You've suffered allergic reaction from your hair coloring, right?
I had scabs on my ears. It was red and burning.
Why in the world would you just not tell her you have an allergy?
She knew.
Not at all.
I was down and out for two to three weeks.
It affected me emotionally as well.
I didn't enjoy life.
Respectfully, that's ridiculous.
[narrator] Now, on Tribunal Justice.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Today's case was filed in Stuart, Florida.
Your Honor, this is case number 3024 on the calendar
in the matter of Vigeant versus Moralez.
-Thank you, Byrd. -You're welcome, Judge.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
Ladies, have a seat, please.
I'm smiling 'cause I'm looking around the courtroom.
We have more hair colors in this courtroom
than I think there are hair dyes for.
All interesting colors.
This is about your hair being dyed by the defendant.
You say that you developed an allergic reaction afterwards.
She should've used an organic dye, which she knew you required.
She didn't. You suffered substantial pain and inflammation.
You're suing her for $3,000 for that.
What you say, um, Ms. Moralez,
is that she didn't disclose her allergies prior to the session.
Or you would've used an organic product.
In fact, she posted some terrible things about you and your business,
and you have a counterclaim here for $6,000
because you feel that you've lost clients because of her bad review.
Yes.
So, to be completely candid with both of you,
I dye my own hair and I'm allergic to hair dye.
So, first of all, how do you know the defendant?
September of 2023,
I started going to the salon that Jenn was employed at.
Her boss, the owner, started doing my hair.
She has an organic line and a regular line of product.
I told her about my sensitivities. It was the first time ever seeing her.
And it went beautifully for six months.
So, why did you leave?
I went back to a prior hair stylist that works out of her home.
[DiMango] Why?
Because it just started getting a little too hard to make appointments.
She gets busy.
She couldn't do my hair and had to pawn me off to the next person to do.
[DiMango] So, you did work in the prior salon as she said.
-Yes. -[DiMango] Do you know what product
-that they use there? -Yes.
-[DiMango] Was it this? -Yes. Artego.
But there's two different.
This is the organic color line and this is the regular color line.
[DiMango] And the one you used on the plaintiff was the organic?
-[Jennifer] No, it was the regular. -The regular.
We looked through this book and picked it out together.
So now, how often do you dye your roots?
Five weeks. Every five weeks.
So, you then stopped going to her, and you run into the defendant somewhere.
-Is that correct? -[Victoria] Yes.
So, I left that salon, went back to a prior person
I was using before this salon.
Um, I ran into Jenn at a restaurant a couple months after I left there.
She was with people she worked with at the salon.
[DiMango] We have a picture of your salon, in fact.
-It's a very nice salon. -[Jennifer] Thank you.
[DiMango] Okay. Go on.
So, she said, we left the salon as well and we opened up our own place.
She said, you really should come check us out.
-[DiMango] Mm-hmm. -[Victoria] I said, maybe I will.
So, finally I ran into her again though outside of the restaurant at a store.
I said, how you doin' with the new place?
She said, great, come see me.
I said, well, I could use a trim.
I figured in my mind, find out what she's all about,
what product she's using.
If we were gonna move forward. And we were.
So, I'm in the chair. I said, let's do a trim.
We get up, we're talking.
She's looking at her product line.
She said, I remember Priscilla used the organic line.
We're using the same exact line.
Pause. Is that true?
No. Not at all.
[DiMango] Let's assume you're even saying that. Let's take you at your word.
So, she says, oh, yes, I remember specifically you use organic.
-Go on. -[Victoria] She looked up
and I said, well, now that we're on the same page,
let's make an appointment for color.
So we did for two weeks later.
So, I went, and she put it on. And then...
[DiMango] So when you... okay, so, let's pause.
Do you have a special memory of the plaintiff, by any means?
No. She honestly...
I make color cards for everybody with their name on it,
their information, what I use every time, the date, the developer, everything.
We hadn't done color yet, so I don't have a color card to put that on.
So, we just did a haircut.
Did she at that time tell you that she requires you to use an organic line?
-No. -[DiMango] And you admit
you did not tell her when you sat in that chair
you required an organic hair color.
-Correct? -I didn't.
I trusted her, she's a professional. I was confident.
You also used a product, however,
and we have some evidence about that as well,
that says no scalp irritations on the product that you used.
Is that correct? This is not the organic product
because this says here they're using ammonia
and that there's a cream base. It's long-lasting color.
Did you at any time discuss this product with her
as to its benefits or not?
You must carry more than one line of products in your store.
We talked about the Artego. We looked through the book together
-and picked out the color together. -No, we didn't.
No. She looked at my hair while she was doin' the trim.
We discussed the prior visits to the salon she was working at prior.
-She knew. -[DiMango] Okay.
Do you ever ask, do you have any allergies?
Usually people that have hair dye allergies
either tell you or don't get their hair colored.
Well, I usually say, I am allergic to hair dye.
-Please don't rub it into my scalp. -Right.
That's why, I have to be honest with you,
I don't go to hairdressers, because I'm allergic.
And they have a tendency to get it right in your scalp
because they want to get the closest to your roots as possible.
Because they want to do a good job
because they don't want you saying, you didn't get all my roots.
I can still see some gray. So they get right into your scalp.
And so, that could cause a problem with any product.
Putting that aside, you had damage to your scalp.
So now, you're saying your whole life was changed for three weeks.
You had a steroid shot, you had cream to put on your hair.
You can't go on a vacation, you can't go to a bowling alley,
you can't take walks.
What, do you walk on your head? How could you not take a walk?
It's very hot in Florida in September.
If you had a burnt scalp and it was stingin',
and it was itchy, would you want to go out into the humidity
and take a five-mile walk, which I do every morning?
-No. -Well, what you have is some irritation.
And it's not even a major irritation that would stop you for three weeks.
Three thousand dollars you're asking for.
That was six days later. It was still very itchy for weeks.
I am sure it was itchy.
It hurt to comb my hair. My hair was dry. Everything hurt.
I don't see any blisters. Any blisters?
[Victoria] Blisters were on the earlobes, the back of the neck...
You have a picture of that, right, of the blisters?
No. I was so busy dealing with the pain and the urgent care.
So let me see if I get ya. That picture you took, that shows nothing.
But the blisters, you didn't take pictures of.
Your red, swollen, itchy ears you didn't take pictures of
because you were traumatized by this.
-Right. -So, you've never had
an allergic reaction to hair dye ever?
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
All I did was this, for three weeks.
Oh, my God. Are you in therapy?
[narrator] Victoria Vigeant is suing hairdresser Jennifer Moralez
for $3,000 after claiming a dye job made her scalp feel like fire.
Jennifer says Victoria failed to disclose any allergies
and she's countersuing for $6,000 over Victoria's vicious online reviews.
So, you've never had an allergic reaction to hair dye ever?
-Once. Two years ago. -[DiMango] I don't believe that.
Where'd you get the $3,000 from?
What was this trip you didn't go on 'cause you had to scratch your head?
No, it was just quality of life. I didn't enjoy life.
-I hope you-- -All I did was this for three weeks.
God, I hope you don't ever stub your toe.
[Victoria] It affected me emotionally as well.
Oh, my God. Are you in therapy?
Really. What do you do when something serious happens to you
if you can't function because your head is itchy?
Judge Levy.
Ma'am, I want to clarify what you just told Judge DiMango.
That quality of life was diminished.
And it was really so severe that you believe
that $2,755 is a reasonable number for that. Yes?
Yeah. I had to still pay for bowlin' even though I wasn't bowlin'.
-Things like that. -[Levy] I get that.
But didn't you send several texts to the defendant
saying, just give me my money back?
-[Victoria] I did. -[Levy] Right.
All you wanted from the defendant was $170. Right?
Initially, yes.
So, how was it your quality of life changed so much
if you're willing to take $170 to make yourself whole?
Right? And then, your claim now, just because she says, no, go pound sand,
you think you're gonna get $3,000, it's not gonna happen.
But the texts were just not about her not refunding me.
They were about my quality of life for two and a half weeks.
I say, you don't understand. I'm suffering.
I get it. And ma'am, as far as you're concerned...
-Mm-hmm. -You're a business owner.
You see her texts, and you knew that you didn't go through a waiver with her.
-Right. -You have insurance, right?
-Yes, I do. -[Levy] And you are licensed.
-Yes. -[Levy] It's not an issue.
-Nope. -Would it have been safer for you
to simply have done a patch test to ensure that this new client
who you have never worked on before
doesn't have an adverse reaction to whatever you're gonna use on her?
I would if she did not ask me for the specific line of the...
[Levy] Well, there are two lines, right?
-[Jennifer] Right. -It's one line, two products.
One sensitive, and one organic.
-Did you show her the organic line? -[Jennifer] No.
So, you knew that you bore some responsibility as a business owner
for not making sure that things were done in such a way to avoid this problem.
So, when she asked you for $170, you could've said yes.
And you could've avoided all this nonsense.
I'm not gonna lie, I thought that she would, um,
fight the claim on the credit statement. So, I thought she would get twice.
You were worried about her double-dipping.
That... yes.
[Levy] Let me ask you this, Ms. Vigeant.
You say in your complaint that you've suffered allergic reactions
in the past from your hair coloring, right?
Once before.
[Levy] Once before. And the first time it happened to you,
how bad was it?
It was bad enough to go to a dermatologist
and switch the product line I used movin' forward.
I didn't know I had a sensitivity at that time.
[Levy] I want to know more about how bad it was.
Just like this, that I was down and out for two to three weeks.
Couldn't comb my hair. It was terrible.
Two to three weeks, you had to go to the doctor,
you couldn't comb your hair, you couldn't go outside.
Why in the world would you just not tell her you have an allergy?
Not a sensitivity. Because if I understood the testimony correct,
what you got was color for a sensitive scalp.
-Right? -Yes.
Knowing that when you had the problem in the past how bad you suffered.
Why didn't you do that? Because the way I look at it,
you bear some responsibility. Do you think you bear any responsibility?
[Victoria] No, I don't.
We had a talk about it. She's the one who remembered.
Her boss specifically used this line on me.
What was the treatment the dermatologist gave to you that one time years ago?
It was a topical treatment for the itching.
And when was it you first felt your scalp start scratching
the same way as after the defendant's treatment,
as it did your first treatment...
My first text to her after we colored my hair...
[Levy] Yeah. Was when?
Was a good over 12 hours later. The next late afternoon.
Fine. So, 12 hours later you know you're getting that same scratchy feeling.
Why not go somewhere you can get that same topical treatment
so that you can get relief right away?
Because the topical treatment's only for itchin'.
I had scabs on my ears. It was red and burning. It hurt.
My point is that you knew how bad it was.
And you knew how bad it was likely to be.
How long after you started feeling this feeling,
suffering,
until you finally went to go see the doctor?
[Victoria] Five days.
Five days!
Well, it was Labor Day weekend...
I don't care. In Florida, you know what they have all over Florida?
They got the walk-in clinics all over Florida.
But you have to understand, it got worse a little every day
until finally, I said to myself, I need to do something about this.
And I want to make sure that at no time within a day or two of the treatment
did you ever send a text or communicate with the defendant
indicating that, I told you that I have an allergy.
You never said that to her.
I was focused on that we were not strangers.
I went into a salon where she worked for six months.
Okay. So, on August 29th, this is your evidence.
You say to the defendant in text that you wish, quote,
"we remembered to use color for" quote, "sensitive scalps."
That's what you sent her. And what you got was a product for what?
-Sensitive scalps. -[Levy] Thank you. Judge Acker.
[Acker] Thank you, Judge. Ms. Moralez,
I don't think I read in your papers that the reason
that you didn't refund her was because of you were worried
that she was double-dipping. What you said is
that you had some concern about the medical evidence.
Yes. I don't have any of that paperwork.
-[Acker] You never sent medical... -I sent her the last page with the date
and the name of the urgent care.
[Acker] But you didn't send her the page with the diagnosis.
There was so much personal information on it.
Now, I respectfully... that's ridiculous.
You cannot say to someone, you owe me money for this injury,
but I'm not gonna tell you what the injury is.
You know, you could've redacted everything
except for the "patient presents with severe scalp allergy."
It's not proof enough of the money I spent at urgent care?
[Acker] No, you could've gone to urgent care for any reason.
So, you would've been better served to give her some actual proof
that you had a scalp allergy.
And you would've been better served had you received that.
[Jennifer] Absolutely.
To say, I'm gonna write you a check, you're gonna execute a release,
-and we're gonna be done. -Yes, absolutely.
Nobody did the right thing there, so, that's why we're here.
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
So, your lifestyle was not curtailed all that much.
You were able to get up and out...
I wasn't active like I usually am.
Come on, your head was itchy and you had your hands in a bowling ball.
How could you not bowl?
[narrator] Victoria Vigeant claims her scalp felt like red-hot fire
after Jennifer Moralez applied hair dye.
She's suing for a refund, plus pain and suffering, totaling $3,000.
Jennifer is countersuing for $6,000
after Victoria posted a negative online review.
I want to talk about your countersuit
because you have a counterclaim against her
for loss of future clientele, lost wages, court preparation...
And all of this results from the review that she posted.
Let's pull up the review.
Because you're claiming, Ms. Moralez,
that you're entitled to $6,000 because she wrote this review.
I went to Jenn for color.
I've been dealing with a burnt, itchy, scabbed scalp.
I went to urgent care and was given steroids.
Sent proof of my urgent care visit, and you would think
she would at the very least refund that copay amount, right?
So, tell me where the untrue statement is.
So, for the burnt, itchy, scabbed part,
I have not seen one picture to see...
I've never had this problem with anybody. And that alone...
No one wants to come to somebody that has scabbed...
Fair enough. Another reason why in these situations
it's better to try to resolve it at the outset.
Right.
Because on this claim for defamation, it is your burden to prove that is a lie.
-[Jennifer] Right. -[Acker] What evidence do you have
that she's lying here?
Even the urgent care visit does not say what she's there for.
-The urgent care... -[Acker] Doesn't matter. Where's the lie?
Defamation. Where's the lie?
She asked for $70. She asked for all of it.
She said the copay was $70. She doesn't say here...
I think that just as she got a little wound up...
Yeah.
...and turned her $170 damage into a $3,000 case,
you got a little bit wound up and said, you know what, you're suing me,
I'm coming back for you.
But how can you prove how much clientele you lost?
Did you have appointments and somebody said,
you know what, I'm not coming to you?
-I read that you... -No.
[Acker] ...burn people's scalps. You don't have any evidence of that.
So, you can't prove this.
Ma'am, Ms. Vigeant, who's your witness?
My neighbor Ann.
-[Acker] Is this your bowling partner? -Yes.
[Acker] Come on, take the stand.
You missed her during the bowling tournaments?
It wasn't a bowling tournament. We're in a league together.
[Acker] You missed her during league.
And she missed the night.
You did not perform as well, but that's your girl there on the team.
-Correct. -I believe you. You can take a seat.
Okay. Thanks.
Who's your witness?
Um, Kaitlin. She's my co-suite mate.
What does she know? What's she here to testify about?
She was there the whole time during the appointment.
[Acker] Kaitlin, take the stand.
Were you there while the plaintiff was getting her hair colored?
Yes. I do hair and lashes,
but at the time of Victoria coming in, I was doing lashes.
So, did you hear any conversation between the defendant and the plaintiff
prior to the time the color was being applied?
No, 'cause I was doing lashes.
But at the end of my lash bed is where we keep these two books.
So, I saw her pick out the book and bring it over to her and talk.
Did you see the plaintiff review the book?
[Kaitlin] They were both holding it.
And it's your testimony, ma'am, that you never saw that book?
No. She said earlier she remembered what color I used at the other salon.
But it's the first time she's seeing you. And it just strikes me
that if somebody's never colored my hair for the first time,
I would want to look at the book
because there's so many shades on the palette
that are really nuanced and different. So, it's hard for me to believe
-you didn't see that book. -Shh.
But I have a question for the defendant about one of your texts.
Because you said August 30th, Ms. Moralez,
hey, I apologize, this was my first time coloring your hair
so I didn't have a color card for you yet,
and had that written down. And then you said,
I remember you did tell me one time I think, when I cut your hair.
I definitely needed a reminder but I put it in your notes
and written down on the color card.
When you say, I remember you did tell me one time,
what were you referring to?
'Cause I wasn't really sure.
[Acker] You're like, I think I remember...
Like, I have so many clients that that's not something I would...
Like, literally, I don't think we talked about that.
I just know she definitely asked
if we carried the same line as my previous salon.
-No, I didn't. -Which I absolutely do.
You were proud to say you carried the same line of product
from your prior salon.
[Acker] All right. That's a factual dispute.
-Mm-hmm. -[Acker] That's all. Thank you.
[DiMango] Let me ask you something, ma'am.
How often do you bowl, by the way?
[Victoria] Every Monday night.
Every Monday. Because it's interesting,
you said you were incapacitated for three weeks, right?
You said she missed "the night."
So, she was able to bowl on the other nights.
-So, your... -I wasn't able to bowl. I went.
-[DiMango] You didn't get strikes maybe. -I went and I didn't bowl. I went.
But I thought you couldn't function. I thought your lifestyle was so cut off...
I went to see the group and say, hey, I can't bowl tonight.
And then you what, you didn't stay?
I sat and watched them.
So, your lifestyle was not curtailed all that much.
You were able to get up and out...
But I wasn't active like I usually am.
Your head was itchy and you had your hands in a bowling ball.
How could you not bowl?
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
What'd you say to her when she told you about her hair?
Well, I live right next door, and I...
So, you heard the scratching?
[narrator] Victoria Vigeant is suing hairdresser Jennifer Moralez
for $3,000 after claiming a dye job made her scalp feel like fire.
Jennifer says Victoria failed to disclose any allergies
and she's countersuing for $6,000 over Victoria's vicious online review.
When you went home and 12 hours passed and you started to get the itch,
what did you do?
I texted her.
[DiMango] Did you do anything else to your head?
-No, I just... -[DiMango] You didn't wash your hair
to get any of the hair dye off your skin?
That's the first thing you do. In fact, you told her,
wash your hair again. Sometimes there's residual hair dye
-left on your scalp. -To make sure, mm-hmm.
[Victoria] I did, not till Sunday.
-How many days afterwards? -Three.
I mean, I don't understand how you felt so comfortable not doing that.
By the way, where do you go for your hair?
You can step up. Where do you go?
Do you go to the defendant for your hair?
No, I only just started using my sister, I want to say two months ago.
-'Cause I was dying my own hair... -She have a salon?
No, I mean, I've been doing it for 20 years.
[DiMango] What'd you say to her about her hair?
Well, I live right next door.
So you heard the scratching?
-I'm just kidding. -[Ann] Scratching. She was miserable.
[DiMango] Okay. Thank you very much.
Anybody have anything else they'd like to ask?
The witnesses can take their seat.
We're gonna retire to deliberate. Thank you.
Court now stands in recess.
This case will be recalled. Parties are excused.
Beginning with the countersuit, I think we're all on board
the fact that there's no cause of action. It was truthful, whatever she said.
I mean, her reaction and what she wrote was just factual.
I had a reaction, I went to a doctor, I paid a $70 fee.
It happened after I came out of her office.
And there was no evidence she lost any clients as a result of that,
or lost wages. So, my inclination would be to dismiss that.
-I agree. -Right on board.
With regard to the hair, I think the plaintiff,
if she had such a severe reaction as she claims she had
at that one time in the past, even if you're using an organic product,
these things still cause a reaction to people with sensitive skin.
She never said she had an allergic reaction,
she said she was sensitive. I think that they spoke.
I think she had an obligation to inform the hairstylist,
and I don't think she's entitled to anything.
I agree. I think that she could've done a lot more.
That she could've done something. She did not.
The text messages were clear. She only said that she had sensitive skin.
And she got a product for sensitive scalps.
She didn't even wash her hair. The first thing you would do
is try to get it off your skin. Wash your hair when you go home.
So, let me throw this out. No duty of care by a hairstylist
who's applying chemicals to make sure the chemicals aren't irritating?
I don't ask that rhetorically.
I'm inclined to think that imposing such a duty
would be going too far. But for me, it's worth considering.
It's a best pract...
-Best practices, not a duty. -Right.
-That's my feeling. -Yep.
I think that's right. That feels right.
Best practice would always be to ask.
-Great. -Okay.
Court is back in session.
I remind parties you're still under oath.
[DiMango] Thank you, Byrd. Did you just see me scratch my head?
Because I dyed my hair a few days ago, I swear to you.
It's a little... It's a little bit itchy, still.
-I do it because I don't have much choice. -[indistinct] helps.
I'm either gonna be gray... [laughs]
or have some color.
I do it subconsciously all the time.
[DiMango] So, the bottom line is, I would never not tell somebody
that I am allergic to hair dye.
Because I don't want to have an allergic reaction.
So, we're unanimous. We really felt that that was the way this should happen.
Would be better for you to actually ask everybody who sits in that chair...
-[Jennifer] Absolutely. -...are you allergic to this?
Please fill this form out. I'm putting it on the card. Absolutely.
And then there's also the reviews. You know, you've gotta know
that when you have people come to see you,
they're gonna write reviews for anything you do or don't do.
And you've gotta live by those reviews sometimes.
So, that being said, with regard to your counterclaim,
we are all in agreement that we're going to dismiss it.
Okay.
She didn't say anything in that that wasn't true.
As for your claim, you really had an obligation
to tell people you have an allergy, not just that you're sensitive
because you know what they always say? And I've had this happen.
Oh, this is for sensitive skin.
And I say, I have more than sensitive skin, I have an allergy.
So, the bottom line is, we're not gonna give you anything either
on your main complaint. We're gonna dismiss it.
We're dismissing both cases. And I think you should proceed
with that cautionary message to each of you.
So that's the verdict of the court. Thank you.
-[gavel bangs] -[Jennifer] Thank you.
[Byrd] This case is now concluded.
Parties are excused. You may step out.
I believe that the defendant got away with it.
I did not torture her.
She knows who I am and what I use.
I would never want to hurt anybody.
I just want to make sure my clients are happy and healthy.
If she had just refunded me initially, I probably would've let it go.
Victoria? No, I will not have her back.
[narrator] Have you been scammed?
Let the majority rule in your favor on Tribunal Justice.
Find us on social media.
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