[Judge Acker] You are suing your aunt for wrongfully evicting you?
I have been the Cinderella Man for my auntie
doing the household chores and taking care of my grandfather.
Me and my whole family have taken care of Chris all of his life.
You threw him out on basically no notice with his son?
She grabbed a phone cord and she began to hit me.
[Judge DiMango] You threw his stuff on the street.
What he--what he said is not true.
And when I went out of town and came back,
he had moved the girl into my house.
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in Los Angeles, California.
[Byrd] Judge, this is case number 2011A and 2011B,
in the matter of Brown versus Best and Best versus Brown.
- Thank you, Byrd. - You're welcome, Judge.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
[Judge Acker] Mr. Brown, the defendant is your aunt?
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] And when your mother died
about 15 years ago, you moved in with your grandparents
and she also lived there with her children.
You moved out a little bit after that and then you came back.
- Yeah. - [Judge Acker] And that's what happened
when you came back some years later
that is what is at issue in this lawsuit
because you are now suing your aunt for wrongfully evicting you…
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] … causing damage
- to your property. And the… - [Christopher] Right.
[Judge Acker] … total amount of your claim is for $10,000.
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] Ms. Best,
you maintain that you do not owe your nephew any money.
In fact, you have a claim against him for $4,400,
because you maintain that he damaged the home where he was living.
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] First off, Mr. Brown,
how long were you in foster care before your late mother adopted you?
[Christopher] Well, I was in foster care all my life.
I was pretty much born in the system.
My mother had me in the institution and that's where they took me from her.
- Your birth mother? - My birth mother.
[Judge Acker] Your mother adopted you out of foster care
and then died right before her wedding.
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] I'm so sorry to hear that.
How old were you at the time?
Well, at the time I had to have been about 10 or 11.
And when she passed away, I went from having a mother's love
to being left to fend for my own.
What do you mean by that?
[Christopher] Well, for the past 10 years plus,
I have been the Cinderella Man for my auntie
as far as doing the household chores,
the backyard chores, and taking care of my grandfather.
And ma'am, you had children as well in the home?
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] At that time,
- how many do you have? - I have three kids.
[Judge Acker] Three kids. So Mr. Brown,
when you were living at the home at that time approximately 15 years ago,
what you say in your complaint is that when you were first at the home
when you were younger, you were getting some sort of benefit check,
but the family didn't let you keep that
because they were looking after you, right?
Right. Right. Right.
[Judge Acker] So I mean, that kind of makes sense.
If you're a minor and you're living with your grandparents,
and you're getting some money from the government,
that's really for your care and feeding that's provided by the adults.
- [Christopher] Yes. - But you left at some point.
- Yes, I--yes, I… - [Judge Acker] When you--
- when you were 18, you moved out? - Yes.
I didn't have no choice but to move out because once I turned 18,
I asked my grandmother if I could have access to those funds,
and she said not while I lived up under her roof.
So in order for me to get access to those funds,
I have to leave the house, and then I eventually came back.
Why did you come back?
Well, because when I left, I wasn't prepared to leave.
I didn't have no understanding about life and the, um,
the streets weren't kind to me, so I had to come home.
According to your papers, you were 21 at the time?
- Yes. - [Judge Acker] So when you moved back,
your grandparents were there, your aunt is there with her children,
- and then your grandmother passes away. - Right.
[Judge Acker] And then now we get to the part of the story
where you described yourself as your aunt's Cinderella Man.
[Christopher] Right. On top of paying rent,
I also had to take care of my grandfather.
That was a requirement of me staying there.
And I did it with pride because I fell in love with my grandfather.
He allowed me to be in his home.
And we didn't start having a conflict until after my son was born.
I requested more time so that I could be a father to my son.
So I brought to my auntie's attention that, "Hey, auntie, you know,
I would like to take my son to the park on my off days."
She made that very clear that, no,
I have to be there to take care of my grandfather.
Ms. Best, is that your understanding of the arrangement?
He was paying rent and also looking after your father?
That's part of the arrangements.
Um, I asked him, you know, as a part of him continuing staying there,
that he needs to help me with my father so that his rent will only be $600,
because I could charge more than that for the room.
Are your three children living in the home as well?
[Erchelle] No, um, I have one son living in the house.
- [Judge Acker] Was he paying any rent? - [Erchelle] Yes.
- How much? - [Erchelle] $600.
[Judge Acker] Did he have any care responsibilities for your father?
- [Erchelle] Yes. - [Judge Acker] Do you have any evidence
that you were also charging your son rent?
No, I didn't bring any evidence. No one asked me to.
[Judge Acker] Mr. Brown, do you have any knowledge
that your aunt was not requiring the same of her own son?
- Yes, yes. - [Judge Acker] How do you know this?
Well, he's made the statement verbally clear
to come to my defense in certain arguments.
He said it out his own mouth, "Chris is the only one paying rent here."
What I wanna talk about is what led to your aunt asking you to leave,
because as you describe it, ma'am,
you learned that he had a girlfriend staying over
- while you were in Lake Arrowhead? - Yes.
[Judge Acker] And according to your answer,
I'll give you a chance to respond.
Now I don't care who he dates but the girl is from another country.
She's probably only with him to get her papers.
I asked him how many days she was here and he lied straight to my face.
And then it was subsequent to that that you changed the locks.
Help me understand why that was a basis for you changing the locks on him.
[Erchelle] Okay. Well, Christopher Brown, I, um, I made it plain and clear,
you know, because I've had past problems with him
moving women into my home without my permission.
And so I told him, "You have a new girlfriend, right?
So I don't mind her coming over. She can stay over two nights a week.
I have no problem with that, you know, but she cannot move into my house." Okay.
When I went out of town and came back, he had moved the girl into my house.
[Judge Acker] But that's not quite what you said in your answer.
What you said is that he eventually admitted she stayed a week.
Right. She stayed the whole week that I was going up on my vacation.
[Judge Acker] Okay. But, ma'am, if she overstayed by three days,
and I'm just taking your testimony on that…
[Erchelle] I mean…
… because there's no written lease, correct?
- [Christopher] Right. - Was it ever explained to you, sir,
that you were only allowed to have houseguests two nights a week?
- [Christopher] No, no. Well… - And, uh, how old are you?
- I'm 28--29. - [Judge Acker] 28.
- You have your own room, I suppose? - Yes.
[Judge Acker] And so when you have overnight guests,
you, as a 28-year-old man, your overnight guests stay in your room.
- Right. - [Judge Acker] What I'm interested also,
um, Ms. Best, is that was there something about her immigration status
that made you uncomfortable having her in the house?
Yes. The fact that she's living in a woman shelter, she's homeless,
so he was--he's bringing someone in off the streets to live in my house, you know.
And based of the fact that I have a, you know,
elderly gentleman staying in my house, I don't want that.
[Judge Acker] So Mr. Brown, tell me what happened.
Did the woman go home? Did you…
[Christopher] Well, of course-- of course she went home.
She actually has a home that she's in right now.
[Judge Acker] Can we please put up Exhibit 504?
So when you changed the locks, why did you leave his things outside?
[Erchelle] Because I didn't want him back in my house…
- [Judge Acker] Why? - [Erchelle] … okay?
We had got into it in the house and I told him he had to leave
and he said he wasn't going nowhere.
He's gonna stay there as long as he wanted to.
I said I didn't want him back in the house.
- [Judge Acker] You're suggesting… - [Erchelle] He's been very disrespectful.
[Judge Acker] … he was the problem in the house?
- Yeah, he was. He was… - [Judge Acker] Now, he has alleged
in his papers that you were the problem
and that you actually physically assaulted him.
Sir, you submitted pictures of what you've indicated
were scratches to your arm by your aunt in some sort of altercation.
How did this happen?
[Christopher] Well, there was an argument about a piece of paper
that was on the ground
and she was yelling at me very profusely, very loudly.
I didn't--I had my son in my hand. My son was crying.
So while she was yelling at me, I attempted to go in the room,
take my son in the room.
As I closed the door, she began to break into the room.
She grabbed a phone cord and she began to hit me
with the phone cord while I have my son.
I had to shield my arm like this and turn to protect my son
so that he didn't get assaulted.
- [Judge Acker] Ma'am, do you deny that? - [Erchelle] Yes.
You had no physical contact with him, whatsoever?
[Erchelle] None at all. The only thing I did that day
was he has my TV in there and he made me mad,
and I came in to get my TV and just took my TV out.
[Judge Acker] I wanna just put up plaintiff's Exhibit 506A.
Is that you, ma'am?
That's me when I came-- went in to get my TV.
[Judge Acker] And that's Mr. Brown's room?
[Erchelle] That's how he kept the room.
[Judge Acker] So he submitted evidence that you had access to the room.
You've been in the room.
When you want us to hold him liable for damages to the room,
how are you going to prove that he caused the damage and not you?
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
[Erchelle] This is a letter that Chris has gave to me
and asked me to give him $500.
[Judge DiMango] Did you sign that agreement that said
once you took back your $500,
you were not gonna pursue this with regard to your aunt?
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Christopher Brown is suing his aunt, Erchelle Best, for $10,000.
Christopher claims his aunt wrongfully evicted him
and his toddler after he paid his rent.
Erchelle is countersuing saying her nephew lied about moving his girlfriend
into their home and damaged the room he was renting.
He submitted evidence that you had access to the room.
You've been in the room.
When you want us to hold him liable for damages to the room,
how are you going to prove that he caused the damage and not you?
- Judge DiMango. - [Erchelle] First of all,
what he said is not true.
He's very disrespectful. He doesn't clean up. I feed him. I take…
[Judge DiMango] I don't get any sense of him…
[Erchelle] My whole fam--me and my whole family we have taken care of Chris
all of his life, make sure he is fed.
- I take him on vacations. - I don't see that.
I'm gonna tell you. I don't see that here.
[Erchelle] Like, well, I take him on vacations.
- I feed him. - [Judge DiMango] He was…
- I give him money. I've done all that. - [Judge DiMango] He…
I paid some [indistinct] access. I gave him insurance.
[Judge DiMango] Show us some proof of that.
See, what I'm gonna tell you what bothers me.
- [Erchelle] Okay. - [Judge DiMango] Is that the statement
that you make in the papers, "I threw his food out.
I threw his clothes out,"
what I'm seeing here on the main complaint.
And the behavior that I'm seeing here is that indeed,
he was treated as Cinderella and often a second class citizen,
anything you could think of where a person is almost subhuman to you.
You know, he was abandoned by your sister. Another sister took in his mother and him.
Uh-hmm.
[Judge DiMango] And you're now in the house.
You're his aunt and he has to leave at age 18
because he feels as though he's just been abandoned.
- You threw his stuff on the street. - And I did my part…
- And can I tell the truth, Your Honor? - [Judge DiMango] One second. What?
I did my part while living in their house.
Before my son was born, my work schedule was around Granddad.
I took the swing shift just so I could get Granddaddy up, wash him up,
and give him breakfast every morning before I went to work.
So what do you do for a living?
[Christopher] I do security five days out of the week and then when I come home,
- I'm clocked in… - [Judge DiMango] So…
- … as the live-in nurse. - [Erchelle] That's not true.
[Judge DiMango] What do you do for a living?
I work at the post office.
[Judge DiMango] And what do you do when you get home?
When I come home, I attend to my father.
I take care of my father. I feed him. I cook dinner.
And then I, um, put him in the bed.
We share responsibilities and even with my father.
[Judge DiMango] Well, the damages that you contend…
let's see the pictures of the door.
That, I mean, did you see him punch the door?
- [Erchelle] No. - [Christopher] That's what she did.
She actually used the cable box that she took out of my room
to put that hole in the door.
[Judge DiMango] Why would she take the cable box out of your room?
- I didn't. - Because she woke up one day
and decided that she don't want me and my son to have a TV,
- so she felt like [indistinct]. - [Judge DiMango] Hold on.
That makes sense. That's consistent with what she's saying.
So if she's taking her TV out of the room,
she certainly had to take the cable box with it.
And in your situation, your case against him for $4,400
for paint chips that looks as though was just normal…
- [Erchelle] Your honor, may I ask… - … wear and tear from an old house.
By the way, this is your parents' home.
Yes.
How old is the house?
- [Erchelle] Um… - Approximately?
… they moved in 1967.
[Judge DiMango] So we're looking at a house that could be close
to a hundred years old if it was built substantially
- before that like in the late '20s? - I'd say about 70, 80 years old.
[Judge DiMango] 80 years old. The damages that you contend
caused by the plaintiff looked just due to age, the age of the place.
- I mean, I know you're saying no. Um… - Can I say something, Your Honor?
[Judge DiMango] You can say something about that.
[Erchelle] Just before Chris moved into this room,
we repainted the whole room.
You can ask Chris that, before he even moved in, it was all brand new in there.
Was this all new?
[Christopher] Uh, the room wasn't painted properly.
The people that came in and paint it, they didn't--
they didn't properly remove the paint that was there on the wall.
[Judge DiMango] Yeah, that looks like there's…
- This is not true. - … a white paint underneath this.
- Ma'am, so… - Your Honor, this is the evidence
I wanted to show you before we go any further with this.
Can I please show you this?
Um, this is a letter that Chris has gave to me and asked me,
um, by September the 13th to give him $500.
- [Judge DiMango] You did. - Okay.
[Judge DiMango] I saw that he returned the $500.
[Erchelle] And then I gave him a letter to sign,
saying that we wouldn't go any further with this,
and he signed and agreed to it, and I gave him the $500.
Okay. So there's a second part and I'm gonna pass it.
Did you sign that agreement that said once you took back your $500,
you were not gonna pursue this with regard to aunt?
Uh, yes, I did sign that, but when I signed that,
I didn't have no choice but to sign that.
I had spent enough time on the streets, I had ran out of money, my car…
[Judge DiMango] How old were you at the time?
Uh, that--I signed that a couple months ago because I needed shelter.
My car had broke down. I lived in my car for weeks and weeks
and weeks, and then I had put my car in the shop.
[Judge DiMango] I think I have a picture here.
I think I'm gonna let Judge Levy finish this up.
I wanna see that letter.
Who prepared that letter?
[Erchelle] Uh, my daughter-in-law typed up it for me.
Okay. In your statement, Ms. Best,
you say that in June 2023, "I changed the locks on the house.
I put Chris' stuff outside in the backyard."
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] Right?
How long had he been in the house paying you rent when you in June of 2023
changed the locks and put his stuff outside?
[Erchelle] I will say about--let's see,
since my mother passed away and that was in 2017.
- 2017. So we're talking like five years? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] And five years, did he pay rent?
Um, when he was working, he did.
[Judge Levy] This letter that I'm looking at now,
"Dear Christopher Brown, I, Ms. Best,
agreed to pay $500 as requested by Chris Brown as settlement in full
regarding the termination of his living arrangements.
This agreement replaces any prior agreements
and releases all parties from any past or future liability."
You would agree that this also prevents you
from suing him for $4,400 for counter damages, correct?
No, I wasn't aware of that.
- [Judge Levy] Well, that's what it says. - [Erchelle] Okay.
It says, "Releases all parties from any…
- [Erchelle] Okay. - "… past or future."
- So there goes your counterclaim. - Okay.
[Judge Levy] Just so you know, this piece of paper--you can give it back.
It's unconscionable. It's not enforceable.
- [Erchelle] Okay. - Right?
And it's not enforceable because it's in violation of the law.
Because he's a tenant in your home and tenants have rights,
especially in California.
Now one of the text messages that you sent to him said,
"My locks have been changed and you have one week to get your stuff.
After that, I have new locks for my gate.
And next Friday, I will be putting them out of my yard,
outside in the back behind the gate.
You have no reason to come inside my house.
Putting your food outside in five minutes."
You threw him out on basically no notice.
Where'd you think he was gonna go with his son?
His son lives with his mother, okay? And so…
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. He has co-parenting time.
- I don't call it "visitation." - [Christopher] Yes.
Well, Chris had told me-- I have no idea where he was gonna go.
[Judge Levy] So what--so where is he supposed to--where is he--
where is he supposed to--where is he supposed to co-parent when you…
I have no idea because all I know is [indistinct].
- [Judge Levy] So you have no idea? - I have no idea.
[Judge Levy] And the reason you have no idea
is because you didn't care to find out.
[Erchelle] I'd--you know what, the whole thing is Chris has been
very disrespectful in the whole house, okay?
[Judge Levy] I don't care about what happened in the past, ma'am.
- Chris is a habitual liar. - [Judge Levy] Ms. Best,
the problem is that you think that you control everything
that goes on in that house.
You make the rules.
You're the queen.
You know why that doesn't apply?
It's because once you took money from him,
you guaranteed him certain rights under the law.
And you violated those rights when you threw him out
and he's entitled to money from you, from an unlawful eviction.
- You know that? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] Yes, you do. And that's the reason
you want him to sign that cockamamie letter.
Because you thought it was gonna protect you.
- I have nothing further. - [Judge Acker] I do.
- Mr. Brown, whose… - [Christopher] Yes.
… idea was it to start charging you rent?
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
When you put him out, you didn't have another person
who wanted to rent that room for more money?
- No. - [Christopher] Can I say something?
As soon as she kicked me out, my cousin, her son, came back in.
- They're in your room? - Right.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Christopher Brown is suing his aunt, Erchelle Best,
after he claims she kicked him and his toddler out of her home,
then left their belongings out on the street.
But Erchelle says her nephew is a habitual liar and even had the nerve
to move his girlfriend into her home while she was away.
- [Judge Acker] Mr. Brown? - [Christopher] Yes.
[Judge Acker] Whose idea was it to start charging you rent?
Well, um, it came from the elderly members of my family.
- [Judge Acker] Your grandparents? - Yes. It came from my grandmother first.
[Judge Acker] I also wanna be clear.
This home, it's titled to your parents, correct?
- [Erchelle] Yes. - Or now I guess your father.
My father.
[Judge Acker] Do you have power of attorney?
Uh, my son do. My son.
[Judge Acker] Your son has power of attorney?
- You do not? - [Erchelle] I do not.
[Judge Acker] Which means that your son is the person who is best situated
to bring any claims relating to your father's assets or property.
I just wanted to be clear on that. I have nothing further.
[Judge DiMango] I'm sorry, but I do have something else.
Do you put your place up for rent?
Like, do you rent your rooms to anybody else?
No.
[Judge DiMango] Was anyone else interested
in coming into the home and renting that room from you?
No.
[Judge DiMango] So when you put him out,
you didn't have another person who wanted to rent that room for more money?
- [Erchelle] No. - [Judge DiMango] Are you sure about that?
I'm sure about that.
- Can I say something? - Yes, sir.
[Christopher] As soon as she kicked me out,
my cousin, her son, came back in.
- Your cousin, her other son? - Yeah, he's in my--he's in my room.
[Judge DiMango] And they're in your room.
- Right. - [Erchelle] So he's [indistinct].
- Thank you very much for that. - [Erchelle] Right there.
- Ma'am, I… - [Erchelle] He--my son came in,
but he went into the small room.
[Judge DiMango] Ma'am, I've heard enough testimony.
- Okay. Okay. - [Judge DiMango] Anybody else here?
Thank you. We're gonna retire to deliberate.
- Thank you. - [Byrd] Court now stands in recess.
Parties are excused.
[dramatic musical sting]
Let me just sort of give you my broad brush of how I see the case.
I'm gonna start with her claims against him.
They should be dismissed. She doesn't have power of attorney.
And it's for that same reason that I think that that settlement agreement
is nonsense because she had no authority to evict him in the first place,
and she has no authority to enter into settlements.
Relating to the property, she doesn't have any right
to the property, she doesn't have a right to kick people out,
she doesn't have a right to resolve disputes regarding the property.
So the settlement, to me, is completely invalid.
Also to your point, unconscionable.
I mean, you cannot throw people out on one week's notice in this jurisdiction.
It's unconscionable the way that this all transpired.
He did not submit receipts, but he did give us a very itemized list
that's reasonable of the property one might acquire when you're living
in a home for years, especially when there's a child.
But I don't need receipts.
I think that this is a case, really, of punitive damages.
I think that she acted maliciously.
I think she acted with conscious disregard of his rights,
and I would award him $10,000.
I would absolutely award him $10,000. I think the eviction was unlawful.
And based on that alone, we can award him the $10,000
without actually seeing direct proof of the value of the items.
But I looked at the list as well.
For their child, there was a carriage, there were children's clothing,
his clothing, we saw the pile of things outside.
So clearly he has met his burden with regard to both of that.
He did not do anything, which in my view, would've warranted to be thrown out
and let alone have his property just strewn about by garbage pails,
and food, I mean, it's malicious to say,
"I'm gonna throw your food out in five minutes."
I mean, she really did treat him so poorly.
That's the big picture I saw, and that letter that she had him sign.
I truly believe that he was really under the gun.
What was he going to do with his life?
So technically it was a silent form of duress,
and I have no reason to wanna award her a penny.
Uh, so I completely agree with respect to the counterclaim.
Hers, it should be dismissed.
I believe that he has met his burden with respect to his request.
The only issue is how much.
In California, based upon her conduct, uh, which can be viewed as,
in no other way than an unlawful eviction.
According to a California code,
he's entitled to $2,000 for an unlawful eviction.
Then you have all of his clothes and the toys belonging to his son.
What's the fair market value? I would say probably around $5,000 for all that stuff.
At least that's what an economic report says
that a family's clothing is worth, one person's.
So we're up to $7,000.
And then you have the duress of being thrown out with no place to go,
trying to figure out what he's supposed to do
with his co-parenting time with his son.
You know what, I take it back, I think he's, uh…
- You're up to the $10,000? - $10,000?
- I'm up--I'm up to the $10,000. - [Judge DiMango] That's right.
- And also, let me tell you. - [Judge Levy] And good for him.
She wanted him out because she wanted to put her son in.
You know, I asked the question.
But I'm glad that he came back with an answer
because I didn't turn to him, and he said, "Can I say something?"
And that's, her son moved in immediately,
- and that's really why I… - I think you're right.
… think the $10,000 was exactly what he deserves here.
- So we are unanimous. - Yup.
Excellent.
[dramatic musical sting]
[Byrd] Court is back in session.
Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
- [Judge Acker] Thank you, Byrd. - Uh-hmm.
We have deliberated and we've reached a unanimous verdict.
I'm gonna start with your claim for $4,400 against your nephew.
We are unanimous in dismissing that.
You do not have power of attorney for the home.
So anything that relates to your father's assets, damage,
loss, theft, only your son can bring those claims…
- Okay. - … because he has power of attorney.
Okay.
[Judge Acker] I am now going to turn to your claim, sir, against your aunt.
For the same reason that your aunt had no right to evict you,
she can't make any settlement relating to the property,
because it's not her right.
It is her son's right.
So the settlement agreement that you signed is invalid.
Also, as my colleagues pointed out, under California law, tenants have rights,
and those rights cannot be disposed of when somebody dumps your property
outside on the street after one day.
You get more than $500 in that jurisdiction.
It's an unconscionable agreement that you did not have the right
to execute in the first instance.
So that agreement means nothing.
And I think the way that you handled this horrible traumatic experience
really speaks volumes of where your future's gonna take you.
And our unanimous verdict is in your favor for $10,000.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
[Byrd] This case is concluded. Parties are excused.
You may step out.
[theme music plays]
[Erchelle] Chris is a habitual liar and he sounds really good
and very convincing.
That's just untrue. I'm just a child that lost his mother
and that's just looking for a home.
He's very disrespectful, he's [indistinct] he's tearing up my house.
No matter--when somebody knocks me down, I get up with a smile.
I'm just glad he's out of my house and now he's out of my life.
Well, now I just hope that we have peace around Christmas and family dinners.
I had invited him for Thanksgiving, but now that he--
and see how he did in this court,
I don't wanna have nothing to do with him ever again in life.
This right here closes the chapter and now a new chapter opens for me.
I'mma leave him alone.
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["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]