This is all about a 40th birthday party.
Yes.
She cancelled the party. Two days before your engagement.
I just didn't like the design of the space.
I'm extra, so I want to do things right. If I'm gonna do it, it's gonna be amazing.
But you signed up for it.
Um...
What do you mean, "um"?
[narrator] Today on Tribunal Justice...
[theme music playing]
This case was filed in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Your Honor, this is case #1092 on the calendar
in the matter of Diabate vs. Brooks.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
- [DiMango] Thank you, Byrd. - [Byrd] Mm-hmm.
Ms. Diabate, Mr. Brooks. This is all about a 40th birthday party.
So, Ms. Diabate, you were looking for a venue to celebrate,
how'd you call it, you're 40 again birthday.
- "Forty Again," yeah. - [DiMango] You missed it during COVID.
- Yeah. - [DiMango] So, a long time friend
who is the Defendant, apparently, said he was a DJ and that he owned a party venue.
You went to check out the place. You loved it, but for one thing.
It had red walls, and that didn't go with your vision of what your party was about.
- Mm-hmm. - [DiMango] So, you spoke to him about it,
he said, got you, I'm gonna paint it. You wanted it painted white,
he said he was gonna do that. All in, DJ-ing,
party venue, ghost chairs, tables, etcetera, $2,250.
You said that he even agreed that you could bring in your own liquor.
As the date neared, you went in and you noticed that the walls were still red.
This was like two weeks before. You were carrying on crying, you were all upset.
He said, I got you, don't worry, it'll still be done.
And then, he said to you, it's $1,500 for you to bring in your own alcohol.
And you said, this wasn't the deal. And he said, well, it is,
because it's really not legal in New Jersey
to bring in your own alcohol. And the bottom line is
you said, you're a liar. I'm not even gonna have my party here anymore.
- This was two days before. - Right.
Then at that point, he called you back and he said, all right, for $500
you can bring in your own alcohol. You said, too late, mister.
And then he said, all right, just bring in your own liquor
and I'm not gonna charge you for that. You said
that he told you things that were not true. He was not, in fact,
the owner of this place, he was just the manager.
He never could paint the walls white from red. And you want your deposit back.
So, you're here for the $1,600 deposit.
You say you never signed the contract, so there's nothing to enforce.
- Right. - [DiMango] And you're also suing
for some pain and suffering and emotional distress that this caused you,
and that's $1,600. So, your total lawsuit is $3,100.
- Yes. - Mr. Brooks, what you say is,
that our Plaintiff, Ms. Diabate is a cross between a Bridezilla and a Karen.
Absolutely.
I think we all know what a Bridezilla is, but maybe not everybody knows...
What's a Karen?
She's just really, really dramatic, like over-the-top.
All the way up there.
All right. So, you say that she only came to you
after another venue refused to work with her and deal with all of her demands.
You said you never promised to paint the walls
but when she started acting like a Karen, I guess,
that at that point, you said, all right, fine, you'll paint the walls white.
But you've gotta promise me you'll pay to have them painted back to red again.
You say that as to the liquor, you never told her that she could bring it in
because in New Jersey, you can't bring your own booze
to a party venue in most jurisdictions. She said, I'm outta here,
I'm not going along with you, I'm cancelling.
And you had already spent over $3,000 in purchasing items for her party.
Okay, your birthday was what, March 12th?
March 12th. It was my 41st. I didn't do 40 because of the pandemic
- and my son had passed away in December. - [DiMango] I'm sorry.
So, my family was trying to plan me a surprise party.
And I'm like, I got to take over, like he said, I'm extra,
so I want to do things right. If I'm gonna do it, it's gonna be amazing.
So, I reached to him in January and started planning with him.
And I told him my ideals, which was gonna be extra, and he knew that.
[DiMango] What was your idea?
My color scheme was rose gold and black. So, red walls would not work out at all.
The picture of the red walls is Exhibit One.
Yeah, we're gonna see the red wall on the screen. Why don't we put it up.
There it is, it's red, white and black.
Yeah, that wouldn't go with my theme.
[DiMango] How many places do you go where somebody says,
all right, we'll repaint our place for you. I mean, that's a little crazy.
So, if he said no, then that would've been my deal- breaker.
- I'll go somewhere else. - Did you tell him that?
Yes, he know... I'm not gonna even make a deal with...
I'm not gonna continue forward.
[DiMango] Did she tell you that she wanted you to paint the red wall white?
No. See, when she first came there, she loved it.
I have the messages to prove it. When she first came to the venue,
I was her tenth venue. So, when she came to me,
[DiMango] How would you even know she went to ten venues?
What do you do, run around all the venues and check on people?
People have posted it on Facebook when she put up a nasty post about me,
- and they posted it on there like... - They... Not...
[DiMango] Do me a favor, don't talk to him.
- Okay. - [DiMango] So now,
you say that she never mentioned this to you
and you know that from your text messages that she never said paint the walls.
No. She came into the venue. She loved it so much.
She didn't have no problem with the red walls.
I have messages saying hey, I'm getting you more business.
- Hey, can I invest with you? - [DiMango] Is this true?
I'm a entrepreneur. If there's a opportunity to make money...
One voice. So, the issue here is, was there a contract
that's valid and enforceable, and two,
whether or not one of you breached that contract.
The contract was never signed.
If you're saying no... Why didn't you sign the contract?
'Cause it wasn't gonna be done until we met in person. It was a paper contract.
She's correct. 'Cause I read the contract and it said that she could e-sign it,
or she could sign it, or if she did neither of those,
she could wait until the party and when she paid you the final down payment.
However, you gave him a deposit and you sent out flyers.
So, that meant you were in a contract with him.
You weren't gonna not have a contract with him and show up on your party
and say I'd like some chairs and I'd like a DJ and I'd like this...
'Course not. So, we can deem... I can,
that that contract was indeed signed by you.
- Okay. - [DiMango] However,
were there conditions that should've been a part of that contract
and that you didn't follow through with or were unable to follow through with
because you misrepresented your status as an owner and not just a manager.
- First... - That's what we're looking at.
Of course you say no, that's why you're at that table.
Absolutely.
So, the red walls, first issue.
I said, even on his posts, like them red walls are crazy. Like...
Nobody gonna do a party, it's not gonna go with...
You don't know. Maybe on Valentine's Day somebody wants to have a party with red.
Everybody only used the other room. The other room was all white.
You can't start redecorating his place. I know you got a lot of ideas in your head
but you can't redecorate his venue. So, I can't imagine, one,
that somebody would want to do that or two, that you were in a position, sir,
- to say that you could do that. - He wasn't.
- [DiMango] He wasn't. - How? I'm the owner.
No, you're not the owner because there's a letter in here from the owner
- which is on the last page, I believe... - That's my partners. We're partners.
- [Christina] She didn't say that. - He didn't say that in there.
It was that he or she was unaware of the representations you made
and that that was something that could not be done, would not be done.
That's the first issue. The second issue is could she bring in her own liquor.
Because that was the deal-breaker to her. You claim, ma'am, Ms. Diabate,
that you had been saving for six months to bring all this liquor in.
So, you're now gonna bring in this alcohol and now you find out that you can't do it.
- Two days before. - Two days before.
That's not true. She came to the venue, I walked her around.
I let her know, it's a cash bar here. She said, oh, good, great.
Good, I ain't gotta buy all this liquor then. I ain't gotta do all this stuff...
I don't know why you're saying all that
because in here that doesn't appear in any of the messages.
That's not true, 'cause when she spoke to me on the phone,
this was a couple days before the party, she was like Wykell, please, please...
[DiMango] All right, let me pause. Did you...
[laughs]
Ms. Diabate, did you finally get another venue?
- Did you have a great birthday party? - I did and it was amazing,
it was grand. It was everything that I had imagined.
And... I mean, it was very stressful 'cause I had to turn everything around...
It's a birthday party. You're suing for $1,600.
Can I show you my pictures?
[DiMango] You want to show us the pictures?
I had a fire dancer. I had champagne lady pouring champagne...
We can look at a couple of pictures up here, we have a couple.
But let me ask you this because you're saying $1,500 in emotional distress.
I don't think you had all that much stress... Is that you?
You don't look too stressed out, I want to say.
it was 40 degrees. I had bubbles 'cause I was so scared and nervous.
But that's different. That's a party nervous.
That's not because he did anything to you. That's just pre-jitters.
Because I had to change everything so late and do it just at the spur of the moment.
- [DiMango] But you had a good party? - It was amazing.
You didn't get red walls, I see. Black and your rose gold.
That's the premises? That's the party?
[Christina] That's the upstairs. That's just one area.
All right, then. I think that we kind of have an overview at least
at this point, until we get further into it. Judge Levy.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
You bring in the alcohol, it's his venue.
And many of your guests are over served with your alcohol, get into their car,
drive home and kill someone on the way home. Who's responsible for that?
I don't know.
They drunk the liquor. Just like when you leave a bar.
So, that's what you think?
[narrator] Christina Diabate is suing venue owner Wykell Brooks
for a birthday party deposit and pain and suffering.
Wykell claims Christina cancelled two days before the party and owes nothing.
Um, Ms. Diabate, you said that this was the second venue.
The Defendant's venue was the second one. Tell me about the first one.
it was just too small.
So now, you say that the first venue was too small.
When was it that you claim that you signed up with the first venue?
Maybe a week before?
And when you signed up, did you sign a contract?
I did.
Even though you knew it wasn't something that you wanted?
- Yeah. - [Levy] Okay. So, it seems to me,
you couldn't do the original 40th birthday 'cause of COVID.
- So you had a lot of time to plan. - No.
What do you mean no? You knew you wanted a 40th birthday party during COVID,
- you couldn't have it during COVID... - No.
What are you shaking your head no?
In January, my family tried to plan me a surprise party.
Because I had been through so much with my son passing in December.
I took over because I have the take over spirit.
And that's how I ended up planning my own party.
But this just started in January. I wasn't planning no party for a year.
And you would agree with me, would you not,
that a part of the stress you suffered was self-imposed.
- Um... - What do you mean "um"?
- It was supposed to be... - What do you mean "um"?
Nothing prevented you, right... We already know that this
wasn't your 40th birthday party, right?
Because your 40th birthday was a year prior.
So, nothing prevented you from having the birthday party instead of March,
You coulda had it in April. You coulda had it in October.
It wasn't going to be a 40th birthday party anyway. Right?
- [laughs] Yeah. - [Levy] Right.
But what you did is, you decided, once your family told you
- they were gonna throw a party for you... - Mm-hmm.
'Cause you're a type-A personality I'm getting a sense.
You took it over for yourself, and you rushed it.
Not rushed.
[Levy] Really? So, you know March 12th is the date that you want.
You only pick the date of your first venue two weeks prior.
That was January, right?
So, you gotta put together an entire party for how many people, 150 people?
It would've been 300.
Three hundred people in eight weeks. Okay. And are you really telling me
that that wasn't a self-imposed stress? 'Cause you want this man to pay you
for emotional pain and suffering and stress
to the tune of a thousand dollars? Two thousand dollars?
It's ridiculous. Do you not see that?
- [Christina] Um... I guess so, yeah. - Um?
Yeah. Okay, so we can do away with that maybe.
Okay. [laughs]
You said that you were willing to invest. Again, I listen.
You said that you were willing to invest when you first spoke to the Defendant,
in his business. So, something about what you knew of the Defendant
from your past led you to believe that this was a person
who you felt comfortable investing your hard- earned money in.
Yeah, it was a great even space. They make money.
Right, sure they do. And part of the ways they make money
is by having bars and selling alcohol at parties.
- No. - That's not how they make money?
No, most spaces you bring your own liquor, like my space that I went here.
- [Levy] Really? Is that true? - Yeah. Yes.
What information that you are aware of that you can enlighten me about
as to what is necessary in New Jersey, which is where this case stems from,
that you have to go through locally, licensing, insurance-wise,
in order to bring alcohol to a party. Why don't you enlighten me.
Every party I ever went to, we have our own liquor.
We have our own bar set up. That's New Jersey.
So, that's just... I know, I'm an East Coast guy.
I know exactly how it works.
You just don't bring in alcohol to a party. What happens, for instance,
you bring in the alcohol, it's his venue. And you bring in that alcohol
and many of your guests are over served with your alcohol,
get into their car, drive home and kill someone on the way home.
Who's responsible for that? I don't know.
They drunk the liquor. Just like when you leave a bar.
So, that's what you think? You think that the only person who would be responsible
is the person who actually drank the alcohol
who killed someone behind the wheel of a car. That's what you think?
I just know every even that we planned...
Let me explain something. You're wrong. Ma'am, you're wrong.
The law is that whoever serves the alcohol is responsible.
That's why you need licensing and insurance.
- That's why. - Okay.
But you see, you're the one, according to your complaint,
who rents out all of these different venues.
- [Christina] I do. - And you don't know that.
Explain to me how you don't know that with all the experience you have.
I've never had a issue. No other owner has ever...
That's because but for the grace of God, no one at one of your other parties
that you went to, went behind the wheel after being over served
and hit and killed someone. That's why.
You said the deal-breakers were the red walls and the liquor.
Can we put up the red walls again, please?
What prevented you from putting up white sheets or black sheets
or hanging it from the ceiling?
It would have cost an extra $1,000 to cover the walls.
[Levy] You're saying that as a result of you not wanting to spend the money,
to redo that room, that you were willing to cancel the contract,
even though you say that there was no signed contract.
I'm telling you right now, you were told a price,
- you gave a deposit, there's a contract. - Okay.
All right. So, with respect to that venue, nothing prevented you from
going in there and putting black sheets or black covering over the red.
Why did I have to do that?
Didn't you go and get fire dancers for your other party?
Fire dancers...
I had fire dancers for that party. They were gonna be in there too.
I didn't see anything about fire dancers there.
So, you went out and did things on your own for the party,
in addition to what he was gonna do. So, what prevented you then
from changing this red wall to a black wall or a white wall?
Did he say you couldn't do that?
No. He shoulda... It shoulda been his responsibility, not mine.
Okay. I understand. I have nothing further. Judge Acker?
I'm trying to get my head around a situation where someone says,
I'm going to rent a venue, paint it, bring in all my own liquor,
and if you don't let me do all of those things,
I can cancel two days before my engagement.
And plus, you're gonna give me some extra money because I'm sad.
I mean, that really is the gist of your lawsuit. I want to make sure...
Do you understand what your burden is in this case?
My pain and suffering...
- [Acker] You are the Plaintiff. - Right.
You went to court, you swore out a number of allegations against this gentleman.
You suggest that he doesn't own the business. He breached the contract.
He didn't let you paint the facility. He didn't let you bring in the liquor.
So therefore, according to you, two days before your engagement,
you're entitled to all of your money back.
When did you first reach out to Mr. Brooks?
January, you mean to start planning...
- [Acker] In January. - Yeah.
[Acker] So January, you reach out to him. You don't sign the contract.
But you know he's preparing for the party.
- Right? Which means, - But if...
[Acker] you knew he was relying on your word that there was gonna be a party.
- Uh, Mr. Brooks... - Yes.
tell us between January, when the Plaintiff first contacted you,
- and March 10th, - Yes.
- when she cancelled the party... - Everything was paid for.
how much money did you spend?
Out of pocket, I spent a total of $1,780.
[Acker] One thousand, seven hundred eighty dollars.
- Yes. - And how much did you receive?
- I received $1,600. - [Acker] Sixteen hundred.
No, I did not...
You think you can cancel a party two days before and get all of your money back.
So, Ms. Diabate, let's go back to your burden of proof in this case.
Okay.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
What do you want to do? I said I'm not painting my place.
I have to assume, Mr. Brooks, that this is not a charity.
Like, you're actually trying to make money.
- Absolutely. - Trying to make extra money.
He should make all... I hope you make all the money
that you can in a reasonable and honest way.
Good on you for trying to make some money.
[theme music playing]
You're suing him for reimbursement of the deposit.
In order to get that, you need to show that he breached the contract.
So, show me something where he says to you I am going to paint my walls
a different color for you on your one-night party.
Actually, 'cause it was a verbal agreement
- that we agreed to... - [Acker] It's your burden.
So, how would I prove that if it's a verbal agreement?
Just like the alcohol. There's nothing written in the contract
saying that I'm supposed to pay for alcohol to be...
The contract, I note, is silent as to that,
but as Judge Levy pointed out, and as the Defendant pointed out,
there are other rules that are in play regarding bringing alcohol into a venue.
And certainly, no owner of any premises is gonna be required to break the law
because somebody who's extra wants to bring in her own stuff.
So, why was I able to bring it there, or everywhere else I've been?
I don't know about everywhere else. Your burden, your lack of proof.
I don't know about anywhere else. Now, Mr. Brooks,
- Yes. - [Acker] it's the Plaintiff's position
that she was very clear with you about the walls, the problem with the walls.
What did she say to you when she came in and saw what the premises looked like?
Okay. So, when she came in, she had no problem with the red wall.
Not true.
During the course of the calling and texting, she wanted to meet down there
and that she changed her colors to rose gold and black.
She came down there and met me and said,
I changed my colors to rose gold and black.
- And this red ain't gonna work. - Oh, my God!
So, I said, well, what do you want to do? I said, we could put some drapes,
like she said. That was an option, I gave her that option.
I said we can maybe drape it, but I'm not painting my place...
I mean, I have to assume, Mr. Brooks, that this is not a charity.
Like, you're actually trying to make money.
- Absolutely! - Trying to make extra money.
He should make... I hope you make all the money that you can
Thank you.
in a reasonable and honest way. Good on you for trying to make some money.
And so, to me, what was really counterintuitive,
was the notion of renting out of premise, because again, as I understand it,
a lot of what event rentals do... Like, you don't make money on the space.
- No. - You make money where?
- [Acker] On the bar. - At the bar. Absolutely.
So, Ms. Diabate, I'm gonna end where I started, which is
that it's your burden of proof. He didn't really have to say anything.
You're the one who has to prove the elements of your case.
And I'll let you have the last word.
Is there something you'd like to conclude with?
Nothing. Um, he was very thirsty. He knew I was gonna have a lot of people there.
He wanted to make more money. He took advantage of the situation and...
I think "thirsty" is a little pejorative. I think an energetic eager capitalist.
- That's how I'm gonna see it. - I'm a super entrepreneur.
I have nothing further. Thank you.
That's why you got complaints in New Jersey and Elizabeth.
Ms. Diabate, please. We're gonna retire to deliberate at this time.
Court now stands in recess. Parties are excused.
[theme music playing]
So, let me tell you why I think that the hybrid bridezilla, Karen,
should not recover anything. First of all, what I was saying,
I didn't see any texts, because there weren't any texts
regarding any of the items that she discussed.
The red walls, the liquor...
The deal-breakers.
Yeah. So, there was nothing to reflect that. There was a contract.
I mean, she gave a deposit, she went and met, she went back and forth,
she discussed all of these things. So, whether or not they were deal-breakers
in her head, maybe, but the bottom line is,
she didn't have an agreement with him that he was going to paint
or do anything else. As to the alcohol that she was saving up for six months,
I don't see how, under any circumstances, she should be allowed
to bring in her own liquor. I don't think she's entitled to anything.
I'm trying to think if there's anything I left out.
I think that he should keep whatever she gave him.
He laid out of pocket more than that.
It seemed to me, from listening to her, that she was prepared to come in today
and say hey, I didn't sign any contract. I want my money back.
I'm not just limited to the $200 non-refundable portion that was mentioned,
I want the full $1,600 back because there was no signed contract.
And as I think that we made it extremely clear to her,
there doesn't have to be a signed contract if there was an agreement
and reliance and consideration and the rest, which is all what happened here.
Especially when she paid her money, $600 deposit,
the very first day she saw the venue and then $1,000 soon thereafter.
So, the $1,500 that she wants for pain and suffering, obviously it's gone.
And for the $1,600 for the reimbursement of her refund,
for reasons that you stated, I agree. Dismissed.
I think it's a little bit bad faith on her part, frankly,
to come to court and say, I should get all of my money back
because I didn't sign this contract. Oh, and I cancelled it two days before
when I know that you spent money.
Like, she had to know he was gonna lay out money.
I agree with you both. I think we should dismiss quickly.
We are unanimous in sending her home.
All right.
[theme music playing]
Court is back in session. Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
Thank you, Byrd. Karen, I mean, Ms. Diabate...
Ma'am, you cannot go into a location and say,
let's repaint the walls and expect that that's going to happen.
I could. And he agreed to it.
You're gonna keep talking?
I'm over it, he won. He... go ahead.
- This is what you dealt with. - Absolutely.
[DiMango] We ask questions up here, but we know what we're doing.
And so, the way it might seem to you maybe isn't always the way it is.
The bottom line here is, we found that she did not meet her burden of proof.
There is no evidence. There's not a single text message,
nothing in the contract that she manipulatively didn't sign,
to show that you agreed to any of the conditions
that she thinks were crucial to finding that there was a valid contract here.
Her emotional distress...
Clearly this is not a woman who easily stresses emotionally.
I'm stressed right now.
She had a great party, in any event, according to her.
The bottom line here is, we have looked at all of the evidence
as you well can see. So, based on all of that,
and everything that we're seeing in here now, your case is unanimously dismissed.
[Wykell] Thank you, Your Honor, thank you.
Great.
And nobody still don't like me, so what.
[Byrd] You may step out.
He's a habitual liar. Nobody does business with him anymore because of that.
He has... did a lot of shady business in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where we're from.
Hey, the truth is finally out. You know, this is what I came here for.
You know, don't waste my time. I just wanted people to see
from the other side of the end. A lot of talk was going on.
Social media, trying to bad mouth me.
He was gonna paint the wall. He even said it, like two weeks before.
It went my way, like it knew it would go. I'm happy. I hope that she's blessed.
And I hope she has a blessed life.
I couldn't bring my liquor. I brung my liquor at the party that I had
which was fabulous. He coulda never, never gave...
Actually, at her party, the one that she had, it got stopped.
There were so many fights, people got knocked out. It got stopped.
A wonderful time. It was banging. It was cute.
She didn't have a good party. But she's up here with this face...
But look, let's not talk bad about a woman.
Let's let her be great. 'Cause we won over here.
[narrator] Need to take someone to court? Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
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