It's your claim that you were dissatisfied with the artwork.
Correct.
And you came in in the middle of the dispute?
- Yes. - Because she was screaming at him.
Name calling and belittling people, and calling him stupid.
She even posted pictures on social media.
Oh, that I would like to see.
This is Judy justice.
- Laurisa Quella- - Ehlers is suing business owners
Ernie and Sonia Gallego for a refund on custom T-shirts.
Court come to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
Case 214, - Quella- - Ehlers versus Gallegos
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
Your last name is Ehlers?
- Ehlers. Yes. - Ehlers.
You have a son?
- I do. - And he plays a sport?
- He does. - What kind of a sport does he play?
- He is in asphalt racing. - Is he on the team?
We have our own team. It's called Lionheart Racing.
And how many people are on the team?
He is the sole driver, but we have a pit crew of approximately eight.
And he doesn't wear a uniform?
- He... when he drives. - He wears a race suit.
- Yes, correct.
So the T-shirts that you ordered
from the defendant were for the eight and crew?
It was to sell.
My son has a congenital heart defect, and he was treated when he was
very young at talk hospital, so we sell shirts to donate the proceeds
- to talk hospital. - To whom?
We sell shirts to fans, to the pit crew, to family, friends.
Well, pit crew is only eight people. I assume you give them a shirt.
- We do. - Yeah, of course.
So the other ones you sell, if you could sell...
How many years have you been selling these shirts?
- Two years. - And last year,
who made the T-shirts for you?
- A place called Rush Order Tees. - Would you look that up, please?
Sure.
It's an online... T-shirt ordering.
And when they came last year, how many did you order?
- We ordered 200 last year. - How many did you sell?
- We sold all of them. - And how much were they?
- A piece to make? - They were $25 a piece.
- To make? - To make 13, I believe.
So you were able to give a lot of money that year
- to your favorite charity? - Correct.
Why didn't you go back to Rush Order Tees
- this year? - Sonia, uh, the defendant...
No, I'm asking you, were you satisfied with your product?
I was, and I was actually in the process of getting ready to place
a new order when I received a call at my office asking if I would
be interested in placing an order with their company
- that was a local company. - And who did you get that call from?
- Sonia. - That's you?
- Yes. - How did you get the plaintiff's number?
I was making calls to local businesses listed as members
of the Placentia City Chamber of Commerce.
Her place of business, Impact Properties, came up as a member,
and I made a call, and she was the one that answered the phone.
And what did you say to her?
I introduced myself, and I let her know that we are a screen printing business
here in Placentia, and I was reaching out to local businesses
to see if they would be interested in ordering custom T-shirts, and if not,
at least to let them know that we offer those services
- for future reference. - How much did you
quote her per T-shirt?
So she ordered a few different garments...
- Just tell me what you quoted her. - $14 per T-shirt.
That's a dollar more than you had paid last year.
- Correct. - Had you gotten a quote
from Rush Order for this year?
Not yet.
Well, that would cut into your profit by about $200.
Except that I didn't have to pay shipping.
Rush Order is a large online, reputable business for screen printing
bags, cups, shirts.
- Okay. - Things like that.
- And you were happy with them last year? - Yes.
On what date did you place an order
with the defendant's company for these T-shirts?
- March 30. - Do you have a written agreement?
- I do. - May I see it, please?
I would like to note that the $14 quote was for 90 T-shirts, not 200.
I just want to see what the contract says.
Yes, $14 was for 90.
That was for short sleeved. Long sleeved, printed, was $16 plus tax.
There's a setup fee, redraw artwork, extra extra large sizes.
Well, this is not a signed agreement.
However, the last sentence reads, "By submitting your payment,
you agree to these terms and conditions.
You are verifying that all the information on the invoice is correct."
- You submitted payment? - I do have proof of payment, yes.
They don't dispute that you actually pay them because
- you had to pay them in advance. - Correct.
Okay, so this is a clear contract, and it's your claim that you
were dissatisfied with the artwork, you had paid already.
You want a refund.
- You did not use their T-shirts, - Correct.
and I believe you actually canceled, or tried to reverse,
the credit card that you had used.
I tried to get a refund through PayPal, correct.
And, according to you, that was denied because the defendant said
that you had actually picked up the T-shirts.
- Correct. - Okay.
- And I have that... - Do you... I'd like to see that.
The incorrect logo was used.
Okay, before I get into the substantive part of it, whether or not
you like the artwork or not, who was contacted by PayPal?
- Which one of you? - That would be...
- Okay. - He has the PayPal claim.
I took care of PayPal.
- You took the call from PayPal? - Yes.
When you had communication with PayPal, do you have any proof...
written proof of your communication, or did you just speak
to PayPal verbally on the phone?
Uh, both. We talked on the phone, and we also...
PayPal documents our conversations
via email through the website.
Did you tell PayPal that the plaintiff had picked up the merchandise?
- Yes. - Well, that's not true.
It is true. She picked up the merchandise.
No.
I don't believe that, sir.
I believe she was dissatisfied with the merchandise.
But unless you can prove to me that she picked up the merchandise,
I don't believe that.
Because she may be a tough cookie, and she may have gotten crazed with you
and said miserable things about you in her review,
but she would not be here today if she picked up the merchandise.
Her event was the next day.
The day she picked them up, uh, was the day before her event.
- Who gave it to her? - We gave it to her.
Not we. No, not we. Who gave it to her?
- I gave it to her? - You're asking me a question, sir.
You're asking me a question.
- Her order... mm-hmm. - Just a second.
- You have a business? - Yes.
You're in a building. Is there a reception area in the building?
- Yes. - Did you tell PayPal that
they were picked up from the reception area in the building?
- I d-don't recall... - I want you to think about it.
I want you to think about it.
Did you tell PayPal that they were picked up
in a reception area in your building?
I don't recall if I said the reception area or my office.
I'm not sure the... the term knowledge I used.
Well, what was it? Receptionary or your office?
My office...
- That's a question. - My reception area is in my office.
I don't recall exactly what I told PayPal, but she did pick them up that day,
- and that's what I told PayPal. - No, I don't believe you.
Okay. That's what we're here for.
That's what we're here for, because sizing her up, she's a tough cookie.
And she, as I said, might have been dissatisfied with the logo,
which I don't necessarily have to even go into now, what the screen was like,
what... the colors were off, or whatever it was.
I don't have to go into that, because if I believe
that she did not pick up the merchandise, and you told PayPal that she did
pick up the merchandise, she gets her refund back.
So I'm going to come back to you. You didn't like the way they looked?
- Correct. - I don't care why.
Did you have other shirts made?
I did. I have one of them here today.
Do you have an invoice for the other shirts?
- Who did you have them made by? - Rush Order Tees.
That's easy. When did you have them made by Rush Order Tees?
- I had them made in May. - Well, that's about 30 days later.
- And did you sell them? - Yes, we did.
Okay, pull up an order from your phone for Rush Order Tees, please.
While you're looking at it, just tell me how much did you pay for them,
from Rush Order Tees, and how many did you order?
Um, it was just slightly over $2,000?
I believe we ordered 110 T-shirts.
- Okay. And you got them sometime in May. - Correct.
I'm sorry, that was April 26th, was the exact date.
May I see it, please?
There's my order.
Oh, at $18.28?
Yeah, okay. That make sense.
Okay, so Mr. And Mrs. Gallego,
she ordered the T-shirts within a couple of weeks
and got them from another company, which suggests to me that if
she picked up your T-shirts, she would not have done that.
- Do you understand? Do you understand? - I don't agree with that.
No I don't, because if she ordered 200...
You may not... you may not like it, but
ladies may be to you abrasive, because that's what you say in here,
she may be abrasive, but she would not ask for a refund through PayPal if she...
- The previous year she ordered 200. - If she had...
If she had picked up the merchandise, she would not have done that.
The previous year, she ordered 200.
And this year she ordered 100 from me, 100 from them, which, same is consistent.
- Two hundred shirts. - I can answer to that if you'd like.
- She picked them up. - No, she didn't. No, she didn't.
We ordered a smaller quantity this year because many of our friends
had already purchased them the previous year.
Whatever. I don't believe that you picked them up.
I believe that you got angry because they weren't exactly what you wanted.
You looked at them.
But there's no question that it was an easy answer for him to give
when PayPal called and said, "She picked them up from the reception area."
Okay? And I don't believe that.
So you have to get your refund back because you were
dissatisfied and because you lied.
There was an incident between the plaintiff
and your husband, and you came in. Did you say something to her?
- Yeah, I did. - Don't.
- I can't... I don't want to talk to her? - No.
- Laurisa Quella- - Ehlers claims business owners
Ernie and Sonia Gallego owe for a refund on custom T-shirts.
Ernie and Sonia are counter suing for defamation.
- No, that doesn't justify... - What?
We did do all the work. The printing is the very last part of the order.
We did the graphic work. We printed samples.
We went above and beyond to try to make her happy,
and she was completely unreasonable.
- There was... - Listen, I said to you she may be
a completely unreasonable customer.
- Right. - That's possible.
Fortunately, I don't have to go into that, because the reason
your husband gave PayPal for not giving her a refund
was because she took the merchandise. And I don't believe that.
I believe she may have been, in your eyes, a totally unreasonable customer.
And if your husband had said to PayPal, "We were ready, willing, and able.
We fulfilled our contract to the letter, and we could just not satisfy this lady.
The merchandise is here, ready to be picked up.
It was always ready to be picked up."
He didn't. He told them she got it, and that was not true.
And that, Ms. Gallego, is why she gets her refund back.
Her event was a day before, we were on a crucial deadline.
We have our employees working overtime getting her job done.
We have receipts of all the items that were printed that were ordered.
She came in the day before her event, picked up what we had completed.
We had completed approximately 72 shirts.
She took one box out of two that day, she was going to come back for the rest.
She left with what she had for her event.
She even posted pictures on social media of our shirts.
Oh, that I would like to see.
- Did you pick up any boxes from him? - I picked up no boxes.
And the event that he's referring to, my son has a race
on the second Saturday of every month.
I had asked for those shirts to be ready by his April race,
but because they were not, I didn't have shirts for him until the March race.
Every shirt that you see in my social media or my son's social media
is the shirts that we purchased from Rush Order Tees.
- I'd like to see. - This is our sample picture.
- No, I want to see what... - Oh, here.
Is that one of the shirts that you prepared for her?
This is on her social media account.
And then this is also just the graphic work that we did
on her social media pages.
- Which social media account? - I'll find out.
We know that's our shirts because I did the graphic design work,
all the logos she gave me were, like, different colors.
They were full color. They had black backgrounds.
I revised, redrew everything and convert them all to white.
- One second. - I did the graphic work,
and they're all in PNG form, so all you have to do is change them...
If she did the graphic work, then why would she pay us
to do the graphic work?
And I have an email print out of the graphic she submitted to us.
- It is not print ready. - Oh, I don't care about that.
I'm not getting into those weeds.
- I have copies of all of the JPEGs. - Because...because
according to you... I'm gonna go back,
- he said that there were two boxes ready? - There were two boxes ready.
There's two boxes ready. But that wasn't all the shirts.
The two boxes were not all the shirts. How many shirts are in a box?
Seventy-two.
So what you're telling me is that she picked up 72 shirts?
- Yes. - Okay, go back and tell me.
Just refresh my recollection as to what he said about the two boxes of shirts.
"We had two boxes of shirts ready."
I didn't pick up a thing. They wouldn't even let me take the sample.
"She took one box out of two that day. She was going to come back for the rest."
Were there only two boxes, or were there more than two boxes?
Two boxes.
Did you tell PayPal that she did not take half of the merchandise?
I told PayPal that we filled 72 pieces when I talked to him on the phone.
That's not what PayPal said to her. Sir, that's not what PayPal said.
I'm not sure what PayPal said to her.
PayPal said that the merchandise was delivered to you,
- Exactly what... - and you did not return,
and it was not returned. But that's not true.
Exactly what I'm testifying here is what I told PayPal.
Well, then why wouldn't PayPal say to her, "Look,
we don't know what the dispute is all about,
color and everything else, but you're entitled to half your deposit back
if you told her you only delivered half the merchandise."
The thing is 100% of the shirts...
there's... there's three locations, the front, back, and a sleeve.
We have... everything is 100%. The sleeves are done.
The 72 were printed 100%, we he just had 29 shirts remaining...
- Uh, 28 shirts remaining... - Yeah, I don't believe you,
Mr. Gallego, she gets her deposit back.
Now we're going to get to your counter claim.
Counterclaim is for $5,000 for defamation. So I'd like to see how she defamed you.
Um, so Laurisa posted a negative review on Yelp,
- which she's allowed to. - She's allowed to do.
However, she's not allowed to say that my husband lunged at her and was aggressive.
That's a...
I'd like to see it, and then I'll ask her about it.
And I've also included other reviews from other businesses
that she's dealt with, where it has the same Mo.
I spoke to another business owner...
Did Miss Gallego call you on your cell phone the day afterwards
to apologize for her husband's behavior?
- She called me that afternoon. - On your cell phone?
- I believe it was on my cell phone, yes. - And this happened on April 26, 2022?
It happened on April 8th.
Okay, so that would be in your phone log?
- Should be, if I still have it. - While she's looking, Ms. Gallego
after this incident, when she came in and had this acrimonious
discussion with your husband, which is evidenced in this review,
did you call Ms. Ehlers?
- I did... - Did you call her?
- I did call her. - Okay.
- Yes, I did. - Because that she can prove,
- that you called her. - Yes.
Now, after this screaming match that she had with your husband,
where she left your premises...
- It wasn't... - She said...
She said that you came down for whatever reason.
I'm just asking you things that can be proven.
- Right. - What can be proven is,
after she stormed out that day, you called her the next day.
I want to know what you're claiming you said to her the next day.
I gave her a call to smooth the situation over.
Just tell me what you said to her the next day.
"Hello, it's me from $5 School Tees. It's Sonia."
- Okay. - What did you say to her? Be careful.
I don't remember word for word, but what I do remember saying
is that, "I apologize for how everything played out..."
Okay. Okay.
Because there was an incident between the plaintiff and your husband.
Yes.
And you came in...
Did you say something to her?
- Yeah, I did. - Don't.
I can't... I don't want to talk to her?
No.
I think you got into a screaming match with her,
and I think that your wife intervened that day,
which is why she called her the next day to try to smooth things over.
- This is not a... - That's not actually happened, though.
This is not a tea dance.
- Laurisa Quella- - Ehlers is accusing business owners
Ernie and Sonia Gallego of ruining her custom T-shirt order.
Ernie and Sonia say Laurisa left a negative review and defamed them.
Okay. You came in in the middle of the dispute
Yes.
And in the middle of the dispute to try to calm things down.
- Yes. - Because she was screaming at him.
- Yes. - And he was screaming at her.
- No. - What was he saying to her?
She was screaming at him, and what was he doing?
Now, just remember, you called her the next day
- I did. - to apologize to her.
Not to her. I called to apologize for the entire situation from beginning.
But if what you're telling me is that the only one who was
behaving badly was the plaintiff. That's what you're telling me.
The only one that was behaving badly was the plaintiff.
She was out of line.
- She... okay. - T-There's no question.
There's no question. Actually, she acknowledges in this review...
But that's not the worst part of it.
She acknowledges in this review
- that she was out of line in screaming. - Yes.
- And that's what you came into? - Yes.
So the only thing that you're disputing is that your husband
was likewise screaming at her, answered her back.
He was not screaming. He was, um...
patient, and he was attempting to work it out with her.
The only thing I remember him saying and I can recall
is him saying, "I'm trying to help you.
I don't understand why you're acting this way."
And I do recall him telling her that she was a bad person,
- because she was. - Okay. Okay.
Yeah. I mean, a person can only take so much.
- She was... - Just a sec. I'm...
telling you, she says this...
- Yes. - in her review.
Okay, now you want me to look at other reviews that she wrote
- for a carpet carpet company in 2021? - Yes, and I spoke to the owner.
Okay, first she complained about a carpet company and the horrible service.
They laughed at her and disrespected her.
Okay, and then that was in 2021. That was a year before.
Then she posted a review, according to the timeline, in 2015.
So six years before.
- It shows a pattern. - No. A pattern?
- A pattern? Of three complaints? - Yeah, a...
Three complaints from somebody who lives a life in six years?
I have a copy of all of the five star reviews I've given.
Okay, and this one says that the owner wasn't interested
in hearing her complaints, it was over the phone and hung up.
That's 2015. Okay.
She takes her reviews seriously. Now you want to show me other reviews?
These are all of the five star reviews that I've done as well.
I'm an equal opportunity Yelper.
No, just a second.
Would you just show this to the plaintiff and make sure
she agrees that those are hers.
And then I'm going to have you show this to the defendants.
Okay, now show this to...
Ms. Gallego.
All you have to do is look at them quickly.
No, just a second. You didn't look at them.
Oh, I was reading...
You don't have to read the whole thing. These are five star reviews.
- Yes. - Count how many she did.
- Yes, I see that there's... - Okay,
so she takes her reviews seriously.
- Not a pattern. - Right, but...
she's aggressive in every one.
- Like I mentioned... - Not aggressive in here.
- Well, not in the... - Not aggre... not in here.
- negative one's, yes. - Not in here.
And two of the ones that you gave me were over the phone.
If I told you how many times my husband hangs up on people
- over the phone aggressively... - I understand, but, but...
name calling and belittling people, and calling him...
- Retarded, stupid... - ...stupid...
Just a second. All unladylike.
She attacked my faith.
- She... - Listen to me.
That's not what you're talking about, Mr. Gallego.
You're talking about a lawsuit for defamation,
that she posted something that was false on the Internet.
And I'm telling you it wasn't false because I think you got into
a screaming match with her, and I think that your wife intervened that day,
which is why she called her the next day, to try to smooth things over.
- I know that that's what you think... - This not a...
This is not a tea dance...
This is not a tea dance, you understand?
This is not a tea dance. I believe that she did not pick up her shirts.
I believe that that's why your wife called her,
to try to smooth out that, as well as what had happened the day before.
She behaved badly.
You're allowing a tyrant to get away with this.
I'm allowing a tyrant to get away with this?
She completely bashed us, she's lying. She picked up her order.
No, I don't believe that.
Your Honor, I... my reputation... I work with students. I work with T-shirts, moms.
- My reputation... I don't advertise. - Just a second.
It's all word of mouth.
She did not pick up her order, sir. Even according to you.
According to you, she only picked up a partial order.
She picked up one box. That's according to you.
- But we also did all the work... - Seventy-two... 72 out of 100.
No, I don't... listen to me. So what you're saying is
there were two boxes, not in half. The orders were not in half.
You filled up one box, and only there was a little...
a little bit of merchandise left
- in the second box. - She was supposed to come back for, yes.
Yeah. I don't believe you, sir.
- Because she need... - She gets her refund.
She gets her refund. Uh, $1,693.
Judgement for the plaintiff. Counterclaims dismissed.
- We are done here. - This court is adjourned.
She completely dismissed the way she treated us.
She absolutely made the right decision.
I've never dealt with a customer like this in my 25 year history.
I went well above and beyond.
They're angry with me because I didn't like their work product.
Our work speaks for itself. Our history speaks for itself.
We have clients that have been with us for years,
and we'll just continue doing what we're doing.
You always get what you pay for.
Make sure you're looking out for where you're doing business.
I really believe that she got aggressive with him
when she went to pick up those T-shirts.
She acknowledges she got aggressive with him.
She says in her Yelp review, she... sorry to say that she became angry
and agitated and started screaming at him, which he doesn't have to tolerate.
I do believe that his wife intervened, as she said in her Yelp review,
that his wife came in, saying to his wife.
"I'm talking to her, not to you."
- Really heated moments. - I can actually
- see him... - Visualize it.
I can actually visualize him saying that.
You have to make a judgment.
And the judgment really was whether somebody who was aggressive, and she was,
who knows her business, knows what she wants, runs a business,
had ordered the shirts before, had ordered from somebody else,
was satisfied with the previous order, because there was no negative review
that they showed from that order. She may have been dissatisfied.
She may have had just cause to be dissatisfied,
but he lied when she said she picked up the shirts.
Just to prevent her
- from getting a refund. - From getting her refund.
So I didn't believe that, because I don't think that that woman
would have been here if she had picked up the shirts.
She would have been here.
She would have said, "I want a refund, because here are the shirts.
- It's not what I ordered." - Exactly.
- It doesn't make sense. - I-It's usually not true.
Mm-hmm.
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