And the pain and suffering is because of...?
Lack of intimacy. Lack of sex.
That's a whole nother kind of pain and suffering.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
I don't really do witchcraft, miss.
Would you come and stand on this side, please?
Use your Taser if you have to.
Uh...
We had so many parties.
We did a lot of naughty things.
Well, naughty over there is different.
It ain't the same.
It ain't the same naughty as in America.
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. Let's get started.
This is the case of Jia Miranda vs. Elijah Miranda
Jia is suing her husband, Elijah,
for $10,000 for lingerie, wigs,
and a sexy photo shoot
because of his lack of intimacy.
Elijah says the money
would be better spent elsewhere,
so he's not paying.
Let's start with you, Jia.
You have 30 seconds to state your case.
Yes, so, Your Honor, I'm suing my husband for $10,000
for lack of intimacy.
[ Spectators exclaiming ]
Yeah.
$5,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering,
and another $5,000 for money well spent
on spicing up our marriage, our relationship, you know,
for things like wigs, lingerie, and other personal items.
[ Laughter ]
Uh, Elijah, it's your turn. You have 30 seconds to respond.
My wife is here suing me for $10,000 --
that she's not getting...
We'll see. Ha!
...because she thinks that I'm not doing my job in the bedroom.
And I guarantee you, I do my job.
And outside.
And she's not seeing that 10K.
We gonna see about that. Ha! Ha! Ha!
Well, this is gonna be interesting.
I ain't seen this one before.
So, uh, tell me about your relationship.
How were old where you when you met?
We was in the seventh grade.
Mm-hmm. 12 years old.
And then he gave me my first kiss.
[ Spectators "Aww" ]
Yes.
Four years later,
wound up being in a relationship.
After the relationship,
it turned into two years later
we wound up, you know, getting engaged.
And then from two years,
we wound up getting married in August 25, 2019.
But guess what? We're here and she's suing me for 10K.
[ Chuckles ]
Well, it ain't just suing you for 10K.
Mm-hmm.
Where she is suing you for lingerie, outfits,
wigs, a photo shoot, and pain and suffering.
And the pain and suffering is because of...?
Lack of intimacy. Lack of sex.
Oh.
[ Laughter ]
That's a whole nother kind of pain and suffering.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I've been through that before.
Yeah. So...okay.
It's real. It's getting real, Steve.
All my life, I had to fight.
I'm gonna tell you why. You want to know why.
Yeah. Yeah.
My weight has been going up and down.
I was 400 pounds when me and Elijah got married.
You know -- You got...
Yes, I was 400 pounds.
Jia: And when we got married, you know, that was my biggest.
We both didn't notice how big I was getting at all.
She was gorgeous then, and she's gorgeous now.
[ Cheers and applause ]
And so you went -- you decided to do something about it?
Yes, I went -- And how much did you lose?
I lost 148 pounds.
[ Spectators cheering ]
She's stunning. I love it. Yeah.
Okay, now, most women right now,
I got to be honest with you, Jia...
Yeah. ...are on his side.
They're clapping for this guy.
He has loved you no matter what.
I don't know a woman that don't want that.
I didn't tell you the details.
Okay, well, I'll just...
Alright, here, let me go.
Let me break -- On to the lawsuit.
I told you there was more. Okay?
I am very big on romanticism. Okay?
I understand that he's a hardworking man,
but I also do things where I try spicing up
the -- you know, our sex life.
I do things like do photo shoots for him.
I buy different wigs and stuff.
Like, for example, look, Steve.
So, look.
We need to see that. I can come from this...
...to Beyoncé or Kelly Rowland,
if you want, back to Jia again.
I can do all that for him.
He don't know what he getting on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
So you're switching it up. I switch it up.
You bringing the heat.
I bring the heat to the table. He ain't putting no food on it.
[ Spectators exclaiming ]
Elijah, what's happening here, man?
At the time, I was working a high-demanding, stressful job,
worked 12 to 13 hours a day.
Sometimes I would get home about 10:00.
[ Laughs ] And so two times,
three times a week was perfect for me,
'cause, yeah, I just wanted to come home and just relax.
You know, you a hardworking man.
You -- You work hard, so you know, understand those long hours.
You just want to sit down, be in your own...
Yeah. ...zone.
You know what I mean? Yeah.
So [Laughs]
But I definitely took care of you
and definitely took care of my business in the household.
Well, let's go back over here to the person
who knows better than anybody.
That would be you, Jia.
He does his part.
I have no complaints about that. Okay.
I'm complaining about the lack of intimacy, the romanticism.
Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Steve.
Oh! I've got to say this
because she spends way too much money on our intimacy.
The photo shoot was over $1,000 for a shoot
that should have never been that much.
Like, it came out beautiful. Like, they was amazing.
Those pictures were gorgeous. Oh, my God. Oh, he worrying about money.
I love the different lingerie and what she puts on,
but not for the -- the amount of money.
For you. I understand that.
But you spending way too much money,
and we have other bills.
Ah-huh!
Your Honor, let me tell you something.
Is there really a problem, you know,
getting your money that you have, that you work hard for,
and you put it and invest in the relationship?
I didn't know that was a problem.
I don't think it's a problem,
but do you save any money, do you...?
We didn't have a honeymoon, so --
but I have been saving up some money
so we can go to a all-expensive,
you know, resort. Yeah.
Well, y'all not in here arguing.
Let's just get to the lawsuit.
You are suing your husband for $10,000.
$5,000 for lingerie, outfits, wigs, and photo shoot.
You suing him for that?
I want him to give me more intimacy.
Let's use another word.
So I'll use some words that all mean that.
Okay. [ Chuckles ]
So how often do you like your bacon fried?
[ Laughter and applause ]
I like it fried every day.
How often? Every day.
You want your bacon fried every day?
Yeah. Elijah...
Lay it on me. Come on.
When you're cooking flapjacks...
[ Laughter ]
...how often do you think you need to turn over your pancake?
Four to almost five times a week.
How old are you?
I'm 27.
Oh, yeah. Hell yeah.
[ Laughter ]
Boy! Hoo hoo hoo!
♪♪
How often do you think you need to turn over your pancake?
Four to almost five times a week.
How old are you?
I'm 27.
Oh, yeah. Hell yeah.
[ Laughter ]
Boy! Hoo hoo hoo!
Let me ask you a question. Yeah.
Right now, would you be content
with four, five times a week?
No.
[ Spectators murmur ]
No.
And explain to me why.
Because I have worked really hard
in this marriage, romantically,
and he hasn't back, romantically.
And I feel like, why am I still fighting?
I definitely understand that, but...
I want to go on a honeymoon, like I said.
We want to go to a foreign country, you know?
And I don't want to spend our time just in the hotel.
I want to sightsee, too, and also be in the hotel.
You ain't going sightseeing.
I'm gonna tell you right now, if you go with her,
you ain't going to sightsee. I know, I know. I know.
I'm gonna tell you right -- You ain't gonna see a damn thing.
Maybe the window.
You better get you a brochure and some Google.
Look, man, you in trouble.
When she's asking you and you don't want to,
What are you saying?
I say I don't have the time or, like,
the mental capacity right now.
You know, I'm just drained from work,
you know, and I just really
just want to just relax, watch the game.
You know, smoke a cigar or, you know,
just get on the game with my bros, you know?
Get on the game with your bros?
Yes.
Let me tell you something, dawg. You're 27. You can't say that.
I know. [ Laughs ]
"I'd rather get on the game with my bros
than to get on..."
That's my me time. That's my me time.
Steve, look, this is what I'm saying. That's my me time.
You're saying exactly how I feel.
Like, so all I'm looking for is more intimacy with him.
Like, that's what I want.
But, you know, we could do other --
we could do other things, like, you know --
Like what, man? Like, you know...
What would you -- What would you like to do with your wife?
Like, maybe a hobby, Like, you know, tennis or yoga.
There's other things than just sex.
What? I'm sorry. [ Laughs ]
[ Laughter ]
You've got to be the first 27-year-old dude
I've ever heard say that.
To sum this up, you would like more me time. Together.
Yes. Okay.
Man, y'all got me messed up here.
The pain and the suffering
and the money for the outfits
on the lingerie and the photo shoot.
He mad about the photo shoot 'cause it cost $1,000,
but he loved the pictures.
"Did he show affection after that?" is the question.
I didn't.
[ Spectators murmur ]
I do all these things, all these things,
and I'm not getting anything that I'm looking for back.
Well, let me ask you question. Okay.
Have you thought about all this fighting
you've been doing your entire life? Yeah.
Have you thought for a minute, "Let me rest.
Let me stop fighting.
And let me see what organically comes about"?
I think, with the fighting,
you're creating mostly disappointment for yourself
because you have a level of expectation on this man
that he can't meet.
I don't know if you know this or not,
but we, the guy,
we have to come up with something
every time it's time to do something.
Mm.
We have to come up with something.
[ Laughs ]
And when you're asked to do that every day,
it's a little bit stressful.
I just have to be honest with you.
And the older he gets, the less he's gonna be able
to keep coming up with something.
And these ain't ideas he got to come up with.
You've got to find another way. Your love language is affection.
Affection can be more
than a physical romp in the sheets and activity.
It has to be more.
You all have got to find a way to show affection
in other ways.
And then the reward would be even more.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" will be playing in the background.
[ Laughs ]
You can get the trumpets of elephants --
Braaah!
If it's every single day,
I just don't know how you maintain
that level of intensity and fulfillment
every single day.
Listen -- You can't deny I love him.
Like, you can't deny that I work hard to get his attention.
I know you do.
I'm -- you know. You're working too hard.
Alright.
You -- I've reached a verdict.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I mean, I feel for you, man. You're in trouble.
Yeah.
You got to be the luckiest guy in the world.
Yeah. ...to have a wife that you love
that wants you all the time
and wants to be intimate all the time.
That sounds wonderful to every man in here.
But we got to go to work.
I'm sorry. I can't help him.
You want it all the time. He want it every now and then.
I can't make him do that.
Nor can I give you $5,000
for lingerie, outfits, wigs, and a photo shoot.
I can't give you $5,000 for that.
Now, the pain and suffering, you're doing --
you're bringing it on yourself 'cause you're working too hard.
I can't give you anything on this case.
But I'll tell you what I will do.
I'm sending you all on a honeymoon.
[ Spectators cheering ]
What?!
I'm giving you $5,000 to go on a honeymoon.
That's my verdict.
And that's the way I see it.
[ Spectators cheering ]
♪♪
I feel like the verdict was fair.
Um, I love him. That's my everything, you know?
I love you too.
And I'm gonna, you know, ease it up a little bit
in the kitchen.
[ Laughs ]
I'm a professional cosplayer.
You have a picture of something you've done?
[ Spectators exclaim ]
Well, you win.
Alright.
[ Spectators cheering ]
Okay, so, what do we have next?
This is the case
of Brooke Stenz vs. Michael Wilson.
Brooke is suing her friend Michael for $8,000
for not giving her proper credit
on their cosplay collaborations.
Michael claims Brooke did get credit
and is countersuing for $3,000
in lost income and emotional distress.
Let's start with you, Brooke.
You have 30 seconds. State your case.
My name is Brooke Stenz.
I also go by Bebe Alkaid Cosplay.
And I am a professional cosplayer.
I am here today to sue Michael Wilson
for not crediting me properly in photos.
And one of our photo shoots went viral.
I believe he owes me $8,000.
[ Spectators gasp ]
For gas money, food, hotel, all the expenses.
Okay, uh, Michael, it's your turn now.
You have 30 seconds to respond.
Mr. Harvey, I feel I don't owe her a dime.
Actually, ever since we've collaborated together,
I've helped her.
We've went viral together.
Um, I've gotten her convention bookings.
I've always promoted her with other businesses.
If anything, she owes me.
So I'm countersuing $1,000 for loss of income
and $2,000 for emotional distress.
Well, first of all, for those of us who don't know
what you're talking about,
what is it that you do?
So I am a professional cosplayer.
I get booked by conventions to come in
and teach people how to make costumes.
Who are you right now?
Right now I am actually
my Dungeons & Dragons character named Freya
that I used in a game,
all completely just made by me.
[ Spectators exclaim ]
Okay, who -- who are you right here?
Um, so this is a World of Warcraft character.
And, Michael, your role in all of this is what?
What do you do?
I'm a professional cosplayer.
This has actually become my second full-time job.
My first full-time job, I'm a deputy sheriff in Ohio.
And, yeah, it's become my passion,
your love for your fandom. And who are you today?
This is actually a character I created -- Knightmage.
You have a picture of something you've done? Let's see.
I have a few pictures, actually. Yes.
[ Spectators exclaim ]
[ Applause ]
It's a very popular cartoon from the '90s.
Who is -- Who is that?
That's Goliath?
David had a lot of courage if that was him.
[ Laughter ]
I'm sorry.
For those of you that didn't laugh,
that's a biblical reference, um,
which proves you ain't been to church, ever.
Appreciate the saints for getting that joke.
[ Laughs ]
What else you got?
Um, I think you're probably familiar with the next one.
That's wood.
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Laughs ]
[ Cheers and applause intensify ]
Being -- Being a Cleveland boy myself...
You from Cleveland? I'm from Cleveland.
Boy, I -- I knew it. I...
[ Laughter ]
I-I actually -- I brought a few more, you know?
There we go.
[ Applause ] That's, um...
[ Chuckles ]
Well...
The -- The mustache was the hardest part of that costume.
You win.
Alright.
Thanks for coming, lady.
Brooke, I've gotten over the flattery part.
I'm here to do business. I am a judge.
[ Laughter ]
[ Laughs ]
It sound funny when I say it.
[ Laughter ]
Alright, so both of you are into cosplay.
Brooke, why are we here?
Our photo shoot of a very popular fighting video game.
It went viral. It got a lot of attention.
And I'm suing Michael for not properly crediting me
and tagging me in photos.
Let's see the photos from the shoot.
[ Cheers and applause ]
We did it for fun.
We split the cost
to pay for our photographer and our videographer.
However, there are some articles that I know he was in touch
with the people that created the articles,
and I was not credited in them.
So are you saying he got money off of this?
He got more opportunities than I did.
And I believe it's not for tagging me. Okay, now let me bounce over to you, Michael.
What was you all's arrangement, agreement?
There was no arrangement as far as tagging photos
or anything like that.
We did over a hundred photos for this photo shoot.
I'm not gonna tag her for every single photo.
You know, if I tag her for two or three,
people know who she is.
I post a lot. I do a lot. I reach a lot.
She does not really put that much effort into it.
So let me find out -- What is your social media reach?
Uh, so, average reach is about 16 million.
That's -- That's popular.
[ Laughs ]
So, what did you hope to come out of this?
I honestly didn't expect anything.
It was more or less for fun. For a convention --
Okay, now, Brooke, if we in here for fun...
Your lawsuit is for $8,000. That's a lot of fun.
♪♪
So, what did you hope to come out of this?
I honestly didn't expect anything.
It was more or less for fun. For a convention --
Okay, now, Brooke, if we in here for fun...
Your lawsuit is for $8,000. That's a lot of fun.
[ Laughter ]
What I expect is, for when I get credited
in anyone's photos, not just Michael's,
I want people to be able to know where to find me.
So if they want me to make a prop for them,
or also like getting a guesting at a convention...
Oh, okay. So you're suing for $4,500 for guesting.
So you feel like you lost out of them?
Correct. Because?
Because people didn't know where to find me.
When did you all start not liking each other?
What was...
So, how it happened was, um,
there's a very popular social media company
who contacted me, who asked, you know,
am I doing anything upcoming?
So I told them about the plan, and they said,
"Great. We want to do that.
We want to run an article on that."
Do we have a copy of that article? Mm-hmm.
Okay, yeah, so that's -- that was the one.
"Here's who put together
the epic fatalities --
Knightmage
and Bebe Alkaid Cosplay."
Is that you? That is me.
That's you. So you in here?
My name was spelled completely wrong.
Okay.
Now let's talk about $1,500 for headshots.
You're saying you lost out on $1,500
in headshot opportunities.
And also getting paid for being at the conventions.
Mostly just on appearance fees.
Alright. The photographer. We got $800 for photography.
Is that something you all had split?
We split the total cost.
And then we got $500 for gas, $500 for a hotel.
Y'all stayed more than one day.
Um, I believe it was three days.
That wasn't the only photo shoot that we've done.
We've done other photo shoots too.
Another photo shoot we did actually went viral again.
That was...
Was this before or after this one? This is after.
Yeah, this is after. Wait, whoa.
You did another one after the one we're suing you for?
Yes. Okay.
We've actually done two. Let's see the photo for that. Let's...
[ Spectators murmur ]
You all had this arrangement that you would come --
Even the one in the snow was after the one we're suing about.
Yes.
So this countersuit
you having is for $3,000.
$2,000 for emotional distress,
and $1,000 potential loss of revenue.
Explain that to me.
So, like her, I get appearance fees from conventions.
However, everything I make at conventions
as far as, like, autographs and stuff,
I donate back to local charities.
So not only am I losing income for myself,
but I've raised close to $500,000
for over 160 charities worldwide.
So they're losing that money as well.
Now, explain the $2,000 emotional distress
Their emotional distress is literally
just, like, tarnishing the name.
Again, I've kind of worked hard for my name and this brand.
Back in 2013, I was granted the Volunteer Service Award
by Barack Obama, and...
So I-I worry that even just this lawsuit, you know,
potentially people not gonna want to work with me.
Oh, okay. So you have a witness?
Yeah.
Okay, well, let's bring the witness in.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
And, uh, what's your name?
My name's Andi Serpenti, Your Honor.
And -- And who are you today?
Um, this is an original character.
She's a Celtic goddess of witchcraft.
Celtic goddess of witchcraft.
Yeah.
I'm very uncomfortable talking with you.
[ Laughter ]
I don't really do witchcraft, Nancy.
Would you come and stand on this side, please?
Yes, come over here. [ Laughs ]
Use your Taser if you have to. Nancy: I got you.
[ Laughter ]
We're good.
Tell me what you know about this situation.
So... Do you know about this arrangement they had
to do this photo shoot?
Yes. I was actually a part of that photo shoot.
I kind of assist him at, like, conventions and at photo shoots.
And I participated in some of
the group photo shoots that we've done.
What was the agreement between Michael and Brooke?
There was no actual agreement that I can recall being made.
It was more of a, "Hey, let's get together
and just have a fun photo shoot."
There were no expectations of anything going viral.
It was just for fun.
But since it did go viral, is that why we're here?
Pretty much, yes.
Basically, I think that credit should be given where it's due.
I do too. And I don't --
and I don't think it should come between friendships.
And, unfortunately,
Michael's just really bad at social media.
He's great at posting content and getting it out there.
But when it comes to the finer details of things,
like crediting people, he kind of lacks that sometimes.
He hasn't tagged me in some things,
and he's lacked to tag Brooke.
He's just bad at social media sometimes.
I mean, I had to teach the dinosaur how to use TikTok.
She's your witness?
I thought she was.
Y'all need to pick better characters.
[ Laughs ] Got to pick a better...
Alright, I understand. I appreciate you coming.
Thank you very much.
Witchcraft.
[ Laughs ]
[ Laughter ]
Uh, I've reached a verdict.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I think the key for me was listening to the two stories.
And the one similarity that you both agreed to
was you got together for fun until the fun event went viral,
and now everybody wants something after the fact.
That's just not business. That's not how it works.
So, now, the countersuit, for $3,000,
for $2,000 for emotional distress
and $1,000 for potential loss of revenue.
I don't know if you heard the crowd when you said,
"I potentially lost $1,000."
They went, "W-What? Uhh..."
But they're kind of scared of you,
so they didn't really lay into it.
'Cause, you know, you take all the cape and stuff off,
your ass is a sheriff, so...
You kind of scared them. But we can't --
I'm gonna have to dismiss that $1,000 for potential loss.
You know your big ass ain't finna get $2,000
for emotional distress.
[ Laughter ]
Put that first picture up for me, please,
of him in his costume.
Nobody's giving you emotional distress.
[ Laughter ]
But now let's go over to the plaintiff.
I like you. You're a sweet person.
I can tell you're a really nice person.
But you're a bad businessperson.
Let's start with the food, the $200 food.
You ate it.
So, now, three days at a hotel.
If you can do that for $500, that's a pretty good deal.
Is that right? Or is that still high?
Say...
Okay, I'm sorry, I had a rich-boy moment.
My bad.
That's extremely high for a hotel.
$500 gas.
Oh, my God.
We know you're telling the truth right there.
Uh, the $800 for a photographer.
You all agreed to split that.
And the key -- "for fun."
And then, uh, $1,500 for potential headshots
and $4,500 for potential guestings.
It's just hard to measure that.
So here's my ruling.
You, sir, with your work to charity,
and you go to these kids' hospitals
and you brighten kids' day.
I think that's noteworthy.
I think you can help
because you could go to these hospitals too.
Here's the deal.
I'm gonna give you the $500 for gas
just 'cause the gas prices.
That's it. That's all I can do.
But I'm gonna give the both of you --
this is one check --
$3,000 to a charity of your choice.
And if you can go with him to present the check,
and then when you all take pictures
of presenting these checks to the charities that you go to,
you have to tag her in the photos
when you're taking the picture.
That's my verdict.
And that's the way I see.
[ Spectators cheering ]
♪♪
Did you write this letter to her?
You know, it's a long time back.
You can't believe...
I'm surprised to see that --
...that she done kept this raggedy-ass piece of paper.
♪♪
[ Spectators cheering ]
Okay, uh, let's get started.
This is the case
of Sumi Seissinger, vs. Sree Chintalaphani.
Sumi is suing her cousin Sree for $10,000
for getting her into an investment
that turned out to be a scam.
Sree says it isn't her fault they got scammed.
Let's start with you, Sumi.
You have 30 seconds. State your case.
I am suing my former friend and distant cousin
for $10,000 she borrowed from me 20 years ago.
She borrowed it and invested it on her behalf
and on my behalf in a scam.
This whole thing turned out to be a worldwide scam
where millions were lost.
As far as I'm concerned,
she borrowed the money and promised over and over again
to return it to me.
But it's been 20 years now, and I haven't seen a cent.
Well...you used your whole 30 seconds.
Uh...
Sree... [ Chuckles ]
It's your turn. You have 30 seconds to respond.
Namaste, Steve. Namaste, Judge.
Uh...yeah, what's happening? That's the way we greet in India.
Yes, ma'am. Glad to see you.
But I'm not happy to see her here.
And this -- this is -- you know, I'm here to defend myself.
This is going on past 20 years, and it is an investment.
She's not accepting that.
You know, people lose money, people gain money.
But she shouldn't have taken it personally
and ruined our relationship.
And the families --
She disturbed the families and she blamed me so many...
But I'm glad I'm here.
You are going to do justice for this.
I have trust on you.
Definitely You are going to bring families together.
Yes, well, first thing we're gonna do
is stop saying 30 seconds.
[ Laughter ]
Sumi, explain your relationship to me.
We are childhood friends. We both grew up in India.
And she was born in Hyderabad, and I was born in Bangalore.
Now Bengaluru they call it these days.
Oh!
And we were born same day, same month.
And you know, the -- the thing is,
we have so many great memories,
and we had get-togethers.
We travel. We had so many parties.
We did a lot of naughty things.
You know, teenage, especially.
When we were in teenage, you know...
It ain't the same naughty as in America. They...
But, you know, so...
so, whatever it is, you know, overall, I want to say
we have very, very nice childhood.
We have very friend--
we are, like, trusted each other.
We grow very happily and we have good life.
But the trust was broken afterwards. Okay.
So, what -- what happened here?
Okay, so even though we're born on the same day, same month,
we're two very different people.
I dream small, but she dreams big,
so she'd always talk about investments
and doing this and that, you know, all kinds of things.
So one holiday that she went back to India,
she came back really animated, very, very happy, excited.
And she talked to me about some genius guy in India
who had come up with a amazing scheme
that would make us a lot of money
buying these little saplings, which don't cost so much,
you know, little teak saplings... Uh-huh.
...and then planting it
and then letting it grow into big, huge teak trees,
and then, you know, harvesting the interest on that.
When was this?
This was in 1998.
Sree, what was the return supposed to be?
This is around, like, after 20 years,
it's 350,000.
Okay. On the other --
Do you have the document for this investment?
Yes, sir. Alright, let me see it.
Okay, here we go.
"This certifies that Mrs. Sumi Seissinger
and Mrs..."
Aw, gee.
[ Laughter ]
Let me just start over.
This certifies that this lady right here...
Yeah.
...and this lady right here
are fully paid holders of 100 units.
That's 30,000 square feet of land
with 300 teak saplings
valued at 600,000.
So, what happened to the investment?
It's -- 'cause it's 20 years now.
The CEO disappeared, and they were hunting for him.
It was huge. It was a scam.
He didn't even buy one little teak plant.
You all brought some headlines. Here, let me see.
"The Great Plantation..."
Yes.
Lot of people lost money, not only us.
I'm sorry, my whole body locked up
when I saw "plantation."
I'm sorry.
[ Laughs ]
"The Great Plantation Scam of the '90s."
"Trick or Teak?"
"India Plantation Defrauds Working Class Families
of 190 Million."
So this was a big story there.
Huge. Very big.
Was there ever agreement between the two of you
that Sree would pay you back the 10,000?
Absolutely.
That's where we -- now we're talking.
Absolutely.
She doesn't agree, but absolutely.
Do I have that in here?
Yes, Judge.
Alright, let's see this.
Oh, it's handwritten. I-I don't remember.
Okay.
"Dear Sumi didi."
That's -- you know P. Diddy. Uh...
[ Laughter ]
Didi is like a sister. Didi.
Oh, that's a sister? Sister.
Didi is like a... Oh, well, wait till I see Puffy.
Yeah. [ Laughs ] Yeah.
Sumi didi. He's a sister.
Hey, sister. Oh.
"I'm writing this note to wish baby" --
My daughter.
Okay. "To wish baby a very happy birthday.
She is one year old and very lucky girl
to have all the blessings of our ancestors.
Just want to tell you that I truly appreciate you.
Thanks for firstly listening to my advice on teak investment.
You won't regret it.
I know this investment is going to be great.
Also thanks for putting up my $5,000.
So don't worry about it.
I will return it ASAP
and I am so confident, that I promise if the investment fails,
I will return to you the entire investment of $10,000.
Tell your husband either way you are safe.
Take care and see you next week at the temple."
That was written on February 2nd of 1998.
I don't remember. I think --
Okay, but I got you don't remember.
But let me ask you something.
Did you write this letter to her?
I...
I'm sorry, Sumi.
I don't -- I didn't thought
that you are going to keep this old document this safe.
I thought this all disappear.
And...
I thought, you know, it's a long time back.
You thought...
You -- You can't...
[ Laughs ] Now, hold on.
Oh! I was surprised.
Let me tell you. Let me tell you something.
I'm surprised... You can't believe...
I'm surprised to see that.
...that she done kept this raggedy-ass piece of paper.
But...
[ Spectators cheering ]
See, but... This paper done flew across the ocean.
Let me ask you a question.
What's a word in your culture
that would mean, like, "Surprise"?
[ Speaks native language ]
This a "carabatay."
[ Laughter ]
This the biggest "carabatay."
You can't believe that this "carabatay"
is in this envelope-ay.
And open it up and you say, "Uhh, 'carabatay.'"
♪♪
You can't believe that this "carabatay"
is in this envelope-ay.
And open it up and you say, "Uhh, 'carabatay.'"
♪♪
Now, let me ask you something.
How has it affected the relationship?
Let me ask you first.
Well, we don't talk. We're not friends.
When y'all go to weddings and stuff, you all don't talk?
Oh, no. She's in that corner
telling everyone that I'm that evil woman
and she's the victim. No! No.
Yes? See, that's what I'm saying.
The middle people makes you lot of things.
So let me ask you this, Miss Sree,
how do you really feel about her?
Do you miss the friendship?
Of course. Of course.
Do you miss the friendship? Oh, totally.
You know what? Of course.
We were so close. Beautiful childhood memories.
And the whole family.
All these people, they take different sides. Okay.
It's just been terrible. Let me see this picture we have.
Every birthday I miss you, Sumi.
Look -- Look at this picture.
Sumi: Aww.
Yeah, that's the Vidhana Soudha. I remember that.
Oh, yes.
How old were you?
I was 15, 16. She was 16.
And you all been friends all this time?
Yes. Until 20 years ago.
Yes.
We're not really in here for $10,000.
That's not what we in here for. We in here for hurt.
Pain, suffering, betrayal, friendship, love.
All of this right here.
This is really what this is about.
Here's what I think is happening here.
On this agreement, there is no timelines.
So here we are over 20 years later.
No money has been paid.
But guess what it cost you all?
Your friendship.
It's fractured your family.
And it's ridiculous.
I've reached a verdict.
[ Spectators cheering ]
Now, ladies, I've already told you what I thought about this.
I think your intentions were pure and clean.
Yes.
I think you meant no harm or no ill will.
But you were scammed with a lot of people.
Before you all could get to any form of reconciliation,
the bickering started.
I can't tell you how many times in this court.
I tell people how important friendship is.
And the older you get,
the less number of friends you find you have.
I promise you -- and a lot of people doing this here.
And so it's hard. So what happened to that?
You are family. You don't speak.
You over here. You done left India.
What you doing?
You're blowing a fine opportunity.
Now, my judgment is for the plaintiff for $10,000.
The only reason I'm doing it is because you signed this paper.
I would throw this out.
But I'm going to do something today
because I would rather you be sisters.
I would rather you be didis than to sit up in here
and go home and win a case that will win you nothing.
So on behalf of the defendant,
my court is going to pay you your $10,000.
[ Spectators cheer ]
And you know why I'm paying you the $10,000?
Because that was her intent. Yeah.
She never intended to scam anybody.
She loves you.
She misses you and you miss her. Yes.
That's more important than the 10.
Judge, everything you said is so true.
I brought something which is so precious to her.
Her grandmother gave me a chain off her neck when we were kids,
and she loved it so much from that day.
And this is something precious for me, too.
But I want to give it to her so that we can be friends again.
[ Spectators "Aww" ]
I want to say something.
Sumi, everywhere you were, I prayed for you every time, didi.
I prayed for you so much. I want you to be happy.
Here. Open it, open it.
[ Crying ] Thank you.
[ Applause ]
It's so beautiful.
That's my verdict.
That's the way I see it.
[ Spectators cheering ]
♪♪
You know, Steve Judge Harvey was just amazing.
I mean, his verdict was just so beautiful.
So, so this is our life now. We can dance every day.
Yes. Didi.
We're gonna be dancing!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪