♪♪
Steve: He snatches your phone,
and he crying? Yes, he was crying.
[ High-pitched indistinct shouting ]
[ Laughter ]
[ Groaning ]
This done took a dark turn for me.
When I'm fishing, I'm happy.
You know what? I don't even smoke cigars.
That'd be too much joy for me at one time.
Both of these women are having a conversation.
You do know the building is on fire right now?
I do know the building is on fire.
[ 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!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Okay, so, let's get started.
This is the case
of Naadira Muhammad vs. Faatin Muhammad.
Naadira is suing her sister Faatin
for $10,000 in emotional distress
after using her identity on a dating app.
Faatin insists she's not paying and it's no big deal.
Okay, uh, let's start with you, Naadira.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
I am here to today because I am suing my sister for $10,000
for emotional distress.
She was using dating apps with my name and my picture on it,
and it ruined my relationship.
So, I know the $10,000 will not bring my relationship back,
but it would be a start.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Okay. Faatin, you have 30 seconds to respond.
Well, Your Honor, I am here, obviously,
because my sister is blaming me for her failed relationship.
But I'm here to prove today that I don't owe her anything.
I'm not the reason that her relationship ended.
And, you know, we're sisters, right?
But obviously, money is thicker than blood, so...
[ Spectators murmur ]
Mm. So, Naadira, you all are sisters.
Are you all twins?
No.
I am 20, and she's 25.
Wow. Y'all look just alike.
Okay, so what -- what --
How would you all describe your relationship?
Before this, it was amazing. We was very close.
We're the closest out of all of our siblings.
We were very close to the point where
she had my passwords to everything --
my email, my social media, my phone.
How would you describe the relationship, Faatin?
Your Honor, pretty much the same as what she said.
We've always been close, you know, before all of this.
How many siblings altogether?
Eight now. [ Spectators murmur ]
Eight now? Yes.
Been -- Been a new addition?
Yes. Yeah, new addition. Oh. Okay.
[ Chuckles ]
Were you a little surprised by that?
Well, my dad is 59 with a newborn, so...
That ain't none of my business.
That's probably...
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
So, Naadira, why you suing your sister for $10K?
What happened?
Well, back in April, me and my boyfriend
was going through a rough patch,
and I ended up going to Illinois to take a job.
And I didn't think that we were gonna get back together.
So, of course, I did download a dating app,
but I never created an account.
I was looking forward to moving on
until we decided to work through it
because it's not the first time that we broke up
and went to different states.
So he was like, "Well, let's try again.
Let's see if it works."
So you all broken up before?
Yes, we have. We both have departed. Oh. About how many times?
[ Breathes sharply ]
But you're only 20.
Yeah, in the 3- or 4-year range,
I'd say a good five times.
So what caused this breakup? Insecurities.
On his behalf.
Same old thing? Yes.
Why do you think that is?
All my friends are guys, so that's another --
That was one of the major insecurities for him.
All your -- All your friends are guys? Yes.
All my friends are -- are guys.
[ Laughter ]
What's your opinion, Faatin, of all this?
Your Honor, I believe that, you know, his insecurities
was just because he was doing it, right?
He's accusing her of things that he's doing.
So it's always just making excuses. [ Applause ]
So, now, tell me how y'all get back together.
After we talked, he wanted me to come to Ohio with him,
and I came.
And we were doing good for a couple of weeks.
And then, one day, he just asked to see my phone,
and I gave it to him because I didn't have anything to hide.
So I just handed him the phone, and he went through it,
and he seen the dating app. [ Spectators groan ]
So he took the phone as soon as it logged in
and took off running with it.
And then, about 15 minutes later,
he come back in the house.
He's screaming and crying and telling me
how he couldn't believe that I was going on dates
and talking to other guys.
He was crying?
Yes, he was crying.
[ Laughter ]
Does he show you what he sees on this phone?
No, he didn't show me anything.
When did you discover that there was the profile
of you on the dating app?
Was it days later, weeks later, months later?
It was day-- It was days later...
Okay, so how'd you discover it then? ...when I finally had went through it.
Because I actually went back on the app
to see what was -- what was on there. Mm-hmm.
Like, what did he see?
So I went through scrolling, and I was just like...
Yeah, I seen -- Well, now, let me ask you a question, now.
If he snatches your phone, runs with it...
[ Laughter ] Yeah, he ran out the house.
He come back in, he crying.
"You seeing other people. How could you?"
[ Imitates crying ]
[ Indistinct shouting ]
[ Laughter ]
"Come to Ohio, and you were with me."
And then...
[ High-pitched indistinct shouting ]
[ Laughter and applause ]
[ Imitating crying ]
[ Groaning ]
[ Laughter ]
Right after that...
[ Laughter ]
...you didn't think...
"Let me see..."
[ Laughter ]
"...why he trippin'"?
No.
You didn't think that? No.
I didn't really care about that.
I was trying to get to him, trying to figure out...
Crazy about a man. ...what's going on with him.
And then, when things calmed down days later,
that's when I went and looked
to see what was on there myself.
Okay, so did you submit to the court what was on your phone?
Uh, yes.
Okay, could we see it, please? I've got some evidence.
Oh, this is what the profile is?
Yes, that was the profile. Okay.
"I am 5'6" and I'm stuck up."
[ Laughter ]
You've got to let them know.
"Come over here if you want to,
but I'm letting you know I'm full of myself."
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughs ] I ain't mad at you.
How did you feel seeing this,
knowing that you didn't create it?
I was very, very upset, and I was heartbroken,
and I didn't know how to explain to him that it wasn't me
because it's literally right there in his face.
Yeah.
So do you eventually call your sister?
Yes, I definitely called her. Because you -- you got -- y'all talk about everything?
Yes. So, now, let me go to you.
You get a phone call. What was the phone call about?
She was, like, crying and, like, could barely talk.
And when she finally calmed down, she's just, like,
"Me and my boyfriend went through my phone.
He saw this dating app."
Did she ask you about the app?
No, I don't think she even thought that
I would have been the one to do it -- she --
So did you admit to doing this,
or you -- did you deny doing it?
I'm pretty sure, at one point in time, she had to say,
"How could something like this happen?"
Yes. Yes.
And what did you say?
It's her shoulder to cry on. I didn't --
I didn't tell her it was me, Your Honor.
[ Spectators murmur ]
No admission?
♪♪
I'm pretty sure, at one point in time, she had to say,
"How could something like this happen?"
Yes. Yes.
And what did you say?
It's her shoulder to cry on. I didn't --
I didn't tell her it was me, Your Honor.
[ Spectators murmur ]
No admission?
[ Spectators murmur ]
At the time, she just was listening to me cry
and, "Oh, it's gonna be okay.
And y'all are gonna get through it again."
And then, she called me one day --
we was just talking, and she was like,
"Well, yeah, I do have something to tell you.
It was me that made the dating app."
And when she said that, I just got quiet.
It's like heat just come running through my body.
Your Honor.
So, did you dig further into the app?
I seen a few different conversations.
I seen a few different hook-ups. Did you have any of them you brought to the court?
Um, I th-- Yes, sir.
Okay, let's see these.
So, who is N?
N is you? Yeah.
Supposed to be you? Supposed to be.
ú"Heyy."
Then JD -- "Hey beautiful."
Then N -- "You look good."
"Thank u.
U look good as well."
"Thank you."
"How are you?"
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm well."
What the kinda hell -- What?
[ Laughter ]
Your Honor.
It's --
Wait a minute.
This a lot of small talk.
We -- Nine lines!
Ain't nobody said a damn thing.
[ Laughter ]
Your Honor.
So this is you typing? Yes, Your Honor.
So, y'all look just alike.
Why would you use her picture?
I had a boyfriend at the time,
and he did cheat before. [ Spectators murmur ]
My boyfriend.
And, to me, you know, that was my way
of getting my get-back without being caught.
Now, when you --
If you ever see it, you can't prove it's me.
It's my sister's name. You better go -- Girl.
You better --
This was real crafty right here.
[ Laughter and scattered applause ]
There's a saying that says,
"Two wrongs don't make a right." Don't make a right.
It's just a saying.
Now, do I understand your point?
Yes, I do.
So, now, let me go over to you, Naadira.
How's this affected you all's relationship?
It has not been the same 'cause I can't trust her.
I understand, you know, what happened,
but you can't blame me for your relationship ending.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Ahh.
Ladies. [ Clicks tongue ]
What I'm about to say to you
is because I'm an expert at what I'm about to say,
because I think what would serve both of you very well
is to hear from a male point of view
what has happened to both of you.
Number one, your picker is off.
You are two very, very smart, articulate,
and attractive women.
[ Applause ]
You know, normally, you gotta... [Speaking gibberish]
There was none of that.
You're very poised and polished and prim,
but you don't pick poised, primmed, and polished people.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Woman: Yes. [ Applause ]
You're not picking up to the level that you're on.
Mm-hmm.
These on/off again relationships
you keep involving yourselves in --
Men don't do off.
If we off wit' you, we on with somebody else.
Mm. [ Applause ]
Please know this.
And, so, the mess continues.
You are valuable.
[ Applause ]
But you have to act like it.
You know, the sad part about this is
y'all's closeness has been diminished.
First of all, to the defendant --
you're dead wrong for what you did.
[ Applause ]
You were wrong on so many levels.
And I know you feel badly about it
because it caused her pain.
Let me ask you something, Naadira.
If you would say something to your sister,
what would you say to her?
Um, I miss our relationship,
and I hope one day that we can build our trust back.
You miss the relationship? Yes.
How so?
Um, she was my best friend.
Faatin, what would you say to your sister?
First of all, I didn't intentionally, you know,
try to hurt you.
So I apologize for that.
But I feel like she's suing the wrong people.
Why is she not suing our parents
for making us look alike, Your Honor?
Like...
[ Laughter ]
[ Spectators murmur ]
I-I can't believe you said that.
[ Laughter and applause ]
A-And you know what? And -- And -- And -- And --
I can't believe she brought me here to sue me, Your Honor.
Yeah, I know. I can't believe y'all in here, either.
But I can't believe you said that.
I'll give you a chance 'cause I knew this was gonna go bad
when you apologized and said, "But".
-"But." -"But."
"But" erases everything said prior to that.
[ Applause ]
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, but..."
An apology has to come from a place of sincerity.
Man: Absolutely.
I love her. I do.
I do miss our relationship.
I do genuinely apologize.
I did, however, make a mistake.
So...
I've reached a verdict.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Your suit for $10,000 is for emotional distress.
I believe that, that you have had emotional distress.
But I think the relationship was rocky, anyway.
I think every time he goes off and he gets another girl
and he finds out you was better than the one he had,
then he come running back,
and he is going to forever be insecure.
Now, as wrong as she was,
I have to just get you to understand
the words that I said to you
and take that as the valuable lesson that you learn today.
If everybody in this court was paid
for every time they were stressed out,
we'd all be rich.
[ Applause ]
I want both of my ex-wives
to pay me for all the distress I've been in.
[ Laughter ]
I want my seven damn children
to give me all the money back that I've given them
and the times they've stressed me out.
[ Laughter ]
How many in here have been stressed out?
[ Spectators cheer ]
How many y'all wanna be paid for distress?
[ Spectators cheer ]
I think you gonna have to be a little bit more forgiving.
I think you gonna have to be a little bit more remorseful.
I think you all need to find your way back to each other,
because when all these men come and go,
y'all still gonna be sisters.
[ Applause ]
Your suit for $10,000 for emotional distress
has been dismissed.
That's my verdict.
And that's the way I see it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
I didn't catch anything that was great.
Megan just doesn't have the time on the water.
That ain't even a fish no mo'.
He's got a dolphin in his hand.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
All right. Let's get started.
This is the case
of Megan Houston vs. Ronnie "Cap'N Ron" Kelley
Megan is suing Cap'N Ron, a fishing guide, for $1,950,
claiming it was his fault she didn't hook the big one.
Cap'N Ron is countersuing customer Megan for $5,400
in lost business after she posted negative reviews.
Let's start with you, Megan.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
Mr. Harvey, I am here to sue
my ex-bass guide, Cap'N Ron,
for $1,950,
which is the cost of three guided trips, gas fee, and tip.
I'd hired him with hopes and anticipation
that I was going to not only catch a bunch of bass,
but I was gonna catch big bass,
and I was going for my personal best.
And that didn't happen on any of the trips.
[ Spectators groan ]
Well, Cap'N Ron, it's your turn.
You've got 30 seconds to respond.
Your Honor, unfortunately, I'm -- I'm being sued.
So that's why I'm here today.
And I think probably this is the first time
this has ever happened
in the entire bass-fishing history.
Unfortunately, I'm having to countersue for $5,400
due to lost wages from a negative post on social media
that drew attention to my business
in an extremely negative manner.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Wow.
Well, let me say before we get started,
this is gonna be good for me...
[ Laughter ]
...'cause I'm a big bass man.
I do three things --
I bass fish...
I play golf...
and I smoke cigars.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Chuckles ] Ooh!
There's...
Yeah, I done caught some hogs in my day.
[ Chuckles ] Great sport.
Anyway, let's go to you, Megan.
Tell me about this --
How you hired Cap'N Ron.
So, I found Cap'N Ron on Instagram.
He posts lots of pictures of big bass
that he's holding, as well as his clients. Where are you from, by the way?
I'm from Fort Worth, Texas. Oh, okay.
So, I finally reached out and decided to book a trip.
We're fishing. He's the guide.
He's fishing just as much as I am.
He caught multiple fish
that would have beat my -- my PB,
which is the -- pretty much only reason why
I booked the trip with him. Your PB? Your personal best?
What's your personal best? 5 pounds, 12 ounces.
Whoo! So, yes, I'm trying to beat my PB
every time I go out and go fishing.
But we fishing, though? Yes.
There is no guarantee.
There's no guarantee.
But when you hire a guide, you want to get put on big fish.
Correct.
Okay, let me bounce over to Cap'N Ron.
Ron, tell -- tell me a little bit
about you all's relationship.
So, Megan's correct.
I've got a decent social media following,
and I advertise most of my business on social media.
And I do have a lot of pictures
of me and customers catching big fish.
And I do catch a lot of big fish.
I fish about 300 days a year.
So it'd probably make a little bit of common sense
that I'm probably gonna be
a little bit more skilled than her.
And, so, we get to Lake Palestine.
I meet Megan at the boat ramp. We launch.
We take off up the river, and we start fishing.
Now, fortunately, we had a really good area.
We caught fish early.
I didn't catch anything that was great or memorable.
There is a picture of me holding a fish
that's about the size -- average size of fish
that I was catching throughout the whole day.
And if you compare that to the picture of Cap'N Ron's fish,
you'll see what I mean in the difference of size.
[ Laughter ]
So...
Now, hold on.
Now, I've just got to tell you,
Miss Megan is holding the fish wrong for photos.
These fish appear bigger
if you hold them in front of you.
Woman: Right. That ain't even a fish no mo'.
He's got a dolphin in his hand.
[ Laughter ]
Saw that picture of me when I was up there,
get that fish out there.
Steve, it was so small,
I felt bad holding it out so far.
Well, that's about a 2 1/2-pounder.
Compared to an 8-pounder.
Well, hold on, now.
Let's -- Let's talk about this.
You don't like the fact that you weren't catching big fish?
Not when I paid the money that I paid to go catch big fish.
Well, okay, so, now,
what happens at the end of this first day?
He's catching fish that you're not. Yes, sir.
Did you mention to him you weren't satisfied?
I didn't.
You know, I-I probably should have. [ Spectators groan ]
Okay, we -- we -- we got three trips over here.
What -- What's the next trip?
He was promoting this -- this special trip that he does
with his clients.
They go and fish a lake called Choke Canyon.
And he encourages his clients to go down for more than one day
because it is so far away from the DFW area,
which is where I would assume most of his clients come from.
And I will say that whenever I did go on the first trip
with Cap'N Ron, I had a great time
in terms of the fact that he is very entertaining.
I was very disappointed in the fact
that he didn't guide me on how to catch the fish
and he was catching them instead.
And, so, I was like, "Okay, well,
maybe if I book a two-day trip, that will increase my odds,"
and that didn't happen again.
You know, we're fishing the first day,
and he caught probably a 35-pound bag of fish by himself.
[ Spectators murmur ] I just wanted to catch one
that was over 5 pounds, 12 ounces. Well, let me ask you something.
Did you catch fish? I did.
How many did you catch?
Probably caught, um, 15 fish total,
which, to me -- You caught 15 fish?
That's over two days, though,
when you're fishing 9 hours a day.
When -- When you take a person on a fishing trip, Cap'N Ron,
what's your obligation as a guide?
So, as a guide, I have two goals through the day.
Number one, I want 'em to forget about all the struggles
and the headaches that's going on in life.
I also want them to walk away out of my boat a better angler.
Now, when people leave my boat,
they've had a good time.
They forgot about work.
They forgot about their nagging wife
or nagging husband or nagging boyfriend
or whoever's nagging them at home. [ Spectators murmuring ]
Excuse me one second. They've forgotten them.
Y'all be nagging. [ Laughter ]
Don't -- Don't get mad at him.
"He said nagging wife. Oh, my good--" Yes!
Yes.
And sometimes you want to get away from your nagging husband.
'Cause men are a trip, too.
[ Laughter and applause ]
What do you think Megan has a problem with?
Here -- Here's part of what I think the problem is.
She's already told you she's been fishing three years.
Megan just doesn't have the time on the water.
Hold on right there.
Tell me what -- what your expectations are
and the problem you're having here.
My problem is that he was fishing the whole time.
I feel like he took away the opportunity for me
to catch big fish.
I've never had a guide service
that fishes with me. [ Spectators murmur ]
How many other guides have you hired?
Or guides? I've been --
I've been on four other guided trips outside of his.
And how many people were on the boat?
One, I had six people,
one, I had two people, and one I had three people.
What type of boat were you all on when you went?
A bass boat. A bass boat.
So now it's just you and him now?
So that's a little bit different than the party boat
or the little bit -- than the bank fishing.
You ever kayak fish?
Kayak?
No, Black people don't do that.
[ Laughter and applause ]
So, now, you want your money back
because you didn't catch your personal best?
That, and I don't feel like I got the knowledge
that I should have gotten
for the amount of money that I paid for these trips.
So you wanted to be coached?
Yes. It's a guide.
Are you also a coach, Ron?
Yes, sir.
Okay. Do -- Do you feel an obligation
to teach while you're fishing?
Absolutely.
I can assure you she's a better angler
when she got out of the boat
than she was when she got in the boat.
Would you say that's true?
♪♪
Are you also a coach, Ron? Yes, sir.
Do you feel an obligation to teach while you're fishing?
I can assure you she's a better angler
when she got out of the boat
than she was when she got in the boat.
Would you say that's true?
[ Spectators murmur ]
I would say that's true.
Now, you fish a lot. How many --
How many days out of the year
would you say you fish, Miss Megan?
Four to five times a week in my kayak.
[ Laughter ]
[ Whispering ] I told her.
She can quit bring up this kayak.
I have told her.
I don't like canoes.
I don't like nothing.
You have a countersuit in this case... I do.
...for $5,400 for loss of -- Yes, sir.
Why?
So, one thing we haven't brought up
is that both of us have
significant social-media followings --
hers significantly bigger than mine.
She's on TikTok in the 50,000-follower range.
Well, hold on one second.
What are you on TikTok for? What do you do?
Fishing.
Sort of.
She -- She lip-syncs to...
I don't even know what. [ Laughter ]
There's really no contribution to fishing.
My TikTok name is FishingUnhooked.
Fishing. It's all about fishing.
And I've put multiple videos of Cap'N Ron up
that I took when we were on our trips.
And I think, you know, if you added all the views up together,
it'd be over a million views.
So him in his countersuit of me giving him bad reviews,
that's not true.
Okay, let's find out about this.
So, talk to me about this, Ron -- this countersuit. So, Your Honor,
I actually turned in a video to the court before we came
that she posted that got the negative reviews.
And I would love to have that shared. Okay. Let's -- Let's hear this.
Let's see this video.
"When you hire a guide to break your PB" --
which is personal best --
"and catch big fish,
but instead he just catches them all
and you don't catch anything over 4 pounds."
[ Spectators murmur ] This is the post you made...
Tagging me.
...complaining about him as a guide.
Yes, Your Honor.
Now, how did this affect you, sir?
So, typically, I average about 12 trips a week, roughly.
Starting in November, when she posted this,
I was down to about 9 to 10 trips a week.
So something had happened.
I looked and saw the comments,
and they've -- they've actually got
a picture of some of the comments.
And -- And that's kind of the -- the...
All right, let me see some of the comments.
"I've never ran a boat that
either captain or mate fished...
not a good guide in my opinion."
"Guides shouldn't fish!
They are hired to put you on fish, not fish."
T said,
"Why Captain Ron do you like that?!"
[ Laughter ]
T a hater.
U -- "Only met one guide who fished during a guided trip.
He was known for letting clients
finance his fishing trips."
[ Spectators groan ]
Was that your intent, Miss Megan?
[ Clicks tongue ]
I wouldn't say that it was my intent,
but I'm not mad at how it turned out.
[ Spectators murmur ]
This done took a dark turn for me.
I don't really -- When I'm fishing, I'm happy.
I -- You know what? I don't even smoke cigars when I'm fishing.
That'd be too much joy for me at one time.
[ Laughter ] So I'm trying to --
Let me just get this understanding.
You normally book 12 trips a week.
You're knocked down to 9, 10,
so how did you come up with this figure?
So, I looked at a 28-week period,
and I came up with about sub two trips per week,
which is 14 trips.
Now, if you do the 350 over 14 trips,
you're right at $5,400.
Okay.
Uh, I've reached a verdict.
[ Cheers and applause ]
You know something, guys?
Hey, I wanted to have a real fun conversation about fishing
when I heard that's what your case was about.
And it was about to be fun.
[ Laughter ]
Now I'm sitting up in here and I gotta judge this mess.
[ Laughter ] It don't make no sense.
Now, the countersuit for $5,400.
I really believe that this man's business was hurt.
The power of social media,
the way you -- both of you explained it,
100% of his business is from social media,
and you're quite big on social media.
So here's my verdict.
I rule in favor of the defendant
for the countersuit for $5,400 in hurt business
'cause I believe that happened,
but the court will pay it ourselves and not Miss Megan.
[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.
[ Applause and whistling ]
We also have to deal with something that she said
that kind of makes a little bit of sense.
His job is to coach.
I think he could have did a little more coaching for you.
But then I don't know what else could have did
because you say you had a great time
and he was very entertaining.
You can't get your money back
because you said you got everything.
You caught fish every time you went.
Hell, you know how many days I sat on that lake
and ain't caught a damn thing? [ Laughter ]
I done got 'em to the boat -- they got off.
I done brought 'em to the brink -- they got off.
I done reached in -- they jumped off.
Man, I've been out on that boat cussing.
Mm-hmm.
Because I think there was some validity to your lawsuit...
I think you ought to at least get a free fishing trip.
You're not really mad at this guy.
I'm salty.
You're salty because --
And you're salty, Megan,
because you didn't catch your personal best.
Correct. It ain't nothing else.
He did his job.
He's a great guy.
He put you on big fish.
You just ain't had the skill to catch 'em.
[ Light laughter ]
So here's what the court gonna do in Judge Harvey's court.
I'm gonna grant you a free trip, if you'd like to.
And you'd have to post
the wonderful time that you had with him.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Huh? Yes, Your Honor.
I will accept that. That's a deal?
I will accept it. You accept it?
Hell, man, give her a big-ass fish
and let her hold it up.
[ Cheers and applause ]
That's all I want to do is make it right.
That's my verdict.
And that's the way I see it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
You would sit on the bed, and it would fall down.
It's a certain amount of weight.
You may not want to do that, overweight lover.
What the hell is going on in here?
♪♪
Okay, let's get started.
This is the case
of Romona Harrison vs. Clyde Powell.
Romona is suing her ex, Clyde, for $2,800
for furniture she says he sold during their relationship.
Clyde says she's only suing him because they broke up.
Let's start with you, Romona.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
Thank you, Judge.
I'm here today seeking $2,800 in restitution
because he took my bed, sold it,
gave my mattress to his son,
and I got no restitution for it.
He refused to resolve it, and...he owes me.
Clyde, it's your turn. You have 30 seconds to respond.
Judge Harvey, I'm here today
to hopefully provide closure...
[ Scoffs ] ...on this relationship.
[ Laughs ] And...
[ Spectators murmur ]
...to dispute any allegations of money owed to Romona.
And if anybody's owed, I'm the one out of pocket.
[ Spectators murmur ]
Whaaat?
So, let's go to you.
What type of relationship do you all have?
How'd you all meet?
We met on BlackPeopleMeet,
and we went out on a date.
He wasn't my type, but I thought I'd figure it out
and try to do something different,
and that's what I did.
I don't know. It didn't work out for me.
It didn't work out for me, Judge.
Okay.
How would you describe you all's meeting, Clyde?
Well, Judge Harvey, as she said,
I mean, we met on BlackPeopleMeet.
And this thing didn't start or end with a happy ending.
And I'm just happy it ended.
[ Laughter ]
When we first started talking, I was still in a relationship
with a long-distance interest.
[ Spectators groan ]
That part.
But, you know, all aspects of that relationship
wasn't working for me.
So I reached out -- Okay, hold on one second.
Were you aware of this? Absolutely not.
I would never -- How long was it
before you found out about this
long-distance relationship? Probably nine months.
The girl called me on the phone.
She called me on the phone. She texted me. [ Chuckles ]
So, now, both of these women
are now in full knowledge of one another
and are having a conversation?
Yes. This cannot be good, Clyde.
No. It wasn't good.
There ain't a man in here think this is good.
No. It wasn't. Look, all the men in here like this.
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughs ] Oh, this...
Ah!
So, now, what happens because of the conversation?
Well, Clyde was present in the room
when that woman called me.
And she said that she was going to be Mrs. Powell. I was -- I was not --
Let me finish, sir.
She said that she was gonna be Mrs. Powell
and that she was the other woman
and that it's a shame that Clyde couldn't be "honest"
about his loving relationship with her.
I told her, "Listen, I'm sorry.
I don't want to talk to you." God. Hold up.
Just stop right here. Just --
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughter continues ]
[ Laughter and applause ]
[ Laughter continues ]
Clyde, while this conversation is happening,
you do know the building is on fire right now?
I do know the building is on fire.
That's correct. Okay.
So, now, what happened to your relationship
with Miss Romona? It ended.
[ Chuckles ] Yes.
It ended. It ended. It ended.
Not that this is the case,
but what happened with your relationship
with the other woman? It also ended.
Yeah, that building was on -- That's right.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. [ Speaking indistinctly ]
Yeah, Clyde, see, Clyde?
That's all I was just trying to get that with you, man. No, it ended.
'Cause trust and believe.
It wasn't a good place, but it ended.
So, now, let's -- let's move along here now.
You break up? Yes.
But then am I to assume y'all got back together?
[ Chuckling ] Absolutely. Absolutely.
What? Yes.
Come on, Clyde, my man.
All right, boy.
No! [ Laughs ]
My boy. Yeah.
I like a challenge. I like a challenge. You talked her back into it!
He wore me down!
He wore you down? Yes. Exactly.
What does that mean? He was just sweet --
So, Clyde is, um...
Clyde is charming.
So when we moved in together --
Wait a minute. We -- We --
I'm -- I'm trying to get there.
Wait. [ Chuckles ]
[ Laughter ]
Wha-- What --
What the hell? What happened?
Let me ask y'all something -- did I black out?
-No! -No!
[ Laughs ]
Oh, we all hearing this for the first time? Yes.
Okay, cool.
'Cause I thought -- I said, "Man, you know, Steve,
maybe when you went back there to the wall..."
She -- She -- So y'all done moved in now?
What? [ Chuckles ]
Boy! So, my lease was up.
We took all of my stuff -- my bed, my mattress,
all my things, pots, pans, everything --
and we put all of that into the storage.
Okay.
And he said, "Leave your bed here."
I said, "Why? We got two bedrooms."
He said, "No. Leave it. We got a bed."
[ Scoffs ] Okay. So I left my bed in storage.
Okay, now stop right here. No.
Clyde? That -- That never happened.
Oh, my God. I mean...
Why you lying? The bed that she's referring to,
her bed -- that bed frame... Lying.
...never made it to the -- to storage
or to the new apartment. Lying.
That bed broke one night when we were having sex.
That's not true!
That is not true!
♪♪
That bed broke one night when we were having sex.
That's not true!
That is not true!
[ Laughter and cheering ]
Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ]
First off, that is not true! Well, that --
Judge Harvey. It did not break
'cause we were having sex.
You would sit on the bed, and it would fall down.
It was a certain amount of weight.
[ Spectators murmur ]
You may not want to do that, overweight lover.
You may not want to do that. What the hell...
You may not wanna do that. ...is going on in here?
Who talks like that?
Woman: Oh, my God.
Don't try to win or score a point this way, sir. Wait a minute, now.
Wait a minute. Okay, let me --
let me go back to this bed.
The bed is $800.
And the mattress. Where is the bed?
He sold it.
What?
Yes. You sold her bed?
I -- If you wanna call her headboard the bed, then...
How much -- [ Stammering ] Not fair.
Did you know it was getting sold?
No! I acci-- You discovered it when you went to the --
Exactly. I was trying to pick up some things for work.
Clyde, do you have any proof of this?
Uh, yeah. I provided your, um, staff with...
All right, let me see what the monitors -- I wanna see this.
White Queen Headboard Wall Mount, tw--
$20?
[ Laughter ]
Clyde, why you be playing these games?
You need to stop it, sir.
That post -- Well, that's a problem -- You need to knock it off.
That's a problem if you can't recognize your furniture.
No, what's a problem is that you would sell my things! Clyde. Hold one second.
Whoa. One second, Romona. Without my knowledge!
Miss Romona. Yes, sir. Please.
Let me -- Let me say something, Clyde. Sure.
What happened to this mattress?
Khafre came to live with us.
Who? Khafre.
Clyde's son.
Come over to the witness box, would you, sir?
You should be shame yourself, Clyde.
[ Chuckles ]
Tell me your name, sir.
Khafre.
Khafre, and you're Clyde's son?
Yep, that's my dad.
Okay.
Tell me what your knowledge is about this mattress.
Okay, so, initially, I was sleeping on his bed.
And then, they were sleeping on her old mattress.
So, I guess she was having severe back pain
or something like that, so we swapped mattresses.
When I moved out, I took the mattress with me.
But, I mean, she was rarely ever in the house,
but she was present when we -- when I moved out.
When you moved out,
did you ask her for the mattress?
Not explicitly, no.
But she was there when --
when she saw me take the mattress with me.
No, I wasn't, Khafre. Steve: Well...
I love you. You should not lie like that.
You really shouldn't do that.
I don't have any reason to lie.
Let's -- Let's assume
everybody's telling the truth here.
[ Laughter ]
I know I'm telling the truth.
They're not.
So, now, would you say --
Let me ask you a question, Mr. Clyde.
Sure.
Did the mattress that belonged to her leave the house?
Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
You can step down.
So, now, let me get to this here.
What is this really about?
So... Because I can't believe
this is about a $20 headboard and this mattress.
What's really happening here?
My bed wasn't $20.
I was married for 26 years, I got a divorce,
and I had to start over in another state.
The reality is I paid money for my things.
I came in that relationship with those things.
I should leave with them.
[ Applause ]
Shame on you. No, I think shame on her.
I mean... Those are my things! Woman: Right!
The reason that I think we're here is because
we were in the process of buying a house together.
Huh? Okay?
We were in a -- Wait, hold up.
Y'all -- what?
This -- I ain't -- I ain't never --
You know, man. Y'all -- Y'all --
I don't know if you all don't have storytelling skills.
Maybe not.
I don't -- I don't -- You know, this -- this --
this story was going along... You said --
...and then, all of a sudden, "We moved in together."
And now, you know, "We tried --"
"They put my bed on sale for $20.
He took my bedroom out and moved out the house."
What is this really about?
"Well, we was fixin' to buy a house."
Yeah.
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughing ] What? What?
Clyde. Right.
So... What?
So, I mean, before we got to this point where,
you know, the relationship ended,
we were in the process because we had saved some money,
or, at least, I had saved some money,
and we were in the process of buying a house.
You backed out because you didn't want me
to have a conversation with a contra--
with the, uh -- with the mortgage broker.
That's how we broke up.
And that was it for me.
How can I be out of something,
and I put $12,000 in?
You were out. Exactly.
So what happened to your $12,000?
So, eventually -- I gave every dime back, sir.
Listen, it was -- it was left into Romona's account
until she closed on the house.
And I sent you that affidavit. Because she asked me to do that.
So, bottom line, Clyde -- did you get your money back?
I got some of my money back, minus $200.
[ Laughter ]
But the point is, she said
that she's gonna close on a certain date
and she needed the funds that I had provided
in the account for her to close.
No, I didn't. I said, "Have at it.
I just need my money back when you close."
And I could have just said that,
"I need my money back right now."
You -- No.
No. Okay. Here's the deal.
I've reached my verdict. Please!
[ Cheers and applause ]
This, to me, really is simply open and shut.
And it's open and shut
because of what everybody said out their mouth themself.
I don't even have to make a decision.
Here was the deal.
Whether this woman was home or not,
her bed is gone.
I believe she had a bed from the beginning
because I believe when she got a divorce, she started over.
And women don't sleep on the floor.
Women buy beds. [ Applause ]
We sleep on the floor and mattresses,
piles of clothes 'cause we dudes.
This woman had a bed.
There's no way she lived on a broke bed.
That's right. She ain't that type of woman.
Nope.
But we got a decent man over here, too.
And the thing he done was he showed up
when the chips was down.
When she needed that $12,000 to show good for the house,
he did that.
We got two good people that made a couple of mistakes.
It's real simple.
The son came up here and was honest and said,
"I took the mattress."
That's all we in here for.
The suit for $2,800 --
I can't get nothing for $1,600 for emotional distress,
but I can give you the money for bed and mattress.
I don't believe it was brand new,
but I do believe you.
My ruling is for the plaintiff for $1,200.
Thank you, Judge.
Thank you very much.
That's my verdict.
And that's the way I see it. Thank you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪