I had no idea that I was calling Lenny the Loan Shark.
She's holding her ransom. No.
Aunt Mildred is collateral.
So this is a hostage situation?
No, this is collateral.
Judge Harvey, I wanted to shoot something that day.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute, David.
You wanted to shoot a firearm at the park?
I wanted to shoot a firearm. A gun?
She's always trying to one-up me.
The resentment, I understand.
Because her parents always loved me more.
I was always the good one.
[ Laughter ]
Hey, it's a big world out there,
and it's filled with people that just don't see eye to eye.
See, that's where I come in.
See, I ain't got a law degree,
and I'm way too fly to wear a robe.
But this is where common sense presides -- in my house.
Court is now in session.
[ Chuckles ]
-- Captions by VITAC --
All rise for the Honorable Judge Steve Harvey!
I appreciate that.
Thank y'all very much.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
All right, here we go with our first case.
This is the case of Marlo Payne vs. Deana Moore.
Marlo is suing her cousin Deana
for $5,000 for cremation services for a deceased aunt.
Deana claims there never was an agreement
about when she needed to pay her cousin back
and wants to countersue for $5,000 for emotional distress.
Uh, let's start with you, Marlo.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
I am here suing my cousin, Deana Moore,
because her mother passed
and she didn't have the money to cremate her.
So she reached out to me and asked me if I could help her.
I did.
And I have yet to see a dime of the $5,000
that I'm suing her for.
Okay, Uh, Deana? Yes.
You have 30 seconds to respond.
My cousin Marlo did help me out
when I was having a tough time.
I was going through quite a bit.
My home had flooded twice.
I lost everything, separation from my spouse.
And on top of all that, my mother dies.
Reached out to my cousin to help me out
because at the time, I -- I was in desperate need.
Where do you live at this particular time?
Chicago, and that's where her mother was at. And then where do you --
Where are you? I was living in Baton Rouge.
So I live in Baton Rouge. Oh, you're in Louisiana?
I'm in Louisiana. Okay.
But her mother's in Chicago, where I'm at. Right.
Okay, so, this cremation.
Who made the arrangements for this?
She did. From Louisiana?
Yes, I made the arrangements, and I wanted a payment plan.
At a funeral home. Yes.
Oh, they -- they ain't fittin' to do that. Right.
It's hard to get money from somebody
after they done put somebody in the ground.
I mean, but I'm good for it.
I'm an upstanding citizen, and I would have paid it.
Well, clearly not or we wouldn't be here today.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Okay. So then you loan her the $1,500?
No, I went and put the money in the cremation people hand. Right.
I paid them directly.
Oh, okay. I went down there and paid them.
Then she told me it was an added fee to have her shipped.
I told her I ain't got that kind of money.
I could have put her in a FedEx box
and got it there quicker than what they wanted.
[ Stifled laughter ]
And she couldn't piece-pay them
so she can't piece-pay me my money.
They wasn't gonna burn a little bit of her at a time.
Mm. So I need all my money at one time, too.
She said they wasn't gonna burn a little bit of her at a time.
They wanted all they money at once. And you can't pay them $50 a leg and an arm.
'Cause cremation is one-stop-shop process. Right.
We doing all of it today.
Right. So they need they money today.
I needed all my money in one wad.
Folks, I can tell right now,
this is gonna be a little bit touchy,
but death is a part of life.
Everybody got to go through it.
Don't be appalled by anything you hear.
This is a fact.
They don't cremate you pieces at a time.
[ Laughter ]
So, now, let me ask you something.
You all are cousins.
We're cousins. You all been friends?
We grew up like sisters.
Oh, you all grew up like sisters.
Our mothers were sisters, and we grew up like sisters.
[ Spectators "aww" ] Oh, this y'all.
Yes. Yeah. We're cousins.
Okay, so y'all have had a good relationship?
We had a great relationship. Okay.
You all have been there for each other?
Yes. Been there for each other.
Yes. All right. Cool. So, now she here for you again?
Yes. So, now, what was the agreement between you all?
There was not one.
I went to her 'cause I was having a tough time... No.
...and I was gonna pay her back.
And I'm gonna pay her ba-- Now, here we go.
Here we go. Okay.
That's the agreement. Okay.
She paid it. You were gonna pay it back.
Mm-hmm. How long ago did this happen?
Let's -- Let's get a time. In August.
Of last year? Of last year, yes.
Okay. So your mom passed in August,
you got the help in September. Right.
So, now, when were you expecting payment?
In a few months.
'Cause I told her I got two little pimps graduatin'.
[ Laughter ] So I need my money for graduation.
Oh, for those of you -- "pimps" are children.
[ Laughter ]
Right. I can see right now
we're about to enter into a cultural aspect
that a lot of you are unfamiliar with because she said,
"I got to little pimps." Pimps is children. Yes.
That's all that is.
It's not a derogatory term. No. Not at all.
It's just a term of endearment.
I told y'all. I just said a minute ago,
don't be shocked by nothing you about to hear.
Okay, so now you got two kids graduating. Yes.
Even though my aunt is dead, I need my bread.
You know that you owe me. Yeah.
I'm a schoolteacher. Teachers don't make no money.
And I asked her to help me, and she agreed.
I had no idea that I was calling Lenny the Loan Shark
to borrow the money.
She's holding her ransom. No.
Oh, you still got the ashes. Yes, God!
Oh. Yes. Yes.
So this -- this a ha--
this a hostage situation? A hostage --
A ransom. It's ransom. No, this is collateral.
When you borrow from the bank, it's collateral. Oh, this is collateral?
She's collateral. Okay, she's calling it collateral.
It's actually ransom. She ain't hostage.
When you get from a bank, you use collateral.
So Aunt Mildred is collateral.
It's actually ransom.
Okay. Okay.
When I picked Aunt Mildred up from the crematorium,
I put her in the car, put her in the seat belt.
Hold up. Okay. She liked to shop.
I took her shopping on our last shopping trip. Hold on. Wait.
She did. Wait a minute. Hold -- Wait.
And I sent her the picture to let her know
I had secured the package. Right, 'cause at the same time.
she sent me -- That I had her.
Wait, wait, wait. You sent a picture? Yeah.
She sent a picture. You sent a picture of what?
Of her mother in the seatbelt going on her last shopping trip.
She did!
Wait. Wait a minute. Wait. Wait a minute.
Hold up.
When I picked Aunt Mildred up from the crematorium,
I put her in the car, put her in the seat belt,
Hold up. Okay. She liked to shop.
I took her shopping on our last shopping trip.
And I sent her the picture to let her know
I had secured the package. Right, 'cause at the same time
she sent me -- That I had her.
Wait, wait, wait. You sent a picture? Yeah.
She sent a picture. You sent a picture of what?
Of her mother in the seatbelt going on her last shopping trip.
Right. She did!
She actually did. 'Cause at the same time -- Wait. Wait a minute.
Hold up.
What -- What is this? See?
I secured the package.
In that green bag? Yes.
That's my Aunt Mildred.
Yeah. That's a seat belt in the car?
Yes! Yes.
And you text her and said "Okay, I got her."
And we headed home. Headed home.
It was funny. That's how we deal with death.
We deal with it on a humorous level. With humor.
Y'all deal with it with humor? Yes. Yes.
Cool.
That's what I needed to hear.
Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause I've been trying not to laugh
the whole damn time. Oh, no. Feel free.
I'm sure glad y'all looking at it in humor.
'Cause this funny as hell to me.
She liked to go shopping.
So you took her to Sam's Club for her last trip? Sam's Club for her last hoo-rah.
Did you put her in your grocery cart and push her around?
Took her on a ride.
[ Laughter ]
That's a sale!
Yeah, me and DeeDee was all through Sam's Club.
So now you got the, uh -- The remains.
Okay. Okay.
You have the remains.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
So you go back and you buckle her in.
Mm-hmm.
Why did you buckle her in?
I ain't want them ashes all over my seat.
I had to vacuum my auntie up. Oh.
Who wants to do that, Steve?
If she had gotten loose and I had to vacuum her up,
then what?
So I had to buckle her in. It'd've been a whole nother story.
I know you ain't supposed to laugh at this.
I know --
Order in here.
You gonna mess around and go to Hell in here.
"Didn't want to have to vacuum her up."
So where's Aunt Mildred now?
Here. I got her right here. Huh?
I got her.
Oh!
Huh. You got --
I got her.
[ Spectators "aww" ] Oh.
'Cause right don't wrong nobody.
See, here's the thing. So when I get my money,
you can have your mother
Aunt Mildred is right there? That's Aunt Mildred.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Okay. Now, Marlo, you want $1,585 for the cremation,
and you want $3,415 for pain and suffering.
And you're suing -- countersuit for $5,000...
For pain and suffering.
...for emotional distress. Yes.
Wanna explain that to me?
Steve, when I was trying to communicate with her
as far as payment arrangements,
she blocked me, stopped taking calls, blocked me.
I blocked her 'cause my mouth lethal
in 48 states and hers in 26. And so is mine, exactly.
She said you lethal in 26? Yeah.
But she damn near worldwide, though, with hers. So, one don't need --
Yeah, she is.... She 48 states.
...but you know what, hers is mostly talk.
I'm more action.
I'm all about action.
Now, we'll both move something,
and we ain't gonna do that. We will.
We can't be moving furniture in here.
Abso-- Not moving no furniture.
See, for those of you that are not familiar with that term,
moving furniture mean we get to scuffling
and stuff gets tossed about. Mm-hmm.
I had noticed several white people in here had went...
[ Laughter ]
"So who's moving the furniture?"
So I just had to shut everything down to try to maintain
some form of -- 'Cause y'all been knowing each other
for a while and you know how it go.
Her entire life. I know she know me...
Right. ...and I know me.
I have reached my verdict.
[ Cheers and applause ]
You know something, ladies?
It's a dog-gone shame that y'all been friends this long
and that it'd come down to this.
It's kind of sad, but it's kind of funny... It is.
...because y'all actually love each other.
I do. I do.
But the real fact of the matter is, you owe her... Yes.
...$1,585.
Now, I cannot give you $5,000 for pain and suffering
or emotional distress because you didn't pay her.
So now, Ms. Marlo,
I cannot award you any money at all for pain and suffering.
Okay. But I will do this, though.
I'ma award you $1,585 for the cremation.
Okay. But since Ms. Deana Moore
is a school teacher
and has fallen on such hard times,
my court will pay that money for her today.
Okay.
[ Applause ]
In exchange for that, I want you
to get that jar -- urn, urn -- it's an urn --
I want you to give that to her today.
Okay.
But now I can award up to $10,000 in this court
after I give you and pay for her this $1,585,
that leaves $8,415.
Ms. Deana, I'ma give you $7,000.
[ Applause ]
That $7,000 is for all you've done as a school teacher,
for all the hardship down there --
them two floods and stuff.
That ain't gonna change your life,
but it'll help you out a little bit.
The remaining $1,415 -- I'ma give that to you.
[ Applause ] And the reason I'm giving you
that is because you remind me of my Aunt Agnes.
[ Laughs ] Okay, I'll take that.
She used to send everybody to the store
and give them a nickel to go to the store.
But she would never give me a nickel
'cause I had a stuttering problem.
And she said, "I ain't giving you no money
to go down and stuttering and spitting all over the counter."
She used to call me stupid all the time.
No, no, no. It was good, though.
But she motivated me.
Aunt Agnes today, she ain't in my will or nothing.
[ Laughter, applause ]
She has told me one time,
"I guess I ain't gonna ever no money from you until you die."
Well, Aunt Agnes, you ain't gonna get none then either.
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
Can you do one more thing?
Excuse me? Can you do one more thing?
Can I do one more thing?
I got a feeling I might do it. Go ahead and ask.
Can you order her to unblock me
so that we can mend our relationship?
[ Spectators "aww" ]
I order you... [ Laughter ]
...by decree of this court... Okay.
...matter of fact, if you don't unblock her with my bailiff,
by the time we leave this building right here,
I ain't giving you a quarter.
Okay.
[ Applause ]
She wants her girlfriend back.
She want that little girl she grew up with.
Now y'all get on the back to being friends and sisters.
That's who you were.
And that's who I want you to walk out of here as.
Are we clear? Yes. Absolutely.
[ Applause ]
Now, go over there and hug your sister.
[ Applause ]
And that's my final verdict.
And that's the way I see it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Since Judge Harvey has awarded me my money, rightfully,
I'm rightfully going to return your mother to you.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
We didn't want my foot to bleed out.
You didn't want your foot to bleed out?
You know, 'cause we watch, like, a lot of "Grey's Anatomy."
[ Cheers and applause ]
All right, let's get into our next case.
This is the case of
Veronica Fernandez vs. David Lerma.
Veronica is suing her brother-in-law, David,
for $1,500 in medical expenses
after his baby's gender reveal went wrong.
David claims Veronica ruined the gender reveal party
and she is the one responsible for her injuries.
Veronica, let's start with you.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
Your Honor, I'm here today
to sue my brother-in-law, David,
for $1,500 for a gender reveal gone wrong
that I planned.
He treated me -- Did you say
for a gender reveal?
For a gender reveal, yes, sir.
Okay.
David, it's your turn. You have 30 seconds to respond.
Judge Harvey, I'm here today because my sister-in-law
ruined my gender reveal.
I should be suing her
for ruining my family and my guests' day.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Okay, so let's start with you, Veronica.
Tell me about this gender reveal.
The gender reveal was for my oldest sister.
Which is his... His wife.
Yeah, that's them.
They're cute or whatever,
but they owe me $1,500.
[ Laughs ]
Is this the day of the gender reveal?
Yes, yes.
This was her first child in 10 years.
She already had two.
10 years later, this one surprised us.
Was it a surprise to you?
Very, very surprised. Oh, shocked.
Shocked. I'm the youngest in my family.
My closest brother to me is 11 years older.
Wow. Yeah.
A lot of times, I would talk to my father,
and I'd be standing there
and he said, "I don't know why you talking to me,
'cause you ain't even 'posed to be here," so.
[ Laughter ]
Yeah.
Go head, Veronica.
So you planned this gender reveal?
Yes, I planned it at the park.
What day was it?
I can't remember the date.
Summertime, spring?
Summer-ish.
About how many months was your sister when you had it?
What do you mean? [ Chuckles ]
[ Laughter ]
Like, how far along was she
whenever I planned the gender reveal?
She was 4 months. 4 months.
Okay, cool. Yeah.
And so you knew then? Yes.
And so you decorated? Did you buy cake?
Food? I did.
I bought the cake, food, drinks.
Drinks. What kind of drinks?
All kinds of drinks.
Like, you know, water.
Okay. [ Laughs ]
You know, Veronica, when we come to court,
you want to have a story to tell.
Uh-huh.
And you want to have evidence and facts
and kind of know the order things happened in
so I can help you here. Okay.
Who all was at the gender reveal?
Family, friends, about 50 people maybe.
About 50 people -- oh, this is a nice gender reveal. Yeah.
So how was the gender to be revealed at the party?
'Cause people do it a lot of different ways.
What was the plan?
So I decided to do a balloon
where you fill up confetti in the big balloon.
Yeah.
You know, usually people, they pop it
with a needle and that's it.
Judge Harvey, I wanted to shoot something that day.
Right?
So we decided we're gonna do it --
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, David.
You wanted to shoot a firearm...
I wanted to... ...at the park?
...to pop a balloon, you know?
A gun? I wanted to release
the balloon,
shoot the balloon in the air, confetti everywhere.
Awesome reveal. Okay, let me ask you
a question -- who -- who talked David out of shooting?
[ Laughter ]
Bringing this illegal handgun to the park and just firing it off.
Probably my sister, since we have a lot of children
in the family. Yes.
Judge Harvey, so we decided we can't do the firearm,
obviously, right?
So we said, let's just do darts.
I was like, "Okay, that's fine."
Darts. You know, like shooting darts.
You know, you put, you know --
You mean -- You mean throwing darts.
Throwing darts, sorry.
[ Laughter ]
Throwing darts.
Now, you really want to shoot something, don't you?
[ Laughter ]
So you decided to do throwing darts?
Correct, we decided to do throwing darts.
Do you know how to throw darts?
I mean, it's pretty easy. It's pretty simple, you know?
[ Laughs ] Obviously,
it's a simple task. Okay.
Get a dart, throw, hit the balloon.
Okay, I got it.
Okay, so now let me go back to you. Mm-hmm.
So now you've decided on darts?
Yes.
So how was the reveal to work?
So the circle's going like this with people around.
Like a half- circle? Yeah, half-circle.
Uh-huh.
David and my sister and their family in the middle.
With -- With what?
With the darts.
And the balloon is right in front of them.
Okay, so the two of you are gonna throw darts?
It was me, my wife, and my two children.
Oh, okay. So with the family, then?
Yes. So family gonna throw darts?
Correct.
I got it. Now, where are the balloons?
It's one big balloon right in front of them,
like, probably like six feet maybe.
It was more, Judge Harvey.
It was around maybe right here.
Maybe -- For -- I'm the balloon?
You're the balloon.
So about there to there.
I would say about 15 feet.
Maybe, maybe.
A little bit shorter, maybe.
12 feet. Correct.
Okay.
We get ready to throw the darts.
It's a beautiful day.
It's really sunny, nice day.
We got everybody there.
And it's a little windy and we missed.
We missed with the darts, completely.
The darts go past the balloon.
How big is this balloon?
It's about --- It's a pretty big balloon.
It's about this big.
About your size? Yeah, about that size.
Yeah. [ Laughs ] I mean, you got it about like that.
Yeah, about my size. We're trying to figure out size.
And it's -- And it's a little bit higher.
I -- I did not make a reference.
Veronica: It's a big...
[ Laughter ]
You know what y'all doing right now?
What you trying to do is get me in a situation.
He said, "It's about this big."
And he held it -- held his hand about shoulder width. Yeah.
I asked, "Was the balloon about your size?"
Y'all the ones busted out laughing.
[ Laughter ]
Talking about, "Damn, how you miss that?"
That's -- Y'all said that.
So you throw it and... We -- We missed.
...and everybody missed. Everybody missed.
Okay, so now when they go and pick up the darts,
tell me what happened.
[ Laughter ]
Now, Ms. Veronica, let me tell you something.
You're the plaintiff.
That means you're bringing the lawsuit.
Yes.
So far, with no information.
Okay.
I'm going to need you... Okay.
...to get -- just settle down.
Come on -- We all -- Okay, okay, so, yeah.
I'm -- Uncle Steve gonna walk you through this thing.
Okay, okay.
Just -- I'm trying to help you.
Mm-hmm. So just sit tight.
We have a video.
Hold on, but the first time they --
Oh, whoa! Hold on.
Ladies and gentlemen.
[ Laughs ]
Thank you. Veronica's...
Thank you. ...got something to say.
Okay.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Uncle Steve gonna walk you through this thing. Okay, okay.
We have a video. Hold on,
but the first time they -- Oh, whoa!
Hold on.
Ladies and gentlemen.
[ Laughs ] Thank you.
Veronica's got something to say.
Okay.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Okay.
So the first time they threw the darts at the balloon,
they didn't come nowhere near me.
Wait, new information.
What? What? New information.
See, so far, all we have is four people...
Yes. ...standing about 12 feet
from a very large balloon, about the size of David.
[ Laughs ] Uh-huh.
And everybody in the half-circle.
Now, where are you?
In back of the balloon. [ Spectators murmur ]
You in back of the balloon?
Yes, far away.
All right, let's go to the video.
Now, this is just the pop? Uh-huh.
[ Cheering ]
So it's a girl?
Yes. It's a girl,
it's a little girl. What do you have so far, David?
A boy, a girl, and another girl now.
A tie breaker. There we go.
Okay, so now, Veronica,
what's the problem?
He threw the dart into my foot and then laughed about it.
He threw the dart into your foot? [ Laughs ]
Yes. Wait a minute, hold up, wait.
Let me ask you a question, just, you know...
When someone has a sharp object
and they're throwing at a target,
which in this case was the balloon,
where in your background did you think
it was a good idea to be behind the balloon...
Well, David said it was -- ...with four people
who've already missed. Yeah.
They were supposed to be plastic darts.
Judge Harvey, that is not true. Plastic.
But he brang these.
I don't even want to touch it.
I have, like -- I'm a little nervous.
Oh, you can't touch it. Yes.
You got PTSD from it? There you go.
[ Laughter ]
You brought them darts, but you can't touch it.
[ Laughs ] Oh, that's a nice effect right there.
I like that.
Nancy, could I see those darts, please?
Can you hand them to Nancy again?
[ Shrieks ] I can't, I can't. Nancy: Be careful.
I got them. I can't.
[ Laughter ]
So these are the darts?
Yes. Wait a minute.
This one's plastic. Yes.
And this one's metal.
Yes. Judge Harvey,
that's a plastic tip, but it's still very sharp.
Am I right?
Yeah, but it's got to go in a dartboard. But it's plastic.
I don't think it would have went into my foot.
Do we have the video of your foot getting shot?
Yeah.
[ Shrieks ]
My foot!
[ Spectators murmur ]
[ Laughs ]
Wait a minute.
That's a different point of view.
Were you filming this?
I was, because they wanted their face expressions.
Was that you yelling on the thing when I heard...
Yeah, 'cause it was a girl.
Oh, you didn't scream 'cause of the dart.
No. [ Laughs ]
You got stabbed by a dart,
and your blood-curdling scream was 'cause it was a girl.
If you listen closely, you hear me scream again.
And that's whenever I notice that there's a dart in my foot,
'cause I felt a pinch.
Let me play this video again so I can understand.
[ Shrieks ]
My foot!
Oh, see, I heard it right there.
[ High-pitched scream ] Ow, my foot!
Exactly.
And so now you're saying
that David threw the dart into your foot.
Yep. What makes you think it was David?
It was four people.
I seen that in the video he's, like, chucking it.
You think he hauled back?
Yeah. He -- He wanted
to shoot something.
Yeah, and -- Did he say anything
or a reaction to make you think it was him?
Yeah, he laughed at me.
We have a photo of that. Yeah, look.
[ Laughter ]
It was shocking, but it was kind of funny at the same time.
Woman: No. No.
So now, where was this picture taken?
'Cause you on the sheet now.
I went to urgent care. Oh, you went to urgent care?
Yes, we called the firefighters. Did the ambulance come
pick you up? Firefighters.
Firefighters came?
Yeah. Y'all called a firefighter.
One of my siblings did.
Some were saying to pull it out.
And then some were saying to call in, you know,
'cause we watch, like a lot of "Grey's Anatomy."
And we didn't want to -- [ Laughter ]
We didn't want my foot to bleed out, so...
You didn't want your foot to bleed out.
Mm-hmm.
[ Laughter ]
So when you got to urgent care, what did they do?
They did X-rays, and then they took me back,
and the doctor just came and pulled it out.
It hurt. It was the worst pain ever.
It's the worst pain ever?
Yes.
You have children?
[ Laughs ] Yes.
It was kind of something like that.
It was, I promise.
That... Yes.
...was like childbirth? Yes.
[ Laughs ]
So, do you have medical bills for this?
'Cause you suing for $1,500. Yes.
Now you're claiming $1,500
because you say David is responsible.
Mm-hmm. Your Honor, this is a grown ass woman
on that side, you know,
and I thought she had insurance.
You heard in her own words that she got behind the balloon.
She's grown.
She should have moved. She should have thought,
"Hey, you know, a dart could fly this way."
It was windy that day,
but she decided for her own selfish reasons,
get behind that balloon,
and be in the way of the line of fire.
[ Spectators boo ]
I've reached a verdict.
[ Applause ]
You know, was it a smart move to stand behind the balloon?
No, it wasn't.
But David pointed out it was for her own selfish reasons,
which it wasn't.
It was to actually get the reaction of the family
to the gender reveal.
-Yes. -Yes.
Steve: And then, out of your own mouth,
you said, "I thought she had medical coverage."
So it's okay for her to take this dart in the leg
'cause you thought she had medical insurance.
Now, can we put the picture up of David's reaction?
Every man in here has done something that turned out
was an accident
but was so funny to him that that's the look you have.
[ Laughs ]
[ Chuckles ]
Now, David been wanting to shoot something all day.
And I think David cocked back with everything in him
and threw that dart.
Now, first thing I'd have done was snatch it right out,
'cause I got to get this thing out of me.
But she's not a man. She's a lady.
Thank you. And she has reserved the right,
because she was watching "Grey's Anatomy."
[ Laughter ]
And she didn't want -- she didn't want to bleed out.
I want everybody in this court
and everybody watching this show to go on Hulu
and watch every episode of "Grey's Anatomy",
because "Grey's Anatomy" can save your life.
Yes. Yes, sir. You never know.
That's right. Yes!
[ Laughter ]
My ruling is for $1,500 for the plaintiff
owed by the defendant, David.
[ Applause ] That's my verdict.
And that's the way I see it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Wasn't no Chippendale dancing? No.
The wedding wouldn't have ever gone through.
She is notorious for causing trouble out.
What kind of friendship y'all have?
[ Cheers and applause ]
Okay. All right, here we are
with our next case.
This is the case of Samantha Perry vs. Gina Hall.
Samantha is suing her former best friend and maid of honor,
Gina, for the cost of her wedding dress
in the amount of $3,000.
Gina says bride Samantha ruined her own dress
and is countersuing her for $2,875
in wedding planning.
Let's start with you, Samantha.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
Thank you, Your Honor.
I am here today to sue
my former best friend
for the amount of $3,000
for showing up at my wedding as my maid of honor
in a full-length white dress, completely sabotaging my day
and causing me to ruin my wedding dress.
Gina, you have 30 seconds to respond.
I'm here today to defend myself
from bridezilla over there.
I was an amazing maid of honor.
And because she didn't say thank you,
I would like to countersue for $2,875
for being her personal wedding planner
and debts I incurred.
So, Samantha, you asked Gina to be your maid of honor.
I did, Your Honor. We've been friends for 36 years.
We grew up together as kids.
We did everything together.
We would swim together all summer.
Our parents would dress like twins.
But as we grew into teenagers, it became very apparent
that our relationship was a lot like the movie "Beaches."
Obviously, I'm the Bette Midler.
Talented, dazzling.
And clearly she is the Barbara Hershey...
All right. ...mousey, uptight,
very few friends. You know what?
Actually, I would rather be Barbara Hershey,
because at least I'm not goofy
and, like, kind of bad-looking.
I was the nice one.
Okay, okay.
This is a wonderful friendship.
Despite all of this, when the love of my life,
Jeff, asked me to marry him,
there was no one else in the world
I wanted to be by my side than my buddy, Gina.
So, Gina, were you excited for her?
She's getting married?
Absolutely.
Because she's had a history of bad taste in men.
So... [ Gasps ]
You're one to talk. And so, when she finally
told me that she was getting married,
I was so happy that she suckered a nice guy to be her husband.
So I got to planning.
I secured the ceremony site.
She also took it upon herself to pick the color palette
for my wedding, for all of my bridesmaids.
Okay, so now let's talk about this.
Yes. How many bridesmaids?
There was four of them.
What's the color of the --
So it's a dusty rose, mauve, and lilac.
Okay, that's pretty.
Nice pastel. Yes.
So they all went shopping together.
Everyone picked the cut that they liked,
the style that they liked.
In the color palette? Yes.
Did you all get the dresses from the same place?
Yes, all the girls except Gina.
Is that true? Yes.
All the bridesmaids picked up all the good colors.
And all that was left for me
was this weird purple color.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Wait, wait, wait.
You -- You came up with the color palette?
Yeah. [ Laughs ]
So now what color did you get?
I picked a light pink. Very light.
Okay, so you changed the color of your dress
without telling the bride?
Yes. Eh, eh.
Not -- You know, I ain't never planned a wedding before,
but I do know the person
that can make all the decisions is the bride.
That -- I do know that.
[ Applause ]
So now, you found out when that she changed her dress color?
So on the wedding day, I show up to the venue,
and I step out of the car,
and there is Gina in a full-length white dress.
And at that point, I can't say anything,
because the music's going and we have to go walk down.
Let me see the video.
So do you hear that?
My niece in the video, she says,
"So how many people are getting married today?"
Because no one realized -- Hold on, wait.
Show -- Show me the video again.
So do -- do you have a photo of all the bridesmaids?
Yes.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Gina: That --
You picked out a gown.
I was being socially appropriate, I believe.
I would never agree to that.
That looks like she's the bride.
Okay. She's got this on.
So now explain to me what happened.
By the time I got to the reception,
at that point, I'm -- I'm heated.
So I start drinking a lot of champagne,
and I'm gonna get my --
That's a pretty regular occurrence, by the way.
Oh, okay. Not even.
So I start to get a little sloppy.
Little hot mess bride. [ Chuckles ]
So I start spilling the champagne down my dress.
It -- First, it spills on my chest.
All right, I can kind of cover that up.
Then I keep getting a little more sloppy,
and it starts going down my entire tulle of my dress.
How much are you drinking?
Exactly. It's my wedding day, and she ruined it.
Exactly. I just -- I got --
They'd have struck match in there,
you'd've went up.
Nancy, let me see the dress.
So that's a stain all the way down?
That is a stain all the way down.
You were just pouring liquor.
I was getting it in there, Your Honor.
Let me ask you something --
any of it going in your mouth?
Yes. Yes, quite a bit of it, quite a bit.
Now your dress is ruined. Absolutely.
Why does she owe you $3,000?
Because she is always competing with me.
She's always trying to one-up me.
Of course, she used my special day
to do the biggest grand gesture
of sticking it to me by wearing a wedding dress
to my wedding. You know what?
The resentment, I understand.
Because her parents always loved me more.
I was always --
[ Spectators murmur ]
I was always the good one.
I was the good one.
[ Laughter ]
Her mother... Yes.
...loved you more than her?
They would always say, "Sam, why can't you
be more like Gina?"
Boy, y'all just -- y'all just come up in here
and say anything, don't you?
The resentment, I understand.
Because her parents always loved me more.
I was always -- I was always the good one.
[ Laughter ] I was the good one.
Wait a minute.
Her mother... Yes.
...loved you more than her?
They would always say, "Sam, why can't you
be more like Gina?"
Boy, y'all just -- y'all just come up in here
and say anything, don't you?
I followed the rules more than she did.
She was very naughty all the time.
[ Chuckles ]
Okay, so I see you have a witness.
Step up, ma'am.
Hi. What's your name?
Stephanie Ditty. Nice to meet you, Stephanie.
Nice to meet you, too.
Were you in the wedding?
Yes, I was one of the bridesmaids.
Which color did you wear?
I think it's lilac. I'm the far right.
So tell me, what's your understanding of this situation?
[ Sighs ] So, Gina, from the very beginning,
it kind of felt like she was up to something.
And so we went all together to the store.
We all picked something out. Gina had a dress, too,
but when we left the store, Gina didn't have a bag.
What was your understanding of her when she left the store
with no bag? She had picked out a dress, too.
It was kind of this color,
the one that she picked out originally.
Gina: No. So we assumed she was gonna go get it.
No.
So were you surprised when she showed up in this?
Oh, yeah. It's like she wore her own
wedding dress to Sam's wedding, and it probably was.
Are you married? Gina: I am.
Let me tell you,
she got married one week before Sam did,
and she wasn't even engaged.
Wasn't even engaged.
Threw a surprise wedding right before my wedding.
So that probably was her actual wedding dress.
You got married a week before her?
This is true.
Did you all know this?
No, she just all of a sudden announced
that she was getting married.
She had not been engaged to her boyfriend.
There was no -- Wait a minute.
36 years. Best friends. Yeah.
A week before her big day, you get married.
Out of the blue. Well, I did invite her.
Barely, but yeah.
So this dress that you love the way you look in.
Is this your wedding dress?
No, of course not.
It's not my wedding -- That's a bridesmaids dress.
[ Scoffs ]
Excuse me. It looks white.
You know what? You've always been jealous of me.
And so you love the fact
that she is taking me to court right now, Stephanie.
It's awful.
Why don't you tell her about the bachelorette party?
Stephanie: The rest of us ladies wanted to go
to this male review strip club thing
and have a good time.
But Gina didn't want to do it, because, "That's so tacky.
We don't want to do that."
So instead, she serves us a bowl of cold fish.
Of what? Like ceviche.
Whoopie-doo.
Wasn't no strippers, wasn't no Chippendale dancers?
Gina: No -- No, because I --
You thought that was tacky.
If we would have done something conventional like that,
maybe the wedding wouldn't have ever gone through,
because she is notorious for causing trouble out.
What kind of friendship y'all got?
[ Laughter ]
This is crazy. It's wrong.
There's a lot of baggage.
Thank you for joining us.
That's real nice. You did help.
[ Applause ]
All right, so tell me about this countersuit for $2,875.
Walk me through it.
The $2,000 is for all the wedding planning that I did.
And $500 is for singing at her wedding.
And the $300 is for the alcohol
that I bought for the reception.
And the $75 is for the cake topper that I hand-made for her.
Was that people that sit on the top?
Yes. Yeah, I hand-painted it.
Oh, you make them? I made them.
I ain't never met the person
that make the people on top of the cake.
Did they look like them at all, or...?
Yes, I-I customized it to make it look like them.
Really? Yes.
All right. I've reached a verdict.
[ Applause ]
Your countersuit for $2,875 is utterly ridiculous.
You're not a wedding planner, but you buy alcohol
and you did it for your friend.
And you make little people that go up on the cake.
[ Laughter ]
I'm throwing that out completely for the countersuit.
[ Applause ]
Samantha, I really feel for you.
Thank you. 'Cause this was bad, what happened.
It caused you to drink to the point where you got,
in your words, "a little sloppy."
I don't know how much liquor that is,
but I can tell you right now that ain't champagne.
That's some Jack Daniel's on there.
[ Laughter ]
Now, this is being ruled out by another drunk person.
'Cause, see, a sober woman would have went,
"Let's just blot it.
Let's dab it.
Girl, you gonna be all right.
Get some soda water and let's get this off."
But, no, another drunk person.
"I got it.
I got it."
[ Laughter ]
Now you've got a streak that actually looks like
it's part of the gown.
Now, your suit is for $3,000 for a ruined wedding dress.
You do have a ruined wedding dress.
And I'm sorry about that, but I got to tell you something --
It's not her fault.
[ Applause ]
You poured that liquor on yourself.
Stephanie? Yes.
Were you drinking with her?
Yes, I was.
[ Laughter ]
Could you have been the person
who tried to wipe your girl's dress down?
Possibly. That's what I thought.
The countersuit is out for $2,875.
And the ruined wedding dress for $3,000,
that's out, too.
Thank y'all for coming.
That's my verdict.
And that's how I see it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪