You had some sort of a problem in a shower
- in your house? - Yes, your honor.
The damage to her wood floors, resulted the day after
he touched it. When you left, it was still going to be leaking?
Did you tell her that? You're trying to sell me that story,
I have a bridge I want to sell you.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
Carla Czako is suing plumbers, Robby Shelton and Scotty Foy,
for water damage.
[Rasco] Court come to order. All rise.
Be seated, please.
Hello Judge. Case number 2077, Czako versus Sheldon/Foy.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
Ms. Czako, you had some sort of a problem in a shower in your house?
- Yes, your honor. - Tell me briefly what the problem was.
I had a small dribble coming from around a shower valve
that was in my master bathroom shower.
Tell me what valve it was. You know, I'm not a plummer.
Well, I have a picture that I'd like to show you.
Just make circle where the problem was.
I believe it was the top one.
Thank you.
Who is Mr. Shelton?
Change places with each other.
Thank you.
Okay, and you saw a water drip?
Yes, very fine little drizzle coming from it.
[Judy] You saw water dripping and according to my complaint, you had seen,
around the neighborhood, a truck, Foy's plumbing.
- Yes, I have. - [Judy] And that's how you got
- to Mr. Foy? - Correct. My neighbor had used him.
[Judy] Did you speak to the neighbor, or did you just remember seeing the truck?
- No, I spoke to my neighbor. - Okay, could you tell me on what date
you noticed the leak and on what date you spoke to the neighbor?
Probably on the tenth or so of December.
That was in the shower that you don't use, but your husband uses?
Correct. I'm widowed, so I don't--
- [Judy] So who told you about the leak? - [Czako] The housekeeper.
Okay, and then did you check it yourself?
- Yes. - [Judy] And this small leak had been
there for a couple of weeks before you got to Mr. Foy?
- Correct. - After you spoke to the neighbor
and confirmed that this neighbor had used Mr. Foy...
- Mm-hmm. - [Judy] When you called Mr. Foy,
- did you actually speak to him? - No.
- [Judy] Who did you speak to? - It was a woman that answered the phone.
[Judy] Who answered the phone? Do you know?
- Alma did. - I'm the office manager.
[Judy] Okay, could you stand up please? Tell me your name.
My name is Alma Valdez.
- [Judy] And you work for Mr. Foy? - Yes.
- And you have a plumbing company? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] How many employees do you have in the company?
Right now, only 3.
- He's not one one of them? - Yes, he's one of the employees.
[Judy] How long has he been an employee?
Well, on and off, fifteen years.
What does that mean, on and off?
A couple times he went to work for another plumbing company and came back.
Was he an employee of your company, pay careful attention,
- in December of 2021? - Yes, he was.
- [Judy] Okay. And paid on the books? - Yes.
- [Judy] Is he still an employee? - Yes he is.
Do you recall receiving the call in December from Ms. Czako?
Yes, I got a call from her, on I believe it was December 28th,
saying that she had a leak and so we set up an appointment for the next day.
Do you remember the conversation you had with her?
Did she tell you she had been recommended by a neighbor?
You know, I don't recall. We did set up the appointment for the following day.
- [Judy] That would be December 29th? - Yes.
- [Judy] Have a seat. - Thank you.
[Judy] Okay, Mr. Shelton was the person that Mr. Foy sent to you?
- Correct. - [Judy] And you were a full-time employee
of Foy's plumbing. Tell me what happened when you got there?
Well, when I first got there, I noticed water running out of the handle.
It was dripping out of the handle because it had been there since December tenth?
It was kinda... It was streaming out.
It was a pretty decent stream of water coming out.
[Judy] The plaintiff doesn't use that shower correct?
- Correct. - So, the first thing that someone
would have done, even me, is turn off the water.
- Is that what you did? - Well, I wanted to go see
what the leak really was.
- [Judy] Well, you looked? - Yeah, first and then I went out
shut the water off. And then came back in to pull the cartridge to identify
And there's no markings on the plate, so I couldn't really tell what brand it was.
We do carry a variety of brands, but more of your typical...
You're getting too technical with me, sir.
- Okay. - This is what the case is about. He came
in, out, the same day. The 28th. He said he didn't have the part.
You have other complaints about his behavior on that day.
You say he was a little bit off. He left without a different part being put in
and you called another plumber? When?
I called, actually, my contractor, that night
to come over and look at it. He came over in the morning
- with the... - So he didn't come over that night.
- He came over the next day. - Correct. The next morning he gave me
- a referral. - [Judy] No, you can't tell me what
he gave you. He's not here.
It is your claim that because of the actions of Mr. Shelton,
which are attributable to Mr. Foy, who owns the company,
you suffered severe water damage
in your house, causing you to have to replace
substantial flooring in the house and you want Mr. Foy to be responsible?
- Correct. - You have insurance?
I just want to make sure. You do have insurance? You're a company.
We're licensed in the State of California. We're required to carry insurance.
That's what the case is about-- you want the company to be responsible.
They did not come back and fix the problem. Someone else did.
But by the time it was remedied, water had already seeped through
and under the floors. You have evidence of that.
Mr. Foy says that's not his problem.
So I'd like you to tell me what happened on the 29th when Mr. Shelton came.
What time did he come in?
I think he came around 12:00, 12:30.
So he came in, went to the bathroom. Looked at it.
Um, took out the cartridge. He did turn off the water.
And then he said he had to go look for the part.
He left. He was gone for over an hour.
Returned and said I don't have the part, they don't have it.
And as he's talking to me, his phone rings again
and it's the plumbing place and they say "Oh, we have the part."
He left again, for another hour.
He comes back the the third time and he says they still don't have the part.
By this time, it's like three hours have passed, and I'm sitting in my living room
and I hear tools dropping in the shower.
I said to him at one point, do you think you need to call
for somebody else. Some help?
And he said, "No, I can handle this."
- Did he leave? - Five o'clock. I'm waiting,
I have a friend that shows up at my house, 'cause we were going for dinner.
And I said, "Well, we have to wait for the plumber to leave."
And she goes, "There's no car out front of your house."
- You didn't know when he left? Okay. - No, I did not know when he left.
Did the shower look as if it had been put back in place. Did it look...
pretty much like this?
It was like that, but the stream of water that was minuscule before
was much stronger.
- Okay, that doesn't actually help you. - [Czako] No.
That hurts you, because he said, "The water was a pretty rapid--
- is that what you told me? - No, a little...
Just one second. Could you read back, Whitney, how Mr. Shelton
described the water?
He said, "It was streaming out, it was a pretty decent amount of water coming out."
[Judy] Yeah, you said it was pretty decent when you got there.
And I am correct Mr. Shelton,
that when you left the house that day, you had not found a part to fix it?
- Is that correct? - Correct.
And I am correct, that when you went to disassemble it, you turned the water off?
- Yes. Yes. - [Judy] Because it was leaking.
And then you didn't fix it, because you didn't have the right part?
- And then you turned the water back on? - Mm-hmm.
Uh-huh. Don't speak.
Did you tell her that those where her options?
- - - Yes. - No way.
- - - It would still be leaking. - No way did you say to her,
"This shower is still going to be leaking."
[announcer] Carla Czako claims plumbers, Robby Shelton
and Scotty Foy,
owe for damage from a water leak.
Now, when you left, on the 29th, without putting in an appropriate part,
because you couldn't find it,
this leak, which caused you to turn off the water,
because it was a pretty significant leak.
You turned the water back on?
The reason why I turned the water off,
because you have to take the cartridge out.
If I left the water on and took the cartridge out...
- Would it be-- - Listen, Mr. Shelton,
- I know and that's why I turned the water. - Mr. Shelton. Mr. Shelton.
You're not being a two process thinker, sir.
Let me explain something to you. I came to California from Connecticut.
To the place where we live in California.
I walked into the master bath, to the toilet.
A viola. I see a puddle of water around the toilet.
I say to myself, "Self, you went to law school.
"You don't know what this is. But it's not a leak
"that's coming from the back, it's a leak
that looks like it's coming from the bottom."
So I called engineering, fortunately I live in a place
where somebody will come up. They came up right away.
The first thing they did was turn off the water.
Smart, just like you did.
Then they opened up the problem,
looked at the problem. and said, "We need a part."
Unfortunately, those are not the same parts that we keep in the hotel.
"We'll have to order it." Turned off the water.
Use a different bathroom.
For the two or three days it needs to get the part.
You weren't there, so just pay attention to me, Mr. Foy.
You weren't there. I'm just letting you know what common sense is
living on the planet for a long time.
If you have a leak that's caused by a faulty part
and you don't fix the part because you don't have the part,
- you turn the water off. - May I point something out?
He had to turn off the water to the whole house,
because there is no shut off to the shower.
- [Judy] Just a second. - He had turned the water off
to the whole house ad he had put this cartridge back
before he turned the water on.
What difference does it make if he put the cartridge back?
He has taken the cartridge apart.
- No. - In order to see what it was.
- He took it out of the wall. - [Shelton] He took it out of the wall,
Mr. Shelton, if your employee-- and if what you're saying is accurate,
which I don't actually think is accurate, because every room in a house
usually has a turn off valve, especially in the bathroom--
so you don't have to turn off all the water to the kitchen
and to other bathrooms, perhaps, if there's a problem in the shower.
There's a master lever for the whole house and then there are smaller levers
- for each. I don't... - For everything except the shower, ma'am.
What do you mean for everything except the shower?
The shower does not have an individual shut off.
You do indeed have to shut off all water to the house.
The vanities, the toilets, all have individual angle stops,
but the shower does not.
Where you ever at the house?
- No, ma'am. - No, so you were never at the house.
- [Foy] No, ma'am. - How many square feet is your house?
It's 2,500.
That's a substantial house. So you're telling me
in a 2,500 hundred square foot house,
if you have a leak in the shower, you have to turn off all the water
if you want to turn off the shower water?
- Yes, ma'am, that's absolutely correct. - [Judy] That's absolutely correct.
- Having not been there? - Yes, ma'am. I build houses.
No, no, no, no. I don't care if you build. You weren't in that house.
This has no shut off, ma'am. Other than the whole house.
You have to shut the water to the house off to shut that off.
So, now here's my question. Did you tell the plaintiff
that she had two options? Either to shut the water off
in the whole house until you could get a part
because there was still a leak, or you could leave it on
but you have to watch it, because according to you,
the water was substantial that was coming out.
She said it was a trickle. You said, oh, no, no, no.
It was a steady stream of water.
And that was before you started messing with it.
So my question to you is did you tell her that those were her options?
She's not a plumber. That you had to either turn off all the water in the house
and you would return the next day with a part,
or you could leave the water on but it was still going to be leaking.
- Did you tell her that? - Yes.
- It would still be leaking. - No way.
- No, no way, Mr. Shelton. - It was leaking when I left.
[Judy] No way did you tell her that. No way did you say to her,
"This shower is still going to be leaking,
"because I can't shut the water off just to the bathroom,
I have to shut off all the water in the house."
If you're trying to sell me that story, I have a bridge I want to sell you.
- 'Cause I don't believe it. - There's no way to isolate that valve.
- [Judy] I didn't ask you that. - When it comes to the shower...
- You were never there. - ...or the tub.
- Just a second. You were never there. - You can't turn it off, individually.
[Judy] I have this question for you. How many bathrooms do you have in your house?
- Three. - When he left the first time
and he shut the water off, did he indicate to you that you couldn't use the water
- anywhere in the house? - Yes. I believe he told me at first
that he was going to shut off the water to the house.
Okay, so you knew-- so you couldn't use any other of the toilets in the house?
- No. - Okay, you maybe getting better.
When he left, did you use the bathroom?
- The answer is yes. - Yes.
So you knew that the the water had been turned back on?
- Oh, absolutely. - [Judy] In the house. Just a minute.
So you knew the water had been turned back on in the house
even though he didn't tell you I'm turning it back on, you knew?
And you knew he hadn't fixed the problem?
- Correct. - So you knew that you better watch this,
which is why you called your contractor to come and look at it?
- Correct. - You're getting better, Mr. Foy.
You're coming into a better place, you see?
Things work themselves out.
Now, you know that the water is still dripping. You know there's still a leak.
- Correct. - You know that if you use the water,
that water is still going to be a steady stream coming out.
You didn't get another plumber there until when?
- The next morning. - Well, that's your contractor.
- You said he came. - No, I got a plumber there
- the next morning. - Okay, and they came and did
- they fix the valve? - They had to open the wall
to cap off the hot and cold water.
- So it was a big job? - It was huge. I neglected to say
it in the beginning, but when he took the shower valve off,
he looked in the wall and he said, "It's dry in there, you're lucky."
So, that next morning when I walked into the master bedroom and I was
- walking in wet, I did call the guy. - Foy.
- Mm-hmm. - Now, tell me where you felt it
when you walked into the master bedroom. Do you have wood floors there or carpet?
It's all wood and it was right as I got to where the bathroom
and the master bedroom meet.
- There's no door. - So, it was outside that it was wet?
I thought my dog had an accident on the floor.
And prior to the 29th, it's not getting to look good for you again.
- Prior to the time Mr. Shelton... - May I clarify.
The room that she's talking about, the shower's here.
Robby's working in the shower,
- where it's all tile. - [Judy] You weren't there.
- We never went into her bedroom. - Yes, you did. You have to.
You can't tell me that, 'cause you weren't there.
Is the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom?
So to get to the master bathroom, you have to walk into the master bedroom
- and make a left. - [Judy] Okay, now Mr. Shelton,
you recall saying to the plaintiff, when you looked in the wall,
"You're lucky it's dry in here"?
I said it looks dry. I'm not an ex...
Just a second. Mr. Shelton, you wouldn't have said to her,
"It looks dry in here. I'm not an expert."
- Expert in water damage. - [Judy] That you say--
Yeah, I didn't... You can't really see into that wall, 'cause it's tiled, right?
You can't really look into the wall unless you open it, but there was no reason
- for me to open it. - Evidently you're wrong.
Either you were wrong that it was dry,
or when you put the thing back together again, something didn't work.
After he touched it, it was no longer leaking in the shower.
Now it was going through the wall.
I'm just telling you that's the time sequence, unless you believe in
miracles.
[announcer] Carla Czako has accused plumbers, Robby Shelton
and Scotty Foy, of causing water damage to her home.
Robby and Scotty claim the leak had been there for weeks.
Mr. Foy, you have a lot to say for someone who was never there.
Someone who's been a plumber for 40 years.
I've been alive with houses for longer than you've been a plumber,
and there are certain things from just being on the planet.
This leak was first detected more than two weeks before your plumber got there.
Right, that's what she says. However, within that two week period,
there was no water damage to the wood.
The only time there was water... Listen, you can shake your head all you like.
- This is the time we got... - We got called because
- there was a leak, ma'am. - [Judy] No, you got called
- 'cause there was a leak in the shower. - According to her, it was leaking for
- ten days. - Mr. Foy, Mr. Foy-- what I'm telling you
is he would never tell me that when he got there, he noticed
anything that would suggest to him that he best keep the water off in that house,
because there was water damage.
He didn't notice that. He just took it apart, couldn't find a part,
put it back together again-- whichever way he put it back together again--
and the next morning there was a flood. Now, that's the time sequence,
because she called you the next morning. Couldn't get you at eight thirty.
I don't know whether she used the house phone. I don't know if she used a cell--
- A cell phone. - [Judy] Cell phone. So she would have
a record of calling you at 8:30 the next morning, because there was a problem.
She felt water. So before your technician got there, there was no water
coming up in her bedroom on the wood. And that had been water dripping--
he says a lot, she said it was a trickle-- for 18 days.
Into the shower, ma'am. It was dripping into the shower.
Until he touched it. After he touched it, it was no longer
leaking in the shower. Now it was going through the wall.
I'm just telling you, that's the time sequence, unless you believe in...
Miracles. Things that, you know, just happen.
Something had been going on for 18 days, and there was no incident of water damage
in her bedroom. Your technician comes. Doesn't fix the problem.
But takes it apart, puts it back together again, then the next day--
voila, there's water damage on the wood, which has to be replaced.
Now, either that could have happened by itself,
because your technician says it's not my job. I don't look behind the wall.
But he did acknowledge saying to her,
"It looks dry in here."
He does acknowledge saying that. Now, if I had a plumber
and the plumber said, "I'm not the expert."
I had a leak in my apartment with a leaky toilet.
The floor started to go like this.
Couldn't figure out where it came from.
They came down, they pulled all the walls apart
in the apartment. Water travels down.
I said, "Well, if water travels down, why don't you go look at
"the apartment above me
instead of pulling out the walls on the side?"
Well, if something doesn't make sense, it's usually not true.
Can you, Mr. Foy-- and you were not there.
Could you give me another explanation of why?
Because I believe her. This woman is not faking damage to her wood floors
that resulted within that day. If he left at four o'clock in the afternoon,
the next day she called you at 8:30, so during that time period
was sufficient water that came through her house to cause damage to her floors.
Give me another explanation.
I contend it was a leak that was there.
- She didn't notice it. As she said... - [Judy] No, no.
she didn't use that bathroom. She never-- she wasn't in that room.
- He was in that room. - I know, but what I'm saying is
- the water damage was there... - [Judy] He was in the room.
- before he was there. - So your explanation is
that you sent a technician there. Now it's not looking so good for you, Mr. Foy.
Your explanation is your technician
didn't notice sufficient leaking
from that valve, to say to her
"You best turn the water off in the house and not use the water
until I get back to fix it."
He wasn't looking in the bedroom, ma'am. He's in the shower.
He saw the leak in the shower.
Can I see pictures of the floor please?
- Can I say something? When I left... - Sure.
it was not leaking. It was leaking the same way it was leaking when I got there.
- Out the front. - Well, just a second. That's a lot.
- [Shelton] It was coming out. Well-- - According to you. According...
- According to you. - Well, what a lot to me is...
- A little stream is a lot of water. - Mr. Shelton, listen, Mr. Shelton.
Listen Mr. Shelton.
She said a trickle. You said, "No, it was a steady stream."
- A little stream. - That's steady?
- Steady stream. - Steady stream.
That's what you said, right?
Can I see pictures of the floors, please?
Between four o'clock and 8:30 in the morning.
Can I see the bill to fix it, please?
I also have the person that fixed it. He wrote what he did.
- Oh, yeah. - Kind of itemizes that.
Would you show this, please, to the defendant?
Yes.
Thank you.
[Judy] So, Mr. Foy, I assume you have insurance. You should have used it,
because I think you're responsible for the damage to her floors.
And I think that was done because your technician did not do an adequate job
protecting it between the time he found the leak
and between the next day. Nothing else makes sense to me.
$3,589. Judgment for the plaintiff.
- Thank you. - [Rasco] This court is adjourned.
I don't really agree with it because it was already leaking
before I got there and she admitted to it.
I'm just thankful this is over.
That is a wood floor. Water could have been underneath
the wood floor and not showed itself.
You would think once they pull up the floor, there would be mold.
- I have nightmares about leaks. - Got justice today. Thank goodness.
So, you tell me that there are houses that you know
- where there is a master switch? - Yes.
That you have to turn off the shower.
I know that it can be expensive to have all the valves in your house
be the individual shut off valves.
I do think it's safer, but honestly, not everyone has the luxury
of being able to afford them.
- Even if that's the case... - Mmm-hmm.
...you should give the homeowner who called you--
say, "Listen, there is a leak here.
"I can shut off all the water until I return tomorrow
so you won't have any water in the house overnight."
He didn't give her that option, and I honestly believe
that what he did-- in according to the second plumber's report
was accurate-- he didn't put that valve back on
the same way that it was. So between four o'clock in the afternoon
and the next day, which is, you know, 15 hours,
that water was gushing from the inside
- where it had not before. - Mm-hmm.
But I think he actually didn't put the valve on correctly.
- That's also possible. Yes. - The broken one.
- And just put it back on and said I'll... - Either way, they were negligent.
- [Judy] I think so. - You have to pay for that.
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