These two people almost died.
[narrator] Today, on Tribunal Justice...
You also said you had a driver's license, right?
Yes.
But you just weren't carrying it?
Yes, Your Honor.
Everyone who's here who has a driver's license: Do you have it with you?
Everybody.
[narrator]This case was filed in Bakersfield, California.
Your Honor, this is case #1138 on the calendar in the matter
of Furnari vs. Madden-Calvin.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
Thank you, Byrd. Miss Furnari, you are here today
because of a dramatically horrible car accident
in which you claim you were driving your son to college.
Car was at a standstill.
The Defendant came barreling up behind you,
70 miles per hour,
and plowed into your car. After the collision,
you suffered a concussion, your ribs were broken,
you had a fractured wrist, you were bleeding all over the place.
There was extensive property loss and damage
because all of your son's items
that you were transporting for his first year in college were in the car.
And you're now suing her for $10,000. Can we see the pictures
from the accident? I'd like to see that on the monitor now.
Wow. Is that your car?
[Christine] That is the Defendant's car.
[Tanya] Let's look at P5.
[Christine] That is my car.
[Tanya] Wow.
[Christine] That's my car how it landed. That's how we had to get out.
I will say this: This is one of the worst car accidents I've seen,
since I've been doing this job.
You both are very lucky still to be here.
Miss Madden-Calvin, your defense is quite simple.
You were sideswiped, and because of the collision and the impact
with the other car, you were forced to collide into the Plaintiff's car.
And you contend that she's suing the wrong person and that you owe her nothing.
Yes.
Wow, my goodness. Uh, the pictures sort of tell the story.
But why don't you tell the story. Were you at a complete stop?
Yes. It was maybe, like traffic was going maybe one mile, two miles.
It's just a two-lane highway going one or two miles.
Um, she hit us from behind, it turned us on our right side,
the passenger, which was my side. Then flipped us onto our roof,
as you can see. Now, the police report, the way I understand it,
she had so much momentum, when we went to the right,
she went to the left and hit a second car. I have pictures of the back of her car
and the side of her car. There was no side...
And that's not what the police report says. And then, we of course,
had to figure out how to get out.
Stuff was everywhere, all over the freeway.
I'd like to draw the scene a little bit
and then, just put this roadway into context.
And tell me if I'm jumping to conclusions. I've driven this stretch.
It's the sort of freeway where you can be driving, driving, driving... stop.
I'm trying to explain how it is one party could be at a full stop, you,
and another party, according to the way you describe the accident,
could be driving at 70 miles per hour and then plowing into you.
I think there was a break in traffic.
Who was driving?
-My ex-husband. -[Tanya] You were the passenger.
-I was in the passenger... -[Tanya] And you were in the car.
Why don't you take the stand.
Your Honor, there was a various... It was two lanes merging into one.
There was construction signs everywhere saying of the merge.
That does happen on the highway, I do agree,
it will come down, slow to nothing, but it wasn't just a dead stop.
The reason the stop was two lanes were merging into one
because of construction. And there were...
There's those bright signs that say merging, slow down, all those, so...
Were you starting as a freshman?
I'm going into my sophomore year. I stayed at the dorms last year,
so this will be my first year living off-campus.
So, it was not your first year in college, as I said in my open.
But it was your first year in your new home.
Yes.
So, you were moving from the dorm to a new home. You had a bunch of stuff.
Yes.
The total amount of your damaged property claim is $3,800.
Miss Madden-Calvin, tell me how you were sideswiped.
Okay, so, I was leaving Los Angeles,
and I was coming back into Bakersfield, California.
I was traveling northbound on the 99, and I was in the fast lane,
so, I was all the way to the far left. So, I was traveling in the fast lane.
And I was trying to switch lanes. And as I attempted to go and switch lanes,
a car came out of nowhere, sideswiped my vehicle,
which then took me into the back of Miss Furnari's vehicle.
Can we roll the animation on this?
So, explain to me where this other car allegedly was
in relation to the three vehicles we see on the screen.
So, I was trying to go towards the right to go into that lane.
And as I was attempting to switch lanes, the car was continuing to pass me,
and that's when he sideswiped, he or she, sideswiped my vehicle.
I will point out to you at the outset that cars don't come out of nowhere.
Cars show up, and people who are driving don't see them.
What does your witness have to add to this?
-Were you in the car, sir? -Oh, no, I was not in the car.
[Tanya] Why are you here? What did you witness?
I showed up to the scene after with her parents and with her sister.
You can take the stand. How do you know the Defendant?
Oh, this is my girlfriend.
[Tanya] So you showed up. What'd you see?
I showed up. I saw alcohol spread all over the freeway
due to the Plaintiff's vehicle.
I know that whenever she got out of the car,
she made sure to help everybody out and made sure everybody was okay.
Then she came to her family and everybody was making sure she was okay.
Um... yeah.
And that's all you saw. -[Logan] That's really all I saw.
Thank you. You're a good boyfriend, sit down.
Thank you so much.
The reference to alcohol bottles, and I note, Miss Madden-Calvin,
in your answer you say that you saw them throwing alcohol bottles around.
Do you want to explain that or address that in some way?
Yes. We were going to be staying in Chico. I actually had
a whole bunch of prepared food. And I actually had some alcohol.
We weren't drinking it, it was closed bottles.
And I tell you, when I read that, I said that I think that there's
some attempt here to try to make it sound like
they were drinking and partying on the road.
And I know what you were doing when you put that in your answer.
I saw them throwing alcohol bottles all over the place.
That was a little bit of a mud-throwing distraction.
-Did you have insurance at the time? -Nope.
-[Tanya] Were you a licensed driver? -Yes, ma'am.
-Did you own this car? -Yes, ma'am.
-[Tanya] So, didn't have insurance. -No.
And instead of focusing on your own crime,
you try to suggest they were driving drunk.
[KajaKay] No, Your Honor, I wasn't suggesting.
I put that in the report because that's what I saw.
As I seen, there was a whole bunch of alcohol surrounding my car, their car...
Fair enough. Was there a sobriety test issued on the scene?
-Yeah. I did. -Did you take one? You pass?
-[Tanya] Did you take one? -No, I would have loved to.
They didn't offer.
-There's no claim you were driving drunk. -No.
I want to go back to what you claim happened.
-Okay. -[Tanya] You say a car collided into you.
-The police came, did they not? -Yes.
And did you tell the police officers that you were sideswiped?
Yes, I did.
[Tanya] Because the police report says the opposite of that.
The police report indicates that the other car that you told them about
at the time, never made contact with you.
Do you want me to read you that portion of the report?
Uh, you can, thank you.
[Tanya] I sure will. Party number one
veered to the left to get away from the vehicle.
The vehicle that was passing her never struck her vehicle.
So, at the time, when you were interviewed by the police officers,
there was a report that the car never struck your vehicle.
Now, much later after the fact, you're claiming that this car
not only struck your vehicle, but that it struck you with such force
that you caused all of that damage. You know what the police report says
caused all that damage? You, and your unsafe driving.
And driving at 70 miles per hour. And you may not have been cited,
but that's very clearly in the report. Were you hurt?
-Yes, ma'am. -Did you go to the hospital?
-Yes. -It may very well be that...
that's why you weren't cited.
Maybe the police officer said, these two people almost died,
she caused it. Let's let them go to the hospital and work it out.
You really think that your driving unlicensed...
Put P2 back up again, please, that photograph.
So, you really think that being an uninsured driver,
having given a statement to the police
that completely contradicts your testimony
in court today, you can now show up
and deny all responsibility for this car accident?
I appreciate what your partner says. You're a nice person,
you cared about people. You were driving uninsured, so you didn't care enough.
Why were you driving?
Your Honor, that's a brand-new car that I got for myself.
And I was trying to transfer over my old insurance to my new vehicle.
Which, that's my fault on my behalf.
-Very much your fault. -So...
Not only your fault, but a crime. Before I pass the case,
your insurance company compensated you how much money?
I'm gonna look, it's right here. I think it's sixty...
[Tanya] They gave you $6,800 or so.
Right. They shorted me...
And you're seeking $10,000 because they shorted you a few thousand dollars
because the car was no longer in your possession?
Right, the salvage yard kept it for the storage fees that weren't to be paid.
[Tanya] Which you're also suing her for.
They thought that because it was a new car it would be insured
and had me sign something that said you're gonna be fine.
Then, I started getting bills and they started threatening me
that I owe all this money.
Now, the insurance company gave you an opportunity
to petition them for more money.
They said, You can notify us
within 35 days if you can't find a new car for this amount of money.
Did you ever reach out to them?
No. With all the stuff... I had quite a bit of injuries,
and a concussion. I was doing good just to make it through some of the days...
Yeah, no kidding. Glad you both are alive. And you too. Judge DiMango?
You know, Miss Madden-Calvin,
let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
I'm troubled by that whole statement about the bottles
because that bothered me as well, and I knew exactly what you were doing.
And it doesn't even make any sense.
Because at what point were they throwing these bottles out of the car?
Your Honor, they started throwing them out as soon as I helped her,
her son, and her ex-husband get out of that car.
So, they were out of the car, and then they went in the car...
Yeah, they were getting all their belongings.
And the police report, by the way, for Miss Uninsured,
says everyone was not drinking. So, the report itself is clear
that there was no drinking.
But what troubles me about your story is...
Could we put the reenactment up again?
Okay. You're in the fast lane, clearly going fast.
I think... In my view, what I think happened is you saw,
at some point, that they were stopped.
But you know when you can't stop in time not to hit.
That's why you didn't even look over
to see if there was another car coming down.
You were just going into the next lane 'cause you knew darn well
that you were gonna collide into the back of her car
at the speed you were going. That's what happened.
It was all your fault. All of it. Not to mention
that you never, ever, ever, ever shoulda been on the road uninsured.
Okay.
[Patricia] No, I don't like the attitude!
Because one day, something happens to people and then they think,
now I know what it feels like to be out of pocket,
to not have a car, to have all my son's things broken.
To be that devastated and upset and traumatized
by somebody who shouldn't have even been in a car.
-How old are you? -[KajaKay] I'm 19 years old.
[Patricia] Stand up straight, by the way.
Get your hands off the table and stand up like a person.
[KajaKay] It's like awkward standing...
Hands down. Down, just down.
[sighs]
Really?! And you have an arrogance about... almost like,
I can't believe you're picking on me like this.
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
By the way, this is what I like doing. What color was this vehicle
-that you claim swiped your car? -Your Honor, I don't know.
-[Levy] How many doors did it have? -I couldn't tell you.
What kind of vehicle was this mysterious vehicle?
Was it a car, was it a van?
If I had that description, it would've been given to the Highway Patrol.
[laughs]
[dramatic music plays]
[narrator] Christine Furnari is suing fellow motorist
KajaKay Madden-Calvin
for damages resulting from a serious car accident.
KajaKay claims she was sideswiped by another driver,
causing her to hit Christine's car.
[Patricia] I don't understand your damages. Just explain them to me.
You have this $9,000 that they want to give you.
They take back $2,200 and they say that that's for...
'Cause they wanted the car, but I haven't been in an accident like this prior.
[Patricia] Do you have the car still?
No. So, the salvage yard, to cut the bleeding,
said sign this and we'll stop the cost.
I didn't understand that they were keeping the car. They sold it off.
So, when I said, hey, where's my car, my insurance wants it. "We scrapped it."
Okay, so, they have that, they scrap it, they get the $2,200 and something
from the insurance company 'cause you give them the car to hold onto.
The insurance company just kept the $2,200. They just shorted us.
They didn't give it to anybody else, they just kept it.
But I just can't...
When I saw those photographs,
for both you and you,
I was like, how did they walk away from this accident?
I mean, if you don't believe in a God, this is the time to do it
because that's unbelievable, that damage that happened there.
And, you know, in your answer, you say she should be suing the other driver
who caused you to get in this accident.
I mean, is that really your position here?
That the guy that took off is the one that she should be suing?
You sue him if you want. She could sue you. You sue him.
There's no reason why she has to go after somebody else.
-You're the one that hit her! -Understood, Your Honor.
You're the one who, I can't help but say this,
should not have been on the road.
Hundred percent agreed.
All right. I don't have anything else to add to this. Thank you.
Miss Madden, the reason you don't have a car now
is because you were driving without insurance, you totaled your car,
and that's on you. There's no one who's gonna replace it, right?
Yes, sir.
[Judge Levy] When did you buy that car?
I want to say like two weeks prior to August 10th.
-Are you sure about that? -Yes, sir.
[Judge Levy] You didn't buy it two weeks before.
It was May 23rd, 2022.
New title reported. New owner. That was you.
CARFAX is pretty good with that. August 10th, 2022,
damage report: severe damage.
Okay, when you said you were sure it was two weeks before August,
you were inaccurate. Right?
Yes, sir.
So, you bought that car for how much?
About $28,000.
[Judge Levy] Where'd you get the money from?
Um... because...
I ask questions that you don't expect.
Like my son, from time to time.
When I ask him questions when he's not telling the truth also,
I do the same thing. I'm real good at it.
Where you got the money from to buy your car
has absolutely nothing to do with this crash that you caused.
Mm-hmm.
Let me explain something to you. When I ask questions,
there's always a follow-up.
That's how I know when people are lying to me.
When you bought the car in May of 2022, you got the registration
-from the car dealer. -Yes. Yes, Your Honor.
And you said to, I believe it was Judge Acker,
that you didn't have insurance because you had another car
-and it didn't transfer. -Mm-hmm.
-What other car did you have? -I had another Toyota.
So, when you got this new Toyota, you traded your old Toyota in?
-No, I didn't trade it in. No. -[Levy] So now you had two cars?
-Or you sold one. -No. I got rid of the other one, yes, sir.
Okay, so, you got rid of the other one that had insurance,
and you have now this one that doesn't have insurance.
Yes, Your Honor.
-And that was in May of 2022. Right? -Mm-hmm. Yes.
According to your story.
No, not my story. You.
No, you told Judge Acker that you did not have insurance
but you had registration and a license.
Yes, Your Honor.
A moment ago you just told us that you did not have insurance
for the vehicle when you purchased it in May of 2022.
Insurance hadn't transferred over, right?
So that means that your registration was suspended.
Because DMV suspends your registration after 30 days
when you don't have insurance.
So you don't have registration either
for the vehicle when you crashed into the Plaintiff. Right?
[KajaKay] Yes.
You also said you had a driver's license, right?
Yes.
Is that it? Is that what you claim to be your driver's license?
I think that's my I.D.
Just so I'm clear, what you are carrying around is not a driver's license,
-but it is in fact an identification card. -Yes.
When you were driving on August 10th of 2022,
you didn't have a driver's license, you only had an identification card.
Right?
Wait...
[Judge Levy] Listen, let me explain, I'm not asking you any questions
-that I don't already know the answers to. -Okay.
This identification card is all you had
when you crashed into the Plaintiff's vehicle
on August 10th, 2022. Right?
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Levy] You didn't have a driver's license on August 10th, 2022.
-All you had was an I.D. card. Right? -Yes, Your Honor.
You didn't go for a driving test and passed it on August 10th, right?
No, Your Honor.
Are you saying that you did have a license but you just weren't carrying it?
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge Levy] I'm sorry, it's not an accident report, it's a crash report.
The difference is, you caused the crash. It could've been avoided
if you were in fact being more careful while you were driving,
you weren't speeding in an unreasonable manner
as the police officer indicated on his crash report.
So, you gave the police officer this identification card. Right?
Your Honor, I don't recall which I.D. I handed him,
but I did give him some form of I.D.
And you know that on August 10th you did not have insurance.
Yes, Your Honor, no insurance.
But you gave him false information. You gave him an insurance card
suggesting that you did have insurance. Didn't you?
-No. -You don't remember doing that?
No, Your Honor.
So, we know now that your registration was suspended.
You had no insurance. You were not driving with a driver's license,
whether you had one or not, quite frankly, I don't care about.
Quite frankly-- A show of hands.
Everyone who's here who has a driver's license, do you have it with you?
Everybody!
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
That's what the police report says. And you're still here.
You got the gall, the gall, to step into this courtroom,
swear to tell the truth and claim that some other mysterious person did it
and you're not responsible? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
And your folks, if they knew how much you lied,
I bet they'd be real disappointed in you.
[dramatic music plays]
Okay, so now, you're claiming that this whole thing
was caused by a sideswiped vehicle, right?
-You claim that you were sideswiped. -Yes, Your Honor.
-That's the story you're sticking with. -Yes.
By the way, this traffic crash report. When was the first time you saw it?
Probably like two months after the accident.
So, you read it when you got it.
Not thoroughly.
What did you get it if you weren't gonna read it?
I didn't go through the trouble. Somebody had emailed it to me.
Who emailed it to you?
The third party that was actually involved in this accident.
-[Judge Levy] The other car that you hit. -[KajaKay] Yes.
So that's when you got it for the first time?
Yes, Your Honor.
And you read it for the first time about two months after, so...
August, September, October. About October, 2022.
-That's when you read it the first time? -Yes, Your Honor.
And in October of 2022, you would've seen that the statement
that was memorialized in this report by the Highway Patrol officer...
Yes.
Party One interviewed. The vehicle that was passing was never struck.
Never struck her vehicle. You saw that, right?
No, Your Honor, I didn't.
The first time you're seeing that is today?
Yes.
And that's the reason why you put it in your answer to this lawsuit,
'cause you didn't know that it was directly contradicted
by a police report that was made at the very same time
-that the crash happened, right? -Yes, Your Honor.
Yeah, of course. By the way, this is what I like doing...
What color was this vehicle that you claim swiped your car?
Your Honor, I don't know.
[Judge Levy] How many doors did it have? Two, four, or more?
I couldn't tell you.
What kind of vehicle was this mysterious vehicle?
Was it a car, was it a van, was it a pick-up truck?
Your Honor, if I had that description, it would've been given to Highway Patrol.
[laughs]
So, you're claiming that there was this mysterious vehicle
that was at the very heart of this crash that could've killed the Plaintiff,
her ex-husband or her son, 'caused by this other mysterious vehicle,
and you just forgot to tell the police officer about it?
You forgot to mention it?
My apologies, Your Honor. I was running off adrenaline, I had hit my head...
My apologies.
[Judge Levy] You shouldn't be apologizing to me.
You should apologize to her. And by the way,
also, according to that same crash report, opinions and conclusions.
Once again, we know that you didn't see this
before you gave your sworn answer
in this case under the penalties of perjury.
So, when you said that "I didn't cause the accident, someone crashed into me,"
you didn't know that the police officer at the scene who interviewed you,
the third-party witness, interviewed the Plaintiff, her son,
said Party One, you, traveling at an unsafe speed
for the prevailing roadway conditions. Party One, you, failed to recognize
Vehicle Two was stopped in lane one for traffic.
Party One, you, caused the front of your vehicle
to collide in the rear of her vehicle, and that impact overturned her vehicle.
And your vehicle was going so fast,
it continued going and struck a third vehicle.
That's what the police report says. And you're still here.
You got the gall, the gall, to step into this courtroom,
swear to tell the truth and claim that some other mysterious person did it
and you're not responsible. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
And your folks, if they knew how much you lied,
I bet they'd be real disappointed in you. I have nothing else.
Okay. Then, we are going to retire to deliberate at this time. Thank you.
[Byrd] Court now stands in recess. Parties are excused.
To me, it's a very easy case. Uh, liability,
regardless of what the Defendant said or what she tried to concoct here,
it's very clear she's liable. I think the damage request,
given these extensive injuries, given the fact that you're
getting ready to move into a new home and you've got household supplies
for a new home attached to the car, and given the vehicle damage,
I say she's entitled to the $10,000, all of it.
Fractured wrist, broken ribs... I would agree.
I'm on board with you. I mean, there's nothing about her credibility
which I doubt. There's nothing about... It's all consistent, what's in the papers
with the police reports, with the physical and documentary evidence.
I mean, the car was totaled. She's entitled to every penny.
Very good. We're unanimous?
-Yep. -Great.
Court is back in session. Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
Thank you, Byrd. Well, we've deliberated,
and we've reached a unanimous verdict, and it didn't take us very long.
You... I'm just gonna say this-- you've got a very respectful demeanor.
But what I cannot get my head around is why you undertook
such an irresponsible decision in the first place.
And you were not candid with us.
And beneath that lovely, respectful, quiet demeanor
may be somebody who just doesn't give a you-know-what.
And that's not right. You coulda died. They coulda died.
This is not just an issue of dotting the "I's" and crossing the "T's."
Oh, I had the car for two weeks, I mean, several months,
and didn't get it insured. This is really, really serious.
And I'm not even going to the license issues
because Judge Levy did some digging and frankly,
I find it not believable that you would be a licensed driver
and then just never happen to have your license on you.
I don't find that credible. You're making really, really dangerous choices.
You have proven your case. Listen, you came to court with credible testimony,
with an accident that, thank God, you escaped with your lives with.
And we believe you. I mean, frankly, this could've been
a far more expensive accident given the nature of those damages.
So, it is certainly the unanimous verdict of this court
that you be awarded $10,000.
Be careful, drive safely. Not that alcohol was involved in this case,
no evidence that you were drinking, but you're a sophomore in college.
You know never to drink and drive. You know to be insured.
And you know never to be a litigant in court.
Yes, ma'am.
Unless you absolutely have to. That's the judgment of the court.
-Good luck to everybody. -Thank you all, very much.
[Byrd] This case is now concluded. Parties are excused, you may step out.
I'm just glad that we came to a conclusion and we're at the end of this.
Our nightmare's not over. We're still both injured,
with back problems, eye problems. I have to have surgery.
So, it's not an ending yet, but this is nice to get a little bit of relief.
The impact, most definitely. It was a lot, it was traumatizing.
Oh, I'll never forget it. It will haunt me the rest of my life.
Pulling him out, the sound of it, going to the ambulance.
I mean, thank God I've never been in a real ambulance and stuff.
Yeah, it's gonna haunt me forever.
I don't know. No comment, I want to go.
We had angels looking out for us. It's a miracle we walked away from that.
[narrator] Are you a victim of a scam? Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
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[end theme music plays]