You're suing for the overage that you paid him?
-Yes. -What did he say
when you told him that he was overpaid?
He said, "I get it. I would love to do a payment plan and"--
How much?
I don't have an exact figure.
I would estimate--
Well, don't estimate. That's what we're doing here.
[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Meghan McCarthy and Ryan Fox
are suing their former employee, Roberto Encinas,
for overpayment of wages, bookkeeping fees and loss of business income.
[Bailiff Rasco] Court, come to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
Hello, Judge. Case number 3048 McCarthy, Fox versus Encinas.
Mr. McCarthy?
-Miss. -Miss McCarthy.
Do you run the business together? Are you related to each other?
Yes. Husband and wife.
Okay. What kind of business do you have?
It's a production design and set construction company.
We build sets.
Where is it located?
Van Nuys.
-In California. -California.
How long have you owned the business?
About seven years.
Tell me when you hired Mr. Encinas.
We originally hired him in January of 2022
-To do what? -Welding and fabrication.
Did you have experience in that Mr.--?
Oh, yeah, Twenty-five years.
How much were you paid when you were originally hired?
39.75 hourly and promised to be in the union.
39.75 hourly that you get paid once a week.
Once a week, every Wednesday.
By check or cash?
Direct deposit.
Is that correct?
I believe it was 39.50, But, yes, the rest is.
Direct deposit.
-Yes. -This is what your case is about.
At some point, you determined that you had overpaid Mr. Encinas.
When did you discover that you were overpaying Mr. Encinas?
We discovered the error on September 22, 2022.
And had you been consistently overpaying him since January?
No, so, It's a little bit complicated.
We have two companies. One is Union. One is not.
In April of '22, we hired him with our non-union company
to perform a different non-union job, and that is when the error occurred
with that company and that payroll company.
He was entered into the system incorrectly
by my bookkeeper, who's here as our witness today.
Okay. It was still direct deposit.
Correct. Yes.
The net that was deposited into his check
when he was working in the union shop was how much?
I would estimate $1800 to $2000.
Well, don't estimate. That's what we're doing here.
I don't have an exact figure of how much he netted every week.
It was different every week on every job.
[Judge Judy] Because he worked...
Different amount of hours.
Different hours. So, he worked different hours,
so the direct deposit was different for each time.
Sure.
So, there was really no way--
There were no flashing red lights
that would say to Mr. Encinas, this pay stub is wrong,
you know, this deposit was wrong,
because it wasn't a consistent amount that went in every Wednesday.
It was according to a different amount, depending upon how many hours worked.
He wasn't given a physical check.
Money was put into the bank by a direct deposit.
That's what you said.
That's correct.
Okay.
But, if I may, it would be anywhere from 1700 to $2000.
The first overpayment, he netted $4645.
-Like, quite a jump in pay. -[Judge Judy] Yeah.
-Probably should have been-- -Lot of overtime.
[Judge Judy] Just, Just-- Just--.
-Yes. Quite a difference, -Quite a difference.
But that was going from one job to another,
from one company to another,
from a union job to a non-union...
-[McCarthy] Same money. -...company.
Well, whatever.
Okay. And, so, what you're suing for,
you're suing for the overage that you paid him.
-Yes. -And there came a time
when you discussed the overage with him.
And what did he say when you told him that he was overpaid?
And when did you tell him that he was overpaid?
We told him September-- the day we discovered the error--
September 22 and it was very amicable at first.
We apologized for the error.
We wanted to work out a payment plan with him and he agreed.
He said, "I get it. I would love to do a payment plan."
And I believed him because we had a good working relationship.
And did you, in fact, draw up a payment plan that you both signed?
No, I did not.
Okay, unusual case for me.
I really am unfamiliar with the law on overpayment.
Sarah, could you look up for me the California law
on when an employee is overpaid by an employer.
How do they, and can they, recoup it?
Sure. So, it's California Labor Code 221.
The statute describes that employers are forbidden from taking back any wages
that have already been paid to employees
unless there's a stipulation that the employee can agree in writing
to the deduction by the employer.
So, if an employee consents to a setoff
or a wage deduction for any reason, including overpayment by an employer,
then the employer can make it so long as it does not bring the worker
below the minimum wage or the deduction does not impact the worker's final wages.
But it has to be in a writing.
Okay, So you don't have a writing?
Well, we have in an email where he did agree to a payment plan.
We never formally--
I didn't have my attorney draft up a formal agreement, no.
You don't have an agreement, one that he agreed to.
But you started taking money out of his pay, correct?
Um, with his knowledge. A small percentage.
Doesn't matter. You started taking money out of his pay when?
He was working for us at the time when we caught the error.
-[Judge Judy] Oh, in September, -The third week of September.
And at that time, how much do you allege that he was overpaid?
$6595.41
And what did you start to take out of his pay?
It was $276 that first time.
Where did you come up with that number?
I would have to refer to my bookkeeper, Danny.
I don't exactly remember. it says, "Seven hours"-- "Less seven hours."
It wasn't his full paycheck.
It was a small percentage of what he was making that week.
You're the bookkeeper?
Yes, ma'am.
Could you stand up for one moment?
What is your name?
Danny White.
Mr. White, the first time that you gave Mr. Encinas
a direct deposit for less than his pay,
how much was the direct deposit for?
I don't have the total amount of what it was for.
He would have been making around 1800,
and I took 296.
With his knowledge. We informed him, obviously.
I don't care what you-- I don't care what you informed him about.
You understood what the law is.
I'm sure that you must have spoken to an attorney also, did you not?
-I... -No.
...don't believe-- No.
You should have because where you live
you can't just take money out of somebody's salary if you overpay them.
How many deductions did you make from his pay before he left?
-Two. -And then he left.
The job ended.
Well, he had been working for you for a while.
So, the job ended. Did you fire him?
-The job was over and so was he. -Correct.
So, he didn't leave you?
According to what you just told me he didn't leave you.
You said, "Goodbye. The job's over."
[announcer] And later today...
Without permission,
you got into somebody else's golf cart and moved it.
And within ten minutes, his car is damaged.
[theme music playing]
Megan McCarthy and Ryan Fox
claim their former employee, Roberto Encinas,
is refusing to pay back the wages they overpaid him.
Well, he had been working for you for a while.
So the job ended.
Did you fire him?
-Nope. -You just said--
The job was complete.
We did the build and we sent it to the client.
And then that job was over.
So...
Well, I know, but he had been working for you January and February and March,
April, May. June, July, August, September, I'm sure on different jobs.
Would that be a fair statement?
He worked on different jobs.
But in September, when this overpayment was noticed, the job was over.
-And so was he. -Correct.
So he didn't leave you?
According to what you just told me he didn't leave you.
You said, "Goodbye. The job's over."
Yeah, correct. I had every intention of working with him again.
We had a good working relationship.
I thought we were going to be able to work out a payment plan
and figure it out together.
Okay. Well, sorry, but you can't.
Thank you, Mr. White.
Okay. You have a whole bunch of reasons why you shouldn't owe them the money.
One of them is that they were supposed to get you into a union shop, and you didn't.
So, that's why you don't owe them money.
Bottom line is the statute protects you.
But one of the problems that I see when you have a direct deposit,
your problem is that his, according to you,
his pay varied every week.
Because sometimes he worked seven hours.
Sometimes he worked 15 hours, and, so, his pay would vary,
depending upon how much it was billed for that week.
Well, it depends upon how carefully someone reviews their direct deposit.
You know, if you view your direct deposit and you have money coming in
to a checking account and going out you don't watch it that carefully
over a relatively short period of time
because it was a relatively short period of time,
and the law protects Mr. Encinas from you recouping that money
unless he agrees to it.
And the agreement has to be in writing.
Is that what you just told me the law is in California?
That is the labor code 221.
Yeah, I'm not particularly sympathetic with you, Miss McCarthy,
because under the circumstances,
if you had given him a check, if your bookkeeper handed him a check,
and he used to getting $2000, and, then, all of a sudden, he changed jobs
and he was getting $4000,
he would say, "Oh, my goodness!"
but I can understand how you can miss that for a month or two.
And not notice that in your checking account,
and that's why the law is there to protect him.
And it does. It protects him from your lawsuit.
We're done. Thank you very much.
Your case is dismissed.
[Bailiff Rasco] This court is adjourned.
I'm a little disappointed-- very disappointed, actually.
They made a mistake.
I thought that I had done my homework and looked it up,
and whatever I read said that he owed me the money back.
Because I did all the hours that they put down on the paperwork.
No, I think it was stealing
after six months of him ignoring my phone calls
and not replying and saying he was going to make payments
and he just wouldn't.
Yeah. It felt like it was stealing.
I did not get free money.
Yeah. If you're giving money that isn't yours, give it back.
The statute is meant to protect the employee
from the employers removing money
for things like insurance or tax deductions.
So that's why there needs to be a signed writing to say I'm opting in to insurance
or, you know, I'm going to file my own taxes, all of that minutia
that you have to deal with with employers.
But it does say that if you agree in writing to a deduction as the employee...
As a clawback.
...that's okay, but here, as we saw very clearly there was no signed writing.
But the way I read the statute was that that had to be in writing
in order to protect the employees.
It just looks like it can't be a unilateral determination
-of how much you're going to take out. -Sure.
Also, I found interesting, and I really believe this,
because somebody who gets direct deposits from other things,
I don't look every week to see whether the direct deposit has been made.
I'll call once a month or I'll wait and get my statement.
But what she said was, and, you know, math is not our strong suit,
-she was suing for $6000, -Mm-hmm.
and what she said was he was overpaid by $2000 a paycheck.
which means there were only three paychecks
that he would have been overpaid,
which is really very easy to miss, but very easy to spend.
If you look on your phone and you see
-you have so much money in your bank -Sure.
and you spend it, what are you supposed to do?
But he had a good explanation for why.
It wasn't that far off from his usual.
He had put in extra time on his time cards for overtime and things of that nature.
So I agree with you that three payments
for a little bit more than what you were used to,
I don't think it would have raised a red flag.
Because he may not have looked.
-Sure. -It was interesting
because I didn't get from the papers that they let him go.
I didn't either.
I thought that he just stopped working from reading the papers
because they started to take money out of his check.
And then she acknowledged that, well, the job ended.
Well, many jobs that he had ended
because they have jobs since January, eight months.
-I picked up on that. -After this one, they let him go.
Follow the rules if you want to get your money back.
Case number 3050. Cockrell versus McMurray.
All parties, please step forward.
[announcer] Justin Cockrell
is suing his friend, James McMurray III,
for damage after a golf cart hit his car.
Mr. Cockrel, it is your claim
that owing to the defendant's negligence, your car was dented.
Yes, ma'am.
Can I see a picture of the dent on your car?
Yes.
[indistinct]
Yeah, that's a serious dent.
Okay, Let me understand the theory of your case.
Mr. McMurray is a friend of yours.
I assume you were there as well that day.
-Yes, ma'am. -You were all having a pleasant afternoon
having a couple of drinks.
Were you watching a sporting event?
[Cockrell] We were watching golf.
At whose house were you watching?
At Bubba's house.
-Your house? -Yes, ma'am.
-How many people had golf carts? -Two.
I drove my car over there.
Everybody else lives in that neighborhood, so, they'll drive their golf carts.
And, Mr. McMurray, what time did you get to the event?
I got there around 2:30 that afternoon.
-And did you bring your golf cart? -I sure did.
You drove your golf cart. On what date was this?
May 21.
So, let me see if I've got the alleged facts right.
You wanted to leave at some point.
You went outside and found that somebody's golf cart
was blocking your golf cart.
That's correct, Your Honor.
In the driveway.
Yes, that is correct.
The keys, I assume, were in the golf cart.
-That's correct, Your Honor. -The one that was blocking your golf cart.
So, you moved that golf cart in order to get your car out.
That's correct.
Mr. Cockrell says that when you moved that golf cart,
you moved it and left it negligently so that golf cart
rolled down the driveway and hit his car
causing this damage.
I can't go grocery shopping anymore
unless that shopping cart goes where it's supposed to be
'cause somebody is around, who's going to take my picture
leaving that cart around and it's going to humiliate me.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Justin Cockerel
claims his friend, James McMurray III,
owes for car damage after a golf cart rolled into his vehicle.
Is that the theory of your case?
That's correct. Yes, ma'am.
The golf carts were actually in the garage.
I had parked parallel to the garage,
so, when the cart rolled, it rolled out of the garage...
...and into the side of my car.
Okay. And, you, Mr. McMurray, don't deny the fact
that you moved somebody else's golf cart.
That's correct.
And you don't deny that that golf cart that you moved
caused the damage to his car.
When I got back to the scene, the cart had hit the car.
So those are acknowledged. facts.
You move the golf cart.
As far as we know, you were the last person that touched that golf cart.
That golf cart caused this damage.
And he wants you to be responsible.
So, now, with those agreed facts, which really makes my life so much easier,
I want you to tell me why it's not your fault.
Your Honor, when I moved the golf cart,
it was blocking my cart, so, I moved it to the left of mine.
So, when I put the brake on the golf cart and walked behind the golf cart
to get back to my cart that was right next to it,
and I backed up, you know, took my time,
making sure I didn't hit the car in my golf cart,
I turned around and I headed to my house.
About what time was that?
I've probably been there 45 minutes, so, 3:15.
And you went home to do what?
I went to go home to take care of my dog.
What did you have to do to take care of?
I needed to let him outside to use the restroom.
-Did you? -Yes, ma'am.
And then what did you do then? You came back to the house.
-Then I came back. -Back to the house.
-Yes. -Would you say you were gone ten minutes?
-Yes, -So, now you're gone ten minutes.
Just let the dog out and now you're gone ten minutes and you come out
and you find that the golf cart that you moved,
without anybody's permission. by the way,
you didn't ask the owner of that golf cart--
No, I did not. The keys were in it.
Well, if the keys are in a car, sir,
and you pull up in front of the Piggly Wiggly,
and the keys are in a car, but it doesn't belong to you,
but the car is sitting right where you want to put your car
to put your groceries in,
and just because the keys are in the car doesn't mean you can drive it, right?
-Right. -So, without permission,
you got into somebody else's golf cart and moved it,
and within ten minutes his car is damaged.
-Correct. -So, give me a theory, sir,
of what happened that you're not responsible for.
Like I said earlier, Judge, I moved the cart,
parked it and I walked behind that cart.
If this cart is what they're alleging rolled back on its own,
then wouldn't it have hit me when I walked behind it, getting into my cart.
Maybe it needed a nudge from the wind.
Maybe it needed something else.
But that's not the kind of intervening act, sir,
that gets you off the hook.
-Well-- -Doesn't get you off the hook.
-Okay-- -I'm going to give you an example--
My favorite example.
Many years ago, I tried a case
that changed my life to a minute degree forever.
You know, you go grocery shopping, you go to big stores
And they always have a place where you put the grocery cart
after you finish loading your car, right?
Put them here. So, This particular case was about a woman who went shopping
and she had a load of groceries and she unloaded the groceries in her car
and then do what some irresponsible people do.
They just leave the cart there.
Cart can roll, cart could be touched, whatever.
And the cart rolled into another car and caused damage.
The defendant's defense to that case was It wasn't her,
it was wind, which was an act of God.
Wind came and blew the shopping cart into the plaintiff's car.
Well, the wind isn't an intervening act
because if they shopping cart had been put into its place--
Wind, rain, frogs, hail--
nothing would have happened to the plaintiff's car.
-We understand each other? -We do.
That's actually not the punchline of this story
'cause, after all, we're just dealing with a dented car here.
After that case aired,
because I was doing it in the television courtroom,
I was shopping in Publix, in Florida,
and I unloaded my groceries in the trunk of my car.
I was going to leave the shopping cart there.
And three women got out of a car together who had clearly seen that episode
and stood there with their arms crossed, waiting to see if I was going to put
the shopping cart back where it belonged.
So, when I say that case changed my life forever,
I can't go grocery shopping anymore, unless--
I don't care where it is-- it could be twenty blocks away,
but that shopping cart goes where it's supposed to be
'cause somebody is around who's going to take my picture
leaving that the cart around and it's going to humiliate me.
So, what I'm saying to you is, it's your fault.
It wasn't my golf cart. It wasn't my house.
It wasn't-- It was-- Just second.
It wasn't your golf cart, which means you shouldn't have touched it.
Which means if you wanted to go home and let your dog out,
which you probably should have done a half-hour before,
then you go inside and say-- because you know all these people--
"Whose golf cart is that? It's blocking me in.
Can you move it?
That's easy. You would do that with a car.
You just took it upon yourself to go to touch somebody else's property
and within a millisecond--
Because nobody else came out and touched that car.
You were the last person who touched that golf cart. You were.
It caused this damage.
You know, don't make excuses. Accept responsibility.
You shouldn't have done it, whether you forgot to put the brake on it or not.
Because I've driven golf carts. We have them around.
And sometimes I forget.
It's just turn it on and then you hit the brake
and there are two breaks.
So, I never park it like this.
If anything, I park it like this against a tree so it can't go anyplace.
It's your fault.
-Well, that brings up-- -May I have-- It's your fault.
May I have the estimate to fix your car, please?
-Yes. -What year car is this BMW?
It's a 2011.
Judge, can I ask you a question?
No, I don't answer questions.
That's one of the delights of this job.
I ask questions.
I don't answer questions.
Nice. 1482. Judgment for the plaintiff.
We're done. Thank you.
[Bailiff Rasco] This court is adjourned.
It wasn't my golf cart.
I wasn't driving.
Bubba had actually gone outside shortly after Dad left
and he saw it happen.
Whenever I left, I got out of that cart,
walked behind it, so wouldn't it have hit me?
I think if he'd done the right thing, owned up to it at the beginning
and said, "Yeah, let's work it out," but--
And it's been a little hairy.
We're probably going to work-- work it out.
We'll be all right because we'll get past it.
I told him that from the beginning,
I said, "Hey, no matter what happens,
you know, if you pay me or not or whatever,
I'm not going to let that come in between."
We've been friends fifteen years, but I was like, dude--
You know, I have been noticing that whenever we go to Publix together,
you do park extremely close to the cart return now.
So...
Not to the-- Not to the entrance.
No, no, no. The cart return is the place to be.
-Now you know why. -Now I know why.
[announcer] Have you been cheated?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music playing]