You were supposed to accept another woman?
He told me to trust him and that she could be a good addition to our life.
I was hoping that the other girl would come in
and then eventually like each other.
Ohh, so you were thinking of her.
He's a liar and a cheater, and you are a sucker.
[narrator] Today, on Tribunal Justice...
This case was filed in Santa Ana, California.
Your Honor, this is case #1106 on the calendar
in the matter of Larson vs. Glass.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
Thank you, Byrd. Okay, Ms. Larson and Mr. Glass,
the both of you were in a four year open relationship.
You brought other couples into your relationship.
And about a year into the relationship, he asked you
to put his name on your credit card, and you did.
Then, the time came when he actually wanted to add a girl
into the relationship and you would be polyamorous.
You said that you did all this because you loved him.
You know, most people would just dye their hair red, or something, for love,
but this is a bit much. And anyway, about a month after that,
the three of you all took a vacation together.
You were not happy, you were always arguing with the other girl.
He promised that he would end the relationship with her.
You said that you left. It took him two weeks to, I guess, get rid of her.
And during that time, he was paying to keep her in a hotel
using your credit card. He did promise to pay the charges off.
At the end of July, he asked to borrow $4,000.
He said he was going on a business trip in Iowa.
You were pretty sure that he was spending that time with the other girl.
And in August, you noticed on the credit card that nothing had been paid.
By then you'd had enough and you said
that you weren't going to stay around together with him.
Then, at one in the morning, you started banging on the door at the house
demanding your things. The police were called.
And the next day, you filed for an Order of Protection.
Thereafter, he said to you, if you drop that lawsuit,
then he would pay you back the $4,000 he borrowed,
he would pay off his share of the credit card bill,
he would let you keep the dog. But he continued to lie about that
And so, you reinstituted the lawsuit and here you are,
seeking $10,000 to recoup that money. Mr. Glass,
you say that the threesome thing was not working out.
It usually doesn't. Then, you learned that she was suing you,
and you promised to let her keep the dog, pay off your share of the credit card,
give her back the $4,000. Months went by,
you said you didn't hear anything from her.
And the next thing you know, she's suing you, and here you are.
- Yes, ma'am. - So, how did the two of you meet?
We met through online dating. It was going pretty well.
I mean, we were starting to build a future together.
We had so much...
Are you all there? You were building a future with other people?
Do you know anybody that's ever been in a polyamorous relationship?
[Jennifer] We didn't start that way. It started...
But you started bringing in people. I mean, right?
That was more occasional. It wasn't like somebody
that was just brought in to live with us. To be in day in and day out.
That was a total different scenario.
The other people were for fun. This one, we were gonna try something more serious.
Okay. Tell me about what would possess you to give him $10,000
and expect you were gonna get it back?
We were engaged, and he was always, usually really good about paying me back.
Or paying the credit card bill. But then, in this last few months,
everything just kinda went wrong. I was trying to make it work.
- I was trying to trust him... - How does one make a relationship
with two to three other people in it, work?
- I was just trying to make it work... - How?
[Jennifer] Because I loved him. I was trying to give it a chance.
I thought maybe it might work out.
How was it supposed to work out?
That you were supposed to accept another woman?
At the time, I had a different idea about it, and we thought
that maybe it might work, give it more opportunity,
a chance, go on a trip. But it got worse.
What made it get worse?
I was fighting with the other girl all the time. She was not treating my dog, Honey,
very well, and I didn't like that. She was very disrespectful.
Had you met her before she was brought into the relationship?
No. He told me to trust him and that she could be a good addition to our life.
I need to pause you here. How was this gonna be a good addition?
You want my honesty?
No. You know what, lie and I'll just be so happy with you.
Well, I'm just prefacing that I'm being honest.
I thought Jennifer works a lot. I was hoping that the other girl
would come in and help with the housework, help with the cleaning.
It would also give Jennifer a friend.
What, you don't have friends? Do you not have friends?
Of course, I have friends.
I don't know of course. You have a maid?
Because the other girl sounds like a maid.
It would've been perfect if she would've worked out, yeah.
- Well... - [audience laughs]
Why didn't you just hire a maid to come in periodically?
'Cause you can't have sex with a maid.
This is about you. I'm not sure why she doesn't see that.
But this is about you, you know, wanting to sleep with the maid.
Her and the maid, together.
Oh, so you were thinking of her. I can see why you love him.
Your Honor, I would like to add that I have mentioned to him
that I was bothered with this. He was just trying to convince me,
give it more time, keep on going on. I was...
What were you hoping was gonna happen in more time, sir?
That they would bond and eventually like each other.
That the initial struggle for power would end, you know.
And one of 'em would be in power...
It must have felt good to have these two women.
[James] It was terrible. One of the worst situations I've been through.
So, let me ask you this, What do you do for a living?
I work for our family company. We own a company that makes candles and soaps...
Things are just so slow, they can't afford to employ me right now.
- [Patricia] What do you do? - At the moment I'm a student,
- and I'm a nanny. - What's your major?
I want to be a teacher.
So, you give him $4,000 when coincidentally, he's going to Iowa,
- where she lives. And you know that. - [Jennifer] Yes.
Why would you give him $4,000? Because I need to decide
when you gave him this money, did you expect
that he was going to repay you the $4,000?
He confirmed that once he got his next paychecks, they would be mine.
So I could pay... He would pay me back that way.
Were you gonna pay her back? What'd you do with that money?
I gambled it.
Did you make any effort to pay?
Zero.
So, you never had an intention to pay her back.
I had a plan to pay her back the entire time, except she blocked me.
She cut off all communication. She made no way for me to even contact her.
[Patricia] You know where she lives?
I do.
Why don't you just mail her a money order or a check?
You're like a sociopath. You have no remorse. I can see it in your face.
There's no remorse. There's no nothing.
And what about the hotel for... Let's call her number three.
What about number three? The hotel room?
That part, I didn't understand that he was putting her up in a hotel.
Where do you think she went?
I thought that she was staying with friends...
Oh, she has friends, apparently you don't. According to him.
How much was the hotel bill for number three?
About $1,200, for that one alone.
Well, he didn't put her up in a high-class spot. You can feel good about that.
Well, she racked up hotel charges by going through the pantry. And then, she...
You're blaming her, but meanwhile it's him.
What man who loves a woman wants to be with another person, too?
Your Honor, I realized it, being away from him for the time being,
that I realized what he did to me was wrong.
And he lied from the beginning about her. He told me that my best friend
knew her, they were friends. And they went up to Oregon to his mom's.
And he hid her away from me.
And he talked to her way before she even came up there.
And I never knew anything about...
He's a liar and a cheater who has done this in open view.
And you are a sucker. But at some point,
you have an Order of Protection against him.
[Jennifer] Yes.
- [Patricia] And you filed a lawsuit. - [Jennifer] I did.
- I have two orders in my file. - I understand.
You submitted the one that said without prejudice.
You submitted the one that said with prejudice.
If it's dismissed without prejudice, you could relitigate the issue.
If it's dismissed with prejudice, you can't. What's the deal?
Your Honor, I have the one right here that was a dismissal to get my stuff.
Mine is marked without prejudice, so I can sue again.
- And then, apparently... - Why is there a second one?
The guy I was with, he was helping me move, and he changed it.
He photocopied it, I believe...
And they tricked me. They tricked me into thinking they couldn't re-sue me.
Right. In order for her to get her stuff from my place.
Oh, okay. I mean, I don't always think sometimes tricking is bad.
She dismissed it, on the representation from you,
that you were going to give her back her things that you kept in storage.
That you were going to repay her $4,000 and split the credit card.
You have done none of those things. So, you're gonna look down on her
for trying to trick you to get you to do what you promised to do.
No, I'm not looking down on anybody. I mean, that's pretty smart.
You're a loser. Judge Levy.
You both understand that if this case was dismissed with prejudice,
then there's no reason for us to be here
because the case was already resolved, no right to refile. You understand that.
I do, yes.
Okay. And you obviously understand that if it was dismissed without prejudice,
that you are able to come back to court if he fails to comply
with whatever the agreement was. And so, September 16th,
you go to court and you say, in essence, that I'm seeking thousands of dollars
from him from a loan and from credit card bills.
And he's made an agreement with me to pay those back,
and whatever else was agreed to as far as the property goes.
That I'm willing to dismiss this small claims case I have against him,
but I want it done without prejudice, just in case
he doesn't do what he says he's gonna do, then I can refile.
Yes.
- [Adam] Do you understand that, sir? - I do.
You did not repay the $4,000 loan, nor did you pay those credit card bills.
Yes, sir.
So, when you provided us with that dismissal with prejudice,
what you're basically asking us to do is to stop this proceeding
and send the Plaintiff home, and say you've already had
your one bite of the apple. You can't come here and get a second.
- Right? - I understand, yes.
But how do you do that when you haven't lived up
to your end of the bargain with respect to paying back the loan?
I haven't had an opportunity to. This document is edited and it's no good.
This is not what was submitted to the court.
This is what was submitted to me in order to trick me.
So, I didn't know that at the time. Bring the document, it's pointless.
So, this is the docket, which is called a file jacket from the court.
It indicates each date that the court took some type of action
and what that action was. Took the liberty of getting this
based upon these conflicting dismissal orders.
And what this says, is on September 16th, 2022,
there was a request for dismissal without prejudice.
And they were able to do that because you did not have a counterclaim.
It had nothing to do with anyone who was changing the document,
falsifying the document, nothing.
Yes, sir, I understand.
Good, let's back up a little. Because what you said was
you guys dated for four years, two of those years you were engaged.
So, you were engaged up until that unfortunate incident in August of 2022.
- Yes. - January of 2022, where was he living?
With me, partially.
[Adam] Was his things in the apartment?
Only a few items, like his computer, his work-out equipment,
maybe some clothes. He would be staying with me for a certain amount of time,
then he would go up to Oregon and be with his family and his business up there.
And when he came back from his family and his business up there,
where he called home, where he got mail,
was in the place that you two shared as fiances?
He had another residence in Riverside at his grandmother's.
So, his mail was actually being sent there.
Where was your license?
In the Riverside address, sir.
So, your license was not in the address there?
- [James] No, sir. - Okay.
Did he do any business out of the home or was it used as a flop house?
He just pretty much stayed there to help me out with Honey,
and be there, you know, for a certain amount of time,
and then he would have to go off and be gone for awhile.
Let's talk about Honey. 'Cause my sense is,
from looking at your complaint and your answer,
that's what was really important to you at the very end.
Who was gonna get custody of Honey, is that right?
- Yes, very important. - [Adam] And you, sir?
I... Honey is more important to Jennifer, I'll be honest with you.
And you were afraid, however, of losing Honey.
Yes, because I pretty much cared for her...
The reason you were afraid of losing Honey is because
you bought her and got her while the two of you were together.
- Yes. - So there could be an argument made
that both of you had owned and cared for her.
-Even though you may have done more of it. -Yes.
And you understood that in August when he came by the house
wanting his dog. That's what the complaint says.
He was threatening to take her away from me.
Yes, exactly. And you didn't want that to happen.
- [Jennifer] Exactly. - Because you love the dog.
- Yes, she... I had her... - [Adam] You're the primary caretaker.
Would you acknowledge that, sir?
I'm not really fit for taking care of anybody.
Well, you're not gonna have any question there from Judge DiMango.
- First honest statement he's made. - [Adam] Yeah.
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
'Cause I was convinced by the guy I was dating that I should go do this.
I really didn't want to do this.
You knew it was wrong, you knew it wasn't the truth.
and you were willing to sign under the penalties of perjury.
Why? 'Cause some guy told you to?
[Narrator] Jennifer Larson is suing her ex-fiance,
James Glass for an unpaid loan and credit card charges.
James claims Jennifer took his dog, locked him out of their house
and doesn't owe anything.
So, with respect to the dog; on August, he comes back down
from wherever he was with this other number three,
and he comes back to your place, and it's one o'clock in the morning.
- Was that the first time he'd done that? - Yes.
[Adam] One in the morning, banging.
Was he threatening to you ever in the past?
- No. - [Adam] No.
And he comes there, though, and you change the locks.
[Jennifer] Yes.
And you acknowledge that Honey wasn't just your dog, it was both of your dogs.
I would agree with that, it's true.
And you would also agree, though, that in your complaint,
you said that on August 22nd, he came to your house
and he threatened to take "my dog." That was upsetting to you.
- Yes. - [Adam] You called the police.
And sir, you wanted to take the dog
and you wanted to take some of your other things.
And the police said, because you're not on the lease,
you can't take your things unless she agrees to it.
And she only agreed to give you certain things,
and the dog wasn't one of 'em.
Yes. They asked me if I was on the lease...
[Adam] And they said no, and...
I have a key and I'm not on the lease.
Basically, that's it right there.
And there was another man in the home and they don't want any violence.
That's exactly right. I get all that. But what I'm more concerned with,
quite frankly, was this Order of Protection that you're now talking about.
'Cause you went to court on the 24th of August
- to file that Order of Protection, right? - Yes.
And he wasn't there to defend himself when you did that, right?
No, but we were trying to serve him.
I get that. I making a point though. And the point is that on August 24th,
two days after this incident where the police were called to your house,
you went to court requesting judicial relief,
directing him to stay away from you, from the house, and the dog. Right?
And now, without him present, you say certain things to the judge
in order for the judge to give you what you want.
The dog and the money. Right?
Yes. I did it more for protection of me and Honey.
Because I felt like I couldn't reason with him, and he...
[Adam] For that one incident. He had never been violent in the past.
He never came to the house, banged on the door.
What I want to know is whether or not you used self-help.
Whether you went to court requesting a temporary restraining order,
making representations about him that were exaggerated
in an effort to get yourself in a better position to obtain the dog
and a money judgment against him eventually.
So, in paragraph five of that order, you told the judge that he,
on August 22nd, threatened to take Honey, my dog, away from me. Right?
I was upset.
I know you were upset and you had every right to be upset.
What I'm interested in is that when you go to court and you make an application,
especially one for an Order of Protection, you gotta tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth. And if you don't,
it's perpetrating fraud on the court. So, in other words, nothing prevented you
to tell the judge that this was our dog, we bought the dog together.
You coulda said it, but you didn't. You said it was your dog.
And that was on purpose, right?
Your Honor, I didn't get the chance to say anything to the judge about that.
The judge only asked me, when I went in there,
- if I served him... - Paragraph five...
Paragraph five; "threatening to take my dog from me." That's your handwriting.
That was written on the document but it was not announced to the judge
- I never... - You knew the judge was gonna see this.
- You were making a record. - Yes, I'm aware.
You knew that the judge was gonna look at this petition and make a determination
based upon what you wrote. That's what you wrote.
- I did. I'm not gonna deny that. - Yes.
Well, you can't deny it, 'cause you wrote it. Then, you wanted a court order
prohibiting him from coming within 100 yards of Honey.
'Cause you didn't want there to be any chance that he got the dog, right?
The reason why was because I was convinced by the guy I was dating
that I should go do this. I really didn't want to do this.
But he said this is the best thing you can do...
Ms. Larson, every time that you try to explain something like that,
it just digs your hole deeper. You knew it was wrong,
you knew it wasn't the truth and you were willing to sign
under the penalties of perjury. Why, 'cause some guy told you to?
Again, it has absolutely nothing to do with the merits of this case.
But we see these Orders of Protection all the time.
And I hate... hate when people abuse them. Because it minimizes their importance.
I understand.
Judge Acker.
Thank you, Judge. What interests me, Mr. Glass,
is that in your answer to this case, you said, "I owe her nothing."
She was living her life, I was living mine.
I would cover my portion of the credit card bill,
once I came into some money, she agreed.
Was there ever a date certain for when you were gonna pay the money back?
No, ma'am.
[Tanya] How much money are you admitting you owe her?
Because as you were being examined by Judge DiMango,
it seemed that you were acknowledging some portion of the debt.
When you swore out your answer in this lawsuit,
you suggested that you didn't owe her anything.
So, what is it that you're admitting that you owe her?
Okay, so, the credit card debt, I feel like,
equals the same amount of things that she kept from me.
I don't have an exact list, but I can give you some...
[Tanya] You have to have an exact... We're in court.
Not your bedroom, thank God.
You are being accused of a financial liability
to which you've asserted a defense and to which I see none.
So, if you are claiming you don't owe her all of that $6,000,
what portion are you saying you don't owe her?
I don't have an exact number, to be honest with you.
Me and Jennifer never had an opportunity to work through any of this.
Your Honor, I have all the evidence.
What is the evidence? You have evidence of charges.
- So, so... - Transactions from that credit card...
I'm going to explain to you why that's not enough for me.
The only part of your back story that I care about is the part that suggests
that the two of you have some joint financial entanglements.
You took vacations together, you lived together.
You did all kinds of things with other people together.
The fact that he spent some money on a credit card,
I don't know how much of that you agreed to.
I don't know how much of that was a loan. I don't know how much of that was,
you know what, baby, this is our vacation play money.
You have not proven that to me. You've given me credit card statements
and told me a messy story about a messy relationship.
I mean, I can try to glean something from his confusion.
But you've not proven your case to me.
Your Honor, I did not consent to some of those charges.
And I left them on the trip at a certain period of time.
Where's the evidence that you didn't consent to those charges?
I have a text message that shows that he said,
we can break our ties, I'll pay the credit card.
Okay, here we go: "I'll pay off the credit card and keep your phone on."
So, is that you acknowledging the $6,000 debt?
This is me acknowledging it. With a caveat.
The caveat's regarding the phone.
That I got the... actually, this says dab rig. That belonged to number three.
[Tanya] What's a dab rig?
It's so you can smoke pot.
- [Tanya] Okay. - Number three smoked pot.
So, she was gonna give you that and you were gonna pay her back the money.
That she brought that and she let me say goodbye to the dog.
And then, what about the $4,000 loan? Do you acknowledge that?
I do.
So, why'd she have to sue you for it?
[Narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
He said you have to give me some time. He never said there was a due date.
And now, as he stands here, I don't hear him repudiating the debt.
Maybe it's not due yet. Maybe you sued prematurely.
What about the $4,000 loan? Do you acknowledge that?
I do.
[Tanya] Why'd she have to sue you for it?
She didn't.
She did. She here in court.
She cut all communication off with me. There was zero way for us to communicate.
I would've worked this out outside of court.
Did he ever give you a date by which the loan payment was due?
- Maybe... He never said... - [Jennifer] He never said when he could.
He said you have to give me some time, but there was no time stamp.
And I have communicated with his dad prior...
Okay, wait, hold on, hold on. He said you have to give me some time.
He never said there was a due date. And now, as he stands here,
as I understand it, I don't hear him repudiating the debt.
Maybe it's not due yet. Maybe you sued prematurely.
There was a due date. And it's a credit card...
You just said there wasn't. No-no-no. You had to pay the credit card bill.
But he told you he would pay you when he could pay you.
You knew about his work situation, did you not?
He works for his family. They work in a business
that is subject to a lot of ebbs and flows.
What was your reasonable expectation of when he was going to pay you back?
I didn't know what to believe, because then his dad was telling me,
good luck getting the money...
[Tanya] I don't know what to believe now either.
I am not sure this case belongs here right now.
Your Honor, in person, we agreed upon that he would pay me $10,000.
He said that I should get another paycheck coming in at the end of August.
But then, when I spoke with his mom a little bit before that,
she said he doesn't have another paycheck coming in and that it didn't come through.
So that statement was not true.
Thank you. I don't have anything else.
I'm looking at some credit card statements dated August 2nd.
There seem to be some things are circled, some things are not.
One is Ageless Men's Health.
And then, there are some under your name, James Glass.
Hampton Inn Suites in July.
I'm guessing that's when you were putting up number three.
Are you saying that those are the ones that you're asking to be covered from him?
Yes. He was obviously going to pay me back for that. But that didn't happen.
I'm done. What about you, are you good?
We're gonna retire to deliberate. Thank you both.
Court now stands in recess. Parties are excused.
I don't think any of us really cares about their relationship,
other than how it plays into the money owed,
and whether or not she could've believed that he was going to pay back
what the nature of their interaction was, as to who was paying what.
And other than two charges, I'm very confused.
The charge, Ageless Men's Health, I could say that that's his.
And the hotel bill for for $1,200 that he admitted to
for putting up the other girl. That would bring this to about $1,500.
I don't believe, consistent with his testimony,
that he gave her any money for anything. So, I think to some extent,
she's met her burden of proving how much out of pocket she's out.
And to another extent, I think that she's failed.
So, I think she's entitled to something
and I just need to kind of figure out from this what it is.
As far as the proof that she submitted and what was conceded by the Defendant,
that she loaned him $4,000. And we learned that he gambled that away.
- Mm-hmm. - So, the $4,000 was clear.
The $6,000 for the credit card bill is a little more complicated.
She provided us with proof, but there are two separate names.
There's James Glass, who's the Defendant, and then, there's the Plaintiff,
herself, Jennifer Larson. And she circles what she says
are those that are his responsibility. And if you take all of those circles...
So, you have $4,671 for that block.
[Patricia] Mm-hmm. And twelve...
And you have $2,770 for this block. It's a little over $6,000.
But the maximum jurisdiction we have is ten.
She's already met, I believe, her burden on the four.
And then, that's where she gets the six from.
But we have to believe, according to the way this is written,
that any of these charges that he made were exclusively for his use.
We don't really know that.
And based upon the timeline that she gave, when that last incident happened
with number three, that timeline is within these dates,
the middle of July, late July, and in August.
- On his charges, you mean? - On his charges.
When he would've been with her out of state.
All right. That wasn't really my issue. What are the damages?
I think she's entitled to the $4,000 that he admits, plus that.
I know that in past cases we've said that if someone repudiates the debt,
and they're like, hey, I'm never gonna pay you and I don't owe you this money,
then we could say, well, you've repudiated, it's right,
because you said you're not gonna pay. In his answer, that's what he said.
He seemed to take a different position. But I'm gonna hold him to the denials
that he made in his answer. I don't know what that
falling on the sword was out there.
I'm just fuzzy about the number. I'm clear on the $4,000.
If we go on his admission, he says $4,000. Right? That's clear.
He also says it was about $1,200, it was $1,271 for the hotel for the girl.
- Yep, that was... - And there are a lot of charges here.
And she's not asking that any of these be reimbursed.
She's just asking what comes in under his name.
So, even at worst, if we want to go by him, he's up to almost $6,000.
So, he's still past the... You've pulled me over the fence.
So, $10,000 to her.
- You've pulled me over the fence. - Thank you.
Court is back in session. Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
Thank you, Byrd. You know what they say about relationships?
Two's company, three's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
And here you are. We did look through all the evidence and listened to you all
and we agree, the three of us agree, that indeed,
based on some of your admissions, sir, that you, in fact,
did demonstrate by preponderance of the evidence,
with a little help from your friend, that you are entitled to the $10,000
for which you have sued him. Now, from my personal note,
and this is just me talking to you, I would take that $10,000
and find the top psychologist and go every day.
Because you are too easily malleable. You were persuaded by him
to bring in a third person to live with you.
You go into a courtroom with another gentleman
and he persuades you to bring a lawsuit. If those are the only two things
you've told us about, that's already two more
than you should have happen in your life. But I don't buy that.
I could tell just by your personality in here, you let those things happen to you.
And if you keep letting those things happen to you,
people will come along and do them to you. People will talk you into anything,
whether it benefits you or not. And you can't for the sake of love
or caring, or anything at all, make these decisions.
And you know what, I think you know it, but I think you can't help yourself.
I've learned my lesson the hard way. And I...
Initially, at the time, it seemed like things were fine, we were in agreeance.
The mere fact that you keep saying that to me, tells me you have learned nothing.
That being said, you could take a word from the not-so-wise,
and get yourself some help. You, sir, on the other hand,
maybe you have a lifestyle or issues, habits, addictions, whatever,
are out of control. Maybe you too need to do the same thing.
Get some help. So, as to the both of you,
we do wish that you stay away from one another.
But I'm not so sure I think you will or you will.
So, the verdict of the court is in your favor for the full amount, $10,000.
This case is now concluded. Parties are excused, you may step out.
If anything, I wish me and Jennifer could've done things differently.
- His focus was on her. - It was a terrible idea.
I gotta set boundaries for myself.
It's just kinda what I do naturally. I manipulate situations
to work out in my benefit.
Just shows me that I gotta be more careful.
I love Jennifer. I've always loved Jennifer.
I don't know what to think.
I think there's always a possibility, when you love somebody that much.
If they didn't think that I would learn from this, I really have.
I hope that we didn't damage things too much
and maybe there is some hope for repair.
And see where things go.
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