You totaled your brother's car.
I didn't feel like I was at fault.
You're traveling diagonally across a highway.
I feel like the lady hit me from behind.
Just because you put on a blinker doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.
You don't have to be a genius.
You cut him off.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Terrell White is suing his brother,
Davyne White, for the cost of a car
after his vehicle was totaled in an accident.
[Kevin] Court, come to order. All rise.
[Judy] Have a seat, please.
Judge, case 4096, White v. White.
-[Judy] You're Terrell. -Yes, Your Honor.
[Judy] And this is your brother, Davyne?
There was an automobile accident. You were driving.
-Yes, ma'am. -You were driving your brother's car.
-Yes, ma'am. -[Judy] He was a passenger.
-Yes, ma'am. -[Judy] There was an accident.
-[Davyne] Yes, ma'am. -And bottom line,
your brother says that you were responsible for the accident
and he wants you to pay the value of his car.
Sarah, would you look up a 2008 Xfinity G35?
-Yep. -[Judy] That's what the case is about.
Yes, Your Honor.
Good, when did you purchase this car, Mr. White?
-I purchased the car in 2022. -Who did you buy it from?
I bought it from a dealership that's near my house.
I don't know the exact name of the dealership.
Did you pay cash or did you have a loan?
-I paid cash. -[Judy] How much?
It was $10,000.
[Judy] Do you have any contract for the car?
It was not purchased that long ago, sir.
[Terrell] I have the, um, my title.
-[Judy] Can I see it? -Sorry.
I have that price for you.
It's based on 100,000 miles. I don't know how many miles are on it.
Between $6,500 and $8,000.
-[Judy] You have a Bill of Sale? -No, just the title.
Yeah. It has 124,000 miles, Sarah.
-[Sarah] 124,000? -[Judy] When he bought it in 2022.
It probably had 150,000 miles at the time of the accident,
which was in 2023.
So, let's say it had 150,000 miles on it.
You're looking at $4,900-- between $4,900 and $6,500.
Okay. So, about $5,000.
Which is the court maximum of their jurisdiction anyway.
Okay. You paid cash for the car.
And according to you, only had liability insurance.
-Yes. -Where is the car now?
[Terrell] It's with Rahway Tow Department.
Police removed the car because it was damaged.
On what date was the accident?
It was March 9th, 2023.
You have a police report?
-[Terrell] Yes, I do. -I'd like to take a look.
[Terrell] Here you go.
Okay. So, what I gather is,
and the police sort of confirm,
from reading the papers, you were driving the car.
Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] According to the police report,
you were driving in the middle lane of the highway,
when you sort of overshot the exit where you wanted to get off.
So far, correct?
Uh, I wasn't in that lane. I was in the middle lane.
So, one lane over.
[Judy] One lane over?
You were in the middle lane? So, just move it over.
But you overshot the exit.
And in moving over to the right lane
in order to see if you could get off that exit,
instead of keeping going and have to back-track,
the car that had the right of way, the red car, hit yours.
Yes, ma'am.
And the car went over in a ditch, it hit a sign post, whatever it was,
it was disabled, and he hasn't been able to get it out.
It's disabled, totaled. You don't have the car?
No. I have a letter from the insurance company that says it's totaled as well.
Yeah, I'd like to see it.
[Terrell] There you go.
In addition, which is not here, I assume that the red car is suing you.
-My liability insurance covered, uh-- -Their damage.
Their damage, what they needed, yes.
Okay. So, sir, you tell me
under that scenario... Why don't you go over to the sign.
You're the blue car. You were traveling in the middle lane.
-Yes, ma'am. -Correct?
-Show me. Point to it, middle lane. -Here.
And at some point, you overshot. Right?
Yes, ma'am.
-And moved over quickly to the right lane. -Yes.
And the police determined the accident was an accident that you caused.
That's according to the police report.
-Can I just explain? -Sure.
Yeah, so, the police report, this image is inaccurate
on how it was laid out.
Yes, I was in this lane.
The police report said that I made an improper lane change.
Which I didn't. I used my signal.
I made the lane change. And I was firmly in this lane.
The car didn't hit here. It hit me directly behind.
Meaning I was able to get into this lane.
-I was in this lane-- -You cut him off.
That's what happened. You don't have to be a genius...
You cut him off. You cut off the red car.
Whether he clipped you on the right side or left side, doesn't make a difference.
You cut him off. He doesn't have to be prepared to react.
Just because you put on your...
Putting on a blinker doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.
I was in the lane for a couple of seconds before--
No, if you were in the lane for a couple of seconds, it wouldn't have hit you.
That's why I think the accident was the other driver's fault.
-What? -Because she hit me
when I was in the lane for a couple seconds.
No, sir. Not according to the police report
and not according to the insurance company.
I think the police-- The insurance company is following the police report
and I think the police report is wrong.
-I'm just looking at the diagram. -[Davyne] Yeah.
I'm not an accident expert.
Well, since I've been doing this I've been an accident expert.
But I've been driving for 60 years. And I know exactly what happened.
You tried to get off.
You really shouldn't have tried to get off.
You should've gone to the next exit.
-Right? -[Davyne] That's true.
Okay, that's all.
[dramatic music playing]
If anytime you're in a car accident and you get hit from the back,
-the person-- -No. Not if you caused the accident.
You caused the accident.
They're traveling at a clip and you're traveling diagonally across a highway.
[narrator] And later today...
The dog is happy, healthy, taken care of.
Looked miserable when she got it. Now it looks terrific.
So, I would assume that you're happy about that.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Terrell White claims his brother, Davyne White,
totaled his car after making an illegal lane change.
Okay. So, now you have an accident
and you totaled your brother's car which is paid off.
And I want you to tell me the discussions you had with your brother
about paying him for his car.
-[Davyne] Well, I told-- -Not "well."
I'm sorry. I told my brother that I didn't feel like I was at fault
for a number of reasons.
One, I didn't want to drive in the first place.
Two, I feel like the lady hit me from behind.
If anytime you're in a car accident and you get hit from the back,
-the person-- -[Judy] No.
Not if you caused the accident. You caused the accident.
The other person couldn't help but hit you.
They're traveling at a clip and you're traveling diagonally
across a highway. Foolish.
Anything else you want to tell me, sir?
Your Honor, I just want to say that I worked very hard to pay for this car.
I had many discussions with my brother.
He not only told me that he was gonna pay me back,
he also mentioned it to my older brother.
And after he mentioned that--
How does he support himself?
He has a new job. After the accident, he didn't have a job.
That's why I wasn't in a rush to sue him.
I didn't want to strain my brother's pockets for so long.
But then, he actually bought himself a new car.
[Judy] He did?
Yes. And I said, I have to do something now, so.
When did he buy himself a car and what?
He brought home a car, I believe, earlier this year.
And it's a brand new, all specced out.
And I'm happy for him, I just think that it wasn't right.
-What are you driving? -I'm not driving anything now.
Still getting rides, taking transportation,
paying for Ubers and Lyfts, and different things like that.
Where is your brother working?
I'm not 100% sure where he's working 'cause we haven't talked in a while.
I'm just hearing these things from family members and--
-Where are you working? -I'm an automation engineer.
And what kind of car did you buy yourself?
2023 Honda Accord.
-Did you buy it with a loan? -I did.
Did you think that you should start as part of,
as part of the process of healing with your brother,
to start paying him for his car?
I offered to him if he wanted to drive my car
that he could've if he needed to go anywhere.
Because I work in the night, so, I don't go anywhere in the day.
So, I offered to him my vehicle if he needed it.
No, money, so he can buy his own vehicle. He had his own vehicle.
Don't you think that it was right to say,
I can give you $100 a month, $25 a week.
Instead of buying yourself a 2023 Honda Accord,
buy yourself a 2005 car
and give him back some of the money from the accident that clearly you caused.
That's the right thing to do, Mr. White.
You had had a relationship with your brother before that,
I understand, 'cause you were in the car together.
How long has it been since you've spoken?
So, the accident happened in March. We... April?
Last time I spoke to him, April.
What about your mother? Did your mother ever become involved
in this process of dealing with the car?
Well, she spoke about it but she never got involved in the process.
According to some things that I've read in the complaint and answer,
he gave you a year because you weren't working.
Then, you were working and your mother sort of asked for another six months.
Are you the baby?
-I am the baby child. -[Judy] Ah.
-There you go. -[Terrell] He's the favorite.
The baby and the favorite, is that what you said?
Yes. And I didn't want to come here, but something had to be done.
[Judy] It's not fair he's driving around in a new car
and you have no car.
I offered him to use--
Just a second. You destroyed his car and said, "You can use my car if you want."
That's not an answer, sir. How much was the total cost of this car you purchased?
Come on, come on.
Twenty-eight thousand.
Instead of spending $28,000 for a car, spend $8,000 for a car
and start paying him back for the car that you destroyed.
Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $5,000.
Thank you very much. We're finished.
-[Terrell] Thank you, Your Honor. -This court is adjourned.
[theme music playing]
I think that the judge didn't make the right decision.
I'm happy that she came to the decision that she came to.
Obviously, I believe that the car accident wasn't my fault.
I hope that we can work our relationship
and get back to the brotherly love we had before this.
Hopefully, we can find a new page forward, a new way forward.
But we'll see what happens.
It's definitely time to get another car, definitely.
Well, that was a legal no-brainer. He was responsible for the accident.
-Mm-hmm. -So, he has to pay for the damage.
I actually thought the plaintiff was very sweet
when he said, he's the baby.
-And the favorite. -And the favorite. [laughs]
Every family has one.
Case 4099, Melita's Dream Rescue v. Reich.
All parties, please, come forward.
[narrator] Animal rescue owner, Melita Gvalevich,
is suing dog foster parents, Shantal Reich,
for breach of contract and defamation.
What's your last name?
[Melita] Gvalevich.
-[Judy] Miss Gvalevich... -That's right.
...you have an animal rescue, and that I assume,
-is a 501(c)(3) charity. Is that correct? -That's correct.
The dog in question is a large dog. Is it a Great Dane mix?
-Is that what it is? -It's a mixed breed.
-It's a senior dog. -Where did you get it from?
-Apple Valley Animal Shelter. -When?
In May, 2024.
You say the dog is senior. How old?
About seven, eight years old.
[Judy] The defendant agreed to foster that dog.
Do you have pictures of the dog that's still with you?
This dog is still with you. May I see it, please?
-You have other dogs? -I do. I have my own dog.
-One other. -[Shantal] One.
[Judy] Oh, so this is a big boy.
Big boy. Also, just to mention, he's 9 1/2 or 10.
The dog looked terrible when she got him, looks wonderful now.
Okay. And it is your claim that the defendant
breached her agreement with your shelter,
because she was really conspiring to keep this old, sick dog.
So, you're suing her for breach of the agreement
'cause she didn't follow what she was supposed to do.
Even though the dog is in much better shape
than when she got it and is perfectly happy with her.
Which is, I assume, the endgame that you want.
-Right? -Yes.
That would be yes. You want a dog happy, healthy,
well taken care of and whatever.
Exactly. Right
But you have your own protocol that clearly wasn't on her dance card.
She wanted to do it her way, you wanted to do it your way.
Whatever it was, you got into a kerfuffle.
And you claim that in addition to her breaching the agreement,
she defamed your company and that's what you want to be compensated for.
I have to tell you, madam, that I don't really give a hoot
whether or not she followed your protocol or not,
because it would seem to me, as a person who loves animals,
which I assume you clearly do, if that's your business and your charity,
and I don't know how you make that into a business,
'cause I don't have time to figure it out, but I'm sure you do.
I don't care about the breach of the agreement
'cause the dog seems perfectly happy with her.
Couldn't find, probably, a better place for it.
But you say she defamed your business.
And she wrote bad things about it on the Internet.
I want you to show me what you're alleging,
'cause that's what I'm gonna deal with.
[dramatic music playing]
The dog is happy, healthy, and has enjoyed a surgery
to take away these horrible things that were hanging outside of the dog.
I wasn't aware of that.
[Judy] I don't give a rat's behind what you were aware of.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Animal rescue owner Melita Gvalevich
has accused dog foster parent Shantal Reich
of wrongfully keeping her rescue dog, Grayson.
Shantal claims Melita abandoned him and wants legal ownership of Grayson.
Okay, she took the dog, she didn't give the dog back.
She said the dog needed some medical care.
She wasn't getting a positive response from you.
She took the dog to her own vet, which was not part of the agreement,
'cause you take the dog to the vet. You decide what the treatment is.
That means you have to spend money when you go to the vet.
And this is a dog that's nine, ten years old.
I don't know whether she called you and whether she said this dog has growths.
It's clearly grossly underweight. It needs certain surgeries.
It needs whatever. And she wasn't getting forthcoming answers from you.
-Is that what happened? -Yes.
I assume that that's what happened.
So, let me see what you are alleging by way of defamation.
I wasn't upset. I wasn't aware of that
because she blocked all of the communication with me.
All I want to do is see what you are alleging
she said about you that defamed you.
Don't give me a whole bunch of papers.
I just want you to show me exactly what you claim she published that defamed you.
Did the dog have its surgery?
He did, yeah. Kidney is well now.
Have her make a circle around what she says is defamatory
that the defendant wrote about her. Just make a circle around it.
Okay. Here we go.
Nah, there's nothing defamatory about that.
"I told her, Grayson is with your rescue
and you said this is a bunch of BS and that you're trying to get Grayson back."
Okay. There's nothing defamatory about that.
[Melita] The dog was in my rescue
and that's what it says on the foster agreement
that Miss Reich signed.
And she went ahead without my authorization,
she changed the microchip to her own name.
She went to city of L.A., she got a license
for the dog under her name.
Do you understand? I just said to you two things.
I'm gonna repeat them. The only part of your case that I'm hearing
is the defamation part of your case, not the breach of contract.
The dog is happy, healthy, taken care of.
Looked miserable when she got it. Now it looks terrific.
So, I would assume that you're happy about that.
-I would assume-- -I am happy about that.
[Judy] Good, I'm glad that you're happy about that.
We have to follow our protocol. I have about 200 dogs in my rescue
that I have to make sure--
Pay careful attention-- Pay careful attention to me.
-You can't talk over me. -[Melita] Okay, that's fine.
[Judy] What I said to you was, I've seen the pictures of the dog.
The dog is happy, healthy, and has enjoyed a surgery
to take away these horrible things that were hanging outside of the dog.
I wasn't aware of that.
[Judy] I don't give a rat's behind what you were aware of.
So, I said I don't care about her breach of your agreement.
The only thing I would hear is the defamation part of your lawsuit.
And you haven't shown me anything where she defamed you.
You have anything else in writing
-where she defamed you? -So--
That's not a "so," that's a show me.
She said that the rescue has abandoned the dog. That's okay?
That's not defaming me?
-Just a second. -[Melita] Yes.
All I want you to do is show it to me.
Would you like a copy of the GoFundMe?
Yeah. I'd like to see both.
[Melita] Here.
[Judy] Okay. So, here's the GoFundMe page.
I think we have the same page?
Yeah. So, I want you to take this--
-Madam. Pay attention. -Yes, ma'am.
I want you to take this and I want you to circle where she identified your shelter.
Your rescue. Do you understand what I just said?
-Yes, I do. -[Judy] Good.
Make sure you don't annoy me.
Make sure-- And the name of your shelter is?
Melita's Dream Animal Rescue.
-And she mentions that in the-- Just-- -[Melita] Okay.
Does she mention the name of your shelter?
She did not mention the name of the shelter.
[Judy] She did not?
But everybody knew this dog was saved from Apple Valley.
-I didn't know it. -[Melita] They knew it was me.
I didn't know it.
So, the answer is, she did not name your rescue.
You can't be defamed unless somebody mentions your name.
She did not name my rescue.
If somebody says, that's the most miserable, nasty judge on TV.
Well, everybody may know what it is, and who it is,
but unless they say my name,
I can't sue you for defamation.
Do you understand? Yes.
So, I'm not accepting your cause of action for breach of contract
nor for defamation because she hasn't defamed you anywhere.
Next.
She bad-mouthed my network team.
She texted me saying that my network team member is psycho.
Can I show that to you?
Just that she called somebody on your team psycho?
-I-- -[Judy] Just a second.
Let that person sue her for defamation.
Okay. So, your case is dismissed. One, two, three, that takes care of you.
Reimbursements related to foster care,
interfere with wellness, defamation, invasions of privacy--
All nonsense. You understand that, right?
You do understand that.
-Can you explain that to me? -Why? Can you explain it to me?
-Yes. -Reimbursement related to foster care.
How much did you collect from the GoFundMe page?
-I have it right here. -[Judy] The dog's now yours?
Did you have the dog chipped in your name?
Yes, but he's not in my name anymore. She took it back.
She contacted the microchip company
and they said that they're locking his chip and keeping it in her name.
But you had the dog's papers transferred to you?
-[Shantal] Yeah. -[Judy] So, it's your dog.
The microchip company needs a court order for that.
Yeah, the dog's yours.
-I'll give you such an order. -Thank you.
And by the way, the surgery was how much on the dog?
The surgery was about $1,300 or $1,400.
And you got that money from the GoFundMe page.
-I see that you did. -Yeah.
Claim, counterclaim dismissed. Goodbye, good luck, have a happy life.
-[Kevin] This court is adjourned. -[laughter]
[theme music playing]
I wasn't happy about it, to be honest.
This is about the dog. He's happy, he's healthy.
She's writing a court order that I own him.
And we've gotten Melita out of our hair.
I am the owner of the dog. She cannot make any changes.
She cannot transfer the dog. She cannot take him to any shelter.
She cannot make any changes with the dog, and she did.
Now Grayson can live with his forever family, happy and healthy.
I didn't want any money to begin with.
I'll probably be more careful with my fosters.
All dogs deserve a good home. Be careful who you work with.
What I couldn't understand, even when I read the papers, the complaint,
was if the plaintiff had a pure heart animal rescue,
and I don't know whether she does or doesn't.
I'm sure there's some part of business there that I don't understand.
But if you have a nine or ten year old big dog...
Mm-hmm.
...who has a shorter life expectancy than a small dog,
and you find somebody, whether they follow your rules or not,
who falls in love with that dog and says, I want to take care of it
for as long as it has left, and feeds it,
and wants to take care of it surgically so that it's not uncomfortable anymore.
Why would you sue her for a breach of contract?
You want the dog back to try to find another forever home for this dog?
Yeah.
-I couldn't understand what her issue was. -Yeah.
I really had trouble figuring out what her issue was.
And I guess maybe that showed in my examination of her.
Because there are some people
who are totally invested in the welfare of animals.
There's some people that use it as a business.
-Mm-hmm. -I wasn't sure where she flew.
I'm still not sure.
[narrator] Are you a victim of a scam?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music playing]