He struck your car with a golf cart.
Yes, Your Honor.
I lost control because the steering wheel broke.
I mean, for a ding on a bumper, calling the police,
I mean, seriously?
- Well... - Byrd, do you have your handcuffs?
Because I'm wondering if we can remand this young man
- before he causes more harm to society. - Oh, my goodness.
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in St. Charles, Missouri.
Your Honor, this is case number 2059, Jeffries versus Hudzik.
All parties have been sworn in.
You may be seated.
[Judge Levy] Thank you, Cassandra.
Ms. Jeffries, you're suing the defendant
and his mother for damages that you claim Brendan caused
when he struck your car with a golf cart and you're suing him for $5,000.
- Yes, Your Honor. - All right.
- And defendant, Brendan? - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] And your mom, Ms. Hudzik,
it's your claim that the damage to the plaintiff's vehicle was minor,
nowhere near the $5,000 that she's claiming
and you're rejecting any additional monies to pay her
beyond the $500 which you offered and she rejected.
- Yes, sir. - [Judge Levy] All right.
So with that in mind, why don't you tell me what happened?
Well, we had just returned from marching in a parade for July 4th.
My children and I and my little dog were in the back seat.
We were parked in front of my friend's home
and we happen to see this golf cart come out of nowhere
and it was driving very quickly and he did not appear
to have any control over it, and it struck my vehicle.
But then I saw his golf cart, and it appeared
that he had taped his tie rod with painter's tape.
- [Judge Levy] Okay. Well-- - And I...
- Well, let me stop you there. - Okay.
So you noticed that there was some blue,
what appeared to be painter's tape on the tie rod?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] Okay. But clearly,
it didn't look like it belonged there.
- No. - [Judge Levy] All right.
What kind of car were you in?
2016 Mitsubishi Outlander.
[Judge Levy] And how long had you owned that car?
[Lora] Since 2016.
[Judge Levy] So it was new when you purchased it?
- Yes, brand new. - Okay.
After your vehicle was struck, what'd you do?
So I got out of the car and I checked on the boys.
Uh, he was driving with a friend in the cart...
- When you say he, you mean Brendan? - Yes.
- [Judge Levy] Okay. - Mr. Hudzik.
Uh, he had a friend in the car at the time,
so I checked on them and when they said they were okay,
I was like, "Well, you probably need to call your parents."
- And then, they came to the scene. - [Judge Levy] Who's they?
Mrs. Hudzik and her significant other of some sort.
Brendan, how does that sound about so far?
- Sounds true. - [Judge Levy] Okay.
And how long have you been driving?
- Before the accident? - [Judge Levy] Yeah, yeah.
Like two minutes, three minutes.
[Judge Levy] And who was in the car with you, your friend?
Where were you immediately prior to the accident?
Where were you coming from?
His house. We were going to my house.
And how far from his house is your house?
Probably like a mile.
[Judge Levy] You had to drive on public streets?
Uh-uh.
[Judge Levy] So it's on a private street.
- I believe it is, yes. - Okay.
Um, and how old were you, Brendan, at the time?
Fifteen.
[Judge Levy] So you had no license, you had no permit.
Uh-uh.
[Judge Levy] Did you have permission to drive the vehicle?
Uh-uh.
[Judge Levy] Was it the first time you've done that?
Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] I read both your answers and I know that what you put in the answer
was that the golf cart did not belong to you,
- that it belonged to a family friend. - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] How long had the vehicle though, Brendan,
- been at your house? - [Brendan] We went to go pick it up
a couple days before 4th of July.
[Judge Levy] Do your friends have golf carts?
[Brendan] Yes.
[Judge Levy] Your friends drive those golf carts?
Most of my friends are above 16 with a license.
[Judge Levy] So they drive and you know you're not supposed to drive.
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] All right.
Let's take a look at the damage.
Do you see what's up there on the screen?
Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] Is that the area that we're talking about?
[Lora] Yes. And it actually, the impact caused my front quarter panel
to come loose and the whole thing needs to be replaced.
[Judge Levy] Okay. And Brendan, you heard the plaintiff a minute ago
say that she observed some blue tape, like painter's tape around a tie rod,
which is really what connects the steering mechanism
and you knew that there was a problem with that tie rod
because you saw that blue tape that looked ridiculous.
Right? So you knew that there was an issue with that steering mechanism.
- Uh-uh. - [Judge Levy] No?
- I didn't. - [Judge Levy] Ms. Jeffries.
- Yes. - Did you take that photograph?
- I certainly did, yes. - And when did you take that photograph?
[Lora] Uh, right after the accident.
- [Judge Levy] July 4th? - [Lora] Yes.
[Judge Levy] Brendan, does that refresh your memory
- about the way that that looked? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] This, uh, friend of yours who gave you the cart to drive
for July 4th failed to mention
that the car had some type of defective steering?
- Uh-hmm. - Really?
Not a very good friend.
That doesn't make sense.
What about you, Ms. Hudzik? Did that make sense to you?
No. They picked it up from a range, and it had not been driven in years, so...
[Judge Levy] But you knew that it was an attractive nuisance,
something that attracted your 15-year-old son
who had 16 and 17-year-old friends who were driving them legally
and you knew that there was a chance that he was gonna take that cart
with or without your permission. Right?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] Right?
And you had a choice.
You could've disabled it and taken the key so that he could not drive it
or let the key stay with it so that he could drive it,
- right? - Uh-hmm.
Listen, it doesn't make you a terrible kid, all right?
I'm not gonna make any admissions right here when I was 15,
but it doesn't make you a terrible kid.
So now you show up, Ms. Hudzik, and you see the damage to the vehicle.
Tell me what happens.
Um, so I walk over to him, check to make sure that he's okay,
give him a, "What in the world were you thinking?" talk.
Um, he told me what happened.
And what he said was that the steering gave way
and something else about the brakes?
Something the brakes were not, like, slowing down, um...
[Judge Levy] Brakes didn't work.
- Right. - Okay.
[Kortney] Um, Ms. Jeffries and her friend were towards the side
and then we ended up, um, chatting.
Um, and I asked her, you know, like, whatever we can do to make this okay,
like, I gave her my car insurance, asked for her car insurance,
then, uh, she said, "Okay, I think I'm gonna make a police report."
And I said, "Okay." I mean, it's not necessary
but if that's what you want to do, that's fine.
Um, and so then we waited for, gosh, forever in the heat, so...
Brendan, what did you tell the police as far as how that accident happened?
That the--I lost control because the steering wheel broke.
[Judge Levy] Did the officer say anything to you about driving
at 15 years old in a golf cart without a license?
- [Brendan] Yes. - What'd he say?
- Said that I couldn't do it. - [Judge Levy] Yeah.
But he didn't give you summons for it, nothing like that?
- Uh-uh. - [Judge Levy] Yeah. He just wanted
to make sure that you were okay and you knew from then on.
So, at that point, Brendan, did you pretty much know
that you were gonna pay for the damage that you caused to the plaintiff's car?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] So Ms. Jeffries,
you took the car to be repaired or to at least get an estimate.
- Yes. An estimate. - [Judge Levy] Tell me about that.
So I went to the dealership to get an estimate
and it took forever to get them.
[Judge Levy] Well, let me ask you a question.
Why would you go and take a 2016 car
to a dealership to get repaired
instead of just to a collision place close to you?
Because this dealership was how far?
Uh, two hours from my home.
- But that's... - [Judge Levy] Two hours to fix a bumper
that pretty much could have been fixed much closer to your home.
It's just something that didn't make sense to me.
- Do you follow? - So this dealership is in St. Louis
and I'm from St. Louis area, but I moved.
So I'm used to having things fixed where...
- [Judge Levy] Okay. - ... I lived.
[Judge Levy] It jumped out as being somewhat concerning
because one of the things that you're asking
that the defendants pay for is mileage.
But you chose to go a place that was two hours away there
and two hours back, and you made multiple trips.
That was your choice. Judge Acker.
At what point, ma'am, did you decide that
this situation warranted the involvement of law enforcement?
Well, because when, uh, he called his mother,
she was very angry.
She did not offer to pay for the damages. She did give me the insurance...
[Judge Acker] Well, when you say she was angry, was she violent?
Was she using profanity? Was she threatening...
- [Lora] No. - ... you with harm?
No, but you can tell by her face she was very angry.
Yeah. She--you know why she was angry?
Because her dumb son took the golf cart that clearly was not operable
and decided to go joyriding in one of these communities.
I mean, Byrd, do you have your handcuffs?
Because I'm wondering if we can remand this young man
before he causes more harm to society.
Oh, my goodness.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
My friend was there.
Her car was damaged.
And the attitude was, "That sounds like a you problem."
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Lora Jeffries is suing Kortney Hudzik
and her son Brendan for $5,000.
Lora claims Brendan damaged her car
after driving a golf cart recklessly into her parked SUV.
Kortney claims the damages are exaggerated
and Lora is taking advantage of the situation.
Can we put up the picture of the vehicle--
oh, there we go, there we go.
So I gotta tell you, Ms. Jeffries,
how you get from that to $646 for a car rental,
$786 for six round trips
from Steelville to St. Charles,
$540.96 for lost wages,
$704.40 for inconvenience.
You know what, if you could hit a car of mine,
then maybe we could make some real money one day.
Your lawsuit is a ridiculous and greedy overreach.
- Oh, my goodness. I completely disagree. - [Judge Acker] I had never--
I mean, seriously, you got super greedy
and you said, you know what, I'm only gonna give you $500.
There's no basis for you to decide what the remedy is gonna be
when you're responsible for the harm.
But I want you to explain to me why in the heck
that damage to a bumper meant you couldn't go to work?
Because I had to take off work early several times to file the lawsuit.
I had to drive all the way from where I live to St. Charles County.
[Judge Acker] You don't get reimbursed for that in court.
So what I see is somebody who took an unfortunate accident,
a kid's mistake, and decided it was a lottery ticket.
And then, let's talk about this Facebook post
because as I understand it,
are you the one who made the Facebook post?
- I did. - [Judge Acker] I mean, you guys
are really making this kid out to be Charles Manson.
- It's not that serious. - No, no, not at all.
Can you take the stand, ma'am?
What's your relationship to the plaintiff?
- Oh, we've been friends 20 years. - Were you there
- at the scene of the accident? - I was.
[Judge Acker] And did you make this post,
"Asking for a friend, what would you do if you were visiting for the holiday
and was hit head on by an out-of-control golf cart
driven by an unlicensed, uninsured, underage driver?"
So you put that up and then people are like,
"Call the police, hold them accountable."
Why was that necessary?
Because my friend was there visiting at my home.
Her car was damaged.
And the attitude was, "That sounds like a you problem."
- And it's not a you problem. - [Judge Acker] Wait, wait, wait. Stop.
When you say--when you say, "The attitude was a you problem",
or did the defendant say, "I'm not dealing with this.
- That's a you problem." - She did not say that.
[Judge Acker] She never said that.
- However... - But--no.
But--so if that's true, then tell me how we get to let's go on Facebook,
how do we go after this terrorist?
- May I ask... - [Judge Acker] I mean, seriously?
May I ask you when you have an accident...
[Judge Acker] You don't--you don't get to ask me.
You can make a point but I'm not here to respond to your questions.
- [Lora] I understand. - But have at it.
Okay. So it's my understanding when that there is an accident
that the police should be called to document it.
Well, it's my understanding in many jurisdictions
that there's a huge strain on law enforcement resources
around the country.
And most police officers have many other things to do
than to show up on the scene and monitor golf cart dings on bumpers.
- Sure. - [Judge Acker] But honestly,
you know why people get their backs up?
People get their backs up in litigation
when folks who have legitimately been harmed get greedy.
And I think that's what you're doing.
- I didn't wanna sue her at all. - Judge DiMango.
My thing is with you, because yes,
this is a kid mistake but it's with an adult item.
It's like when a five-year-old picks up a handgun
and sees it as an attractive nuisance, picks it up,
and doesn't understand the nature
and consequences of what could happen if he does that.
You're 15.
Your behavior,
your attitude about driving this vehicle was not adult-like at all.
How long were you living in this little community before you got this golf cart?
- Four months? - Four months.
[Judge DiMango] Four months. A few months. All your friends have golf carts?
Uh-hmm.
[Judge DiMango] I'm gonna ask you two things.
Speak with words, don't you shake your head and uh-hmm.
- I want answers. - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge DiMango] So get your hands off the table,
stand up, and answer me like you're an adult.
Yes, ma'am.
You don't need the ma'am part but you need the yes part.
So now you get the golf cart home.
How long before the Fourth of July weekend did you get it back home?
Three days before.
[Judge DiMango] Three days before.
Did you want it for the Fourth of July?
Was it--ma'am, was there some sort of event going on in the--in the...
- There was. - [Judge DiMango] What was it?
We have a neighborhood parade.
There's events like at the amphitheater.
But we did not participate in the golf cart parade.
So you have it three days before and you decide,
at some point, you're going to use it?
And, Mom, don't you think that she has a right to get her car fixed
wherever she wants to get it fixed.
- You understand that, correct? - Right.
[Judge DiMango] And, you know, to say, "Let me give you $500, your deductible,
and then you pay for the rest of it,"
that's really not very appealing to somebody
who's just had their car damaged.
Wouldn't you agree?
I agree, but I would not have gotten my car fixed.
- [Judge DiMango] You would've left it? - Uh-hmm.
See, I could see why you would drive a car now with a broken steering wheel
'cause she's willing to drive a car with a broken bumper.
She said it. You see, because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Why? Because that's how they learn behavior.
The reality is you made the mistake.
You got behind the wheel of a vehicle, a motorized vehicle.
How fast did it go? Do you know?
Because those things go up to 50 miles an hour
if they're souped up the right way.
Do you know how fast that went?
- Top speed of... - [Judge DiMango] Top speed.
Top speed of 20 to 15 miles per hour.
Twenty to fifteen? So yours goes down instead of up.
Fifteen to twenty.
[Judge DiMango] What grade are you in? Because any kid at his age should know...
- [Kortney] You're talking down at him... - ... you go 20 to 25...
- like he's... - ... not 20 to 15. What?
It's like you're saying that
he's like intellectually disabled or something.
So I just--yeah, like you're talking to him like as if he was stupid.
- I'm not talking to him like... - [Kortney] Okay.
... he's intellectually disabled, but I'm not talking to him
- like he's a genius either. - Okay.
[Judge DiMango] Because he should be a little aware of what he did.
He got behind the wheel of a vehicle that he did not check,
at age 15 years old, driving around in a community to which he's brand new,
with another kid in the car, crashes into somebody else.
- I don't call that smart. - Right.
And I will say, he has learned from his mistake,
and so--I mean, he did get the law of the eagle [indistinct].
[Judge DiMango] And how did you learn? Are you willing to pay
for damages to the car or are you still up at $500?
No, I mean, 'cause it went from $3,000 to $5,000.
So every time I got a note taped to my door or a letter,
it was a different charge, so...
This is my last question to you. You can't be greedy.
- When you're greedy, you lose too. So... - I completely understand.
[Judge Levy] Uh, just a couple of things. I'm sorry.
Ms. Hudzik, we're not saying he's stupid.
- Okay. - We're saying he's saying stupid things.
And do you think that you're a bad parent?
I don't think I'm a bad parent, no.
[Judge Levy] So it would seem to me that a responsible parent
in your situation who knows that her son took the vehicle without permission,
but for the grace of God, he just hit a car.
- Uh-hmm. - Yeah.
He just as easily could've lost control and hit a kid.
And you were furious with him.
You knew he wasn't responsible enough to follow the rules of the house,
which were don't drive the damn golf cart, right?
Yes.
[Judge Levy] So when you taped that note on her door on July 24th,
- that settlement note... - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] ... you saw something, didn't you?
I drove around back.
And what did you see when you drove around back?
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
You didn't have liability insurance on the date of the accident
as required by Missouri law.
If you don't have it, I'm dismissing.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Lora Jeffries is suing Kortney Hudzik and her son, Brendan,
for car damages, lost wages, and mileage,
after Brendan drove a golf cart into her SUV,
but Kortney claims Lora is taking advantage of the whole situation.
When you taped that note on her door on July 24th,
- that settlement note... - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] ... you saw something, didn't you?
I drove around back and saw...
[Judge Levy] And what'd you see when you drove around back?
I saw the golf cart in the common area.
[Judge Levy] You damn right you saw that golf cart.
- The blue tape, was it there? - [Lora] No.
- What was there? - They took it off. They took--pardon me.
They took off the golf-- or they took off the painter's tape.
And they put duct tape on it.
[Lora] I was like, "You gotta be joking."
[Judge Levy] Duct tape on it.
She knows it's still sitting there, knows it can be accessed by her son,
who's already demonstrated no common sense whatsoever.
Listen, you're lucky you're not my kid.
Still doesn't mean you're gonna get your 69 cents a mile.
All right. I got nothing.
[Judge Acker] I wanna ask a couple of questions.
You submitted, ma'am, a letter from State Farm directed to you.
- You were the claimant. - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Acker] Because according to this letter,
you didn't have liability insurance on the date of the accident
as required by Missouri law,
and that's why State Farm denied the claim.
So do you have evidence that you did, in fact,
- have liability insurance coverage? - Absolutely.
[Judge Acker] Or more to the point,
do you have evidence that you challenged the findings of this letter?
- [Lora] I did. - Yes.
I actually--there--I believe there's a note on the bottom, 7/28...
[Judge Acker] On a note on the--there's a handwritten note...
- Yes. - ... that says the current policy
not found or not in good standing.
So my name is misspelled, my address is misspelled.
There's a lot of inaccuracies in here.
And I called on July 28th
and I said, "These are the inaccuracies. I would like to have them responded to."
And I definitely do have insurance.
Do you have proof of that now that you can show us?
Absolutely. I can pull it up...
- [Judge Acker] I'd like to see it. - ... on my phone, if you'd like. Sure.
- We don't have to see it now. - [Lora] Okay.
- And I'm not speaking for my colleagues. - [Lora] Okay.
But if you don't have it, I'm dismissing...
- Okay. I definitely am insured. - ... because without having
liability insurance and to go through all of this,
- I mean, that would be... - [Lora] I would agree.
... a horrible joke. So I really do hope you have it.
- Absolutely. I have it, Your Honor. - [Judge Acker] Okay. I'll look for it.
Just please get it and then give it to Byrd.
- Absolutely. - [Judge Acker] Thank you.
Well then, I think we've exhausted this case.
So we're gonna retire to deliberate.
- Thank you. - Court is now in recess.
Parties are excused.
[dramatic musical sting]
All right. So the plaintiff gave us an estimate for the repairs.
It's $2,322.25.
All this mileage nonsense, along with the sixth trip to the court
to file a small claims case, sorry, she doesn't get that.
I mean, it said that it happened that way, that she had to go there,
- but what are you gonna do about it? - Yeah. Right.
[Judge Levy] It's a bumper, for God's sake.
And $700 for inconvenience?
Again, I'm not all that convinced that even if we do award her 2,322.25,
which I believe we should, she's gonna get the bumper fixed.
I think she's gonna pocket the money, but that's up to her,
if she wants to drive around that car the way it is.
So I think that's what she gets, 2,322.25.
I want proof that she had insurance.
- I'd like to see that card... - Okay.
... before I decide whether or not I'm joining or dissenting.
For argument's sake, if she does not have insurance,
- you would--you're gonna... - Then I'm dissenting. I'm--I'll dissent.
And you wouldn't change your position,
'cause I'm not gonna change my mine.
I'm willing to give her back the money to fix it.
I'm just gonna throw out there, if she doesn't have proof of insurance,
she shouldn't have been on the road.
And if she wasn't on the road, then this wouldn't have happened.
Just throwing it out there.
And I get it.
I just think that Brendan's already been taught a bad lesson by his mom.
I would hate for him to even hear that someone thought that what he did
wasn't as bad as what the plaintiff did by driving a car with a lapsed insurance.
I don't think she's saying it wasn't bad.
I think she's just saying there's no recovery
- under these circumstances... - No, but--
I hear the point because--here's where I am.
I could give her a tongue-- I can give her a tongue lashing.
And that might be what I would need to come on board,
because, to me, frankly,
the notion that you are not complying with the laws of the jurisdiction,
somebody dings your bumper
and then all of a sudden you turn it into this thousands-dollar claim...
- Right. - ... I find that offensive.
I also find offensive the notion that this defendant
really did not absorb responsibility for this.
So I think when I look at these equities,
I will--it'll drag me over the finish line to that verdict.
I do still wanna see if she has the insurance.
- Yeah. - And if she doesn't,
- I would like a tongue-lashing. - Done.
- That would make me feel good. - [Judge Levy] All right.
- My pleasure. - [laughs]
[dramatic musical sting]
[Cassandra] Court is now back in session.
All parties are reminded that you're still under oath.
[Judge DiMango] Thank you.
Ms. Jeffries, I understand that you have the information I requested.
Yes. Thank you. May I approach the bench?
- Thank you, Byrd. - Oh. There you are.
- Here. - Right.
Thank you.
Thank you. I am satisfied that that insurer was wrong.
- [Byrd] Here you go. - Thank you.
[Judge Levy] Okay.
Ms. Jeffries, we understand why you did what you did
and why you made the demands that you did.
People who aren't involved in the law might think that it's appropriate,
when you get into a little fender bender with this type of damage,
that you would get reimbursement
for the trips that you make to court to file the small claims action
and things of that nature or the 60 something cents a mile.
It's not what small claims court is designed for.
Small claims court is to decide whether or not they're liable
for any damage that they caused as a result
of their negligence, and you most certainly were negligent.
Having said that, one thing that we did agree on
is that you are entitled 100% to the money that it will cost you to fix that car.
You gave us the estimate for $2,322.25.
It's the unanimous verdict of the court
that you, ma'am, are entitled to just that, $2,322.25.
- Thank you both. - [gavel bangs]
[Cassandra] This case has concluded. All parties are excused.
[theme music plays]
I think some things were misunderstood,
but--just 'cause Brendan was nervous and couldn't really speak ...
... Up.
He seems--
- he seems like a nice enough kid. - Yeah.
She was posting false things
and when I called her out on it, she had no idea who I was.
Yes. I didn't mention names.
I didn't mention who it was, what happened, where it happened.
No one would have known had she not gotten upset
and started putting out personal information.
Uh, it's whatever at the end of the day.
I'm still out a lot of money, and it isn't fair.
[announcer] Got family drama? Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]