- You are a driver? - Yes.
How come you vandalized a car?
Just aggravated with the day.
Well, we have a camera system.
He actually ripped it off.
- You cut the wires? - Yes.
I can't argue about that.
[Judge Judy laughs] I would believe that.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Sherry Ary is suing independent contractor James Furtado
for car damages, breach of contract, and tow fees.
[Kevin] Court come to order.
Be seated, please.
- Hello, Judge. - How are you?
Case 1093, Ary versus Furtado.
Thank you.
Ms. Ary, you have a business.
And let me see if I can summarize
what I understand your business model is.
You own a fleet of cars.
- Uh-hmm. - Not uh-hmm.
- That's a yes? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] How many?
Uh, how many currently?
Six.
[Judge Judy] And what you do is you lease those cars or rent them,
either by the day, by the month, by the week
to drivers, who you do not employ,
they're their own independent contractors.
They pay for the rental of the car,
they do trips for you,
from your client list,
and they get to keep a portion of whatever the trip is.
Is that the business model?
- Yes. - Correct?
Yes.
[Judge Judy] So let me understand the dynamics of it.
Do you rent the cars by the day, week, month?
Daily.
[Judge Judy] How much do you charge for a day
to the driver, you are a driver?
- [Sherry] Okay. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] How much she charge a day?
- There's different fees. - [Judge Judy] Why?
It all boils down to about 45%,
is what the company actually receives.
[Judge Judy] So they don't actually lease the car from you,
you take a percentage
of whatever the fairs are?
- Yes. What the fairs are, exactly. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
So they don't, say, pay you
a hundred dollars plus a percentage.
They work in your car
and what they pay you is 45%
of whatever they collect that day.
Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Is that the way it works? - No.
[Judge Judy] Okay. How does it work?
Depending on how she sees that the money is going in
for that driver that day,
she either pay 65%,
35%,
or she decides to do it 50/50,
- whatever she wants to do. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- Okay. So... - And we are just... sorry.
But what you don't do is pay her for the car?
[James] Yes, we do.
- [Judge Judy] You do? How? - Yeah.
It's either depending on if the car was one of the Dodges,
seven dollars, maybe five dollars a day.
If it was one of the Mitsubishis,
$10 a day.
So in addition to whatever percentage,
you pay for the car per day?
Plus two dollars for each dispatched call.
Plus a dollar for a deductible a day
and a dollar for escrow.
- Per day? - Per day.
Does that sound right?
Not all of it.
[Judge Judy] What part is not right?
Okay. Um, the fee of two dollars is actually $1.85.
That does fluctuate.
I know, it's nothing.
But if you look at it towards a long period, it is.
- But everything else - Keep going.
- [Sherry] And - Everything else is correct?
Everything else is--yes, it's close.
[Judge Judy] So you do in fact charge per day to rent the car.
Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] That's a yes? - Yes.
- [Judge Judy] And that's a yes? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Even though it's a minimal amount of money.
- [James] Yes. - But you do charge them.
Okay. And you, Mr. Furtado
Yes.
[Judge Judy] Mr. Furtado had driven your cars
for a period of time,
for how long, Ms. Ary?
Since April of 2020
until July 18th of 2021.
[Judge Judy] Had he driven every day?
Seven days a week, five days a week,
- four days a week, how do - Usually five shifts.
- [Judge Judy] Five shifts? - Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Which is five days. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Correct?
Sometimes.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Sometimes more...
[James] Sometimes more. Sometimes less.
Depending if there was a situation with me.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - And I couldn't drive.
[Judge Judy] In July of 2021
when there was an incident.
And according to you the incident,
which will be described to me later,
resulted in you calling in Mr. Furtado
when telling him that you were placing him on suspension.
That's what you say in your complaint.
You then say Mr. Furtado says, "Then I quit."
And you asked him to return the car,
he said "If you want the car, come get it, it's in my driveway."
When you went to get the car, the car wasn't there,
Mr. Furtado told you that it had been towed,
that he had called a towing company.
He says he called the towing company to pick up the car
because he was afraid that you would--
I'm telling you what you wrote, that you called a towing company
because you were afraid
that the plaintiff would call the police
and report the car stolen,
and she said she'd be there in an hour,
she wasn't there in an hour,
so you called the towing company.
So what you're suing for
is damage to the car
that you say that the defendant did to the car,
breach of contract, I don't know what that is,
loss of business, tow fees,
and harassment of clients.
The harassment of clients, the only thing that you alleged in your complaint
is that he passed out his business cards
to drive independently of your company to your clients.
That's the only allegation in here, is that correct?
I have a couple more.
It's the only allegation that's in the complaint.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] With regard to your clients
and harassment,
unless I'm missing something.
[Sherry] Oh, well, also the harassment could be
to another coworker that he worked with. And...
- Oh, no. Not the... - [Sherry] Okay.
That's not pled in your complaints, so I'm not paying any attention to it.
So the harassment of clients,
I'm deleting that.
[theme music playing]
How come you vandalized her car, Mr. Furtado?
- Just aggravated with the day. And... - [Judge Judy] Got it.
Okay. Honest, aggravated,
cost money to be honest and aggravated sometimes.
Okay. I got it.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Sherry Ary claims independent contractor James Furtado
owes for car damages, breach of contracts, and tow fees.
James is countersuing,
claiming he was wrongfully terminated by Sherry.
[Judge Judy] Now I am taking a statement
that he did in fact give out his business cards to your clients.
I'm taking that as a fact.
- Yes, but there's also... - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
a text stating from one of the clients that he harassed them.
- Harassed her. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
I'm not taking a text from a client.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] That's hearsay.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] What I'm saying
is if a person has a claim against the defendant
for harassment that person can file a complaint
and that complaint will be heard by a court.
But handing out business cards
is not harassment.
It may be a violation
of a written contract that you have with him
- and that I'll of course see. - [Sherry] Understood.
Because you do have money owed for breach of contract.
But harassment of clients is out.
Now damages to the car.
On what date did you pick up the car from the towing company?
[Sherry] I think the 18th, the same--the same evening.
And what damage do you allege was done to the car?
Well, we have a camera system and it also is connected to a gateway
and he actually ripped it off, cut it off,
and the way he ripped it off ruined both equipment to the vehicle.
- And also... - [Judge Judy] Was it left in the car?
Yes, it was.
It was left in the car but it was taken apart?
[Sherry] It was cut and pulled.
May I see, please?
See a photograph of it.
Here's pictures of the vehicle.
[Judge Judy] How long had Mr. Furtado
had the car, that particular car?
[Sherry] He's had it a pretty long time, actually,
when he started to help out...
- [Judge Judy] Did he have it July 16th? - [Sherry] Yes.
- July 14th? - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Is that correct? So...
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] And this unit
that you are referring to
was operable on July 14th and 15th?
I have pictures of him actually in the car that same day.
- [Judge Judy] May I see that? - Yes.
And also the GPS which shows that too.
[Judge Judy] Do you have an estimate to fix these?
- [Sherry] Yes, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] May I see them, please?
[Sherry] So repairs of receipts-- I have receipts.
[Judge Judy] I just want the receipts so far for those two things
where the wires were cut.
[James] I have copies of the so-called receipts.
[Sherry] Just the-- for the wires that were cut.
Okay. Got you.
Just for the wires that were cut.
[James] Would it be faster for me to get them out?
[Judge Judy] Sure.
Yeah, it would. Definitely. Thank you.
[James] This is the only receipt--
or receipts that I received
that has anything to do with the camera.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - [Sherry] I have more here.
I just have to find them.
[Judge Judy] It's $85, is that correct?
No. No, $85 was just to check,
if it was operable any longer.
Labor of installing or servicing. Eighty dollars.
Okay. What I have here is the cost of the equipment itself.
Just a second. Did you install this yourself, sir?
- No, ma'am. - [Judge Judy] She did?
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Yeah,
- but you cut the wires. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] There's no question that you cut the wires?
I can't argue about that.
I know.
[audience laughs]
I got it.
Then just show me
the paid bill
to reinstall,
if they had to reinstall...
[Sherry] It has not been reinstalled yet.
I have not received the equipment yet.
- From whom? - [Sherry] A company that actually...
[Judge Judy] Well, how do I know what it costs?
[Sherry] Right here, ma'am.
- Okay. - [Sherry] I have the bill and it--
I also have some other stuff here too.
- Don't give me a lot of other stuff. - [Sherry] Okay.
Stuff I gave up about 15 years ago.
Just give me the bill.
[Sherry] Got you.
I do have the rate of five here, at a thousand eight hundred
and some odd dollars if you need that.
[Judge Judy] How come you vandalized her car, Mr. Furtado?
The wires itself,
just aggravated with the day and...
[Judge Judy] Got it.
Okay.
Honest, aggravated, cost money to be honest
and aggravated sometimes.
Okay. Now what other damage you alleged to the car?
[Sherry] Also he used superglue in the vehicle
that damaged a lot of the interior.
Can I see photographs of that?
May I say something about that?
- [Judge Judy] Absolutely. - Your Honor, I had her permission
to put up signs
because it made it easier for the customers.
[Judge Judy] I'm not talking about signs.
- She said you superglued purposefully. - The sign.
The signs. I superglued the signs.
She's gonna show me if it's where signs would ordinarily go.
- [James] Yup. No problem. - No problem.
No. No.
This isn't act of vandalism.
This is where clearly signs were.
Next.
Clearly signs were?
Where signs were.
They have Velcro for signs.
He was not given permission to put those up there.
There were not signs up there to begin with.
Show me--show me a picture of signs
- that you have in that car. - [Judge Judy] Five hundred
and forty seven dollars.
Breach of contract.
What contract did he breached?
Independent contractor agreement that we had
that he does not solicit to our...
May I see the contract
- that you signed with him? - [Sherry] Yes, ma'am.
Contract.
[Judge Judy] You have a signed agreement with him?
Yes, it's the very back one.
[Judge Judy] Did you sign this agreement?
- Is that the way you sign your name? - I had...
[Sherry] It's on the back of that, for the electronically--
- just the... - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
Yes, ma'am.
Second to the back one.
[Judge Judy] Yeah, that's where he signs his name.
That's the way he signs it here.
- Okay. - [James] Your Honor,
I'd like to say something about that though.
- I'm gonna read it first. - [James] Okay, it's...
Just a sec. Don't say anything.
No problem.
- [Judge Judy] What state do you live in? - Florida.
[Judge Judy] Sarah, see if you can find anything, in the state of Florida.
For the duration of non-compete clauses
in an employment contract.
I see in your agreement that he signed,
you've put in a four-year period
where he can't go to another company
or drive for anyone else.
I downloaded that from Swift Forms.
Oh, well, that's a problem.
[theme music playing]
Well, it gives your personal information in the event
that they wanna contact you independently of her,
which means that if they contact you independently,
you would charge them less than if they went through the company.
Okay. So that's gonna cost you 10 bucks.
- Oh. - That's gonna cost you 10 bucks.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Sherry Ary is accusing independent contractor James Furtado
of vandalizing her car after he was suspended.
James claims he was wrongfully terminated by Sherry.
[Judge Judy] I see in your agreement that he signed,
you've put in a four-year period
where he can't go to another company
or drive for anyone else.
That's usually--I thought that--um.
I downloaded that from Swift Forms.
- Oh, well, that's a problem. - [Sherry] Okay.
I actually find that four-year non-compete clause
in this kind of situation unconstitutional.
I can understand that if you're a driver
and you get fired, or discharged,
or you quit one company,
I can absolutely understand the provision in this contract
that I guarantee you he didn't read
that says he's not allowed to solicit business by handing out business cards.
You're not allowed to do that in here.
- I understand that. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
- That's not harassment. - No.
[Judge Judy] It says that you're not allowed
to solicit business from any of her clients for yourself.
- That's what it says. - Yes.
[Judge Judy] Okay. So you can't do that.
And for that I'm gonna add
probably another 10 bucks to the damage to the car.
Did you find anything?
[Sarah] Yes, so it's a reasonable standard, so...
[Judge Judy] Yeah. Well, I find
if in the state of Florida, the standard is a reasonable period of time.
I find four years totally unreasonable.
- Okay. - [Judge Judy] But most contracts,
if you can eliminate one clause
that makes otherwise the contract legal,
you don't necessarily have to void the entire contract.
And there are other provisions in here
that clearly lay out the responsibilities
of both parties to the contract.
So I am deleting
because it's an unreasonable period
and therefore unconscionable,
and therefore depriving the defendant the ability
to work and earn a living,
the four years that you've placed in here.
So that part I'm absolutely eliminating.
And is that the breach of contract that you were talking about?
[Sherry] Soliciting to the clients that we have in our contact list.
Well, he's not allowed to do that.
You're not allowed to use her contact list.
I don't know what contact list she's talking about.
But the only kind of soliciting I did was...
- [Judge Judy] Hand out cards? - The cards.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - So if you look on that card...
can I give you this?
Doesn't say nothing about a business on that card.
It just has my personal information.
Well, it gives your personal information
in the event that they want to contact you independently of her,
which means that if they contact you independently,
you would charge them less than if they went through the company.
- That's what it means. - Okay.
- [Judge Judy] Right? - Yup.
Yup. Okay. So that's-- it's gonna cost you 10 bucks.
- [James] May I say something about this? - That's gonna cost you 10 bucks.
Oh.
[Judge Judy] That's gonna cost you 10 bucks.
[James] May I say something about this now?
- [Judge Judy] No, not yet. - Okay.
[Judge Judy] How much did you pay in tow fees to get the car from...
- One twenty-five. - [Judge Judy] Hmm?
One twenty-five.
So far he owes you $682.
That's for the damage to the car from cutting the wires
at the maximum price that you gave me,
$129 for some other gizmo,
$10 for passing out his business cards
which is a no, no, and a $125 for towing.
Because you shouldn't have the car towed, sir.
You have the car towed because you were angry.
And she had to spend money to get the car out of towing.
Now you have counterclaim for wrongful termination.
Explain that to me.
[James] I believe that once Ms. Sherry
says, "You're suspended."
She gets the car back, you're really fired
cause she don't like to fire people.
[Judge Judy] Well, do you know the reason why
she was suspending you?
Just because I made a comment to another driver.
Okay.
What was the comment?
And what was it about?
[James] It was about how the driver
did not put the pictures
and condition of the cars at the beginning of the shift
like everybody else did
and I just asked her why
and she came back and said,
"Well, it's really none of your business."
And then I had another cocky remark I can't say.
- But it's still... - [Judge Judy chuckles]
- I would believe that. - [James] It's still kind of clean though,
it's not really bad, but...
[Judge Judy] Then she said, "Then you're suspended."
- Something very minor, yeah. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
And then you said, "I quit?"
[James] I've been telling her for months,
I don't play the suspension game
if you're gonna work me, work me.
If not, that'll be the day I quit.
She knew that.
[Judge Judy] Okay. But don't tell me what you knew.
Did you say, "I quit?"
- Yes. - [Judge Judy] Oh, okay.
Fine. Good.
Then you have no claim for wrongful termination. You quit.
Okay. So Ms. Ary.
The amount of money you were requesting on this claim
is $8,000.
Actually stretching your damages
to as far as I can stretch them.
Your total damage is $682
and that's what I'm awarding you on your claim.
The counterclaim is dismissed, we're done. Thank you.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
[theme music playing]
Judge Judy always judges fair and just.
I think it was fair.
What he did was injust to the company.
Lies and nothing but lies.
He constantly disrespected other people.
About me being a bad driver, me giving an attitude.
Constantly going off on dispatchers
and just leaving so much stress within the work environment
with everyone that worked with him.
I've got so many reviews.
If you was to go on that website and Google,
maybe about 30 of the reviews is all about me
with a good attitude and everything else.
I mean, Velcro and superglue all over the car.
I don't know what she's talking about.
He did not have permission to do that.
Got on your nerves, so I guess I was just over the limit
that day that, you know, all this happened, and...
[laughs] I couldn't believe it.
Yeah, just watch out for who you work for.
[Sarah] So although Florida does have a reasonable standard
for non-compete clauses and how long they can last for,
just the quick research I was able to do courts in Florida
seem to deem anything under six months
as reasonable.
And anything over two years
to be unreasonable or in need of more information
of why you need your non-complete clause
to last for that long, so...
- Yeah, it just didn't sound right to me. - [Sarah] Yeah.
I mean, he didn't have any real intellectual property
that had to be protected for a long period of time.
And he earned his living by driving cars.
What is he supposed to do for four years?
- Yeah. - [Judge Judy] You know, as I always say,
I may take a different job but I'm not gonna be a ballet dancer.
I'm always gonna stay in my lane.
So to prevent him from staying in his lane
for four years was outrageous.
Anyway, people should take that as a lesson.
When you download forms, they're not always right.
Uh-hmm.
[announcer] Want justice? Go to JudyJustice.TV
[theme music playing]