You sold the car to her husband?
Correct.
Did he make any payment?
I do not recall.
I have the text here.
[Judge Judy] Oh.
Speak.
I don't know what to say, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] You lied to me once, I don't like you.
So you better get it together.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Nicolai Colton is suing his former coworker's wife,
Mikka Casady,
for the remaining cost of a vehicle she purchased from Nicolai.
[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.
Be seated, please.
Hello, Judge.
Case number 1101, Colton versus Casady.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
[Judge Judy] Mr. Colton, it is your claim that the defendant owes you
a balance of a car that you originally sold to her husband?
- Correct, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
I read your complaint. I read her answer.
There's a real paucity of hard information in your complaint.
One of the things that's lacking is the month, day, and year
you sold your car to her husband.
I had sold that May of 2020.
I don't know the exact day, but it was two months prior.
What you're telling me is you sold the car to her husband
in May of 2020?
Yeah, 2020.
It's not correct.
No. He had sold it to him in March,
because he had been making payments
and he had only one payment left with him.
That's not correct, Your Honor.
I'd like to see proof that you sold her husband the car in May of 2020.
What kind of car was it?
It was a 2006 Dodge Charger, sedan.
- And I don't have any proof of... - [Judge Judy] Just--shh, just a second.
2006 Dodge Charger sedan.
Did it have any particular model number?
I do not know, Your Honor. I do have a picture of it if you want.
[Judge Judy] I don't wanna see a picture.
Is it a Dodge?
It's just a Dodge Charger, um, sedan.
When did you purchase it?
I purchased it in the spring of 2020
from a supervisor for the...
Just a sec. You've purchased it in the spring of the same year,
well, the spring is May.
You purchased it from whom?
My supervisor that both myself and the defendant's husband had worked for.
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - It was for the construction.
[Judge Judy] How much did you pay for it?
Four thousand.
When you say the spring of 2020, give me the month.
March.
So, you bought it in March of 2020 for $4,000
and you sold it to the defendant's husband in May of 2020.
How much did you sell it to him for?
- He told me he wanted... - [Judge Judy] No!
That's a number.
"He" starts with a letter.
How much did you sell it for?
Four thousand.
[Judge Judy] So you bought it for four thousand,
you sold it for four thousand?
- Correct. - Now, did you pay the supervisor
four thousand in cash or did you owe him money?
Cash. All up front.
[Judge Judy] But when you sold it to the defendant's husband for $4,000,
he was going to make payments?
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] What was the down payment?
He gave me $500.
[Judge Judy] And what was he supposed to pay
periodically, monthly, weekly?
Two-fifty a month.
[Judge Judy] So he bought it in May.
Did he make June's payment of 250?
He might have, Your Honor.
I don't have any record of it,
just because it's a completely different contract that I made with him and her.
Not to me!
Do you understand?
Yes, Your Honor.
So you better get it together.
- Yes, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] And if that takes some time
for you to take a breath,
take a breath.
He gave you $500 in May of 2020?
- Correct, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] Did he pay you 250 in June?
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] Did he pay you 250 in July?
- That one he had missed. - [Judge Judy] Missed?
Did you take the car back?
- No, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] Oh.
Did he make a payment in August?
No, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] Did he make any other payment?
He made one or two other payments,
the exact time I do not recall, but he would not show up for work.
He would not text me, call me, so I think he just...
[Judge Judy] You understand something, Mr. Colton,
if what you are suggesting to me,
which is what she suggested,
but I actually thought she was crazy
when she suggested this in the answer, because this is what happened.
At some point the car was impounded.
Ms. Casady said that when the car was impounded,
her husband was only a short amount of funds
shy of having paid you.
So, let's go to the month and year that the car was impounded.
So, so far he's paid you $750
that you remember and maybe one or two other payments.
- Is that what you said to me? - Yes, Your Honor.
Which is another, if I believe you, which I don't,
$500.
So, so far, that's $1,250.
Now, in what month and year was the car impounded?
September of 2020.
So clearly, if the car was impounded in September of 2020,
and he bought the car in May of 2020,
he paid you the 250 in June of 2020.
You said he made two other payments
which would have been July and August of 2020?
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] That's $1,250.
After that, the car was impounded.
Correct.
Mr. Colton, and I assume that you can tell
that I'm not crazy about you,
because you lied to me first.
You lied to me once, I don't like you.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Nicolai Colton claims his former coworker's wife, Mikka Casady,
owes for the balance of a car after purchasing it from Nicolai.
Mikka is countersuing for the title to the car.
[Judge Judy] You said he made two other payments
which would have been July and August of 2020?
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] That's $1,250.
After that, the car was impounded.
Correct.
[Judge Judy] So far, is that correct, that the car was impounded?
[Mikka] No, Your Honor. He was making $500 payments to him.
[Judge Judy] Okay. I would like to see proof.
- [Mikka] I have... - No, no, no.
I would like to see proof
that your husband was making $500 payments to him, not the 250.
- [Mikka] I have the... - [Judge Judy] Good.
...the text here that he had 500 left.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second. - To show that it was a payment.
Oh, Mr. Colton.
Nicolai, that's you?
"What's up, man? Hey, I didn't ask when I handed you today's payment,
but we got $500 left, right?"
And you responded, "Yup.
I'll bring the title next week."
Mr. Colton, speak.
Speak.
I don't know what to say, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] What do you wanna say?
You wanna say I made a mistake?
I think I made a mistake, but...
[Judge Judy] Clearly, I made a mistake.
So we owed you a balance
as of July 2020,
July 22nd, 2020, of $500,
and you told him you would bring the title the following week.
Then the car got impounded in September.
He didn't make clearly August's payment,
because then he would have been paid off.
Now, Mr. Colton, I want you to put on your true face,
do you understand? True face.
Yes, Your Honor.
When the car got impounded,
he owed you $500.
Now, I'm putting it all together.
You and his wife had a conversation about getting the car out of impound.
I wanna hear. Not this.
- Yes, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] That's what I wanna hear.
And now you're going to tell me, because you didn't want to tell me before,
you said, "I don't wanna deal with the contract I had with her husband."
That was over. He didn't pay August payment.
And now the truth face, Mr. Colton,
is that he owed $500.
He hadn't paid it in August?
Did you ever give him the title?
No, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] Where is it?
Give it to Kevin.
[Kevin] Thank you.
So, so far, you're owed $500 on this car.
You had bought it one month, you sold it the next month.
You were gracious with her husband because you paid cash for it,
but you let him pay it out,
but he was paying it out.
Now, tell me what the contract was with his wife.
I tried reaching out to her husband multiple times and then she...
[Judge Judy] Just, just a second.
Tell me what the contract was with his wife.
Ms. Casady had reached out to me.
I have text messages, phone calls.
She called me, saying, "I understand my husband is behind on payments.
Let's scratch out the contract he had made with you
- and make a completely new one." - I didn't say that.
"And I need to get this car out
because I got my purse in there." Medical records from her work.
"So can we please meet up today and get it out?"
- [Judge Judy] Okay. - [Nicolai] So I say, "Okay.
- I'll draw it up a... - So, so...
...a contract." She had signed the contract.
- [Judge Judy] I'd like to see it. - [Nicolai] Okay.
While I'm taking a look at this, Mr. Colton,
and I assume that you can tell that I'm not crazy about you,
because you lied to me first.
You lied.
So anybody who lies to me once,
fool me once, shame on you,
fool me twice, shame on me.
I don't wanna hear it.
It can't be as important as what he wants to say.
Well, it's part of the conversation.
[Judge Judy] I don't care about a conversation.
- Well, it had--there was... - She was there for the contract.
- It has to be because he had two numbers. - [Judge Judy] I don't care!
- You have to understand something! - [Mikka] She was not there.
I don't care about your conversation!
You lied to me once, I don't like you.
Because the next thing that you tell me,
you're gonna tell me with the same look in your eye,
as you told me that he was making $250 a month payments,
which was a lie, which you wanted me to believe.
And you said it with the same look that you're giving me right now,
which is I want you to believe me what I'm saying.
- Do you understand? - Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] That's what I do for a living.
So now before I look at this,
she called you and said the car was impounded.
Had you left it out in the street?
We had gotten pulled over
and it was because he hadn't given us anything to be able to register the car.
Okay. Well, he hadn't--your husband hadn't made the final payment?
- Right. - [Judge Judy] Okay.
I wanna ask you a question before I'm going to have
Kevin go over to the plaintiff.
Did you pay-- after the car was taken out of impound,
did you make any payments to the plaintiff?
I did.
In what amount?
I have proof of those, too.
I believe it adds up to almost 1,750,
because he kept asking for more and more.
[Judge Judy] Okay. Just a sec.
Mr. Colton.
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] As of today, how much money has the defendant given you
after the car was removed from impound?
$1,270, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] Okay.
So, so far,
you got $3,500 from her husband.
Right, that's according to your text.
You got $3,500 from her husband,
plus, according to you, she may have different figures,
she may show them to me,
in which case you wouldn't want me to find you lying again, right?
No, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] So, she paid you 1,270, is that correct?
Yes, Your Honor.
So, so far, you've got $4,700
for this car that you paid $4,000 for
in the spring of 2020, correct?
Correct.
You signed a contract and you're bound by it.
Except if the terms of the contract are so unconscionable
that it shocks the conscience of the court,
because you actually took advantage of her.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Nicolai Colton has accused his former coworker's wife
Mikka Casady of breaching their contract on a Dodge Charger.
Mikka says the car has already been paid in full.
Now, according to you, she may have different figures,
she may show them to me,
in which case you wouldn't want me to find you lying again, right?
No, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] So, she paid you 1,270, is that correct?
Yes, Your Honor.
So, so far, you've got $4,700
for this car that you paid 4,000 for
in the spring of 2020, correct?
- Correct. - [Judge Judy] How much did it cost you
to get the car out of impound?
$381.
- It's also in the contract. - [Judge Judy] Just, just, just a second.
Who paid for that?
My wife did.
And then I paid them back for that,
- and I have proof of that, too. - [Judge Judy] Just a second.
It's your husband?
Did you get paid back from the impound by the defendant?
- That's a yes or a no. - Uh, yes.
[Judge Judy] You got paid back for that,
but it took time.
So, so far you're ahead $700.
Now, I'm gonna read this contract that you had her sign,
but I'm gonna go back
and have Whitney read back to me
what you say she said to you
when she said, "I need to get this car out of impound,
because I have things in it."
And you said she called you
and I wanna hear right from the beginning of what he said.
He said, "Ms. Casady had reached out to me.
I have text messages, phone calls, she called me saying,
'I understand my husband is behind on payments.
Let's scratch out the contract he had made with you
and make a completely new one.
And I need to get this car out
because I got my purse in there, medical records from her work.
'So we can please meet up today and get it out?'
So I said, 'Okay. I'll drop the contract.'
[Judge Judy] Just a sec. Just a second.
So, would you say she sounded desperate to you?
- Yes, Your Honor. - [Judge Judy] Yes.
- To get my things out. - [Judge Judy] Chop. Chop.
I didn't ask you for anything.
So far, does it sound like you're losing?"
[Mikka] No, Your Honor.
[Judge Judy] So, she sounded desperate to you?
Now, I'm gonna read the contract you had her sign.
Kevin, I'd like you to take the title
over to the plaintiff and have him sign it.
Sign it.
[Nicolai] Where?
Make sure he signs it in both places that he has to, Kevin.
There you go.
Give it to her, please.
- [Mikka] Thank you. - There you go.
So, you have a contract with her.
And so far, as far as I'm concerned, you've been paid for this car.
You've been paid for the car plus $700 for your time and trouble,
because he didn't make one payment and you had to go down to impound.
So the only way that I can void this contract
is to find that it's unconscionable,
which I find.
I find that it is an unconscionable contract,
because the contract that you had her sign
in order to get her medical records, her work product,
and her purse out of the car
was one that started all over again, the $4,000.
You understand?
It's an unconscionable contract.
And people who can lie when they're under oath
can also do unconscionable contracts,
that's why courts have the ability to say,
in most instances, contracts that people sign,
even if they appear to be unfair
to one party or another,
you signed a contract and you're bound by it,
except if the terms of the contract are so unconscionable
that it shocks the conscience of the court,
because you actually took advantage of her.
She needed to get stuff out of the car,
and instead of saying, "Listen,
I'll be reasonable. My day was shot going to impound.
You have to pay for my day, $500,
and you pay off the other $500 that your husband still owes on the car."
That's a thousand dollars.
You didn't do that.
You said, "You want your things out of the car,
you have to sign this that you're gonna-- we're gonna start all over again
and completely disregard
what your husband paid me on the-- for the car already."
And that, sir, is unconscionable. Your case is dismissed. We're done.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
Oh I just thought it was just dumb.
I'm glad that she could see through it.
Well, because I couldn't even say what was actually needed to be said.
He had to sell it quick, so my husband said, "I'll take it."
So they made an agreement.
Well, it was two different contracts.
I don't know why he would think I would sign over a whole new contract
to pay $8,000 for a car that was worth 1,500.
She had said, "Let's void the contract.
Let's go with a complete new contract."
I got pulled over because the lights were melting in the back.
Because they were being reckless,
they got pulled over for speeding or who knows what.
It wasn't anything to do with speeding or being reckless.
So it's on them.
But if it never got impounded...
I ended up--after it got impounded,
I said, "We're not gonna lose it over 500."
So I decided to call him and tell him I'd take over the payments.
I did not say anything about a new contract.
We would never be here.
I probably would've never heard back from them.
What he did is he bought it from his--their boss together.
The husband and the wife
don't like to text, they don't like to call.
It'd be months in between before I even hear it from anybody.
Always do it in writing, make sure you get proof, proof, proof
that you made payments.
So, she wanted to do a new contract, but it isn't--but it is at the end.
And that everything is in writing.
Don't trust anybody.
[Judge Judy] (chuckles) So, I was trying to think of a saying
that sometimes people forget.
You know, your grandmother says it, and then it doesn't pass down generations.
But that guy and the situation,
their--reminded me of--
so I pictured my grandmother saying to me,
"You know, pigs get slaughtered."
[chuckles]
And not being a good human being
and taking advantage of--what he did.
And the worst offense in the world is lying to me,
- you know, because that's... - The worst.
Because if you lie to me,
I presume that you think that I'm stupid.
- Uh-hmm. - And that's a very bad way...
Oh, the worst place to be.
[Judge Judy] That's the worst place to be.
- So--and the contract was unconscionable. - Uh-hmm.
And it was done under real duress.
According to him, she didn't have to open her mouth,
"I need my car. I need my medical files. I need my work files.
My purse was in the car when it was"--
- outrageous, you know? - Uh-hmm.
Just outrageous, and unconscionable.
And fortunately, the law does give you an out as a judge
if something is unconscionable to void it.
Uh-hmm.
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[theme music playing]