dog,
but when somebody sees your dog...
Just a second. Just a second.
This is-- this is a dog that I wouldn't be asking for back.
By the way.
But if she's tempting and feeding my dog treats,
we have letters from her, which she wrote as well.
[Judge Judy] Hold on. You wouldn't find your dog.
Just a second.
Okay. These are sort of disgusting.
Okay, other than the fact that there is a dog
that is black with white spots,
- you never had the dog chipped? - [Brian] No, ma'am.
So there's no way of you proving that that's your dog.
I have pictures, I have shot records,
and I have the receipt where I purchased.
No, I have the receipt where you purchased the Yorkie Poo.
[Brian] And we have a video of him as a--as a matter of fact.
And I have a video of him.
[Judge Judy] That's okay.
As a puppy, two and a half years ago.
I mean, I see dogs like this all the time,
Yorkie Poos that are black with white spots on the foot.
[Brian] She's arguing it's a Shih Tzu, Your Honor, and then...
- [Judge Judy] What? - She's arguing it's a Shih Tzu.
It's clearly a Yorkie Poo and you can see the...
- I have no idea. - [Brian] ...poodle in that.
Once people start mix-breeding dogs, it's very hard to tell.
How much is in what?
I mean, I know what that is looks to me
it has long ears like a Cocker Spaniel.
Go buy another dog.
Your case is dismissed. We're done.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
I'm glad the Judge the saw through their lies
and the truth is the truth.
Full of crap. She still stole my dog.
Then you can't leave a dog wandering through the neighborhood
and thinking that the dog is gonna come back
and then start accusing people
and harassing people for a dog you lost.
I did not. It's my dog. She stole it.
They're just trying to cause trouble.
I mean, they came to my house and they tried to basically attack me.
I had to call the police.
Very confrontational.
She didn't give me back my dog.
She called a police officer.
He came out, that's that.
He loves me.
He sleeps in the bed with me and everything.
He's a good dog.
[Judge Judy] No, you have to be res-- (chuckles) you have to be responsible.
You have a puppy, you have to be responsible.
The plaintiff when I drew an analogy,
and people usually don't like that when you draw an analogy
between dogs and children, but it is true,
a puppy, y-you have a responsibility.
It's a living creature,
and you have a responsibility to take care of it.
You know, if you're not prepared to take it out,
walk it, monitor its behavior,
feed it, make sure it gets its shots,
- make sure it's chipped. - Uh-hmm.
So that if should something happened, it's yours.
But after two and a half years,
(chuckles) I was about to say that aside from the fact,
did you hear the dog growl, Sarah?
- Yeah. - [Judge Judy] Anyway,
I think the dog probably is better off where it is now.
Be worse to uproot it again after two and a half years.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah, that's unfair. - Yeah, uh-hmm.
Seems unfair. Anyway,
I hope it works out fine for them.
[Sarah] Uh-hmm.
Case number 1110, Cabezas versus Koltun.
All parties please step forward.
[announcer] Ashley Cabezas
is suing her former friend and roommate,
Amy Koltun, for a security deposit.
Okay. Not a difficult case.
Miss Cabezas, you moved in
- in March of this year? - Yes.
- As the defendant's roommate? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] You had known each other.
This wasn't a, you know, answering an ad on Craigslist.
This was you knew each other, you moved in March 1st?
- March 9th. - And you left on or...
It was March 7th.
[Judge Judy] March 7th, even better for her
and you moved out April what?
I was out by the 1st.
- [Judge Judy] April 1st? - Yes.
This is what you want. You want your deposit back?
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] And the defendant says
you didn't give her 30 days notice.
She used your security deposit
for the 30-day-notice as a month's rent.
Not correct.
She broke the rules that we agreed upon her prior to moving in,
- which was no... - [Judge Judy] No. Just a second.
What I'm asking you is did she give you a security deposit?
- Of $400. - [Judge Judy] And what was her rent?
Eight hundred dollars.
[Judge Judy] When she moved out on April 1st,
- did you keep her $400? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] And you kept her $400
because according to your answer, she didn't give you 30 days' notice?
And other things.
He was there and your countersuit
is for the extra water that was used
and extra electricity that was used. That's ridiculous.
It shouldn't bring the two of you to court.
[announcer] Ashley Cabezas claims her former friend
and roommate, Amy Koltun,
refuses to return her security deposit.
Amy is countersuing,
claiming Ashley's boyfriend lived with them
and she owes for his portion of rent.
What I'm asking you is did she give you a security deposit?
Of $400.
[Judge Judy] When she moved out on April 1st,
- did you keep her $400? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] And you kept her $400
because according to your answers, she didn't give you 30 days' notice.
And other things.
[Judge Judy] The other things you're talking about,
- that she had her boyfriend over? - [Amy] Lived with me.
[Judge Judy] She had her boyfriend over.
Yes, but lived with me 24/7,
showered, used utilities,
- many more things. - Whatever.
She caused no damage to your apartment?
No damage.
[Judge Judy] You have to return her security.
- She left for five days... - [Judge Judy] I want you to...
- ...prior to renting. - [Judge Judy] I want you--
I want you--I want you to listen,
because Sarah is going to look up
the definition of security deposit
and then we'll get into the facts.
First, she's gonna look up the definition of security deposit,
landlord, tenant.
Security deposit is money that is given to a landlord,
lender, or seller of a home or apartment
as proof of intent to move in and care for the domicile.
Security deposits serve as an intangible measure of security
or as a means of tangible security in the event of damages
or lost property.
[Judge Judy] Okay, so security deposit is for that.
It is for damages done to the property.
You didn't keep her security deposit
for any damage she caused to the property.
Okay so you have to return her security deposit
unless you had a written lease.
We have text that we agreed...
- [Judge Judy] No, no text. - ...upon prior to her moving in
with her deposit being involved to our agreement.
Your Honor, we did not have a written lease.
[Judge Judy] Okay. I'd like to see the texts
that you have that in some way
refute the definition
of security deposit.
I have text of our agreement to her moving in.
[Judge Judy] Just a second.
Be more than happy to take a look at them.
But what I'm telling you, that's what security deposit is for.
This is nothing,
absolutely nothing.
I'm just telling you, it's legally nothing.
These texts back and forth don't form the basis of a contract,
it indicates that you know each other.
This--what happens is,
you moved in and your boyfriend sort of came along?
- Yes. - And he was there a lot?
- [Ashley] Yes. - [Judge Judy] If not, most of the time.
- And she wasn't happy about that? - [Ashley] Right.
And then you left for a couple of days
to go visit somebody and he stayed in the apartment?
I left for a day not even, I wasn't gone overnight.
- A day? - [Ashley] But, yes.
- He stayed in the apartment? - [Ashley] Uh-hmm.
He's not what she bargained for.
- So the whole thing wasn't happy... - [Ashley] Right.
...for either one of you. Don't put your hands up.
Did I say anything that was inaccurate?
No. So you don't have to say anything, right?
She wasn't happy with him being around.
I don't know whether he's a nice guy, not a nice guy. I don't care.
But she was buying you in this situation.
Not two roommates, only one.
You weren't happy with her complaining.
So you said I'm leaving. Great.
You didn't hurt anything. You didn't damage anything.
You get your $400 security deposit back.
- Are you happy? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Good, $400.
Now she has a counterclaim that's actually sort of ridiculous.
There was nothing in your agreement
for her $800 rent,
- which you did, in fact pay. - Right.
[Judge Judy] Eight hundred dollars for a short month,
because she was there from the 7th to the 1st,
so that's a short month.
So you got your full $800 a month rent
and he was there and your countersuit
is for the extra water that was used
and extra electricity that was used.
That's ridiculous.
There's nothing that precludes him from being there.
It was just not part of your agreement.
Of your understanding it was an uncomfortable living situation.
It shouldn't bring the two of you to court. (chuckles)
Do you understand? Shouldn't.
So you should just have given her $400 back.
Judgment for the plaintiff $400,
you counterclaim is dismissed. We're finished.
- [Ashley] Thank you. - [Kevin] Court is adjourned.
I completely agree with her decision.
I felt like it was pointless to come here in the first place.
But I did what I needed to do in order to get my deposit back.
But I definitely said, "Hey, I'm not prorating."
She still wanted to move in.
So initially, when I was moving in,
he was not intended to move in with me
and then things changed.
Hey, um no.
I don't want your boyfriend living under my roof,
it was only females.
If he wants to be there when she's there, that's fine.
And I tried to have a conversation about it with her
that never happened.
And I ultimately decided it would be best
to just move out and get my own spot
and not have to worry about any rules being broken
or anything like that.
But half the time she was at work and he wasn't.
He was just sleeping there, eating there,
showering there, everything,
- but that's okay, whatever. - He was.
And three, um the deposit, we actually--
well, I was her--as her friend said,
"Hey, $800, I'll split $400 one month,
$400 next month.
I just didn't wanna live in a house under rules
that I felt like I shouldn't need to follow.
And no hard feelings, I guess.
I really--she just wanna take me to court, I'm here.
It's what I had to do, so it's fine.
The friendship is said and done.
I don't really care to have somebody like that in my life.
She has shown her true colors and that's pretty much it.
[Judge Judy] You know these kinds of cases
with roommates and boyfriends
are so far out of my history.
When I was a young person,
you left your parent's house
either in a white dress or a pine box.
Those were your only two way.
You didn't go live with a roommate.
You didn't go away for a weekend unless your father went with you.
So what is the etiquette?
Because this is your generate-- what's the etiquette,
boyfriend etiquette?
I think it depends on the situation.
I think that a few times a week, a month,
you know, casual sleepover is one thing,
but when you have someone continuously spending the night,
I think a discussion is warranted for that,
especially if your roommate doesn't know your boyfriend,
never met him, doesn't know him outside of you.
I think it's a tricky situation, because like you said,
it's not what you sign up for.
It's not--if I sign up to live with a friend,
I don't expect their boyfriend to come with them,
unless that's a conversation that we have...
- [Judge Judy] Yes. - ...beforehand.
So I think that you have to play it by ear a little bit.
If a casual sleepover turns into five nights a week...
More permanent, like, more permanent.
[Sarah] ...then I think a conversation needs to be had
just to respect everybody's boundaries
and uh what they're comfortable with.
Don't you think that the boundary should be set before?
Yes, a hundred percent.
- [Judge Judy] Before? - Uh-hmm. But if it--
if the relationship comes about as you're already living there...
- [Judge Judy] Living there. - Living there,
I think that warrants a conversation...
- [Judge Judy] So it's... - [Sarah] ...after the fact
and it needs to be agreed upon, but between both people...
- Yeah. - ...it is both the defendant
- and the plaintiff are on the lease... - [Judge Judy] Right.
...so they have an equal say of,
of what they feel is right and I think that they need
- to have a conversation about it. - [Judge Judy] Conversation about it.
Yeah, it's really-- it really gets tricky.
I say live smaller, but live alone.
- [Sarah] Yeah. That's good advice. - That would be the best advice.
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