You felt something hit your car?
Yes, I saw the car back up into me
and then she proceeds to leave.
Because I didn't believe it.
You weren't sure you hit anything?
With, uh...
- I did-- - I did not hit anything.
This is Judy Justice.
♪
17-year-old Bella North and her mother Angela North
are suing business owner Heather Olson for car damage.
Court to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
Hello, Judge. Case 2092, North versus Olson.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
Let me start-- this is your daughter?
- Yes, ma'am. - Why don't you have a seat
because you actually weren't involved nor a witness to the incident.
- Okay. - Are you the owner of the car?
- No, ma'am. - Okay, why don't you have a seat.
Tell me your first name.
- Bella. - Bella.
Bella, from what I gather from reading the papers,
you and the defendant's daughter were good friends.
Yes, still are.
And have been friends for a very long time.
So not a very difficult case. You were going to visit
Ms. Olson's daughter Lotus, and according to you,
you've done that innumerable times in the past.
- You were also 17 at the time? - Yes.
You went to visit Lotus-- trying to find the date in your complaint,
on April 16th of 2022.
Yes.
And when you got to the house, which you had done many many times before,
according to you, you parked behind the defendant's car?
Yes, I did.
Was the defendant in her car at the time you parked your car?
I did not see the car on when I pulled up behind it.
I turned around for a moment to gather my things to--
my backpack, my charger, everything.
I then looked up and I see the car is on.
I never s-saw anyone.
- You never saw anyone get in the car? - Yes, exactly.
Okay. Now could you tell me what kind of car were you driving?
A 2001 Honda Accord.
- So a very small car. - Yes, sedan.
And you were in a large car, Miss Olson? Your car is a large car?
- - - Yes, Your Honor. - What kind of car is it?
It's a Suburban.
Now, can you tell me why you parked behind her car?
If you parked behind her car, you were blocking her in?
Yes, so I parked behind her car
because Lotus has told me in the past--
You can't tell me anything that Lotus told you.
Okay. I parked behind her car
so that the driveway to my left was free
for people to come in and out
because I am aware that she does have
residents in her home and I--
But that means that she couldn't get her car out,
if you were parked right behind her.
- Correct. - Okay. Now,
is there parking on the street, Mrs. Olson?
- Yes, Your Honor. - May I see that?
No. I don't want it to...
- Thank you. - May I describe what is in the photo?
Well, I'm just asking, is there on street parking here or not?
It's not laid out, but you're allowed to park on the street.
We have also additional parking next door at the neighbors.
They've invited us to park--
No, you can't tell me that they invited you.
I'm just asking whether Miss North
could have parked someplace else.
And the answer is she could have.
It's more convenient to park behind your Suburban.
Now, as you turned around to gather your backpack,
according to your complaint,
you felt something hit your car.
Your 21-year-old car, right?
- Yes. - Would you look up 2001 Honda.
Where did you get the car from?
I got it from a small dealership in my town, Sarasota.
Who purchased it?
- I did. - For how much?
- $3,000. - Okay.
- And you felt something hit your car. - Yes.
And then you looked up,
according to what I read, and you saw the backup lights on.
Yes. I looked up, saw the reverse lights on, waited,
saw the car back up into me, hit my car, I honk.
The car stops, the car then continues to reverse again, hitting my car.
I honk, I honk, they stop.
I then turn back on my car.
I reverse away so she can get out, and then she proceeds to leave.
Okay, and show me what the damage was to your car?
Yes, ma'am.
The Kelley's Blue Book value is $2,500 to $3,500.
So right in the range.
Great.
What is this a picture of?
The two scratches and the dent.
Let me see the whole car.
I do not have a picture of my whole car.
Well, that's unfortunate. I see a scratch.
I don't know if it's scratch. I see some--
There's a hole towards the corner of the light
that was not there before.
- My whole light is-- - You mean this?
Mm-hmm. Yup.
See, where there's a gap in the light-- is supposed to be collided
- with the bumper, and it's not. - Mm-hmm.
It was hit and damaged.
Okay. Did you see her car when you came out?
- No, Your Honor. - She didn't see you.
So you were in the car, I assume,
when she pulled up behind you.
Do you understand?
So she was in her car, in her driveway when you pulled up
in your car and blocked her car in.
If you had seen her in the car, would you have parked behind her?
No.
So you didn't look to see whether she was in her car?
- No. - And she was in her car.
And her car is high. You look up, you have a big Suburban.
You don't expect anybody to be stupid enough to park behind your car.
You're in your car already.
Because clearly she didn't see you pull up because she was in her car, right?
Now, I'm going to ask you because you say you don't remember
hitting something or you weren't sure you hit anything.
Is that your answer that I'm getting?
With-- my other daughter drove up,
parked the vehicle, left it running,
ran inside the house, I ran out
and, of course, checked behind me and drove out.
I asked you a question. You didn't?
I did not-- I did not hit anything.
Well, you don't remember hitting anything.
Correct, Your Honor.
Yeah, because I don't think Miss North would have made up this story.
You had a big car backed out, and you drove away.
Did you see her car pull off when you backed out?
No, Your Honor.
- - - You did not? - No, Your Honor.
When she pulled out, did she go in the same direction
as you did or the opposite direction?
The same direction.
Okay. Did you see her car after you pulled out?
No, Your Honor. Not until two hours later, when we met.
Tell me what happened two hours later.
After returning from my appointment,
I met Bella at the next door neighbors where we parked,
and that's when we examined each other's vehicles.
Well, did she call you?
How did you find out that there was an accusation that you would hit her car?
Because we met at the designating parking spots that we've agreed to park at.
So it was just serendipitous that you met there at the same time,
or had you been in communication, maybe with her or your daughter?
I was at a brief appointment, and when I returned home,
that's where I parked.
And Bella also parked there because that is where we--
Okay. So, when you moved your car,
after the defendant, according to you, hit your car,
- did you park in another spot? - Yes.
Did you park in the neighbor's spot?
I did.
Okay, so that would indicate to me
that you were aware that you were supposed to
or could if there were other cars in a park in the neighbor's spot.
Because otherwise, I wouldn't park in a neighbor's house.
So you were aware you could park there?
I'm never sure when the neighbors are home or not,
and I don't feel comfortable parking at a neighbor's house.
But you did park in the neighbor's spot.
after this happened on April 16th,
you did not pull back into Miss Olson's driveway.
- You pulled into the neighbor spot. - I did.
And then you went into the house
- to visit Lotus, right? - Yes.
Now, Lotus didn't witness this, I assume.
No.
When you met in the neighbor's spot,
did you show Ms. Olson the damage?
I did. We didn't meet there.
We met outside of her house as I was leaving Lotus's house
and she was going in.
I confronted her about it and then--
Tell me what you said when you say you confronted her.
Tell me what you said to her. That's the question.
I said, "Are you aware that you hit something earlier?
That was my car. Do you want to go check it out?"
Is that the conversation that you had with her outside?
No, Your Honor.
Are you trying to tell me that it happened earlier in the year
and your dogs just found the hole?
They had never been out before?
Is that what you're trying to tell me?
- Yes, ma'am. - Oh, I don't believe that, sir.
17-year-old Bella North and her mother, Angela North,
claimed business owner Heather Olson owes for car damage.
Okay, tell me what you said when you say you confronted her.
- Heather knew that she-- - Don't tell me what she knew.
- Okay. - Tell me what you said to her.
That's the question.
I said, "Are you aware that you hit something earlier?
That was my car. Do you want to go check it out?"
- And she said? - "Yes, of course."
- And? - And then she did.
She said, "Okay, the damage will probably be at least $600."
And then she told me to go to an auto body shop, which I did,
and she told me to get an estimate, which I did, and that was that.
Okay. Is that the conversation that you had with her outside?
No, Your Honor.
Tell me your version of the conversation that you had with her.
- Will you acknowledge that you met her? - Yes.
When Bella and I met outside,
she came at me accusing me of hitting her vehicle.
Sorry.
Tell me what she said to you and you said to her.
She did say that I hit her vehicle
and asked me to look at her vehicle damage.
Immediately, I agreed to go look at both vehicles,
and we looked at both vehicles.
We both took photos of both vehicles.
There was minor damage all the way around her vehicle,
and I could not see any damage on mine, and I could not underst--
- Just a second. - Yes.
- Did you look at her vehicle at that time? - No.
- Why not? - We never looked at her vehicle.
We only looked at mine.
- Well, she drove in in her vehicle. - Yes.
Why wouldn't you look at her vehicle?
- - - It was about my vehicle. - No.
We were concerned with my damage.
It was your damage, but you were contributorily negligent.
I understand that. Yeah.
Well, you'd understand that, so you'd want to look at her vehicle, too?
Did you ever have a conversation with her and say to her,
"Take it to a body shop"?
- Yes, Your Honor, that is true. - Okay.
I said, go ahead and see if they can find any damage
that could have been caused by an accident like that,
because I didn't... believe it,
and I didn't remember ever hitting her.
And I thought it would be more like $200.
Bella did come back with an invoice for six or $700.
- And then... - And then?
that was shocking to me because I couldn't believe
that there is any damage just from that.
So it turned out that the body work she was going to have done
was basically her entire bumper and both headlights,
- which is... Seems like a lot. - Which is not the damage
that even assuming arguendo that you caused.
She only showed me a picture of one headlight.
- Yes, Your Honor. - Can I see the estimate that you have?
Do you want all three or just the one that she--
What do you want to tell me, Lotus?
I was a witness to that conversation.
Oh, I'd like to hear it.
- Yes. - Stand up. Move over.
Are you living at home?
No longer.
When did you move out?
I would say the second week of June.
Did you have a fight with your mother about this event?
No, I did not want to get involved.
Great. Okay. Tell me exactly what you heard your mother say.
She said, "This is my auto parts place,
and if you go there, I will pay for those damages."
Okay. Do you remember that conversation?
Basically, that's correct.
That I said, go to this body work person
that I know because I thought he'd see that's silly
- and turn her away. - Well, okay.
But your daughter's making a statement. Is that the statement?
"Go to my body shop and I'll take care of it?"
- Yes. - Okay, fine.
Can I see the receipt that makes it...?
Have a seat, please.
This says "Customer pay zero, insurance pay $795."
In my historical brain of information,
an estimate from a body shop
when they believe insurance is going to pay for it
is always a little bit inflated.
- Did you have your car fixed? - Not yet.
Not yet. Okay. You agreed to pay for the damage.
That's what you agreed to.
I will tell you, if you had not agreed to pay for the damage,
I would find the plaintiff 50% responsible for this accident.
She was as negligent as you were in hitting her car,
and I do believe that you hit her car.
So absent an agreement by you to pay for the damage,
I would actually split this between the two of you
and find the plaintiff at 50% contributorily negligent.
But since you agreed to pay for the damage,
and you acknowledge you agreed to pay for the damage,
I must rely on this bill, which is $795.
Judgment for the plaintiff. Thank you.
- Thank you. - Court is adjourned.
I don't think it caused too much friction as we were never that close.
Still in shock.
Obviously I'm still close with her daughter,
so it hasn't caused too much friction.
I agree with your judgment to give the plaintiff a little bit of money,
but I'm not so sure on the contributory negligence reasoning.
I agree that parking behind someone's vehicle is never ideal,
but if you're going to operate a motor vehicle,
you have to check your surroundings.
I think that people have to be more careful
- when they're driving. - You have to be vigilant.
But, you know, just because there's an accident
doesn't mean it has to be always someone's fault.
- Sure. - That's why they invented the doctrine
of contributory negligence.
I actually think it was just lazy of the plaintiff to park in the spot.
She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings
because she didn't see the defendant in her car.
The defendant ran into her car,
didn't see the little car behind.
I believe that they were equally responsible,
but for the agreement that the defendant made,
I would not have awarded her the whole thing.
I would have awarded her 50%.
Seem like just a case of blind spots and bad timing.
A bad thing. Yeah, that's true.
Case 2078, Ali versus Miller.
All parties please step forward.
Syed Ali is suing dog owner Abraham Miller
for car damage from a dog attack.
Mr. Ali, you bought yourself a Tesla.
- Yes, ma'am. - A new one?
- Yes. - When did you buy it?
- I bought it on 6th of June. - Of this year?
- Yes. - How much did you pay for it, sir?
68.
And there was a loan on the car?
There's a loan on the car, yeah.
So you have full insurance on the car?
- Yes. - What's your deductible?
Deductible is $1,000.
- A thousand. - Yes.
This is what your case is about.
You were going to check on a child's house of yours?
Yes, ma'am. It's my son's house.
I go there every day.
We bought that house for my-- on my son's and my name.
- - - It's from-- - Oh, so it's a house that's
- jointly owned by you and your son? - Yes, ma'am.
But you don't live there regularly?
- I don't live there. - And where does Mr. Miller live?
Uh, he lives on a different street, but his backyard and my backyard,
they meet each other in the back.
How long have you owned that house?
Since, uh...
- 2014. - A long time.
- Long, yeah. - Have you met Mr. Miller?
I met him a few times, yes.
- Mr. Miller, you recall meeting Mr. Ali? - Yes, ma'am, once.
- Okay, but you met him? - Yes, ma'am.
- Before June 6? - Yes, ma'am.
And your son lives in the house.
Anybody else live in the house?
You live in the house.
Is this a tenant in the house?
- She's a tenant. - Yes.
- Does your son have dogs? - No.
- And does the tenant have a dog? - She does.
- What kind of dog? - A Yorkie.
- You have a Yorkie. - Yes.
- It's a small dog. - Yes?
Yes.
So you have one Yorkie in the house.
- And you have two dogs? - Yes, ma'am.
- What kind? - A pit bull breed.
- Pit bull? - Yes, ma'am.
- And the other? - No, both are the same.
Both are the same. One's actually, the mom and the son.
And how old are they?
The mom's ten, the son's about eight.
- And you've had them for years? - Since they were born.
- So June 16, you go to check on the house. - Yes.
Tell me what you saw when you pulled up to the house.
When I went there to the house to check my mail, I saw two dogs.
- Where did you see the dogs? - I saw them in the porch.
- On your porch? - Yes.
Okay. Had you ever seen those dogs before?
No, I never saw them before.
Can you describe them for me?
They're... a big size. They are black and white.
And they're...
One was black and white or both black and white?
No, the one is black and white, and I have some pictures of them.
- Oh, you took photos? - Yes, ma'am.
You took photos of them on the porch
or initially when you saw them?
After I saw them, I was walking out, then I took the picture.
Okay. May I see the photograph?
Take out the photographs of your dogs.
Could you set-- Give me both photographs, please.
- I see one is black-- - And one is white.
And one is fawn color and white.
Are these pictures of your dogs?
Those are pictures of my dogs.
- At his house? - Yes, ma'am.
Okay, so now your dogs are out.
You're not at his house. Just your dogs?
- Just the dogs. - Okay, so now I got it.
So you took pictures of the dogs
- the day of this incident at your house? - Yes.
- And these are your dogs? - Yes, ma'am.
Okay. Tell me what happened with your car.
Most states now exclude certain dogs from their policy.
One that's right on top of the list are pit bulls.
You are aware of that?
Syed Ali claims dog-owner Abraham Miller
owes for car damage after his dogs attacked Syed's Tesla.
Okay. Tell me what happened with your car.
Then I realized that I think maybe I need to get away from them
because they were very ferocious and growing.
And I quietly walked away from them, go to my car, locked myself in,
and I said, "I need to get out."
- So I-- - I saw them. They were jumping
all around my car and biting everything.
They were biting-- what?
Biting the right side of the tire, this side, and the rim and all that.
What your claim is, is that the dogs
caused a substantial amount of damage to your car.
Right.
May I see the photographs of the damage?
Yes, ma'am.
So the car had scratches on it, I see.
And what about the wheel rim? Is that--?
You're also showing me the scratches on the wheel rim?
Yes, th-they were biting all the rims and the tire,
and they went into the front and bit on the bumper.
May I see that?
- Okay. Have you seen the pictures? - Yes, ma'am.
He sent you pictures of damage to the car.
- He sent me some pictures, yes. - Pictures of the damage. Okay.
So now, Mr. Miller, what Mr. Ali is saying is
that your dogs, who he has pictures of,
- that you acknowledge are your dogs, - Yes, ma'am.
caused damage to his car that he had for a week,
that he paid almost $70,000 for.
The dogs were clearly outside of your control.
They were out of your control because you acknowledged
that the photographs of them are without collars, without leashes,
nobody around them,
and the photographs are taken at his house.
I'd like to hear a defense.
Your Honor, there was no way for my dogs to have done the damage.
My dogs are older. One of them has no teeth.
We have to put water and stuff on her food just so she can eat.
The other dog's teeth are filed down.
Both of them are up in age.
My dogs have never harmed anyone.
I have ten cars of my own in my yard,
and I've never had my dogs biting any tires, any damage...
- Mr. Miller... - Yes, ma'am.
That's why they call dogs dogs.
- They're animals. - Yes, ma'am.
Because on one dog,
it looks as if the incisors are filed down a little bit,
still has teeth, but the incisors are filed down.
Is what you're telling me that that was a natural process
or you had them filed down?
No, ma'am. Absolutely not. I would never--
- Shh. Shh. Absolutely not what? - Absolutely natural.
Absolutely natural. Okay. So the dogs still have teeth.
They are smoother rather than sharp, but they still have teeth.
Okay. But that's why they're dogs.
You weren't there to witness this.
So I have to assume that what the plaintiff tells me is true,
because his evidence is consistent with that.
He has photographs of your dogs
outside of your control, no collar, no leash, at his house.
And he said that he took those pictures on the date of the incident,
and he has damage to his car.
Now somebody has that problem,
they don't want to blame the wrong person.
And the dogs he's identified as causing the damage are your dogs.
I'm still waiting for a defense.
You mean the fact that they've never done it before,
- you think is a defense? - No, ma'am. I'm not--
What were they doing outside of your control?
They actually got out of my yard from a previous tenant of his dogs,
that dug a hole up under my gate.
Just a second. So a previous tenant of his had a dog?
- Had several dogs. - Several dogs.
- Yes, ma'am. - Doesn't live there anymore.
Dug a hole under the fence. When did that happen?
That was earlier that year.
Okay. And when did you first discover it?
I didn't realize it until after this incident.
Are you trying to tell me that it happened earlier in the year
and your dogs just found the hole?
They had never been out before?
- Is that what you're trying to tell me? - Yes, ma'am.
Oh, I don't believe that, sir.
You're responsible for his deductible. Did you have the car fixed?
- No, not yet, ma'am. - Why not?
- I-- - I have an estimate, and I approached him of that
and I said, "Let's see if we can do something about this."
- Mr. Ali. - Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am.
- You have insurance? - Yes.
And you have insurance for this type of problem?
Yes, Judge.
- And you have $1,000 deductible? - Yes, Judge.
Did you advise your insurance company?
I wasn't because I was trying to see
what my good friend neighbor wants to do.
- Do you own your home? - Yes, ma'am.
Do you have homeowners insurance?
Yes, ma'am.
Does the homeowner's insurance exclude your pit bulls?
Do they exclude them? I'm not sure.
Well, in what state do you live in?
- Florida. - In Florida.
Would you look up and see-- what's the name of your insurance carrier?
I'm not sure, Your Honor. I just switched, um, insurance companies.
Well, did you have insurance, homeowners insurance in June?
- Yes, ma'am. Absolutely. - You did?
Well, did you inform your insurance company that there was a problem?
- No, ma'am. - Why not?
Because I was trying to get an understanding of what was going on.
I'm just telling you what's going on.
So now you know what's going on. Your dogs caused damage to his car.
Most states now exclude certain dogs from their policy.
One that's right on top of the list are pit bulls.
- You are aware of that? - Yes, ma'am.
And either you pay a higher premium
or the insurance company says we're not insuring them.
You do understand that?
- Yes, ma'am. - Okay, so now you understand.
Does your policy exclude your pit bulls?
I don't think so. No, ma'am.
Well, I don't know, and I don't know how to find that out
unless you can give me a definitive answer, Sarah.
I cannot.
It depends upon the insurance company.
It does.
Yeah, and you don't remember your insurance company.
So, Mr. Ali, he's not paying the $8,000 that it's going to take to fix your car.
That's what you have insurance for.
Okay? But he's going to pay the deductible.
You have insurance.
It's a brand new car because you have a loan,
so you must have insurance, which I'm sure you do.
I do.
Then if you were having a difficult time with Mr. Miller and his insurance,
which I could probably understand,
because it may exclude his dogs from the policy,
you have to advise your insurance company.
And I don't understand why you didn't do that.
But I was going to see if he wants to go ahead and fix it.
Well, he's not paying $8,000 to fix it.
He's going to pay the $1,000 deductible on your policy.
He was suggesting me that he could just go
and get his spray paint and paint that little thing.
- I-- - I didn't like that idea, and I said, "Let's go to Tesla
and have it done by the properly from--
Absolutely. I agree with you.
It's a brand new car.
You should have it done by Tesla...
through your insurance.
- That's true. Yes. - Good.
Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $1,000,
which covers your deductible.
- We're finished. - This court is adjourned.
Animal Control said my dogs were so loving and peaceful.
They showed no aggression to them.
I mean, I like to have people as good neighbors.
Even after they put the--the pole in, um,
in the hoop around their necks, my dogs were wagging their tails.
The neighbor's dog has damaged-- some damage to my car,
and I want the neighbor to be up to that responsibility.
The plaintiff bought a new Tesla and has a loan on the Tesla.
When you have a loan on a car,
you're required by the lender to maintain insurance,
both collision and liability.
This is not a malicious act.
- It was a careless act. - Mm-hmm.
And I think he should use his insurance to pay for it.
I think it was fair. I don't think that
- there was an issue of fact, did you? - No, I didn't.
I think that that was fair because you have insurance for that purpose
so that you don't have to pay $8,000 out of pocket
to fix damage from an accident.
- So he should have used it. - Should have used it.
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