We’re here over a refrigerator.
She purchased it broken. Tough luck.
What did the ad boast about?
How perfect condition it was.
Well, I had my nephew do my ads,
so I truly didn’t see the whole ad.
-So you want to blame them? -Um...
[announcer] Today on Tribunal Justice.
[announcer] This case was filed in San Diego, California.
Your Honor, this is case # 1023 on the calendar
in the matter of Diener v. Martinez.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
[Patricia] Thank you, Byrd.
All right, we’re here over a refrigerator.
You bought a refrigerator from the defendant.
I think you did this online, correct?
You saw that, and you kind of sell these appliances online.
-Would that be correct? -Yes, I do.
You see the refrigerator,
$600 for this three-door French refrigerator.
You think it’s too good to be true,
and it turned out that it was.
In addition to the $600,
had to pay $99 for delivery.
You had to pay $30 for a water line.
And yet, the refrigerator still didn’t work properly.
It wasn’t cooling anything down enough.
You had an issue with the ice maker as well.
You reached out to the defendant on several occasions.
He sent you all sorts of emails
regarding how to fix it on your own,
and it didn’t work.
You finally called him and said,
"Listen, you’ve got to get over here and check this out."
There’s no ice, now the refrigerator isn’t working.
And you’d say that he would ghost you.
He’d say he was coming, then he wasn’t.
And finally at some point you had a repairman come over,
who said for almost $1,200,
he could fix your $600 refrigerator.
So you’re here seeking $1,115,
which is what it would cost you to fix it.
I guess you like the refrigerator.
You have it at home?
You still have it at your house?
So you want to fix it.
-Yes, ma’am. -You say,
"Hey, this thing worked just fine."
They actually came and looked at it.
They thought it was fine.
You hooked it up at their home.
And it was cooling,
and you don’t know what happened.
You say that the sensors there are very sensitive,
and perhaps somebody fiddled with them that shouldn’t.
But the bottom line is, they were becoming belligerent.
You didn’t want anything to do with them, really.
They wanted their money back.
You said you gave them $500 back.
And you were withholding the other $200
until you got the refrigerator from them,
which they never gave you.
So you’re not sure why you owe them anything at all,
especially $1,115.
-Correct. -[Patricia] Correct?
-Yes, ma’am. -All right.
So, the refrigerator. Let’s start.
You brought a three-door French whatever refrigerator.
You got it home. Did you actually go look at it?
-Yes. -You know, you did mention
that there was an ad that you answered.
-Would that be correct? -[Joanne] Yes.
[Patricia] And what did the ad boast about?
How perfect condition it was.
It was pristine,
and there’s nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
It goes on and on. It was a very lengthy ad.
-This the ad? -Yes.
[Patricia] It’s like a novel.
All over a refrigerator, right?
Yeah, it’s quite the story you have here.
"Beautiful, works absolutely perfect,
"no temperature issues, leaks or loud noises.
"This beautifully designed refrigerator
will be an immediate upgrade to your home."
-Yes -You boast that it’s clean,
that it has an ice maker, pull-out tray.
On and on and on and on.
This your ad?
Well, I had my nephew do my ads,
so I truly didn’t see the whole ad.
I just do the deliveries and the warehouse work.
-But, yes... -[Patricia] Oh.
It’s your company, right?
You explained to him, obviously,
you can’t misrepresent what we’re selling.
-Is that true? -Very true, ma’am. Very true.
[Patricia] You told him that, right?
But when she came to the warehouse to see it,
it was cold, plugged in.
Everything worked.
For the first four to five days,
it worked perfect.
But the ice maker did have issues.
I tried to walk her through it, true.
Hang on, you went to the facility
where he has these items?
[Joanne] Yes, Your Honor.
Was this plugged in, this refrigerator?
It was plugged in, but he told me
that it takes at least 24 hours to cool.
When you saw it there, was it cool there?
[Joanne] It was barely getting cool.
Like, you can tell it’s working, but it’s not.
[Patricia] So in other words,
he plugged it in when you got there.
It hadn’t been sitting working for a few days.
Were there a number of other refrigerators
similar to this in the warehouse?
Yes, Your Honor.
-It was... -[Patricia] And how do you know
that you actually got the refrigerator
that you saw plugged in and cooling?
-Do you know that? -I don’t know for sure.
[Patricia] How would she know the refrigerator
that was plugged in was the one that she actually received, sir?
I remember her taking pictures and looking at it thoroughly.
And yes, it was cold because I make sure
everything’s up to par before anybody comes to see anything.
That’s one thing I do.
I make sure it’s cold, iced, everything.
[Patricia] Yeah, I’m not doubting that.
Actually, I think that that’s what’s bothering me.
You plug in a refrigerator that works, that’s great,
-that’s terrific. -Yes.
[Patricia] They say, "Yes, I want that refrigerator."
And you give them a different one.
And she got the one she did pick out, yes.
-True or not? -[Joanne] I don’t know, ma’am.
Your Honor, when I got there, the refrigerator was plugged in.
He wanted me to pick out another fridge.
He tried to push another fridge on me.
I said, "No, I like this one."
Okay, so the bottom line was,
he wasn’t pushing a broken item on you.
If you were to tell me he kept pushing this one
when you wanted something else, I would be suspicious.
But he wasn’t. He wasn’t doing that.
-Correct. -So now you get this home.
You charge $99.
Now, I know we have a video.
Who submitted the video?
And what is the video going to show us?
[Joanne] The refrigerator,
the way it’s sitting in my kitchen,
the inside, the backside,
how the repairman took the back off.
Oh, so the repairman was there. Okay, let’s look at the video.
I think we’ve all seen a refrigerator in someone’s home.
So I’m hoping this shows a little more than that.
That’s the refrigerator
By the way, how much do these go for new?
[Patrick] About 3,200.
[Patricia] That’s what I looked up.
[Patrick] The things is, is it did work,
but the ice...
[Patricia] But only for four days.
That’s the one they’re relying on now.
That’s their food that is taken from the big one
into the little one.
That’s not that interesting for us.
Okay, so let me ask you a couple of questions.
How old is that refrigerator?
Seven to nine years old, maybe?
[Patricia] Do you know how old that refrigerator is?
It’s a 2014.
2014. So it’s a seven- or eight-year-old refrigerator
that normally would sell new for about $3,200.
So it wasn’t like a steal.
It’s not like you got a steal.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
-That’s $1,115. -Yes, Your Honor.
-That’s why you’re suing. -Correct.
So why didn’t you include the $500
that he already paid you and deduct that?
-I could. -Of course you could have.
I’m asking you, why didn’t you?
[announcer] Joanne Diener
and her husband, Kenneth Diener,
are suing appliance salesman Patrick Martinez
for a refrigerator.
Patrick claims the fridge was functional,
and they broke it themselves.
[Patricia] Okay, the problem is,
you were very specific.
"Absolutely perfect, with no temperature issues."
There was a temperature issue.
You admit that at this time.
So you want to blame them?
No, I’m not blaming anybody.
I immediately gave her money back, immediately,
and she says she’s gonna wait three more days
for the repair guy, okay, I see that, I said,
"Well, why don’t you just do it now?"
[Patricia] Why wouldn’t you just give it back?
Like, he gave you $500. He only owed you 200.
-[Patrick] 200. -Okay.
You don’t have to repeat everything I say.
I know I say a lot of good things, but...
So sorry.
So he gives you...
I’m waiting for you to back me up now.
...$200, just $200 left.
And the bottom line is,
you’re here now suing for almost $1,200.
Why did you not give that back?
I mean, it’s pretty, but it’s broken.
It’s, you know...
No, I don’t need your help right now.
[Joanne] Between the texts back and forth,
there was a lot of ghosting.
You’re mad at him. You’re upset.
So basically what you’re asking for is for us to impose
a punitive damage on him.
I mean, are you really--
If we gave you $1,200, are you really gonna--
See, I don’t think this is what you’re gonna do.
I don’t think you’re gonna have a repairman come to the house
and fix it.
I think you’re gonna take the $1,200 and 500,
and for $1,700 you’re gonna buy
a four-year-old refrigerator that works.
That’s what I think you’re gonna do.
So you really are not suing for the repair.
What you’re really suing here for
is the balance that you gave him,
which I think comes out to $249.
You’re looking for that extra money,
plus some punitive damages, because he annoyed you, right?
-No, ma’am. -[Patricia] He made you angry.
-Did he? -Yes.
[Patricia] Honestly. He made you angry.
It would make me angry.
You just spent all this money,
you just went through this ad,
and here’s this guy giving you this refrigerator
that can’t cool your french fries.
And your position is: "I agree, it doesn’t work.
"I’m willing to give you the money back,
but I’m not gonna give you $1,100."
I almost fainted when I seen it, but the truth is,
I tried to get it back, but she--
I have a text, and it says I’m threatening her,
and some weird stuff.
So I wasn’t allowed back.
But I said, "It’s only $150 more."
Why-- Just let me get past this,
but why won’t people just mail checks?
Why don’t you just mail--
No, I know, you’re the one who would have mailed it.
I would have too, but I needed the refrigerator so I can get--
Yeah, but she loves that refrigerator, I think.
[Patrick] I’d give her her money back.
[Patricia] I know, I know. Believe me.
I’m a little concerned here for this amount. Judge Levy.
[Adam] Miss Diener, I want you to break down for me
how you came up with $1,115.
The repairman that he called to come out to my house
to repair the refrigerator,
I thought it was gonna be some cooling thing
and it would be a simple fix,
and he would pay for it and it would be done.
So what you’re talking about is the repair bill.
-That’s $60. -[Joanne] No.
On the bottom of the second page--
[Adam] No, service fee: $60.
That’s for him to come out.
Right, that was just for the service fee
for him to come out, not to repair it.
-[Joanne] Correct. -Sixty dollars.
Are you looking for any of that money back?
-No. I’m not. -[Adam] Okay, good.
All I want’s the one thou--
What he estimated the cost of the refrigerator
for a new compressor is all I’m asking for, correct.
Right. That’s $1,115.
-Yes, Your Honor. -[Adam] That’s why you’re suing.
-Correct. -[Adam] Why didn’t you include
the $500 that he already paid you and deduct that?
-I could. -[Adam] Of course you could’ve.
I’m asking you why didn’t you?
Because he didn’t give me all of my money back.
I would have given him all his money back
had he repaired the cost.
I could have deducted from that amount, but it wasn’t.
I don’t understand a word you just said.
So you filed a lawsuit.
You said that you were damaged in the amount of $1,115.
You admit that he already paid you $500.
It’s not difficult math
to take $500 away from the $1,115
and sue for the actual damage that you claim you suffered.
But you didn’t do that, and I’m asking you why.
Because for the $200 that he could have just--
I would have left it
had he given me my $229-- 49...
[Adam] Well, do you know why he didn’t give you your $200 back?
Because he said it was for the delivery fee,
-and he’s gonna keep it. -[Adam] That’s not true.
Tell her why you didn’t give her the $200 back.
I didn’t get it, because you told me you were gonna wait
two more days to have a repair guy
instead of that day when you said it was an emergency.
[Adam] Well, do me a favor. I’m asking the question.
So just speak to me. Don’t speak to them, please.
-Oh, sorry. -[Adam] That’s okay.
-I’m sorry. -So I asked you to explain
why that you didn’t give her the $200,
and you began to explain why it was that you weren’t--
Oh, because I didn’t get my refrigerator back.
As soon as I got that, and I wasn’t allowed there
to go receive my refrigerator,
because she told me I wasn’t allowed.
[Adam] I would say maybe that’s a half truth.
Did you provide a warranty to her for this fridge?
Yes, actually, a verbal warranty,
and that’s why I gave her the money back,
and I was gonna give her the balance.
[Adam] I want you to be very careful
about what you testified to.
You took an oath.
Are you saying that you gave her
a verbal warranty,
or did you sell it to her as is?
-[Patrick] Yes, I did. -Mm-hmm.
-But I was-- -[Adam] And the reason
that you didn’t want to give her back the $200
is because you knew that with an as-is purchase,
that she purchases it as is.
That is with a broken compressor.
You knew that if you got brought to court,
you could argue, like a used car salesman,
that this was a used item, that she purchased it broken.
Tough luck. And that’s why you didn’t give her the--
-Just be honest. -I am.
[Adam] There you go. And so you acknowledge that.
I am very honest, and there was no broken compressor.
-[Adam] Well, time-out. -Who says it?
[Adam] Who says it?
The repair person that you sent over to her house.
Yeah, I did, and he told me no.
He says it was not that bad.
So I don’t see the report on it. I never did see it.
That’s why I offered the full money back.
-[Adam] Hold on. -If there was a problem,
I was gonna give her everything back.
This is gonna be super simple.
Byrd, could you please give this--
He must not have seen this.
This is the repair bill from the repairman
that you selected.
They have no relationship with this man, you did.
Who went to the house,
inspected the fridge that you sold to them,
and it was gonna cost $1,115 to fix.
Take a look at the second page.
Is that what the repair person that you sent to their home
-to look at the-- -This isn’t their invoice, no.
This is a copy off an Internet, someone copied.
-I know his invoices. -[Adam] Really? Hold on.
Yes. Now that’s the invoices I’m familiar of. That’s it.
And what is the name of the company
on the top of the document that you are looking at right now?
-The same. -[Adam] Same name?
-Yes, sir. -[Adam] Besides your testimony
that you’ve never seen one of those before...
I wasn’t seeing this. I wish they would have texted it to me.
I was given that,
and that’s the invoices that we get
every time we send someone out.
-[Adam] Right. -[Patrick] This was something--
In other words, when he sends this to you
as a retailer, right? You’re a retailer.
Yeah, that’s an official receipt, yeah.
For a retailer.
But when he is not dealing with a retailer,
when he’s dealing with a homeowner,
and he’s not giving any breaks
like he would give to a retailer,
because you deal with this guy all the time, right?
Not really, but honestly--
[Adam] Hold on, are you saying that you sent someone over
to her house that you didn’t know their background
-and you didn’t know-- -I do know their background.
I dealt with them about ten times.
Yeah, ten times,
so you knew that he knew what he was taking about.
He knew how to repair things.
What you didn’t know is what his invoices looked like
when he was dealing with a regular homeowner, true?
-Right. -Maybe that’s true.
[Adam] Maybe that’s true.
So now that you’ve seen this,
you have no problem paying them back the entire money
for the fridge,
so long as you get the fridge back
because you gave, as you just testified to, a warranty.
-Or did I mishear you? -A verbal warranty.
[Adam] That’s okay, I don’t care if it was verbal.
I don’t care if you signed it in blood.
It was a warranty.
So you have no problem with that?
-I don’t-- -[Adam] I have nothing further.
Thank you. Judge Acker.
Why don’t you have a problem with that?
-I mean... -I just want to be honest.
Yeah, but you know, I think you did too much.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
You got mad because he didn’t show up when he was going to.
You thought he was ghosting you.
But I know that you were getting frustrated.
I get the frustration,
but you don’t get to use court as a vehicle to make a profit
just because somebody got on your nerves.
Now, I think you had a receipt that said "as is."
I think they got a refrigerator at a deal.
I’ve looked at the text messages.
You gave them back all but 200 of their dollars.
I actually find your lawsuit exceedingly greedy.
You got mad because he didn’t show up when he was going to.
You thought he was ghosting you.
In the text messages, you apologize and you say,
"Oh, I’m sorry, you were texting the wrong number."
I don’t know, like, the truth or veracity of any of that.
But I know that you were getting frustrated.
As a consequence of that frustration--
Legitimate frustration.
I’m not faulting you for being annoyed
that you bought an appliance that you want to work.
Especially a fridge.
But because you got so frustrated,
in my view, you think that frustration
automatically turns into,
"I should make money off of this transaction."
You spent $729 for the fridge.
He gave you back all but $200.
And then you spent more money to repair the fridge
than you spent on buying the fridge
when you could have just given the fridge back to him.
And you didn’t because there was a whole lot of anger.
And, in fact, sir,
I thought what you were gonna say to Judge Levy
was the reason I didn’t go back
was because they were being so aggressive.
That’s what you said in your answer.
And that’s actually what you said in the text messages.
You were gonna go back, and you said,
"I just want to have someone come with me,
because you guys seem super mad."
-Very mad, yeah. -[Tanya] That play into this?
[Patrick] That’s the reason why I didn’t go back.
But I was still waiting for a text to say,
"Hey, come back and get it and give me the ref--
The remainder of the money." But I didn’t get that either.
You know, respectfully, I get the frustration.
But you don’t get to use court as a vehicle to make a profit
just because somebody got on your nerves.
I don’t have anything further.
I think we need to clear something up, however.
You never had it fixed.
Never had it fixed.
[Patricia] So you’re not out of pocket the money for $1,115.
I just wanted to make that clear.
Hold on, if I could. Just one last thing.
Did you say just a moment ago to Judge Acker
that you were prepared to give them back the $200
if you got the fridge back?
That was my original agreement, yes.
[Adam] Okay, so here’s the text message
when they acknowledge that you gave back the $500
and you said, "There, I’ve heard the magic words."
Because you wanted proof that they had received the $500.
-Are you familiar with that? -No, sir.
[Adam] Okay. Here. "You said the magic words.
"I have a witness I gave you money back.
"Do not bother me ever again.
You can take me to court for $200."
Byrd, can you show this to him, please?
Because they wouldn’t give my fridge back.
He did not ask for the fridge, Your Honor.
He did not. He said he wasn’t gonna--
And I have not had any contact--
Is that the text message?
I just want to make sure that I understand this correctly.
I might-- You know what? You’re correct.
But there was a few more before that.
There were a lot of-- I know.
Listen, you are probably one of the most honest salespeople
of appliances that I’ve met.
I think we’ve heard enough. Yeah, we’re all set.
We’re gonna retire to deliberate, thank you all.
[Byrd] Court is in recess. Parties are excused.
He was willing to give them back the money.
She wants the money to repair it.
She wants to keep it.
I don’t think he has to pay her to repair it.
I think she’s entitled to her money back,
and we should return it.
Now, I know it says "as is" on there,
but I think that it just didn’t work.
And they called immediately.
I’m willing to give them back the additional 99.
I would give them the 30 for the water line,
even though he wasn’t going to do that originally.
And any other costs that they incurred over and above
what he’s returned,
which would, I think, $249?
And I would give him back the refrigerator.
He was super honest.
He could have said to them,
"You purchased it as is."
He didn’t have to say anything about a warranty.
But I think that he tried to do the right thing,
and I also believe that when she said
"I don’t want you contacting me anymore,"
he didn’t seem like the aggressive type.
So he wasn’t gonna go there to pick it up.
At the same time, I’m looking at the plaintiffs
and they seem like nice people,
except she has unclean hands.
She comes in here looking to sue for $1,115,
and but for asking a few additional questions,
she never would have acknowledge and admitted
that she already got $500 back.
-So may I pick up on that point? -Sure.
And try to argue against giving them anything.
I think he already did more than he needed to.
It was as is.
Because he’s a nice guy,
he said, "Even though I sold you this as is,
"I’m gonna give you some money back.
I’ll give you the rest of the money back."
They pitched a fit.
-I want to give them the money. -[Adam] I get that.
He wants to allow his business to stand out from all the other
used appliance businesses out there,
to say that if there is a problem,
I am going to make good on your purchase.
I’m going to repay.
We shouldn’t discourage that in any way.
But he tried to do it, and they said, "Pound sand."
-They say, "Give me more." -Yeah.
-He tried. -I know, I know.
-"Pound sand." -[Adam] But in all fairness,
one of the reasons why there was such discord
between the two of them, and we’ve all--
And I think everyone watching this show
is gonna feel similarly,
that when you have an appointment with someone
who says they’re gonna come to your home at a certain time,
you take off from work, you change your schedule,
and then that person doesn’t show up, you get angry.
-But you don’t get more money. -No, you get--
But you get frustrated.
I’m willing to give back the money
that he’s willing to return, which is the 200-and-some-odd
over and above,
which would be all their out-of-pocket expenses.
They didn’t ask for that. They asked for a thousand.
-I’m not giving them a thousand. -Maybe they should just lose.
-I don’t know about that. -But then who gets the fridge?
Let them keep the fridge. He keeps the money.
He’s not cross-complaining.
I don’t have a problem with dismissing it.
I think he’s done a sufficient amount of return.
And let her hold on to it. That’s it. Let her do it.
Court is back in session.
Parties are reminded you’re still under oath.
[Patricia] All right, well, you know,
it’s hard to come by a relatively candid
and honest salesperson on used items,
so we’re kind of pleased to hear that.
We also frequently come across, obviously,
plaintiffs who are disappointed in the correspondence
and what’s going on with the people
that they purchase items from.
And then things escalate into a place
where neither party should be.
And that’s how we always end up here.
So you have three objective people
listening to the evidence to try to say,
What really is the issue?
And what really is warranted as a remedy here, if any?
And I’m sorry to say, Mr. and Mrs. Diener,
that the unanimous verdict of this court
is that your case be dismissed.
And we have several reasons for that.
First of all, sir,
you did come forward and say,
Listen, I’m willing to give you the money.
I gave you $500, which you either intentionally,
negligently, or for some other reason,
didn’t bring to our attention
when you requested your $1,100 and change lawsuit.
He did come forward and say,
"Here’s $500." You did accept that.
He did say, "I’ll give you the balance on this
if you return the refrigerator."
And here we are.
And now the lawsuit is for your expecting $1,100
to fix this refrigerator on top of 500.
The bottom line is, you have the refrigerator.
You bought it as is.
He was willing to do more than he had to do
under those circumstances,
which was to take it back from you
and give you back your money and make you whole,
and that’s just not what you permitted to happen
in these circumstances.
We are happy to let you keep the refrigerator
which you hold so dearly,
and I have to say that we were not comfortable
with your position on how much money you were suing for.
So verdict is to dismiss your case,
and that is the unanimous verdict of the court.
[Byrd] This case is concluded. Parties are excused.
-I didn’t agree with it. -I thought they were fair.
I’m not gonna pay for a fridge
and then pay an extra thousand dollars to have it repaired.
I offered the money back, but they refused it.
And then they said I was harassing them.
I was waiting for the other $200
which he was adamantly not going to give it back to me.
When I went there to give them the money back
and they took it, I went in the fridge and it was cold.
It was described "pristine condition."
It’s the way it is. I just wanted to be honest.
Just ridiculous that he sold it to us broken.
Life is too short. Be happy.
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