I don't look at her as a grandmother anymore.
I've faced manipulation, emotional abuse.
You ma'am, actually called the police on your granddaughter, didn't you?
Yeah, you did.
I feared for my life.
Do you remember those text messages that you sent to your grandmother?
"I can't wait 'till you die."
Extremely hurt. My granddaughter who I've loved her whole life
would turn vicious on me.
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
[Cassandra] Your Honor, this is case number 2005,
Lindberg versus Scifo.
Thank you, Cassandra.
[Cassandra] All parties have been sworn in.
- [Judge DiMango] Thank you. - You may be seated.
[Judge DiMango] Sad case.
This is a lawsuit over property owned by your son,
- your father. - [Amber] Correct.
So you are the defendant's granddaughter.
Uh-hmm.
[Judge DiMango] You're saying that you own your late father's vehicle.
She has it. She refuses to return it to you.
You're here seeking the vehicle, correct?
Correct. Yes.
But ma'am, your position is,
is all she cared about was her father's property.
You want it, and you have a need for it
because your car doesn't work anymore, correct?
Yes. My car is in dire need
of major repair work, the one that I own and...
[Judge DiMango] Who owns the car, do you know?
Who owns the car?
She went and she titled it in her name.
[Judge DiMango] So now let me stop.
Your late dad, late son's vehicle is the 2011 Dodge Avenger.
So let's take a look at that car.
That's what is causing a family rift.
That's the reality here.
Your father passed away. When was that?
February 24th.
Who took care of his affairs and his estate?
Um, so it was mostly I was stuck with the paying for things part,
aside from his ashes and some t-shirts,
that's all I have of his material possession.
[Judge DiMango] Uh, that's not quite the question I asked you.
Did you settle all those affairs?
Did you pay his bills or did she?
- Who did this? - [Amber] Just the vehicles.
- I settled the liens on the vehicles. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
I think we have proof of the lien on the vehicle
and we have proof from the lienholder indicating that you did pay
$3,000 on June 6th to pay off that debt.
We have bank statements indicating that you paid that $3,000
and that's proof that you actually paid it.
Now, the transfer title to her name, she now owns this vehicle.
So for you to get this vehicle from her, she'd have to gift it to you
because it's her car now, do you agree with that, ma'am?
She's titled it in her name unbeknownst to the parties involved.
We all decided as a family that we were not going to sell, trade,
uh, title, do things, uh, give away any of his belongings
unless we all agreed upon things as a whole.
Ms. Lindberg was notified that I had one...
Did your son die with a will or without a will?
- Without. I mean... - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
- So he died intestate. - All right.
So that means that there are legal implications
that automatically come into effect
when an individual passes without having a will.
Do you have a mother to whom your father is still married?
- Does he have a wife? - No.
[Judge DiMango] Okay. Usually when an individual dies,
if he dies with a wife, the estate goes to the wife.
So now, your father's estate would pass in full to you
and therefore you would be entitled to his property.
If the property passes to her and she legally owns it,
the only way you can get that from her is if she gifts it to you.
Now, is your position as well, ma'am, that you don't even have the car?
It's with the mechanic.
But you were the last person to have this car, would that be correct?
- [Margaret] Yes. - And you don't disagree.
In fact, you have a witness, and you could step up.
This is your cousin. This is like a whole family affair here,
because you're an uncle I'm guessing, right?
- Yes. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
- So your name please for the record? - Alexandra Strzok.
[Judge DiMango] That's not your dad, is it?
- [Alexandra] No. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
So that would-- that would really bring this full circle.
So you believe that the defendant had the vehicle.
How is it that you believe that?
Um, so on May 12th, we actually drove past the house and saw it in her driveway
and took pictures of the plates and the...
And you took pictures of the car in the driveway?
Correct. It's--so, it's not--you can't see the actual driveway in the house
in the background but the photos are time-stamped
and location-stamped with her address.
So that's the license plate and that license plate
is actually in your driveway.
It's amazing what they could find out about you these days.
And they also know what you ate for dinner when they drove by and took this picture.
[indistinct]
This was on May 12th, correct, ladies?
- [Amber] Yes. - May 12th.
Did you have the car on that date?
Well, Ms. Lindberg was notified on June 1st with a text message
that I was interested in the car.
She did not respond in any way, shape, or form
that she was interested in the car or she was doing anything with the car.
Did your son ever give you the car to use beforehand?
Why was the car in your driveway in the first place?
[Margaret] Because we had gone to Madison for his last checkup clearance before...
[Judge DiMango] He just drove it, brought it to you,
and you were the one that drove to bring him to the doctor for this transplant,
- would that be correct? - Yes, I did.
[Judge DiMango] Because really you're holding, it appears, this vehicle hostage.
- Where is it? - Car is with the mechanic.
- Do you know the mechanic? - Yes, I do.
- Did you bring it to the mechanic? - Yes, I did.
It was in for general work and tune-up.
Did you tell her where it was?
Because I believe we also have something that we could put up there
which are some text messages, which say,
"Where's the car, grandma?
Grandma, are you gonna tell us where the car is?"
- [Margaret] With the mechanic. - Again.
Okay. Let's see. Uncle, let's step up.
Maybe you can offer something here a little more than because she wants it.
- What is your last name, sir? - [Brett] Kopp.
[Judge DiMango] So Mr. Kopp, what can you offer here?
This started, um, like, uh, as everything else here now,
uh, with my brother's passing.
We were trying to settle everything by discussing as a family
before anybody did anything rash
as far as, you know, going out of their way
to title things or take things or lay claim to possession.
However, in a situation where an individual dies without a will,
it transfers to his wife.
If no wife, to the siblings what they call,
per stirpes, divided equally.
So, I'm not sure what you're disputing here.
I'm disputing the fact of the evidence that we have
that has the destruction of my mother's car
to render it more inoperable.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
Do you remember those text messages
that you sent to your grandmother, Ms. Lindberg,
"How does it feel that you killed your own son?
Feeding him pills like the psycho you are?"
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Amber Lindberg is suing her grandmother, Margaret Scifo,
for the return of her deceased father's car.
But Margaret claims she has every right to it,
since it was her son who died.
I'm not sure what you're disputing here.
I'm disputing the fact of the evidence that we have
that has the destruction of my mother's car
to render it more inoperable.
So we do have a photograph of what you're referring to, and that would be,
the other vehicle that the defendant has, which is her 2007, I believe.
Yeah, it's a Ford Five Hundred.
[Judge DiMango] That same vehicle with a cracked windshield
which no one saw anybody break, correct?
Unfortunately, no.
- [Judge DiMango] Did you do it? - No.
[Judge DiMango] Her position is, "I didn't do it."
Your side, the defendant, wanting us to believe
that the reason this is damaged at all
is because this was retaliatory by the plaintiff for what, the lawsuit?
She owns it. What does she have to do anything for?
We were unaware that she had titled the car.
We were willing to title the car.
We were in fact in the process of looking to find out what it would take, so...
[Judge DiMango] But it wasn't yours to title.
She gets it through inheritance.
Now I don't know what your financial status is.
I don't know if you have another car. What do you do for a living?
I'm an officer manager for a financial company.
[Judge DiMango] Do you have another vehicle?
I do.
So what are you gonna do with this vehicle?
Well, me and my fiancé would probably split it
because my car isn't doing the best either.
And the value on this car is approximately between 5,000 and $6,000
according to Kelley Blue Book, but you would take money for it?
If that's the only thing I can get, if I can't get the vehicle,
- then I would, yeah. - Judge Levy?
[Judge Levy] Let me start with this, Ms. Scifo.
A parent should never have to bury their child.
Never.
But that's not why we're here.
We're here because the plaintiff did what she was supposed to do
after her dad died and she settled his estate.
That's why we're here.
This isn't about feelings or you wanting something from your deceased son.
- Do you, ma'am, understand that? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] Not to say that this isn't already bad enough,
but you, ma'am, actually called the police on your granddaughter, didn't you?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] Yeah, you did.
Why don't you tell us about that, Ms. Lindberg?
What happened? It was June of 2023.
- Yes. Um, so we... - We meaning who?
- Alex and I. - [Judge Levy] Okay.
There was many failed attempts at reaching Margaret.
So we were in the area and we were going to stop by her house
to see if she was there.
Um, I didn't--I was a little nervous,
so Alex went and she confronted Margaret
and asked where the vehicle was.
Um, so Margaret was on the phone,
she told whoever she was on the phone with,
um, to call 911 multiple times,
and me and Alex were like, "All right, we're outta here."
Um, and there were around three or four cop cars that flew up behind us
and ordered us to get out of the vehicle with our hands drawn.
Okay. Ms. Scifo, why don't you tell us
what you told the police regarding your granddaughter here
that got 911 to send three or four patrol cars
speeding to your home
to order your granddaughter to raise her hands and to stand still?
I was not on the phone.
I was in the back.
- Really? - [Margaret] Alex came around the corner.
- All I said to Alex... - [Judge Levy] Okay.
You know, Ms. Scifo, you have a very strange relationship with the truth
and that's why police reports are so important and so useful,
because when calls are made to 911, Cassandra, what happens?
- They record them. - They record them.
So, July 8th, 2023, 7:16 PM,
best friend of the mother calling.
Subject, your granddaughter went to your grandma's house to find the vehicle.
Grandma stated the vehicle was in the shop.
Ready for this?
Grandma--that's you--
said that because her granddaughter is known to have a carry permit,
you believe she had a gun.
What are the most dangerous types of cases
where officers find themselves getting shot?
- Domestics. - Domestics.
That's why five of them showed up.
They think she has a gun.
That could have gone sideways real fast.
And it wasn't until 7:37
when you're interviewed face-to-face by a police officer
in which you said,
"Because she has a carry permit, that's why we thought she had a gun."
Do you remember that conversation that you had with the police officer?
- Yes, I do, sir. - [Judge Levy] Of course you do.
But that wasn't the first time that the police were contacted, right?
- Uh-hmm. Correct. - [Judge Levy] There was another time
on August 3rd, 2023.
So this is after your granddaughter pays off the loan,
goes to DMV, and gets a duplicate title.
August 3rd, she is the rightful owner of this vehicle,
and she goes where? To the police station?
- Correct. - [Judge Levy] What'd you tell the police?
I told them that Margaret was in possession of a vehicle
that was titled into my name
and I wanted to report it stolen.
The officer did go to Margaret's house,
um, and questioned Margaret about where the vehicle is.
Margaret then stated that it was in the shop,
and then he--the officer recommends we, both of us, um, handle it civilly.
But that's not all because what the officer said was,
"Officers will further investigate."
And what that means is,
you're gonna go to the police station
and you're gonna remind them about this police report
where they promised to further investigate.
You're also gonna have a court order
that may very well direct the defendant here
to turn that vehicle over to you.
- Do you understand that, ma'am? - Yes, sir.
[Judge Levy] And when that happens,
the mechanic, he's gonna be in possession of stolen property,
and you don't want that for him, do you?
No. And that's why he's not involved in this.
You, ma'am, just made him involved in it.
I have nothing further.
[Judge Acker] I do. There are so many things about this case
that I find outrageous, even despicable.
I think it is despicable
to make a false claim to the police,
potentially putting somebody else in jeopardy.
And then I looked at the record in some of your evidence,
and you're not the only person in your family
who has behaved outrageously.
Do you remember those text messages
that you sent to your grandmother, Ms. Lindberg?
I do.
[Judge Acker] I'm gonna read one of them.
"How does it feel that you killed your own son?
Feeding him pills like the psycho you are?
I can't wait 'till you die."
How do you characterize that?
It was very out of character for me.
I was hurt, I was grieving,
I was being ignored as if I didn't exist,
and it was just from a place of anger.
I regret it. I mean, I wish I could take it back.
I'm ashamed that I said that, and that's really all I can say.
How did you feel, Ms. Scifo, when you got those messages?
Extremely hurt.
That my granddaughter who I've loved her whole life,
that would turn vicious on me.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
I've faced manipulation, emotional abuse.
I don't look at her as a grandmother anymore.
What the officers didn't say was she was extremely intoxicated
and I also feared for my life.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Amber Lindberg is suing her grandmother, Margaret Scifo,
for the return of her deceased father's car.
But stories of their strained family relationship
explain why they're in court.
[Judge Acker] May I ask you, Ms. Lindberg,
how does one end up
in such strange circumstances with their grandmother?
I mean, what gave rise to all of this conflict?
[Amber] Years and years of pent-up rage.
I mean, she can say she's treated me great and that she's loved me,
but I've faced manipulation, emotional abuse
my whole--since my dad passed,
I kept a relationship with her for him.
I don't look at her as a grandmother anymore.
After he passed, I wanted nothing to do with her.
That's why I'm hoping after this, I can just wash my hands of all of it.
[Judge Acker] How do you think your father would feel
about those messages that you sent to his mother?
I'm sure very upset.
[Judge Acker] How do you think your son would feel
about you calling the police on his daughter
over a piece of property that's not yours.
And if they misinterpreted a move, she might be dead.
How would you feel if, in addition to having buried your son,
you were burying your granddaughter?
What the officers didn't say was she was extremely intoxicated,
and I also feared for my life.
She was intoxicated that day and shouting vile things
from the car in the driveway before she left.
- [Judge Acker] Were you intoxicated? - I was not.
I don't have anything further. I wish you both the best of luck.
[Judge DiMango] Okay. Then we're going to retire to deliberate,
the witnesses may resume their seats.
Thank you very much, we'll be back.
Court is now in recess.
[dramatic musical sting]
Well, she's kinda raised the grandma defense,
which is, "just because I want the car."
The only thing that's missing here is her stomping her feet like a five-year-old
because she has no legal entitlement to it.
And the plaintiff paid off the lien. She's entitled to that car.
However, if we award her the car,
I think we should verify that it is with whom the defendant says it's with
by either reaching out, making a phone call.
I don't know how you will feel about that.
But I don't want you to just leave it in the defendant's position.
I think that we cut an order,
the defendant, the grandmother, if she still refuses to comply,
then that's when things are gonna go real sideways
for the entire family, not the plaintiff.
It's also important to note that in several states like Wisconsin,
someone who is in the decedent's position could have signed
over an affidavit, title,
and included his mom on the title
so that when he did pass, the vehicle would have gone straight to his mother.
That is transfer on death registration of vehicles,
Wisconsin and about 20 other states have them.
And quite frankly, we didn't get into it out there
but it was no surprise when the plaintiff's dad died.
He had been sick for a very long time.
It was sad, but it was not unexpected.
If that were done, we wouldn't be here.
That's right. And I'm also, to your point, Patricia,
concerned about simply an order returning the car.
Uh, there's a lot we don't know. I'm gonna propose this.
I'd love to hear both of your thoughts on it,
and it follows from something that the plaintiff said on the record.
- Why don't we just give her... - [Judge DiMango] Give her...
- ... a monetary award? - [Judge DiMango] Yeah.
We can give her the option and point out the downside,
because my other thing, and I was writing this down as I was listening,
was that we don't know what kind of condition the car is in either.
It could be not in the same condition that the plaintiff believes it was in,
expecting that she's going to get it back in that same condition.
- And I'm--and the other--uh, yeah. - So I think that the option...
And I'm inclined to that
because I think it is one thing that we can do
to sort of short circuit the judicial drama
to which this family seems to be prone.
I'd simply give her monetary value.
[Judge DiMango] Which is $6,712.
I guess she wants something, but she'd prefer the car.
So I'm ready to do whatever she says actually,
- if you guys are. - All right. I am.
- [Judge DiMango] Okay. Very good then. - [Judge Levy] I agree.
So we're unanimous. Thank you.
[dramatic musical sting]
Court is now in session.
Parties are reminded you are still under oath.
[Judge DiMango] Thank you, Cassandra.
Actions have consequences.
When you put into a play a phone call to the police department,
that action has a snowballing effect
of consequences you're not even thinking about
when you make the call.
Because when you do things with tunnel vision,
you don't see what goes beyond it, all from emotion.
How many times have you seen on the news,
"All I was doing was reaching for my cell phone,"
which results in police who are under high stress,
pulling a gun and shooting.
And ma'am, she has a legal right to that car.
However, we asked if whether or not you wanted the vehicle
or would accept a monetary award instead.
Do you have a feeling about that?
Um, I mean, if getting the vehicle isn't possible,
then I would accept money.
[Judge DiMango] I just wanna point out,
you're not really sure the condition the vehicle is in at this point.
How long has it been with the mechanic, ma'am?
Since he died? Since...
- No, since May. - [Judge DiMango] Since May?
You only brought it up for tune-up, you said?
There was no damage, correct?
And whatever else he found to be wrong with it, correct.
[Judge DiMango] No, that's not what you said.
What about the body?
What about the vehicle's body, was it in shape?
- No. - There was just a...
- I'm sorry. - No.
[Judge DiMango] Step up if you're gonna speak.
What was wrong with the body of the vehicle?
[Brett] For as stubborn as my brother was,
even under the health conditions that he had,
he still liked to drive and do what he wanted to do...
- What is the damage to the car? - ... and he wanted to go...
[Brett] There was damage to the front end.
I don't know what he had bumped into or what had bumped into him.
This is why it went
because it affected the left front suspension as well.
The battery, I had taken from one of my vehicles to put into that car
- just so it could get running. - [Judge DiMango] So then--
so now you are telling us that this is the great car that your mother wanted?
Somebody here is lying. All right, have a seat.
- We're just gonna give you the money. - [Amber] Okay.
[Judge DiMango] $6,712,
which is the Kelley Blue Book value of this vehicle.
The jurisdictional maximum in your jurisdiction is $5,000,
so we're gonna have to cap it at that
- for the car. - Thank you.
That's the verdict of the court, judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
[gavel bangs]
[Cassandra] This case have concluded. All parties are excused.
[theme music plays]
She is a textbook narcissist.
It just rips my heart out. It really does.
She uses her age and her looks to manipulate people
into thinking she's innocent.
I don't understand what she's even talking about
with the manipulation and things of that nature.
It was around four squad cars that were there
and they just yelled over their loudspeaker
to get out with our hands out.
Uh, the relationship is too fractured.
I want nothing to do with her.
I think it's ridiculous.
You can't pick your family.
[announcer] Have you been scammed, cheated, or swindled?
Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
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["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]