You say she destroyed your drone.
So, she came over with our son on her hip, grabbed it, and then tossed it.
-So, the whole thing was tossed. -Yeah.
No.
He was ignoring you, you were frustrated, baby's crying.
What I wanted from him was him to look up at me.
Sometimes, a hissy fit costs money.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Mary Geddry is suing her former daughter-in-law,
Sarah Zinn, for lost wages and the cost of a drone.
[Kevin] Court, come to order. All rise.
[Judy] Have a seat, please.
Judge, case 4088, Geddry versus Zinn.
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
[Judy] Not such a difficult case.
Interesting, but not too difficult.
Miss Geddry, Miss Zinn was married to your son, and they have a child.
-Yes. -[Judy] You had a drone.
About a year or so ago, you took the drone to a family function.
-Yes. -[Judy] And the drone was damaged.
Yes.
[Judy] It was damaged so that it could not be used.
So, what you did was you gave it to your son.
This I assume is your son because you would need him as the witness to this.
You took the drone and gave it to your son in hopes that he could fix it.
Your narrative is not completely correct, but--
Close enough.
Maybe, yeah.
-[Judy] Close enough. -[Mary] Okay.
[Judy] And your son took the drone home. So far, is that right?
-You took the drone home. -Correct. And repaired it, yes.
[Judy] Stand up. Your mother really doesn't know what happened, you do.
-You took the drone home. -Correct.
And then, just give me a month and year that you...
-May of '24. -2024.
-[Judy] May of 2024? -Yeah.
[Judy] When you took the drone home,
was that immediately after the family function where it was damaged?
No, it was about a month later. It was in her possession.
[Judy] Were you at the family function when it was damaged?
-[Christopher] Yes. -[Judy] Tell me about that function.
It was my grandfather's memorial, and we were having a celebration of life for him.
I was flying the drone and it fell about five feet and cracked a gimbal cage.
Tell me what that is. I have no--
It holds the camera in place and prevents vibrations and stuff
from affecting it.
Were you able to use it after it fell the five feet?
Yeah, it worked, but the camera was hanging out of it.
-The-- -[Judy] Don't speak.
-So, it wasn't usable? -No.
[Judy] And your mother kept it for about a month,
-and then gave it to you? -Correct.
[Judy] And when your mother gave it to you,
was that in her house, or did she bring it to you?
It was at her house.
[Judy] Tell me what the conversation was when your mother gave you the drone.
-Um-- -[Judy] Look at me.
Uh, just that she needed it repaired, and I said that I could do it.
From looking at the log of what was wrong with it,
and it telling me that everything was fine, basically.
It was just that the gimbal cage was damaged.
So, it wasn't hanging the camera correctly.
You took it home. Did you try to fix it immediately?
More or less, yeah. I think maybe a day went by.
[Judy] And when you tried to fix it, did you disassemble the whole drone?
Very much of it, yeah.
-[Judy] And that was on the kitchen table? -[Christopher] Correct.
Now, it sort of becomes interesting.
Your mother has no knowledge of what happened herself
'cause she wasn't there.
You had a newborn child with the defendant.
-Is this your only child? -[Christopher] No.
-[Judy] How many children do you have? -Two.
-[Judy] How old is the other one? -Fourteen.
And give me the date that this incident happened with the drone
when you were working on it on the kitchen table.
May 11th of 2024.
Okay. And Miss Zinn, let me, 'cause I read your papers
and I actually know exactly what was going on in your mind,
and what was going on
in the frustrated part of your emotions that day.
-Your baby was five months old? -Mm-hmm.
And crying, and needed to be cared for.
-[Sarah] Yeah. -Whatever.
You were a little frustrated. You went inside to the kitchen
-to ask him to help. -Mm-hmm.
So far, am I telling this story? I'm sort of piecing it together?
And he was busy playing with the drone.
Yes.
And you repeated yourself, "I need some help.
Are you gonna help me with the baby?" According to you, he said no.
Whether he said no or not, he did not put down the drone...
You're correct.
[Judy] ...that was apart. And you got a little frustrated.
What you say in your answer to this is actually something I don't believe.
Because you said you did get frustrated,
and you took a piece of the drone that was in his hand
in order to get his attention. And then, you got his attention
and carefully put it back on the kitchen counter.
-Yes. -Yeah, that, I don't believe.
-[Sarah] Okay. -[Christopher] 'Cos it's not true.
It's not true.
I don't want you to speak. You have absolutely no knowledge
of what went on that day, you weren't there.
Well, I have seen the flight logs--
[Judy] You have absolutely no knowledge of what went on that day.
You weren't there.
So, let me suggest that maybe your reactions to the drone
were a little more volatile than you describe in your answer.
Probably. That would make sense. Been there, done that.
That's what you're suing for.
You're suing her because you say she destroyed your drone.
Now, Mr. Fett, do you want to describe what happened?
You tell me what happened in the kitchen in May.
I was sitting at the kitchen table--
-With the disassembled drone. -[Christopher] Disassembling the drone.
Put all the pieces that I needed back onto it.
It wasn't fully together yet because I wanted to make sure it worked.
-[Judy] I don't care. -Before I put it all back together.
[Judy] You still had pieces on the kitchen counter.
-Right. -[Judy] Okay.
Let's not make it look good for you,
let's just make it as accurate as possible.
I'm gonna tell your mother not to open her mouth.
She's not buying you a new drone.
It takes meticulous flight logs for every flight.
And you can see that it's repaired, and it's working fine.
It does a systems check.
Until after she touched it.
Dat-dat-dat-dat-dat-dat.
[narrator] Mary Geddry claims her former daughter-in-law,
Sarah Zinn, owes for lost wages and the cost of a drone.
Okay, you tell me what happened.
Okay. She started yelling for me for a Q-tip
to put some ointment on our son's neck, which I had just done.
I said, "No, I'm not going to do that." And I was also deep in this drone,
very meticulous, you know, work to it.
She came over with our son on her hip
and pushed my hand off the drone, grabbed it,
and then tossed it about two feet over onto the kitchen counter,
where it hit the toaster and tumbled off of it
and landed on the counter.
So, she took it and tossed it about two feet
and it landed on the kitchen counter?
-Yeah. Correct. -And then what happened?
She continued to yell at me. And, uh, so--
[Judy] What did she say to you?
She said, "This is our son, he needs you. How could you do this?
I don't want you in my life." You know, things of that nature.
So, I just went outside
because I didn't want her yelling in our son's ear any longer.
And so, I just went out and let things cool off.
And came in, told her, "You know, you probably broke the drone."
I plugged it in and that was the case.
And I looked at it and there was no way that I could--
I don't have the expertise to repair it.
Okay. You want to tell me is that pretty much what happened?
-No. -[Judy] Okay.
Came in, he was ignoring you, you were frustrated, baby's crying.
He's not participating. He's not being the father that you needed at the moment,
or the mate that you needed at the moment. What did you throw?
-Listen to me. -Mm-hmm.
What did you throw?
Absolutely nothing.
Okay. You want to tell me what you did?
What I did, yes. After changing the diaper of my child--
-[Judy] No, no, no, you're in the kitchen. -It's brief.
You're in the kitchen.
[Sarah] What took place in the kitchen
was me simply taking a part out of his hand and putting it on the counter
because what I wanted from him was him to look up at me.
I understand exactly-- Listen to me.
I understand exactly what you're saying. Been there, done that.
-Well-- -I had gotten the prize on that.
[Sarah] My intent was not--
Getting your attention usually involves a little bit more
than just gently picking something out of your hand.
It's the equivalent to me grabbing something out of my baby's hand
that he shouldn't have when he shouldn't have it.
I don't break things when I grab them out of my baby's hand
and that's the same thing I did was grabbing that out of his hand.
[laughs] Are you kidding me?
You would've taken the drone and hit him over the head with it
if you didn't get in trouble.
I would've taken something else and hit him over the head with it.
That's not even necessary.
Shh, don't try to talk over me.
I don't necessarily disagree with you.
-I'm not making you into something... -[Sarah] I understand.
...something terrible.
You know, he was doing a man thing; I'm playing with my drone.
Don't bother me. You're taking care of it, you take care of it.
I can understand the frustration of a new mother
who already has a 14-year-old, so this is a--
I get it. I get it. Okay. So now, I will use my own imagination.
But there's no question that you picked up one piece,
or the whole drone, and tossed it.
Now, the drone was not working when you got it.
So, you don't, according to you, have the expertise
-to put it back together. Right? -I--
That's what you just said. Would you read that back?
He said, "I don't have the expertise."
-[Christopher] After the final-- Okay. -Don't speak.
He said, "I don't have the expertise to repair it."
Right. So, when did you purchase the drone?
What month and year?
I purchased the drone
in April of 2022.
In April of 2022. How much did you pay for the drone?
Fifty-eight hundred and twenty-six dollars.
Now, I'd like to see after May 11th,
did you take the drone in to be professionally repaired?
No. It's expensive and I didn't have the funds to do that at the time.
Then, what do you expect me to do? She's not buying you a new drone.
We're not asking for a new drone.
[Judy] I don't know how much it is to fix.
I have the replacement costs right here.
She's not buying you a new drone.
It takes meticulous flight logs for every flight.
And you can see that it's repaired, and it's working fine.
-Until after she touched it. -It does a systems check.
Dat-dat-dat-dat-dat-dat.
The machine wasn't working when you gave it to your son to fix.
Now, you have a non-working drone.
-I repaired it. -[Judy] Just a second.
I don't know that. It wasn't put together yet.
You already told me that the two pieces were apart.
She damaged it.
Now, the exercise is you have to take it in for an analysis
to figure out how much will it cost to fix it.
Because your son doesn't have the expertise to fix it.
She's not buying you a new or replacement drone.
We've never asked for that.
[Judy] Just a second. You paid $5,800 for it two years ago.
Yes.
-And you're asking for $3,200. -[Mary] No.
Thirty-two hundred dollars includes lost revenue.
Oh, lost revenue is nonsense. I'm not even entertaining that.
-That's ridiculous. -[Mary] So, the repair cost estimate--
Number one, the machine itself does its own systems analysis--
-Madam, unless-- -[Mary] And we have that here.
We can provide you with the flight logs to show that it worked.
And after she threw it, it stopped working.
Madam, I need an estimate for repair.
-Let's say-- -I have that for you.
Well, just a second. My question to you was,
did you take it in to have it analyzed?
-No. -[Judy] And you said no.
Well, I'll see what you have,
but how do you get an estimate for repair without taking it in,
without knowing what's wrong with it?
And you can't testify what's wrong with it.
Oh, no, this is not-- An accessory price inquiry?
That's not this.
It's just the gimbal section.
[Judy] Understand this: let's say this wasn't a drone.
Let's say instead of a drone, she took your car
which your son was working on, and she purposely backed it into a tree
-and damaged it. And you sued her. -Yeah.
What evidence do you think you would need to show a judge,
an amount, a dollar amount, of what it would cost to fix the car?
What would you give to the judge? I'm gonna make it easy for you.
An estimate.
-Correct. -[Mary] Which is what we have.
No, this is not an estimate from a company.
It is from the company. It's from DJI itself.
They sent us a component list.
The parts that are damaged, which are detailed in the flight logs.
When it does its systems check, it shows you
what works and what doesn't work, what needs to be replaced.
And they include in there a $65 service fee,
plus shipping to send it down there.
The drone will fly. We could fly it in here and zip it around the room.
And it has always flown.
The damage is that the camera will no longer pan, tilt, zoom,
and all of the things that are necessary for it to benefit the work that we do.
I can't help you.
Unless you take this in to a store, to a company
and they analyze this and they say, this is what's necessary
because this was broken when she tossed it, I can't help you.
Does that or does that not indicate that it--
-[pen clatters] -That's it, we're done here.
I'm done with you. I'm done with you. Did you see what you just did?
Talked to him. You talked to him.
I apologize.
I'm sorry.
Does that show that the drone was flown on July 6th?
[narrator] Mary Geddry has accused her former daughter-in-law,
Sarah Zinn, of damaging her drone during an argument with her son.
You're asking me to go through that drone. Is that what you're asking me to do?
No. We could show you the two incidents.
A drone is not like a car where you can drive it in
or have somebody come out and take an estimate.
You have to either ship it in,
-or talk to them over the phone. -To a certified--
If you seem to know about it, I'm gonna ask one question.
Maybe that will help me.
Is there any way of looking on that machine
and telling me prior to May 11th,
prior to May 11th, what was wrong with it?
Yes.
[Judy] What will it show me was broken
prior to May 11th? What part of it?
I'm gonna tell your mother that she better not open her mouth.
[sighs] I'm just looking at him.
What was broken on the drone prior to May 11th at the family function?
I believe it's just the cracked case
was the only reason the camera was hanging out of it.
So, you couldn't-- I mean, you wouldn't want to fly it.
Just a second. What I'm asking you is, is that what it will tell me?
-Yes. -[Judy] Let me see.
Go find, prior to May 11th, that it's going to tell me
the only thing wrong with it is a case.
This is the flight, um...
Kevin, watch very carefully.
What was the damage on it prior to May 11th?
It just says, "Aircraft is not connected."
[Judy] Is that all that it says, Mr. Fett?
Yes.
[Judy] Okay. Now, go after May 11th.
Does it show that was repaired?
Yeah, it shows normal mode, everything's fine.
There's no, uh, nothing.
On what date?
On May 11th.
Where's it say May 11th at?
[Judy] Okay. May 11th it shows...
[Kevin] It says, "Gimbal stuck."
-[Judy] "Gimbal stuck"? -[Kevin] Yes.
Can you go on the drone in September of 2024?
-I'm not sure were were flying it then. -[Judy] Just a sec.
I'm not talking to you, madam.
Yes.
[Christopher] It's never flown after May 11th.
It's never flown after May 11th?
Right. Yeah.
After I-I turned it on and it did the flight logs.
Okay, very good. So, it hasn't flown, so it would not show me anything?
-No. -[Judy] Okay, great. Thank you very much.
All right. Miss Zinn. I'm satisfied from reading the history
of what my court officer and your former husband tell me
that something happened on May 11th that caused this gimbal component
to break and to be non-functional.
And the only intermediate thing that happened
was that you touched it.
So, you're gonna be responsible for $1,429
to fix that one part.
Sometimes a hissy fit costs money.
Can I interject for just a moment?
That May 11th thing didn't take place on May 11th.
It was July when the incident between me and him and that drone happened.
It was literally weeks before the first message I received
from Mary Geddry about the drone.
Miss Geddry, I don't want you to get involved with this
unless I ask you a question. Do you understand?
Yeah.
[Judy] Yes. Good. Your former wife, Mr. Fett,
she says that this incident with the drone in your kitchen
happened in July. Does that refresh your recollection?
No, it does not. And it shows on the flight log.
[Judy] What was the date in July?
[Sarah] I'm assuming the incident, as far as I remember,
was, and I don't mean to assume, it was in early July.
Kevin, do you know how to play with this drone?
-[Kevin] No, I don't. -[Sarah] It wasn't even working
when he brought it to my house that day in parts, in pieces.
I just want to know if it shows anything in July.
It wouldn't. He was still working on it then too.
-There's probably nothing. -[Judy] Keep going.
Keep going. July first, second, third, fourth--
[Christopher] July 6th is the last date in July.
That sounds about like the day that it happened.
Kevin, is there anything in that log
between July 1st and July 20th? Take a look.
July 1 through 20.
July 6th... and there's nothing after the 6th.
Well, what does it say on July 6th?
And it's flying, for about five minutes it looks like it'll fly.
Really? That was on July 6th?
[Christopher] Yes.
Oh, Mr. Fett, step back next to your mother.
Your mother just told me that the drone had not been used
after this incident. Don't speak.
Does that or does that not indicate that it--
-[pen clatters] -That's it, we're done here.
I'm done with you. I'm done with you. Did you see what you just did?
Talked to him. You talked to him.
-How many times-- -I apologize.
I'm sorry.
Does that show that the drone was flown on July 6th?
Yes, it does.
Your case is dismissed, we're done here. Thank you very much.
[Kevin] This court is adjourned.
I didn't throw anything.
I basically just wanted to get his attention so he would acknowledge me.
Yeah, she was throwing a fit and decided to get physical
and move my hand and grab the drone, and just had a little tantrum.
There wasn't a lot of anger in that. Yeah, we were arguing,
but it was mostly wanting to get him to look up at me. That was all I needed.
The fact that the drone can fly, it can still fly, I said that in court.
It doesn't mean that the gimbal and the camera system aren't damaged.
I felt like I kinda won the argument by him having to look up at me.
It'll be repaired, one way or another.
But hopefully, you know, I'll be divorced by that time.
You know how I hate things technical.
Oh, yeah. I could get you one for your birthday.
It was so interesting. The defendant was very clear.
She said the whole thing didn't happen in May...
And she was respectful, she waited her turn.
She said, excuse me, actually, none of that is true.
I was gonna disagree with you in the middle
when I thought I knew where it was going
when you were not gonna accept the invoice list...
-Of parts. -...of parts.
Which I understood where you were going, is you wanted sort of a service person
to have taken a look at it and said, this is what it's gonna cost to fix.
I'm signing off on it on my company letterhead.
And here's the invoice.
But I know that with a lot of technology nowadays,
that's not how it's run. I know New York passed a law
that they have to be able to fix technology
because of the impact on the planet and things like that.
So, a lot of times, it's just getting the list of parts,
identifying from the device itself, which he was saying,
he could show you the device itself running the diagnostic
and showing you which parts were necessary
to be ordered to fix the errors. So, I would've accepted the list
that was given to us from the self-diagnosis of the machine.
But it ended up that we didn't even need to do that because--
She testified that, and so did he,
that the machine had not been used since May 11th.
-Yeah. -[Judy] That it was broken
since she touched it, but the machine said it was flown in July.
I don't think they ever said there was anything wrong
with the flying of the drone,
just more with the camera capabilities while it was flying.
So, I understand the discrepancy there.
But either way, they weren't honest with that up front.
And because of that, they lost.
[narrator] Want justice?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music playing]