The car that you're in the middle of test driving breaks down.
Yes, Your Honor.
You say he bought the car.
It was an as-is sale.
He could've said no.
[Acker] He hasn't even been in the car for what? How long? An hour?
Fifteen minutes, Your Honor.
[Levy] Did your parents raise you to be a thief?
-Nope. -[Levy] Absolutely disgusting.
[announcer] Today on Tribunal Justice.
This case was filed in Olympia, Washington.
Your Honor, this is case number 1105 on the calendar
in the matter of London versus Blackwell.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
-[Acker] Thank you, Byrd. -[Byrd] Mm-hmm.
Mr. London, the Defendant was selling her car online.
You saw the ad. It was a 2000 BMW E46.
So, you made arrangements to meet her.
You, ma'am, did not have the title with you,
so what you agreed to do, sir, was give her the money,
and you wanna take the car on the test drive.
So the two of you make arrangements...
-Mm-hmm. -...to drive back to her home...
-Mm-hmm. -...to get the title.
In the course of doing that,
you say the car that you're in the middle of test driving breaks down.
Yes, Your Honor.
I note that both of you submitted evidence in this case,
but no one has the ad?
She deleted it right away before the police got there.
Did the ad say that the car was in good condition?
The ad said that it was running in great condition
and it had no issues at all.
Do you recall what language you used in the ad?
Same thing as he's saying. Um, it ran and drove fine.
Drivable condition, runs in good condition. Good condition.
I drove it to work every day.
We have a picture of the car. Can we see that on the monitor, please?
Was that the condition of the car when you saw it?
Did it kind of roughly look like that?
It looked great cosmetically. Inside there was a bunch of issues.
I was starting to go through it, and I started to move stuff over
so I could get ready for this test drive.
The passenger seat didn't work,
so she starts grabbing money out of the money I gave her,
and starts throwing it at me. "Oh, that'll fix it. Here you go."
Oh, you mean she was offering you a refund for some things?
-Yeah, for some of the problems... -I gave him a hundred dollars,
since the motor didn't work in the passenger seat.
[John] And then, uh...
So what was the total price that the two of you agreed on for the car?
[John] It was 4,700, Your Honor.
So now, according to your complaint,
what you say is that you're nervous
about speeding up to try to keep up with her
because you've got your child in the car.
Yes, Your Honor.
But, by the same token, you can't keep up with her because what?
I can't keep up with her, Your Honor, because at that point,
the wheel bearing is finally starting to heat up.
You can hear it. You can smell it. And also on the freeway, Your Honor,
it seized on me twice, kicking the car out.
I'm-- I get off. The quickest exit that I can.
Drive as slow as I can.
[Acker] All right, so then you're now pulled over on the side of the road.
-You reach out to the Defendant. -Mm-hmm.
And you're like, "I'm trying to do this test drive.
I'm on the side of the road.
And this car-- the car's broken down."
-And what does she say to you? -She tries to help at first.
Until I got to the point where I told her,
"I will gladly tow your car home. I will pay that expense for you.
But I'd like my refund." And...
And your position, Ms. Blackwell,
was that the transaction was already consummated.
-Mm-hmm. Yes. -[Acker] And so no refund?
But then you did say at some point, am I right,
that you were willing to repurchase the car for $1,000.
-Yes. -So you would give him $1,000 back.
And take the car back, so he's out $3,700.
-Yes. -Why did that seem fair to you?
Because on the bill of sale it says $1,000.
When did you give him the bill of sale?
Right when he came and he looked over the car.
He said it looked fine. He scanned it with his tool.
He said if something was wrong, it would've popped up.
Was the bill of sale executed before you took off on the test drive?
She gave me the bill of sale for security purposes
so that it wasn't stolen as a reassurance.
And it wasn't even a bill of sale. It was just a marking, a paper.
-But you didn't get the title until when? -No.
Until I filed the lawsuit and she sent it.
What did you learn about the condition of the car?
When I brought the car home, I'm a mechanic.
I'm in the BMW world, so I have a lot of friends.
I found out both of the front wheel bearings were seized.
The suspension in the front, someone tampered with, uh, the springs,
so the springs weren't even really there.
Can we see the Carfax, please?
So, Ms. Blackwell, what were you up to?
'Cause you knew that this car had a salvaged title.
-You knew it had been rebuilt. -Yes.
[Acker] But you didn't disclose that on your ad.
-Yes. -No, you didn't.
Because when I said to you at the beginning of this case,
"What did you say about the car?"
you said, "I said it was in good condition and drivable condition."
-You did not disclose it was salvaged. -Yes.
-I put it in the listing, Your Honor. -[Acker] Did you? Did she?
-Yes. I even messaged him. -Um, she messaged me about it.
I didn't see it in the listing. I had to privately message her about it.
-She messaged you before the test drive? -Yes.
That it was salvaged, so you knew it was a salvaged vehicle?
-I knew it was a salvaged vehicle. -How long had you had this car?
-At least six months. -Why were you selling the car?
[Alyssa] I had bought a new car. I just did not need it anymore.
You just up and bought a new car. What do you do for a living?
I work on a fishing boat.
So did you think that...
He has no title. He has no proof of ownership.
He hasn't even been in the car for what? How long? An hour?
-More than 15 minutes, Your Honor. -He's been in the car for 15 minutes.
And you thought it was appropriate to say, "I'm gonna take the car back,
keep $3,700 of your money,
and send you on your way"?
Then what were you gonna do? Try to sell the car again?
No, I would've fixed whatever's wrong with it.
They're $40 parts, Your Honor.
While you kept $3,700 of his money. That's kind of an expensive rental.
It would've been like $3,700 every 15 minutes.
That's kind of a wild transaction.
Um, I think my colleagues have some questions.
-Judge DiMango. -[DiMango] Yeah, I do.
I'm gonna start with your complaint. 'Cause I think you bought the car.
I mean, you said you really just looked at it,
but according to what I read in the papers,
you had a scanning device which you used to scan the engine of the car.
Of course.
'Cause you're holding yourself out
as somebody who is more knowledgeable than the average person, sir...
Yes, Your Honor.
...about BMW's specifically, not just vehicles.
So now, as I understand it,
the problem that has brought you all here, initially at least,
-was what you're calling the seized... -Wheel bearing. Yes, ma'am.
Now, a seized wheel bearing.
You take off the tire, you fix it, you put it back on.
-And the car goes. That's the issue. -Mm-hmm.
You know what, I checked with a mechanic.
Five, six hundred dollars, maybe, to do that.
-[John] Yes, Your Honor. -That doesn't undo the car working.
The car had no real issues.
All it had was a seized bearing,
which could have been caused by-- you would know better
'cause... it could have been caused by hitting a pothole.
So the reality here is, in my view,
that perhaps the only real problem with this car
was that this wheel bearing seized on you during this drive.
Not good, but not necessarily something
that would've been an intentionally hidden defect,
so I'm not sure that that's something
that could be intentionally manipulated by a seller, so let me put that aside.
Because what you do say, Mr. Car Expert,
on page 11 of the Defendant's evidence,
that you're communicating with her and negotiating.
-Mm-hmm. -And you say...
"I'd take 1,500 for all the damages and time wasted,
and I'll cancel the case."
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
You're both deceiving DMV by saying $1,000,
so you have to pay less tax, right? You both did that.
That's what she put on there, Your Honor.
Well, she wrote it down, but you didn't say,
"No, no, let's be truthful about this. I paid $4,800 for the car."
-Mm-hmm. -Right?
So, you have a little bit of unclean hands in that as well.
Yes, Your Honor.
[dramatic music plays]
[announcer] John London is suing private seller Alyssa Blackwell
for the cost of a 2000 BMW and emotional distress.
Alyssa claims John inspected the car and bought it as-is.
What you do say, Mr. Car Expert,
"I'd take $1,500 for all the damages and time wasted,
and I'll cancel the case."
Yes, Your Honor. Um, I--
[DiMango] Now you say that 'cause the car works.
-Well, yeah, the engine works, for sure. -[DiMango] Everything works.
So if we were to say to you give the car back to her...
-You wouldn't want to do that, would you? -I would. Gladly.
I want no connections with the car at all.
But that's not what you're asking for in your remedy here.
I'm asking for my money back and my time
and everything. I'm not asking to keep the car, Your Honor.
-[DiMango] Well, where is the car? -The car is parked at a Safeway.
How did you get the car from there to the Safeway?
I towed it. I paid six to seven hundred dollars.
And how long's it been sitting in Safeway?
Um, since October 29th.
So the car is like sitting there not getting in any better shape.
And that car looks good. It drives well,
as you've said, because you didn't have any engine issues.
All you had here was a breakdown in the ti--
Now, listen, Ms. Blackwell, I'm not a fan
of people who sell things that are defective
or intentionally try to, uh, for lack of a better word,
scam or defraud a purchaser or anybody actually.
-Yes. -But I'm not quite sure I see that here.
I see a knowledgeable car mechanic
purchasing a vehicle that he checked out mechanically with you,
paid you in full,
you're both deceiving DMV
by saying $1,000 so you have to pay less tax.
Right? You both did that?
That's what she put on there, Your Honor.
[DiMango] Well, she wrote it down, but you didn't say, "No, no.
Let's be truthful about this. I paid $4,800 for the car."
-Mm-hmm. Yeah. -Right?
So you have a little bit of unclean hands in that as well.
[John] Yes, Your Honor.
So you understand, however, that a sale is as-is, correct?
If it's included in the title, uh, or in the title at closing.
[DiMango] You're lying to me. You know it-- You know--
Never mind. You know. You know darn well. Don't play that game with me right now.
So she did say the car was in running condition.
She didn't mis-advertise.
It was in good running condition.
The only problem that you had here was the fact that you had the wheel issue.
So you would've taken $1,500,
and you still would've kept the car, correct?
I did that, Your Honor, for legal purposes.
I was told to try to mitigate.
What you were saying was, "I'm willing to keep this car
because in my mind, it's worth $3,300 or 4,000,
not the 48 that I paid you."
Judge, uh, Levy, please.
Yeah, if-- To follow up on your point,
so when you said that you would take back $1,500...
-Mm-hmm. -...for the damages and what have you,
that was $1,500 from the Defendant and you keep the car?
Yes, Your Honor.
[Levy] At that point, you still wanted the car?
-At that point, yes. -[Levy] Okay.
And how much... I know Judge DiMango said that based upon her research
it would cost, uh, you know, four or five hundred bucks
to fix that wheel bearing,
and in your expertise, how much would that cost?
If I do it myself, it'd cost like 200 bucks.
-[Levy] Right. Exactly. -If that.
[Levy] At the same time, Ms. Blackwell, you said that
you've been driving this car and you had no problems with it.
-Yes. -[Levy] And you said you were driving
that car, I think you said, back and forth to work.
-Yes. Every day. -And every day for about six months.
[Alyssa] At least, yes.
[Levy] Then can you explain to me how it is that you had the car
for over six months, but the Carfax have you purchasing it on August 24th,
2022?
[Alyssa] I bought it probably a month or two beforehand.
And then I went to Alaska to go work,
and then I put it in my name when I got back.
On the title of the vehicle, when you say it wasn't in your name, the title...
-[Alyssa] Mm-hmm. -Let's do this.
Go ahead. Take a look.
What date was it that the vehicle was titled?
[Alyssa] The 31st of August.
So what's this nonsense about you telling me that you had the car
and you were driving around with it since July or before?
I just didn't have it in my name prior.
So you were illegally driving the car around?
Yes.
[Levy] And you know that someone like the Plaintiff in his position
would most certainly think it was a big benefit to him
for him to spend $4,700 on a car,
and you only put $1,000 down on the bill of sale, right?
-Yes, for his benefit. -[Levy] Tell me...
Why would someone in the Plaintiff's position
be so thankful for you putting $1,000 on the bill of sale?
He didn't have to be thankful. He could've said no.
I said, "Here. I'm gonna write down $1,000 for you
so you don't get screwed by taxes." He said, "Okay. Thank you."
Taxes. So now what you're saying to him is because I'm the kind of person
who doesn't mind committing crimes,
let me add, on top of that, tax fraud.
-You have no problem with that, do you? -I do.
Really? 'Cause it doesn't seem like it.
'Cause if you did, you'd have given him back his money.
-But you didn't, right? -No.
You could've given him $1,500 to make the whole thing go away,
to mitigate the damages, and you were basically, "Too bad."
'Cause you're smarter than he is, right?
Now, October 29th,
he gets into the car at 5:10.
And by 5:34, he's telling you to please pull over.
-That's 24 minutes. -[Alyssa] Mm-hmm.
Now, something else that... On the certificate of title again,
take a look.
-What's that? I just circled that. -My signature.
-[Levy] Is that your name? -Yes.
Oh, without my last name, no.
On the vehicle certificate of title,
this is the one that you signed over to him.
-Right? Right here. It's October 29th. -Yes.
[Levy] And this is where you falsify that document
by putting a thousand dollars even though you got $4,700, right?
Yes.
So you really conspired to commit tax fraud.
I matched the bill of sale, yes.
Yeah.
This is a text thread from you and a friend
who claimed to have seen the Plaintiff driving the car.
-[Alyssa] Yes. -Why did you produce this as evidence?
[Alyssa] Because he's saying he left the car at a Safeway
after he got it towed, but my friend said he's seen it in his driveway.
All right, let me explain to you what I get from this.
-Yes. -[Levy] So...
Your friend tells you, "Did you sell the car?"
You said, "Yeah, I did.
Plaintiff broke it driving and then asked for his money back,
and I told him no."
-[Alyssa] Yes. -"Tried to say I sold it to him broken."
-Yes. -[Levy] Your friend to you.
-Calls him a clown. -Yes.
And your response is "Yeah, he is."
-Yes. -[Levy] This is the important part to me.
You then say, "I still have the title."
Yes.
[Levy] On October 30th, you still have the title.
Yes.
You produced this document today, didn't you?
The... Me reporting it sold. Yes.
Who'd you report this to? DMV?
[Alyssa] DMV, yes.
[Levy] Take a look at the document that you provided to us today
and tell me when it was that you told the DMV
that this transaction had been consummated.
The 29th.
[Levy] How can you consummate the deal on the 29th to DMV
when, on the 30th, you still had the title?
And you lie again to the DMV and say the deal was done.
-How does that work? -Uh, it does not.
[Levy] Like how were you brought up?
Did your parents raise you to be a thief?
-A liar? A tax scammer? -No. Nope.
[Levy] Your folks are gonna be so proud of you.
If you were my kid, you'd disgust me.
Absolutely disgusting.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
Did you specifically hear the Plaintiff use the word "test drive"
in relation to following the Defendant to pick up the title?
Yes, Your Honor, I did.
And did the Defendant ever acknowledge that this was just a test drive?
And I'll remind you you are under oath. You've already been sworn in this case.
[dramatic music plays]
I'm gonna talk about the bill of sale, the one that you fraudulently created.
This is it, Ms. Smarty Pants, right? October 29th, 2022.
Now in the state of Washington, a bill of sale, in order to be valid,
also has to have a registration number.
I was not aware of that.
It also needs a seller's address to be valid.
-I was not aware... -It needs a buyer's address to be valid.
And it needs a seller's signature to be valid.
-None of those are on this form, right? -[Alyssa] No.
Bill of sale, gone.
You should've paid him the fifteen hundred bucks.
I have nothing further.
When was the last time you drove the car?
I had it dropped off on the 30th, uh, at 3 a.m., in the morning.
-The 30th of October? -[John] The 30th of October.
So it's your testimony that between the time...
-[John] Mm-hmm. -...you picked the car up from her,
-you'd only driven the car once? -Yes, ma'am.
You have a witness here, and I think I'd like to hear from her.
-Who is your witness? -It's, uh, Ms. Angel Wright.
And what does she have to offer?
Her recollection of the whole event.
-[Acker] Was she with you...? -She was with me the whole time.
-And how do you know this witness. -Uh, I met her first through work,
and then family friends. I help take care of her kids sometimes.
Ma'am, I'm sorry. Will you state your name for the record again, please?
My name is Angel Wright.
[Acker] So what part of this transaction did you witness
or about which do you have any firsthand knowledge?
So we-- we ended up getting there
to see the vehicle, and John looked over the vehicle
while I watched his child for him.
Then they concocted the bill of sale together,
and once we get there, she informs us that she had left the title
at her residence down in Tacoma.
And I heard her specifically say that it was perfectly fine
that John test drove the vehicle down to Tacoma
to see if he even wanted it.
[Acker] Let me interrupt you for a moment. Did you specifically hear
the Plaintiff use the word "test drive"
in relation to following the Defendant to pick up the title?
Yes, Your Honor, I did.
[Acker] And did the Defendant ever acknowledge
that this was just a test drive?
And I'll remind you you are under oath. You've already been sworn in this case.
Yes, I am aware that I've already been sworn in,
and I am telling the truth.
He said, "I would like to take it for a test drive down to Tacoma,"
and she said, "Okay, that's fine."
[Acker] I don't have any further questions. My colleagues?
[DiMango] I'm sorry. I do have one more.
You can't drive a car with a seized wheel bearing, can you?
-No. Yeah. -You can't. The car stops.
So, when you answered Judge Acker
when you said you got the car back on the 29th...
But you-- the last time you drove it was on the 30th.
That was after the tires seized.
How could you drive a car with a seized tire? You can't.
It's not like a flat where the tire turns.
Oh, it'll go. It just hella screams.
What happened is there's no grease inside. The grease burnt out.
And I believe it's from the car sittin' there
for, I don't know, maybe three months. Uh, that's what it seems like.
So when it heats up, it's metal on metal.
[DiMango] When you bought this car, you're saying it was sitting there.
You-- you knew enough to ask her about the use of the car.
You s-- You keep playing stupid and smart at the same time.
So you knew that there were issues that arise in a vehicle
that's been left unattended and sitting unused for a while.
You do know that.
Your Honor, that's my-- that's my own assumption,
that the vehicle was sitting there.
Oh, you're assuming that. So you just testified to something,
you assume that the car was sitting there.
She testified she uses it. Now you're saying it's sitting there,
and that's why this-- All right. I think I h-- I have enough information.
Thank you, everyone. We're gonna retire to deliberate.
[Byrd] Court is now in recess. Parties are excused.
She lists the car for sale. She discloses that it's a salvage, uh, vehicle.
I don't think there were any misrepresentations
to the Plaintiff by her.
I think that the misrepresentations that she made to the government,
he was complicit in.
However, for me
there's a very simple resolution to this case,
which is that in their jurisdiction,
the sale of a vehicle is not completed until the title is transferred.
He repudiated the deal before the title was transferred,
so, to me, that's the out.
I don't have to go much further than that. I would unwind the sale, full stop.
[DiMango] Well, I agree with you.
First of all, I think she represented everything properly,
I think that he was part and parcel of the government scam for the $1,000.
And he bought that car. He wanted that car.
I would give him back some money
'cause he said we would've taken money and would've kept the car,
but I wouldn't give him the 1,500. I would give him,
probably two because he could fix it himself, he said, for two, so...
[sighs] I could absolutely see unwinding the whole deal
based upon the fact that she didn't transfer the title over to him,
she lied about it to DMV, she lied about quite a bit.
You know, he also came into this with unclean hands,
and I don't like that either. He knew what was going down with that $1,000.
The Plaintiff made it clear he was willing to take some money.
He wanted $1,500,
but he said he can do it for 200.
-I'd say we just give him the 200. -[Acker] Two hundred dollars?
[DiMango] All right. I'm good with giving him back $200.
-[Levy] I-I-- Right. -But I think I'm in the dissent.
-I-I would agree with you. -Yeah.
All righty, so we're not unanimous, but we do have a verdict.
-Yes. -Okay. Very good.
Court is back in session.
Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
[Acker] Thank you, Byrd.
We've deliberated, and we've reached a verdict that is not unanimous.
You know, there is a legal provision in your jurisdiction
that provides that a sale of a vehicle is not completed
until the title is transferred from the seller to the buyer.
And I was willing to rely on that provision
and wash my hands of this case, but my colleagues saw it differently,
so I am the dissenting opinion in this matter.
It's the verdict of this court
by Judges Levy and DiMango that you pay the Plaintiff $200
in order to address the wheel bearing issues.
And that'll be the end of your obligations to Mr. London,
so that's the verdict of this court.
Two hundred dollars is to be awarded to the Plaintiff.
Good luck to you both. Enjoy the car. We do know that you like it.
And good luck to you on that fishing boat. That's our verdict.
[Byrd] This case is now concluded. Parties are excused.
-You may step out. -[Alyssa] Thank you.
You can't really tell if a wheel bearing's gonna go out or not
unless you're driving it, and then it happens 26 miles down the road, so...
I had offered her, uh, two grand to just give me three grand back,
so I could go home. Nothing.
I think they seized up while he was driving it,
and it's just bad timing.
Drive 'em before you-- before you give 'em the money.
He seemed to be driving it fine when I saw him.
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[end theme music plays]