Why you hitting me in the face?
Because I want my DOG!
Explain that to me.
When I barge in I'm just like, "Give me my dog so I can leave."
I never once put my hands on him.
That's what happens when foolish young people decide to own a dog together.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Jasmine Jones
is suing her ex-boyfriend, Jushua Caldwell,
for the cost of a French Bulldog.
[Bailiff] Court coming to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
- Hello Judge. - [whispers] How are you?
Case 2120. Jones vs. Caldwell.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
[Judy] Miss Jones, you and the defendant were in a romantic relationship...
- Yes. - ...that started about a year ago.
- [Jasmine] Yes. - More than a year ago.
And then you decided to do one of the most foolish things that people do
when they, sort of... fall in love,
sometimes temporarily. You decided to buy a dog, together.
According to you the relationship went south
and now we have this adorable dog that you want back.
You say the dog is really yours, you were the one
who was its primary caretaker, you paid for a vet bill.
Mr. Caldwell said that's not the case,
the dog was always supposed to be his, he purchased it, and...
it's your argument that if Mr. Caldwell is allowed to keep the dog,
that you be reimbursed for the vet bills that you paid.
- Yes, ma'am. - Okay.
Did you and Mr. Caldwell live together?
- Yes. - [Judy] From when to when?
From February 1st of this year to September 3rd.
And in what month did you decide to get... the dog's name is Scrappy?
- [Jasmine] Yes. - Scrappy?
We got Scrap... we got Scrappy, um, January 18th.
- So before you moved in together? - Yes.
[Judy] Where were you living?
I was going back and forth from my mom's house to Jushua's.
I already had a key in January.
- I was staying there, but... - Okay, but you were living
- with your mother. - Yes.
- In January. - Yes.
And who was the breeder of this dog?
Did you buy the dog from the breeder or from...
From the breeder, Andrew.
Now, Andrew is sitting over there on the defendant's side,
so I assume that Andrew is a friend of your boyfriend's.
Yes.
Stand up, Andrew.
- I have a couple of questions for you. - Okay.
- That's Scrappy. - [Scrappy snorts]
- Yes. - [audience laughs]
[Judy] Scrappy is about eight months old?
He just hit a year about two, three weeks ago.
Oh, so still a puppy.
- Yes. - Looks very healthy.
When Scrappy was purchased, was the amount paid for him
the same as was paid for the other dogs in Scrappy's litter?
- No. - How many puppies were in the litter?
- Five. - Did you charge Mr. Caldwell...
- or Miss Jones for Scrappy? - Mr. Caldwell.
How much did you charge him?
$3,000, Your Honor.
- Who paid you? - Jushua.
Mr. Caldwell. Did he pay by check or cash?
Cash and Zelle payments.
[Judy] Did you ever see Miss Jones in the purchasing process?
Yes, I seen her.
- Tell me about it. - At the time,
when they came to pick up the dog, she was his girlfriend,
but there was no connection with me and the dog.
Was that the first time you had met her?
I've seen her around, 'cause we would work at the gym together,
we're both personal trainers, so, I would see her around the gym sometimes.
Had you discussed with
- your friend, Jushua... - Yes.
...while you were working with him, you're personal training at the gym,
had you discussed with him getting a dog?
Yes.
- When? - I can't recall the exact date,
but I know that he had seen that I'd bought my dog
and that I was getting into the business,
so, he contacted me early in say, 2020, stating that,
"Hey, I wanna eventually, when you have a litter, get one of your dogs from you."
Do you remember what month that was in?
I'd say... well, Scrap was born October 2021, so...
around then, maybe a couple months before when I let him know
that the female was pregnant, so maybe around July, August.
- [Judy] Okay. Of 2021. - Yes, Your Honor.
Okay, so, that was well before the two of you lived together.
- Yes. - Did you ever hear from Miss Jones?
Did she ever call you before...
you saw her when they both came to pick up Scrappy?
- No, Your Honor. - Okay.
You can sit down now.
[Judy] Cute! Miss Jones, who paid for Scrappy?
Me and Jushua.
Show me.
I have here Zelle and Venmo payments to Jushua.
The first one is in February and then he didn't start asking me
- for large amounts... - [Judy] Hold on one second. Hold on.
These don't look like anything like payments for the dog.
Look at those payments. $100, $500, $350 in June.
What were those for?
They were all payments toward Scrappy. He started asking me for 200...
- $350 at that time. - You mean after you already had the dog?
- Yes... - Of course, you've got the dog.
Yeah, but he didn't pay for him straight up.
And his friend told us that we could pay for him at-will.
He didn't give him money the first day that we picked him up.
[Judy] Okay, I'll go back to you.
How much money did Mr. Caldwell pay on the day he picked up the dog?
[Frederick] Zero dollars.
When was the first time he made a payment? Now you can stand up again.
[Scrappy growling]
He made a payment shortly after, within the first month... of about $300.
So, in January, he made first payment...
- ...of $300. - [Judy] And in January
there is no Zelle payment from you. At all.
When was the next payment? Do you recall?
I believe in March he paid another $200...
Well, do you have records of what you paid, sir?
- Yes. - [Judy] I'd like to see them.
I just want to see what you paid and when you paid it.
By the way, while he's looking for that, when you lived with Mr. Caldwell
did you both contribute to the rent?
My contribution to the rent was paying for the groceries,
so, I have all my receipts.
So, the answer is, you did not pay rent.
That was our deal.
- Me doing the groceries... - But the answer is, you did not pay rent.
[Jasmine] No, ma'am.
Did you pay any utilities?
Only when he asked me for extra money to pay his phone bill
or to pay for the wifi, sometimes.
[Judy] And when you paid for these extra things,
the wifi or his phone bill, did you pay by cash or did you pay by...
The extra charges in there that I didn't highlight.
The ones that are $20, $30, those are for gas.
Um, the $70 one is for his card...
Well, I just want to know how you know the payment in July...
for $200, what it was for?
I was only giving him money at that time for Scrappy.
He started asking me for large amounts of money for him,
so, that's when I gave him those.
He didn't ask me for anything towards bills
- for that apartment... - Is Scrappy totally paid for?
- [Frederick] No. - How much is owed?
$2,300.
So, the only amount that was paid so far was $700.
Yes, Your Honor.
[Scrappy grunts]
This is what happens, cos relationships come and go, you know,
Fifty percent of the marriages in this country fail,
so, why would you think a relationship is gonna last as long as a French Bulldog?
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Jasmine Jones
claims her ex-boyfriend, Jushua Caldwell,
owes for the cost of a French Bulldog.
Jushua is countersuing for vandalism and an assault.
Okay, and this is an agreement
that, "I, Jushua Caldwell, have agreed to buy Cashmere..."
That was his name originally.
"...from Frederick Wright. Once the dog's paid in full,
I will receive full ownership rights.
Frederick Wright will remain the rightful owner of Cashmere
until I complete $3,000 in payments."
- Right? - [Jushua] Correct.
[Judy] And both of you signed this, and this was in January of 2022.
That's a reasonable...
- What are you laughing at? - I'm not laughing, I'm just like...
when did he even sign that? Because I was with him the day that we picked him up,
- and he never showed me any contract. - Well, but this is reasonable.
Because he's not transferring any rights to him.
He's going to remain the owner. He's the owner of the dog.
Until the full amount is paid for the dog of $3,000.
Right now, he said that the only thing was paid was $700.
Go ahead, now I'll hear you. Now I got it. Now you can sit down.
When I was present for us picking up Scrappy and purchasing him,
it was word of mouth contract. There was no paper signing.
At all. He didn't even show me a paper.
- And? - [Jasmine] And he showed me him,
he asked me if I liked him. I said, "Yes,"
and he said he would go half on him with me.
[Judy] Okay.
And I said, "Okay," and it was that same day.
I get off of work. He picks me up. We go see Scrappy,
didn't know we were going to get him that day.
We ended up getting him that day. He tells me,
"Okay, it's just gonna be $3,500." They walk to the back of the room
and start talking and making an agreement.
- Come back out... - [Judy] Okay, so, just a second.
So, they went in the back of the room.
You were not there. That's what you just told me.
They went in the back to make an agreement.
And then they came out.
Is... that's what...
"He tells me it's going to be $3,500.
They walk to the back of the room, make an agreement."
[Judy] Right. Go ahead.
And then he comes back and we take Scrappy home.
The next day he texts me
early in the morning and tells me that Scrappy might have gotten a bee sting
or... something because he was limping and he doesn't know what happened.
I picked him up from his job that afternoon, after I got off of work.
Okay, so you picked up the dog from his work.
Yes, picked him up and I went straight to my mom's house to get clothes,
'cause I was going back to his house.
And I was examining Scrappy. No swollen paw, no bee sting.
Then he said that he probably clipped his nail on the tile
and I'm just, like, looking at his paw
and I'm like, there's nothing wrong with it. But he's limping.
Those were his stories. Still don't know what happened.
Scrappy wasn't showing any signs of, like, pain, he was just limping.
So, I was like, we need to...
we need to take him to the vet, like,
- he needs to get checked out. - So, you took him to the vet.
- Okay, and? - [Jasmine] Yes.
The vet ended up telling us that
- he had a fractured... - You can't...
You can't tell me what the vet told you. I'll look at the records from the vet.
[Jasmine] Oh! Okay. Sorry.
I have the vet bills and the reports right here.
Did you pay any part of these vet bills, sir?
- Yes. - Which parts?
I don't have any record of it, because I didn't see it coming.
I honestly didn't know what happened to his elbow.
Um, Andrew was there as well. We were both kind of like, we don't know.
So, I found out after going to the vet that Frenchies have a... a...
like, a ligament in their elbow and this happens often.
No one is suggesting that anyone abused the dog.
- [Jushua] Okay. Oh, I just... - That's not the suggestion.
My question was a simple one.
Did you pay any of these vet bills?
- Yes. Yes. - They're about $1,600.
- I just don't have any record of it. - [Judy] How much did you pay?
- [Judy] What? - He's lying.
I didn't ask you to interrupt.
You have to understand, Miss Jones, you can't have this dog.
First of all, this dog doesn't belong to either one of you.
This dog belongs to him.
Until the dog is paid for.
So far, all he's gotten for the dog is $700.
Five hundred dollars of that, he paid for.
But right now, I can't award ownership of the dog if there's a contract.
That until this dog is paid for, this dog belongs to Mr. Wright.
- First name? - Frederick.
Frederick. You understand?
- Yes, ma'am. - Simple.
So, you have a friend who has Frenchies?
Then I suggest that you go with your original plan,
- which is to buy a dog yourself. - It's just...
- not the same. - Now,
you have no proof that you paid any of these vet bills.
I just have the medicine with my name on it.
Well, the medicine with your name on it doesn't help.
$1,600 in vet bills.
And you have physical custody of the dog now. Right?
- Right. - And your agreement with Mr. Wright
is that you don't get ownership of that dog
- until the dog is paid for. - Yeah.
I mean, I can't enforce your contract with regard to Miss Jones.
The dog was not paid for.
I've already offered to pay him
for the remainder of whatever Jush hadn't paid him.
The contract is with Mr. Caldwell, not you.
So, that's what happens when foolish young people decide to own a dog together.
And they're not married, they don't even live together.
This is what happens, 'cause relationships come and go, you know,
fifty percent of the marriages in this country fail,
so why would you think a relationship is going to last as long as a French Bulldog?
It's sort of ridiculous and I've advised against it for the last 25 years
nobody wants to head the... so, I'm faced with the situation where...
when did the two of you break up?
I left on September 3rd.
And now we're a couple of months... what?
Uh, she didn't leave. She had to be...
well, this... is going to go into the assault charge.
- [Judy] I don't... - But...
- [Jushua] she had to be escorted out... - [Jasmine] I did leave.
Whatever. If... I don't care. You wanna...
- [Jasmine] ...clothes... - You... shh
I'll get to the counterclaim in a second.
I will give it the same attention as I've given her claim for the dog.
She's not getting the dog back. You have to, however,
pay her the $1,600 that you paid for the vet. Do you understand?
- Yes. - So, that part
of your petition is granted.
Was the bill all paid?
I'm still paying it off currently.
We both agreed to apply for care credit together and whoever...
But it's your bill that you have to pay.
If you work in accounting, you have a check...
- Yes. - ...you don't want that garnished,
- so, you have to pay it. - I am paying it.
You have to pay it. Okay.
And he's going to reimburse you for that. $1,600, all right.
Now, let's get to this counterclaim and make short shrift of it.
Money owed for assault and vandalizing personal belongings.
Let's start with the assault.
Allegedly the assault took place when the...
Plaintiff came home intoxicated.
I'm a kickboxer.
On September 3rd she came to my fight and...
she dropped me off at home.
[Jasmine] That's a lie.
[Judy] If you say it again,
what I'm going to do if you interrupt, Miss Jones,
again, what I'm going to do is I'm just going to dismiss your claim.
And you'll pay for these vet bills yourself.
- Do you understand? - Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] Okay. Go ahead.
She didn't like the people that was at my fight there, and, uh,
so she had a couple drinks, she get to my house
and she started to fight with me. And...
I tried to remove myself from the fight and then she started getting violent.
So, then I called her family to come pick her up
and they showed up maybe an hour later.
In that hour, I tried to remove myself to another room.
She went and got scissors and started cutting my shoes up.
Then I had to try to grab my shoes and Scrap and go into the opposite room
and she came in there and was trying to fight me.
All the while, all this happening,
I'm recording her on video to make sure that I'm...
- You have that recording? - Yes.
I'd like to see it.
This would be me asking her just to leave.
- I can... I can... - This whole thing is out of retaliation.
What are you about to do?
Are you hitting me in the face?
Record me?
Because I want my dog?
She won't stop fighting me.
I've asked her to leave.
Explain that to me.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Jasmine Jones
is accusing her ex-boyfriend, Jushua Caldwell,
of owing vet bills for a French Bulldog.
Jushua is countersuing,
claiming Jasmine assaulted him.
Okay. You have that recording?
- [Jushua] Yes. - I'd like to see it.
This would be asking her just to leave.
This whole thing is out of retaliation.
Are you hitting me in the face?
Record me?
Because I want my dog?
She won't stop fighting me.
I've asked her to leave.
Your stuff is in bags.
You're such a _______ Josh.
Okay. There you go again.
There you go again on camera hitting me.
On camera hitting me.
It's on camera.
You see her hitting me?
There you go.
Explain that to me.
I wasn't dropping him off. We were still...
I don't care what you're dropping off. Explain that video to me.
I was pushing the phone out of my face because he had me on live
and was saying my full name. He cut off parts of it.
- Saying my full name... - I just want to know what happened here.
This was clearly you were going after him.
I was knocking the phone out of his hand because he was saying my full name,
saying I was crazy.
I had already packed my stuff. I was leaving.
We walk in the house, he calls me a dumb 'B'
and then goes straight to the bathroom.
I'm like, okay, well, I'm just gonna leave,
like, I'm not gonna deal with this.
I had Scrappy by my side. I was packing what I could,
taking it downstairs. I walk back up,
he goes, "Oh, you're leaving?"
And he snatches Scrappy and locks him in the bedroom.
And then when he goes to open the door is when I barge in
and I'm just like, "Give me my dog so I can leave."
- And he's... - Well, I wanna know what
the violent stuff was about.
- He was recording me, saying my name. - He was recording...
- He was recording you. - And saying I was crazy,
and I wouldn't get out of the house, and I was like, "Stop recording me."
And I was just hitting the phone out of his hand.
I never once put my hands on him.
He's already hit me and choked me in the past, so,
I would not go there to provoke him to hurt me again.
Did you ever report to anyone that he hurt you?
- I told my mom. - [Judy] Did you ever report?
No, I didn't.
[Judy] Mr. Caldwell.
- Yeah? - Were you injured?
I mean, I'm a fighter. I'm not gonna...
- Were you injured, is my question. - No.
Her family came?
- Yeah. - [Judy] The police were not called.
You called her family instead.
Did you pick her up? Stand up, please.
- You're her mother? - Yes I am.
Okay. And this incident happened on what date? When he called you.
It was about three o'clock in the morning.
- [Jushua] Right. - On...
[Judy] Shh, don't interrupt.
- On what date? - Labor Day.
Did you go to Mr. Caldwell's home?
- Yes I did. - What time did you get there?
Probably almost four.
Had Mr. Caldwell ever called you before with regard to picking up your daughter
- or that she was... no. - No.
- So, this was a first. - Yes.
Now, when you got there, I want you to describe what you saw.
She was crying, she was upset,
and I told her, "Come on, let's just go."
And she said, "No, I want to get my dog. I can't leave my dog here."
He's been violent in the past, I've seen it.
I told her, "Don't ever leave him with him again."
After a beach incident where he, like, hit him.
I mean, he's a kickboxer, like he said.
He doesn't hit the dog like, a normal person would just tap a dog.
No. This was back in July. He was a puppy. He was a baby.
And I was so furious when I saw that.
He only did it because the dog snapped at him
because he was angrily packing him up into a dog carrier.
Would you do me a favor? Would you describe to me your daughter's condition?
- Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. - Describe to me...
You have to understand. Your daughter cannot get the dog.
The dog does not belong to the Defendant.
- Okay. - The dog belongs to Mr. Wright.
What happens to the $1,310 she spent for the dog?
- [Judy] Well, I... just... - She sent that money to him.
I have to tell you something.
I don't see anything in your daughter's evidence
that suggests to me that any payments that she made to him
had anything to do with the dog.
Anything to do with the dog.
Mr. Wright was very clear.
He said he received $700 for the dog.
There were two payments that were identified in his register
as payments for Scrappy.
There is absolutely nothing in your daughter's register
that she gave me of these odd payments, $160 or $70,
say Scrappy on it. Not one.
So, I've already made a determination of where the dog is staying.
The dog is staying wherever Mr. Wright wants the dog to stay.
- 'cause he owns the dog. - [Melissa] Okay.
- Understand? - Yes.
So, now, that's your daughter's case.
I finished that part of the case.
What I want to know is, he has a counterclaim,
and his counterclaim was that your daughter,
while in an intoxicated state, assaulted him.
Some of that I saw on this video.
Some of it you saw on the video.
Mr. Caldwell was... honest.
Because it doesn't look as if he was injured as a result of that.
And I'm absolutely not discounting the fact that
no one should put their hands on somebody else,
but an assault requires an injury.
- And, so, if this is an attack... - [Scrappy snorting]
- Is that dog sleeping? - [Jasmine] No, that's...
- That is so funny. - [Melissa] He grunts all the time.
That is so funny.
So, Mr. Caldwell.
Can you show me what damage you allege Miss Jones caused your property?
That's the next thing.
You said an assault, which never happened, because there was no physical injury.
Would you mind telling me, please,
what property specifically and photographs of that property?
- I don't have it. - Okay, so,
your counterclaim's dismissed.
Judgement for the Plaintiff in the amount of $1,600
for the vet bills that she paid, or is obligated to pay on her credit.
It's not assault unless I get hurt?
Yes, it's not an assault unless there is an injury.
- So, if I was drunk beating her up - That is an attempt...
- at her house? - Just a second, if that's
an attempted... sir, it's an attempted assault.
Do you understand? If an assault has a specific definition.
I believe she probably attempted to assault you
when she touched you in an unauthorized manner.
She was punching me in the face, that's not an...
- Show me a picture of any injury. - It was in the...
Show me... no. I didn't see that in the video, sir.
I saw her lunging towards you.
Do you understand? I saw her lunging towards you.
- All right. - I didn't see her hit you,
I didn't see a photograph of any injury,
I didn't see a police report
- where you reported any injury. - She has police
report incidences with her being drunk and fighting other men.
Okey dokey. Did you understand what I said?
An assault requires injury.
An attempted assault does not.
And attempted assault is a crime.
But it's a crime which I choose, because of the circumstances here,
not to consider and not to award you any cash award
because you were not injured in any way.
So, unless you have photographs of the pair of shoes that you say she cut,
or something else, I'm dismissing your counterclaim.
We got it? Good. Okay.
Judgement for the Plaintiff in the amount of $1,600. Thank you very much.
[Bailiff] This court is adjourned.
Scrappy was not just, like, a dog or a pet, like,
he was my support.
I mean, it was fair. Obviously she had nothing to do with the dog.
It's expected because he lied the entire time that we were together.
And that's a lie.
Him not to have given him any of the money that I put towards Scrappy.
She literally just got all the transactions that we've ever done
between each other on Venmo or Zelle and brought that to court.
Now I just think, like, he was pocketing that money the entire time.
And that's why it was dismissed, because it wasn't valid at all.
So, I disagree with you a little bit on the countersuit of the assault charge.
I have a more... Common law...
So, assault versus battery, as far as I learned,
was assault was just the imminent threat of a harm.
You're fearing for your life or offensive contact of some sort.
Whereas, battery is the actual offensive touching.
There has to be some sort of contact.
So, if we're ruling by common law, which I know we're not bound
by any particular state's jurisdiction,
I would have awarded him something for the assault claim.
- My training is in New York... - Mm-hmm.
and in New York, there is no crime of battery.
My training was, it's assault.
And for an assault, there has to be a physical touching and injury.
And an attempted assault
is placing someone in fear of imminent physical injury.
I think you're probably right that there are jurisdictions that are different.
We didn't actually see any contact between her and him.
- [Sarah] And he was honest, he said, - We saw... yeah.
"You know, obviously I didn't have any injuries, but..."
Right. Just says he didn't have any evidence to support
the fact that she had destroyed or damaged some of his personal property.
Unfortunate, but you'd make a good point with regard to the assault.
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