[Judge DiMango] You breed French bulldogs.
She wasn't gonna pay me and I never got nothing.
We never talked about money.
Did you make any derogatory or racist comments?
I guess, yeah.
I mean, I'm not saying I'm perfect, so...
What was it like being racially vilified?
I had a mental break pretty much.
How do you stoop to a level where you insult everybody?
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in Delray Beach, Florida.
[Byrd] Your Honor, this is case number 2022
on the calendar in the matter of Meneses versus Pettway.
- Thank you, Byrd. - You're welcome, Judge.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
Ms. Meneses, you breed French bulldogs?
Yes.
[Judge DiMango] You had some puppies from a litter.
And, Ms. Pettway, you work in an animal clinic as a receptionist,
- and that's how the two of you met. - Yes.
[Judge DiMango] And you actually sold her a French bulldog for $2,000.
- Yes. - You did this pursuant to a payment plan.
And after six months, all she paid was $150.
And I have a photograph here of you, ma'am, holding her.
And that's the dog with her sibling, I would guess.
[Joneisha] Correct.
[Judge DiMango] What did you name the dog?
- Pink. - [Judge DiMango] Pink?
Okay. So you say there was no payment plan.
You just agreed you were gonna pay whatever it is you could pay
when you could pay it.
And then she started demanding payment and so you gave the puppy to your cousin
and she refused to take payments from the cousin.
In fact, she even had a police officer call
and basically threaten you to give the dog back.
You feel, at this point, you owe her nothing.
Tell us how this unfolded.
How did you first encounter her?
As--April of 2023, that's when I took my Frenchies to get their shots.
In that particular litter, how many dogs did you have?
- Six dogs in total. - Six dogs.
So the first time you go in April, what did she say?
She said, "I'll make payment arrangements.
I can't afford the whole thing but promise to pay."
And I agreed with her and I said, "Well, every time you get paid,
you can pay me like 200 or even a hundred,"
but she never called me.
- She never... - So I'm gonna pause you.
How much did you make a week?
Probably about $450 a week.
Okay. So you knew that's gonna cost you how much money?
We never came up with a actual agreement when we first met.
[Judge DiMango] She never told you $2,000?
She--we--she kept-- like, first, she said $3,000.
Then like another time she came, she said a different price.
- Then she kept going... - So what did the--
what was the last price that she gave you?
She said, "I'm about to give the dog away for free."
Let me ask you something, how much really do French bulldogs go for?
About $3,500 and up, especially a girl.
- A girl is more. - [Judge DiMango] Yeah.
- Girls are more. - [Katherine] Yeah.
Because, of course, women are more valuable.
- Exactly. Thank you. - [laughter]
[Judge DiMango] So you take a female,
and the bottom line is a woman who isn't your friend,
you don't really know you think is gonna give you what, a $3,500 gift?
Please. In fact, we have text messages here
where you, in fact, agree to make these payments with her.
Would that be correct, Ms. Pettway?
Yes. Um, but as I stated before, we didn't come up with...
[Judge DiMango] You write here, "Hey, my love.
I just paid rent and my bills.
But the next check, I should be able to give you more money."
So you knew you had to pay her.
Um, well, originally, when I got the dog, she said,
"I'm about to give the dog away for free."
That's what made me agree.
She says, "If you can't afford to drop her,
bring her back and I'll refund you.
Or you could have said, I can't afford it.
Would have just been nice and say don't worry.
I don't wanna tell my daughter that I gave a puppy away for free.
She would have a fit."
In other words, what she's saying to you is if you don't give me any money,
I'm gonna have to explain to someone that I gave this away.
And you're saying, no, you don't have any money for her.
And she says, "That's wrong.
I thought you were straight. I was like she works at the vet."
I'm not gonna read the rest of what you said after that.
- All right. - [Judge DiMango] The bottom line here,
after this, she says, "I've got someone who wants to pay.
You have not attempted one time to contact me.
I was not about to give her away."
Originally, before we left-- like before I left my job,
the fact that she said, "I'm about to just,"--
she said that none of the dogs are selling.
"I'm about to give the dog away for free."
Once she said that, I said, "Well, if you're giving her away for free,
then I'll come get her today after work."
She said, "Okay, I'll text you my address."
I gave her my number. She texted me her address.
I went over there to pick up the dog.
When we picked up the dog, we never explained--she never--
we never talked about money.
She gave me the dog. She gave me the paperwork.
She said, "Pay whatever." She didn't say pay--well, yeah.
[Judge DiMango] She said pay.
And then, at some point, you say you gave it to your cousin, correct?
Yes. And then she actually tried to make payments with her,
but she said that she didn't wanna deal with her.
[Judge DiMango] How did she do that?
'Cause I gave her number.
Did anybody try to make payments with you?
They did but I said, "I made the deal with her."
I didn't wanna make the deal with nobody else.
She could have sold her elsewhere, and she says it in here.
- You had a buyer, right? - I wanna keep her too. Yeah, exactly.
[Judge DiMango] How much did you get for the other puppies?
- About $3,500 and up. - [Judge DiMango] So she...
And I--and I actually did sell them all, so...
She could have sold that puppy for $3,500.
You didn't have a right to say,
"I'm gonna give it to somebody else who will pay you $2,000."
When I did try to give the dog back,
she actually the one who said, "Well, you don't have to.
If you say you could send me something, then you can send me something."
We did have my cousin reach out trying to pay her.
But I was going through a lot of stuff.
- I lost my car--yeah. - [Judge DiMango] I know. You know what?
I see it right here. This is you.
"Money has been tight and we discussed before
that I can make payments when I can.
I'm not rich.
We talked about this.
You said it yourself,"-- this is you, of course, thinking.
"You were about to give her away for free."
And, of course, she follows that up
with explaining that that's not what she said,
- correct, ma'am? - No, not what I meant.
I mean, I don't think you thought you were gonna get the dog
for $150, did you?
- No. - [Judge DiMango] No.
So you knew you didn't really carry through your end of the bargain either.
Yeah. She just said-- when she say pay whatever,
I just was-- thought I was doing the right thing,
which was actually trying to give her what I already didn't have.
So that was money that I didn't even have all the way.
But in truth, over six or seven months,
you never had even $10 more to give her?
I probably could have but I thought that would have been kinda...
[Judge DiMango] Yeah. So, see, that's my point.
When you take on an obligation and you kind of really say,
"I don't really care," are you a good person in this situation?
Judge Levy.
Ms. Meneses, are you a good person in this case?
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
Explain to me how you are not a bald-faced liar.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Dog breeder Katherine Meneses,
claims Joneisha Pettway owes her $2,000
or the return of her French bulldog puppy.
Joneisha says she agreed to pay Katherine whatever and whenever she could.
Ms. Meneses, are you a good person in this case?
Yes. I believe so.
[Judge Levy] And you've done nothing wrong?
- [Katherine] No. - As the plaintiff in this case,
you know it's your burden to prove that you're entitled
to what you're asking for, $2,000, right?
That's the price that you claim,
you agreed on with the defendant for this dog.
Yes. Correct.
[Judge Levy] Show me a contract, a bill of sale, a text message,
an email in which you and the defendant agreed
for you to sell and for her to purchase this dog for $2,000.
- Oh, I got it right here. - [Judge Levy] Yup.
Not the total price on there but...
[Judge Levy] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
In order for you to win this lawsuit,
you have to prove that the meeting of the minds
included the price of the dog.
I'm telling you I have nothing.
My colleagues have nothing.
I don't--well, actually it was worded by mouth, so...
- So you don't have anything... - [Katherine] No.
... in writing but you heard the defendant a moment ago,
Ms. Pettway, who said the price was never discussed.
What she said was you first wanted $3,000
and then you dropped it down to $2,000.
- Do you remember her testimony? - Oh, yes.
[Judge Levy] Was that truthful or was that a lie?
- Oh, that's truthful. - [Judge Levy] Right.
A moment ago, you told Judge DiMango that these dogs go for $3,500, right?
- And up, yeah. The... - [Judge Levy] Right.
But you couldn't sell the dog for $3,500 when you gave it to the defendant, right?
Actually, I could. That was a-- that was a lie that she state--stated.
I could sell the dogs.
Well, no, you hadn't up to that point sold the dog for $3,500.
- Uh-hmm. - That's why you say that you offer $2,000
and she agreed, right?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] But she's saying
that you never said a price and you are denying that
- 'cause you did set a price. - No. I set a price over the phone.
- That's a--that's a lie. - [Judge Levy] You did say a price, right?
- Correct. - [Judge Levy] And you know that
and you are as sure of that fact
as you are about the rest of your testimony.
Yes. Correct.
[Judge Levy] You can't think of any text message
that you sent the defendant that contradicts that claim, can you?
- Uh, no. - [Judge Levy] Really?
- I mean, I gotta look through... - [Judge Levy] Why don't you take a look
on your plaintiff's exhibit number three, a text from August 17th.
Plaintiff, "I gave you the Frenchie, nobody else.
I have your cash.
I have your money right now.
I don't want payments from anyone else.
I will keep her myself.
Someone was interested and has full amount.
I never said a price."
Explain to me how you are not a bald-faced liar.
- Explain that to me. - I did say it after--afterwards.
I'm not asking whether you said it afterwards or not.
- Well, you could... - [Judge Levy] You sent her a text...
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge Levy] ... in which you said
and admitted that you never set a price.
So when she testified to that a moment ago with Judge DiMango,
- she was being truthful. - [Katherine] Uh-hmm.
[Judge Levy] Now, there was another text
the defendant sent to us and it was in July.
You said, "I thought you were straight.
I was like, oh, she works for a vet."
That's where Judge DiMango stopped.
But you went on, "Oh, she works at a vet.
She will not Jew me."
- That's the text that you sent, right? - Correct.
[Judge Levy] What'd you mean by that?
That she will pay the full amount of the, you know...
Right, 'cause Jews don't pay the right amount.
- They don't pay the full amount. - I guess, yeah.
[Judge Levy] And you're the good one in this case, right?
- No. - [Judge Levy] Okay. Good.
I mean, I'm not saying I'm perfect, so...
Well, we're far from perfect.
- We haven't even got in there yet. - [Katherine chuckles]
Did you make any other derogatory or racist comments to the defendant
during this whole incident in which you claim you were the good guy?
- Uh, I don't remember. - [Judge Levy] No?
Could we please play defendant's voicemail?
[Katherine] Neisha McNeishy.
You're a real hoodrat.
You said you would call me after work,
you ain't got no job 'cause you're no longer working at [...].
'Cause I emailed the manager and she called me back.
So they know about you that you're a dog thief.
So that [bleep] not cool and not right.
And you're pitiful.
That's why you can't do business with Black folks.
Los burros. Yeah, that's what we call you, burros.
- You can't do business... - [Judge Levy] Stop. Stop it.
That's why you can't do business with Black people.
That's why we call you burros.
What's a burro?
Black folks.
Dumbass. That's the way it's used in a derogatory fashion, right?
- Yeah. - [Judge Levy] Yeah.
You're the good guy in all this, aren't you?
And there came a time though, according to your text,
that someone offered you full price, $3,500.
Yes.
[Judge Levy] And that's when she was having her cousin
offer to pay you money consistent with what the original agreement was
and you said, "I don't want money from anybody else."
That's correct. I didn't--I didn't--I didn't...
Right, because you had someone now who was willing to give you 3,500.
But the dog ain't yours anymore.
You already sold it without ever being a meeting of the minds.
If she wants to, she could simply say,
"Listen,"--as she has, consistent with the text messages.
She said, "I should pay whatever I could."
And it was only when she was offered a full price
that she rejected my cousin's offer to pay what she could so that you can get money.
How do I get that wrong?
How is that inconsistent with the evidence that we have?
I mean, as of what terms? I mean...
[Judge Levy] As--what do you mean as of what terms? As what I just said.
- How did I get that wrong? - You didn't. I didn't...
[Judge Levy] I didn't. That's all I wanted to know.
- Judge Acker. - [Judge Acker] Thank you, Judge.
Did you ever think about just taking the dog back to her?
[Joneisha] Yeah. Like I tried to say earlier,
I did try to give the dog back a couple times.
When we had phone conversations, it changed and it always end up,
"Oh, just keep her, you know?
I understand what you're going through."
Once it got to the point where I was continuously
getting harassed with letters being put in my mailbox,
threatening that she knew where we live...
[Judge Acker] Didn't we have that in evidence?
- [Joneisha] Yeah. - [Judge Acker] "Hey, I found you.
I want that puppy back."
- Did you send that note? - Yes. Correct.
- [Judge Acker] You left it in her box? - Uh-huh.
[Judge Acker] Ms. Pettway, you gave the dog away to your cousin
after only about a month.
Why?
I had a mental break pretty much while--
like I had--when--like I--and I moved in with them 'cause I ended up
getting kicked out of my home, so I moved in with them.
So they were helping me with the dog.
Between being threatened, between being racially slurred,
between being the subject of venomous hatred,
what was it like being racially vilified?
Like I--like I even told her as well,
like when they kept calling me, I'm like, "You guys--you guys are doing too much."
Like--and my anxiety and everything, it was getting worse.
And, you know--now, I tried--
we actually did talk and I was telling her,
you know, "Hey, I'm going through this mental problem.
You know, I'm losing everything." She was like, "Yeah, that's probably karma
'cause you didn't-- 'cause you took the dog."
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
You committed a crime.
You acted in concert with someone else to impersonate a police officer.
Congratulations.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Dog breeder Katherine Meneses
claims Joneisha Pettway owes her $2,000
or the return of her French bulldog puppy.
Joneisha says she agreed to pay Katherine whatever and whenever she could.
How many other dogs were in the litter, ma'am?
There were six dogs in total.
[Judge Acker] Did you sell the other dogs?
Yes, I did.
[Judge Acker] How much did you sell each of the other dogs for?
I sold them for about 2,500.
- [Judge Acker] Each one? - Uh-hmm. Correct.
[Judge Acker] Let's back up because you're changing your testimony midstream.
I sold the first one and that was $1,000.
[Judge Acker] A thousand dollars?
- Not $3,500. - No.
A thousand dollars.
- Now, what about dog two? - [Katherine] 2,500.
2,500? Dog three?
- 2,500. - [Judge Acker] Dog four?
- [Katherine] 2,500. - [Judge Acker] Dog five?
[Katherine] 2,500.
- [Judge Acker] Any evidence of that? - Uh, no.
- Just your testimony. - Yes.
Which has already proven to be inconsistent.
I have nothing further.
I have a few questions for you because I get you're upset
if you think you had a deal that fell through,
but how do you stoop to a level where you insult everybody?
And your testimony regarding the price of the dogs--
you know what you told me when I first asked you what'd you sell them for?
Do you recall what you told me?
- When... - You told me $3,500.
- No. I say they go for $3,500. - No. And I asked you,
"Did you sell them?" And you said, "Yeah." "For what?" And you said,
- "$3,500 but you told..." - [Katherine] No.
I misheard. I said 3,500 and up they go for, yeah.
[Judge DiMango] I know what you said.
I gave you a chance to tell your story.
- Uh-hmm. - [Judge DiMango] Judge Levy.
[Judge Levy] Ms. Meneses, what I find to be more concerning
is what you did by trying to get her fired from her job.
Could we play the first voicemail please
when the plaintiff starts off by calling the defendant a hoodrat?
[Katherine] Neisha McNeishy.
You're a real hoodrat.
You said you would call me after work.
You ain't got no job 'cause you're no longer working at [...].
'Cause I emailed the manager and she called me back.
So they know about you.
That you're a dog thief.
[Joneisha] I got fired because of it.
- [Judge Levy] And you're the good guy. - No.
Can we also play the second voicemail please
from this fake police officer?
[man] Hello, I'm looking for Neisha.
This is the Delray Beach Police Department.
We're calling about a dog.
Um, we got a report of a stolen dog.
Um, you need to return the dog
or we're coming to get you.
[Judge Acker laughs]
We're calling about the dog of Kathy Meneses.
Um, if you can like...
return the dog or we're out to your house to retrieve the dog.
Thank you.
[Judge Levy] And you were there when he made that call, right?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] You committed a crime.
You acted in concert with someone else to impersonate a police officer.
Congratulations. I have nothing further.
Ladies, we're gonna retire to deliberate.
We will return shortly.
[Byrd] Court now stands in recess.
This case will be recalled. Parties are excused.
[dramatic musical sting]
Well, this is a perfect example of what things appear to be.
They not always are, that's for sure.
Comes off looking like I sell you my dog.
You know it's a reasonable price.
You're gonna pay $2,000, and then it explodes.
'Cause I left it out. I intentionally left out...
- I know you did. I know you did. - ... when she said
about bargaining and calling a Jew.
I intentionally left out the wording
to try to deal with just the contract itself
without all the anger in it.
But the bottom line here is there was no contract.
There was no meeting of the mind.
There wasn't really an agreement by the defendant on any level.
She knew she had to pay more than 150,
but, in truth, it was like I don't know how much more.
But then to let it devolve into what this became,
which was this really criminal behavior with the phone calls and messages
and the harassment, the racial slurs.
I mean, I see no reason at this point to return the dog
or to give her any money back.
There was no contract. She never met her burden.
Just looking at it from stepping back,
I think the defendant may really wanna look
into civil or criminal remedies.
[Judge Levy] I agree 100%.
My sense is that the defendant never wanted to proceed
against the plaintiff for anything
sounding in harassment or anything like that
because she's an eggshell defendant, she would be an eggshell plaintiff,
just meaning that she has enough issues going on.
She didn't need the aggravation.
But it's the reason why people come on to Tribunal
'cause they know that we'll eventually get to the truth.
So having said that, I believe that the defendant
and her family got a Frenchie bulldog for 150 bucks.
[Judge Acker] I do too.
Racists get the benefit of their contracts too.
But we didn't have a contract here. So there you have it.
- All right. - That's it. We're unanimous.
Thank you.
[dramatic musical sting]
[Byrd] Court is back in session.
I remind parties you're still under oath.
- [Judge DiMango] Thank you, Byrd. - [Byrd] Uh-hmm.
You know, cases in a courtroom are very much like life.
Not all things are as they initially appear to be.
And the advantage to having three people on the bench
is that each person has an opportunity
to address a different aspect of what goes into a case.
Ms. Meneses, we can take your testimony and your complaint.
We can take those as evidence of an apparent deal
for the sale of Pink.
But on the other hand, your testimony, Ms. Pettway, was very clear.
"I knew I had to pay but I didn't know what I had to pay."
And that's where this falls flat on its face.
There was no meeting of the minds.
There was no contract.
But then when you add to it what my colleagues each spent
a great deal of time pointing out about who you are--
when you add to it, you know what that does for all of us?
It makes us happy that the law is consistent with what the person is.
It makes us happy that you lose, but you lose on the law.
So, ma'am, the verdict is to dismiss your case in its entirety
and to leave this cute little dog
with the person who is not like you.
That's the verdict of the court.
[gavel bangs]
This case has concluded. Parties are excused.
You may step out.
[theme music plays]
I thought they were wrong. I'm not a racist.
She absolutely took it too far.
Who wouldn't say stuff like that in trying to collect your money
and your property, your dog?
It was very stressful.
Don't make payment plans with nobody.
The light'll come out at the end of the tunnel, right?
But she did take my puppy.
[announcer] Have you been scammed?
Let the majority rule in your favor on Tribunal Justice.
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["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]