You are a menace in that parking lot.
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
[Erika] She said I was in her parking space,
started swinging her crutch at me.
She told me to go commit suicide by hanging myself.
No, no, no.
I get along with everybody in that building.
I can detect a BS story from a mile away.
Sometimes you just gotta let stuff go. Was this worth it?
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in Akron, Ohio.
[Cassandra] All right. Your Honor,
this is case number 2066
Calhoun versus Hazzard.
All parties have been sworn in.
You may be seated.
- [Judge Levy] Thank you, Cassandra. - [Cassandra] You're welcome.
[Judge Levy] All right. Ms. Calhoun,
you and the defendant are neighbors.
You live in the same apartment complex in Ohio.
And according to your complaint,
you've known each other about 10 years.
- Is that right? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] All right. There was an incident
that occurred in October of this year
where the defendant came to your home
and damaged your front door.
You guys were having a discussion
or an argument over a parking spot
and you're suing her for the damage
she caused to your door,
which was $205.23.
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] And, Ms. Hazzard,
you say, "I don't know what she's talking about."
We had a discussion, but I never damaged a door
- and you owe her nothing. - Right.
All right, so let's start with you, Ms. Calhoun.
Tell me about October 10th, 2023.
Well, I called, uh, a family member
and somewhere during the conversation,
I mentioned about the parking lot.
I've been there for 17 years this year.
- In the apartment complex? - [Vivian] In the apartment complex.
I usually park in the same spot,
which I know we don't have assigned parking space.
[Judge Levy] You do not.
But this was the spot that you usually park in?
- [Vivian] Usually. And everybody… - [Judge Levy] Everyone knew it.
- I could tell you, everybody… - [Judge Levy] I got it. Keep going.
Okay. Well, the family member said,
"Do you want me to speak to them?"
I said, "No,"
'cause it wasn't really, you know, that bad,
you know, I didn't care.
I knew I couldn't, you know?
Timeout. Really? It didn't bother you.
- You park in the same spot for 17 years? - [Vivian] Well, yes, it did.
Yes, it did. Yes, it did.
[Judge Levy] I can detect a BS story from a mile away.
- [laughter] - Yes, it did.
- Go ahead.
So me and the family member, we finally ended the conversation
and I went on about doing what I was doing.
But the defendant knocked on my door and I opened it.
She said, "I wanna talk to you."
I told her I didn't wanna argue.
That's when she came in my apartment all up
and we were arguing.
I said, "Erika, get out now."
"What you gon' do?
You got a boot on your foot.
I will mop the floor up with you."
- [Judge Levy] Who said that? - The defendant.
- [Judge Levy] Said that to you? - [Vivian] Yes, she did.
[Judge Levy] Because you had something wrong with your foot?
Yeah, I had surgery. I was under a doctor's care at the time.
- I had my medical. - [Judge Levy] Okay.
Did she say anything about what you spoke to this family member about?
[Vivian] No, 'cause I told her I didn't wanna talk.
[Judge Levy] Okay. And you go to close the door?
And she pushed it in.
Pushes the door and when she pushes the door, what happens?
It goes back.
[Judge Levy] Is it then that it hits the closet door?
- Yes. - So, this is the damage that was caused.
Can you see that damage up there on that screen, ma'am?
Yes. There was a coat rack up.
[Judge Levy] Oh, okay.
So, she flings the door open, the coat rack…
- [Vivian] Does that. - [Judge Levy] … does the damage,
and then she came inside?
[Vivian] She's all the way in.
[Judge Levy] Okay. Now, she's all the way in.
Was there any additional damage caused by her
when she's now inside the apartment?
- [Vivian] No. - [Judge Levy] Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Hazzard, what part of that did she get wrong?
- All of it. - [Judge Levy] Let's hear it.
So, that hole and that track thing,
all of that's one piece.
The coat rack that she's talking about is attached to her front door.
That door is brand new.
They had just replaced it for the same exact damages from that coat rack.
And she acknowledged to the owner
I didn't cause those damages either.
She also acknowledged to the owner that I didn't cause this.
But originally, the night that this all happened…
- October 10th. - [Erika] … she was correct
in saying that I did speak to another family member.
She called, she was mad about the parking space.
- [Judge Levy] Of course she was. - The family member was unaware
that we didn't have assigned parking spaces.
So she called me and she asked, "Can you get out of her parking space?"
I said, "Whose parking space? 'Cause I ain't in nobody's parking space."
So she said that Ms. Calhoun called her, angry,
and said I was in her parking space.
And ever since I've moved there, I've been nothing but problems
and she wishes I would go back to the West Side.
And she carried on to the point
where the family member asked me to talk to her
so that it could be solved and it'd be no more misunderstanding.
- Okay. - I knocked on her door,
because I didn't think it was a problem knocking on her door.
Because like she did state, she had a foot procedure.
While she was recovering,
I was the person that was bringing her food and checking on her.
- [Judge Levy] Is that true? - That's true.
- [Judge Levy] Okay. - [Erika] I didn't see
me talking to her as being a problem.
She comes to my house on a regular basis,
her grandchildren, she brings them to my house on a regular basis.
Like, I have relationships with them.
So I didn't think asking her,
"Where do you want me to park," would be a issue.
I knocked on her door, she opened it, and instantly started cussing,
'cause she was mad 'cause she knew I was--why I was there.
And I asked her, "Baby, where do you want me to park
so we ain't never gotta go through this again?"
She proceeded to--side note,
I apologize for the thing that I said about that individual in your life.
- I was wrong for that. - [Judge Levy] Okay. Thank you for that.
Um, she proceeded to talk about my deceased parents,
which is what prompted me to make that statement
that I apologized about.
She proceeded to talk about my weight.
She told me to go commit suicide by hanging myself.
She then reached on the side of her door 'cause I never made it in her apartment.
She reached on the side of her door and started swinging her crutch at me
trying to hit me with it,
which is why I was just standing there looking stupid, like, "Really?
This what we doing?" And then she kept on going on.
She proceeded to call the police.
I did yell over her my address,
because she was telling the police the wrong information.
Yeah. Whoever gets there first becomes the complainant.
- I got it. - [Erika] Right. Uh-hmm.
[Erika] So when the police came, I was standing at the top of the steps.
I explained to the police everything I just explained to you,
only to find out after talking to her,
she called this family member in another state about a parking spot.
She didn't even have a vehicle at the time.
- [Judge Levy] I got it. - Her vehicle was in the shop.
- That's not true. - [Judge Levy] So on October 10th,
your vehicle was at the location?
[Vivian] No. I had just bought me a vehicle.
My car had got stolen, so I ended up getting a new one.
That stuff she said is not true.
[Judge Levy] Hold on one second. My point is,
on that day, did you have a car that you had to park someplace else
because you couldn't use that spot?
No, I didn't have one then.
[Judge Levy] So you were just really complaining
that someone was in your spot
and that you wanted to make it known that when I do get my car,
this person, the defendant, ought to know
that's my spot and they can't park there.
No. That's not how that happened.
[Judge Levy] Because that sounded to me like that's what happened.
It might sound like that, but I didn't mean it like that…
- [Judge Levy] Okay. What's more… - … Your Honor.
[Judge Levy] … important to me, what the defendant said
is that that damage to your closet door
- had happened before--is that true? - [Vivian] It did--no,
when I--when I lived there, there was a hole in the door like that.
- [Judge Levy] Same place? - [Vivian] But it was way bigger
when I moved there.
So when we had inspection, they came in and seen that
- and they replaced the door. - When?
About two months ago.
And you're saying that they replaced it
- and then that's the second door? - [Vivian] That's the second door.
[Judge Levy] Do you have any proof of that?
- That, I don't have. - [Judge Levy] You don't have that?
Now, that, I don't have.
[Judge Levy] Okay, how would she know
that the door was previously damaged in the same place?
- [Vivian] I don't know how she knows. - Okay. Judge Acker.
Ms. Calhoun, I must say, I think it's been a long time
since I've engaged with somebody who had this much free time on their hands.
Because for you to be causing
this kind of ruckus over a gosh darn parking space
that is not yours…
- [Vivian] But Your Honor, she… - [Judge Acker] … just baffles me.
But if she had not come down to my apartment,
this would not have happened.
- [Judge Acker] Hold on, hold on. - [Vivian] And she…
[Judge Acker] I know why she came down there.
When you testified, and I don't often say this,
I believe every word that came out of your mouth.
Her fiance is a family friend of yours.
She wrote in her answer that there is a relationship between the two of you.
Didn't you say that you and your fiance sometimes gave her rides?
Yeah. He was raised to look at her as an aunt.
- And so when he… - [Judge Acker] She was an auntie.
- [Erika] … when he met me… - [Judge Acker] You're the fiancee.
This is so obvious.
Her fiance says, "Auntie's a little annoyed
about the parking situation."
You went up and you were like, "What's up? I don't wanna annoy you."
- [Erika] And I [indistinct]. - You got rattled.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
You are a menace in that parking lot.
You're an absolute menace.
Now, you said before you're bipolar.
Take your medication.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Vivian Calhoun is suing neighbor Erika Hazzard for $250,
the cost she claims to replace a closet door.
She says Erika stormed into her apartment in a rage,
sending her front door crashing into the closet door.
Erika says Vivian is fixated on creating drama over a parking space.
What happened when she parked her car next to yours?
- Tell me about that situation. - Um, so I don't drive.
The car that she's talking about,
my fiance bought the car for me so that he could teach me how to drive,
so that when I learned I would have a car, because he also owns a truck.
So the car was purchased for me, which is why it was parked
in the parking lot there originally in the first place.
That is his truck.
Um, her car,
the parking space that she's upset about
is on the opposite side of the parking lot.
Instead of her parking in the other spot,
she did that on purpose 'cause I had just got a restraining order
and they told her that we couldn't be around each other.
- So she parked so close to you… - [Erika] That the doors wouldn't open.
… that you couldn't get out of the car.
The door--I literally, I'm a big girl.
- I had to squeeze out of there. And so… - [Vivian] No, she didn't.
Your Honor, no, no, no.
That was her reaction to me getting a restraining order,
because she originally told that judge that she was terrified
- because I was so big and I scared her. - Come on now, ma'am.
- Did you say that? - No. I didn't tell nobody that.
- And then… - [Judge Acker] Come on. Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait. Stop, stop, stop.
I think you've got some impulse control issues.
I think you've got anger problems.
We--can we look at Exhibit 3?
I mean, look at this.
Here's what you wrote.
"Do not speak to me.
Do not ring my doorbell.
Do not knock on my door. Nothing.
I will deal only with residents 101, 104, 201, 304.
The rest of you, leave me alone."
- [Vivian] And I did do that. - I mean, come on now.
- That's so petty. - [Vivian] But, Your Honor, that day…
- That's so petty. - [Vivian] … when I parked
next to her car, I didn't block them in, they would--I just pulled in.
- They was coming out to… - [Judge Acker] It was just
a total coincidence that you parked so close…
[Vivian] I'm sorry you don't believe me,
but, you know, I'm telling you the truth.
[Judge Acker] I'm just--hear me out.
I can't help that you don't believe me, ma'am.
Hear me out. Why are you so mad at her?
I'm not--that's the thing.
I wasn't mad, period, before she came.
I wasn't mad at them.
[Judge Acker] Can you accept the fact, Ms. Hazzard,
that sometimes there are situations,
you know, you hear about somebody grousing about something
and you're, like, "I just gotta leave this alone."
Why didn't you do that in this case?
[Erika] Um, because I didn't think it would be a problem.
And like she said, and she kind of lied, nobody stole her car.
They broke into her car and damaged it.
So she had to total it out.
When that happened, we had gave her ride
from that point until she got her vehicle.
And when you say we, you mean you and your fiance?
[Erika] Yeah. We had gave her rides everywhere.
He was like taking her to get food and stuff.
I was cooking food and bringing it to her.
I've made her a birthday cake every year on her birthday for the last…
- Did she make you a birthday cake? - … eight years.
- [Vivian] Yes, she did. - [Erika] I don't know…
- Ma'am, I--come on now, Ms. Calhoun. - [Erika] … where this came from.
I'm--that's what I'm saying.
[Judge Acker] You got to find some other stuff to do.
[Vivian] When that-- when all about this parking lot,
she shouldn't have came down my house regardless,
regardless of what it was that she needed to address to me.
[Judge Acker] You know what? Sometimes you just got to let stuff go.
Judge DiMango?
[Judge DiMango] It's like you're bipolar.
- Really. It's like you're bipolar. - [Vivian] I am. I am.
- [Judge DiMango] You are? - Yes.
You are swinging all over the place with your up attitude, your down attitude.
First, you're taking birthday cakes, having birthday parties, inviting her in.
Next thing you know,
- you're pushing her out. - [Vivian] No, I don't…
[Judge DiMango] Parking your car on top of hers.
- [Vivian] It's not like that. - [Judge DiMango] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
What you've done in here the whole time
is try to minimize everything that you've done.
What's blatantly clear, when she came down to you,
you were like, I knew it.
In your head, you're like, "I knew she was gonna come down here.
- I knew she was gonna tell. I knew it." - No, I didn't know she was coming down.
- That I didn't know. - [Judge DiMango] You knew…
- No. - [Judge DiMango] … that her aunt-in-law
was going to tell her about it.
You knew it.
The fact that you could sit there and say no tells me nothing.
And the other issue about the door,
- question to you, Ms. Hazzard. - [Erika] Uh-hmm.
[Judge DiMango] When was the last time before this incident
you were in the apartment?
I wanna say like, probably like two weeks prior.
When you're leaving, you must see the rack
- on the back of that door… - [Erika] Right.
- … would that be correct? - Right.
[Judge DiMango] When you were leaving
approximately two weeks before this incident,
were you able to see if behind
that rack there was any hole or damage or anything?
No. The--that is her closet. That's not… that's the closet.
[Judge DiMango] That--what we're looking at there is the closet.
- Is that a bi-fold closet? - That's the--yes.
- It's a bi-fold closet. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
So when you open the front door to the apartment,
the coat rack is instantly
- gonna knock it off the track or put… - [Judge DiMango] Got you.
[Erika] … a hole in it.
So when I seen the door, it was the old door.
I have never seen that door.
And today is the first day I actually seen the damage.
So my question to you was, when you went there on the last visit,
did she have a nice new
- bi-fold door there? - No. No.
- [Judge DiMango] What did she have there? - [Erika] She had the same raggedy one
that already had prior damage.
It had multiple holes in it.
So we have that you did get a new door and that it was damaged.
To replace a bi-fold door costs how much money, Ms. Calhoun?
[Vivian] Two hundred and four.
[Judge DiMango] Well, it costs you $204.
But according to the documents we have,
a bi-fold interior door should only cost $45.
- Did you have your door fixed? - [Vivian] No, they didn't…
So you've never had it fixed since?
[Vivian] This has not been fixed since it was like that.
Okay. So we would have to look at that because that's an estimate there.
Now, tell me why she couldn't park in that space
or why you couldn't say to her, "Hey?"
I never said she couldn't park in that space.
I never said that.
[Judge DiMango] But you wanted someone else to tell her don't park in that space.
I told nobody to tell her that.
- I… - [Judge DiMango] Yes, you did.
By making that phone call, you did.
And this incident occurs.
You know, we have an aerial view.
Why don't you, if you can, Ms. Calhoun,
please step up, show us where you park
because I see a parking lot
with what looks like more empty spaces than cars.
[Vivian] See, this is my complex right here.
[Judge DiMango] You're there.
And where do you wanna park your car?
- [Vivian] See, that's--I mean I… - Where's your unassigned assigned space?
Right there.
Now--okay. You can go back.
So when you leave here today,
and if she's parked in your space,
you are perfectly fine with that.
I'll park way on the other side of the parking lot.
I--now, the--I've parked--
as you--when you first come in,
there's a parking lot right there. I parked over there.
So wait, so you're telling me if that space is not available,
you go way out of your way to park
in a whole another area of the parking lot?
- I just park on the other… - That's, like, baloney.
[Vivian] Cars is right there, that's way on the other side.
[Judge DiMango] Is that where you're not supposed to be parked, that white…
- [Erika] That's not even a parking space. - [Judge DiMango] That's illegal.
- [Vivian] You could--I could park… - [Judge DiMango] It's an illegal space.
- [Erika] She's not allowed to park there. - [Judge DiMango] Just go up there.
No, you could walk to it.
Go on. I wanna see what you were gonna show us.
[Vivian] Okay. That's my car right here.
[Judge DiMango] It's in the middle of nowhere.
You're not supposed to be parked like that in that space.
I could be parked right there.
I've never--nobody never said nothing.
The police never said nothing.
- The lines say something on the ground. - No. The line is right there.
This is the--that's the last parking spot.
I just decided to put it over there.
It wasn't bothering nobody, but that's the way I do.
[Judge DiMango] It's--get--go back there.
I am.
[Judge DiMango] You need parking space school.
- About her only parking there. - [Judge DiMango] Yeah.
This is the 9th.
She is parked directly next to me
with her illegal handicapped parking sticker
- because the spot next to me… - Byrd, may I see that please?
[Vivian] That's not illegal. If you [indistinct]
- Yes, it is. It expired in November. - [Vivian] So what?
- I'm a good person. - [Byrd] This is…
Nobody's saying you're bad, but you are a bad parker.
- Well, I'm gonna be [indistinct]. - What am I looking at here?
- [Byrd] So… - [Erika] That--okay, so that's the 9th.
She said she only parks way down there in that illegal parking spot.
That's her parked right next to me in a handicap parking spot.
- Good deal. It's… - [Erika] If you swipe,
you'll see the expired placard.
Ma'am, you can't park in a handicap space.
You can't use expired handicap parking permit.
I'm telling you, you are a menace in that parking lot.
You are an absolute menace and you are causing problems
that are going to escalate not just with her
but with everybody else.
Now, you said before you're bipolar.
Take your medication.
- [Vivian] I always do. - Good.
- I get along with everybody. - [Judge DiMango] I'm done.
I don't have any more questions.
I get along with everybody in that building.
But not people with cause.
Or on that--or on that list.
All right. I have nothing further.
- We're gonna retire to deliberate. - Can I--Judge? Just…
- [Judge DiMango] Oh, sure. - [Judge Acker] I have one--ma'am.
Ms. Calhoun, let me ask you this.
All of this, you have filed your lawsuit.
- You are now here in court… - Uh-hmm.
[Judge Acker] … opposing somebody who used to make your birthday cake.
I bet you're not making her any more cakes.
I have no desire to be anywhere near her.
- And I don't wanna be near her. - [Judge Acker] But listen to me.
Listen to me. For $205,
was this worth it?
- Probably not. - [Judge Acker] Thank you, ma'am.
- I don't have anything further. - Probably not.
We're going to retire to deliberate at this time.
Thank you both.
[Cassandra] Court is now in recess.
Parties will be recalled.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
Ms. Hazzard, I just noticed that you were getting a little upset.
Why are you so upset?
If this is what you did one time because you were angry,
what will you do to me next?
[dramatic musical sting]
You're in my seat.
- Do not speak to me. - You're in my seat.
I will only be speaking to the resident
of the seat to my right
between the hours of 3:45 and 3:49. That's it.
But don't come knocking on my trailer door.
That's all I'm gonna tell you, because I'm not letting you in.
Can I have my seat back?
Yes, you can.
It's--let's do it? It does.
It does because I don't know where to look in that seat.
Like I know here, I'm looking straight ahead.
- Oh, I feel so much better now. - At home.
[Judge Levy] I think the plaintiff was onto something.
- Hope that doesn't change your verdict. - [Judge Levy] It will not.
All right, listen, at the end of the day,
it's a $205 claim.
Clearly though it upset both the plaintiff and the defendant
to the point where they went to go get orders
because they didn't feel safe and secure in their own homes.
The defendant, by the way, her order, which we did not discuss,
but we have copies of it.
She said that the reason that she wanted an order from the court
was because she was afraid that the plaintiff
was gonna continue making false claims about her.
Continue, a la continue making false claims about the damage to the door.
So I think our role here is one of credibility.
Who are we to believe?
Was that door damaged before the defendant came up
and they had their little kerfuffle at the doorway?
Or was that damage caused by the defendant?
That seems to me to be the main issue.
We would not have known
about the prior damage to the door,
but for the defendant bringing it to our attention.
The plaintiff did not include anywhere either in our papers
or to the police department when they showed up
or into small claims court.
So it's a credibility determination.
The fact that in the opening salvo,
I asked her, you know, what happened
and she's telling me how she wasn't upset
and how she was just doing this just to say it--
that could not have been farther from the truth.
I'm from New York, I know how people fight over a parking spot.
One of my first cases as DA was an attempted murder case
over a parking spot.
Having said that, I just don't believe that the plaintiff
has made out her case and that's based upon a determination on credibility.
- And I would move to dismiss. - [Judge Acker] I'm with you.
I found the defendant completely credible.
I mean the picture that she paints
of the incident to me just rings true.
The plaintiff is really upset.
She's waving the cane around, calling her names,
like telling her to off herself,
I mean saying really horrible things.
And then the defendant is probably like,
"Look, I'm trying to address the parking issue before it escalates."
And then sadly it did.
I would vote to dismiss.
I think that this plaintiff's personality
is kind of well-known in the complex
and that she really was a threat to the defendant
and she should not recover on this at all.
- All right, unanimous. - Great.
[dramatic musical sting]
[Cassandra] Court is back in session.
Parties are reminded that you're still under oath.
- [Judge Levy] Thank you, Cassandra. - [Cassandra] Uh-hmm.
You know, there are some people that may minimize what happened here.
We most certainly did not.
Having said that,
Ms. Hazzard, I just noticed that you were getting a little upset.
Are you upset just because you're here?
Are you upset because you think the relationship
between you and the plaintiff has been irreparably damaged?
Why are you so upset?
A little bit of all of it.
Unbeknownst to me, she just acknowledged today that she got mental health issues.
I'm not judging her. I'm not…
- [Judge Levy] Well, you shouldn't. - [Erika] … making light of that.
- [Judge Levy] You shouldn't. - But what I am saying
is if this is what you did one time because you were angry,
what will you do to me next?
So I have no desire to find out.
I wish her nothing but the best, but I have nothing left.
[Judge Levy] Okay. Just go on your own ways.
- Yup. - [Judge Levy] That's it.
You know, Ms. Calhoun,
the case for us, it wasn't overly complicated.
The issue for you is whether or not you can prove
that the defendant damaged your door
and whether or not you were damaged to the tune of $205.
You submitted an invoice,
but without any receipt showing payment as you say that you did.
And it doesn't bode well for you either.
We would not have known about the other damage to your door,
but for the defendant.
And it seems to me that if the police come to your house as they did,
and you have their ear, which you did,
and if she happened to have caused that damage,
which we don't believe she did,
the first thing you would've said to the police is,
"I just got this door fixed.
I just paid to have this fixed. And she busted it again."
And the paperwork is completely void of any mention of any of that.
- [Vivian] Your Honor… - [Judge Levy] Again, it doesn't--hold on.
It doesn't mean you're lying.
What I'm saying is that our role as judges is to weigh the credibility of litigants.
And on that one, you lost.
So it's the unanimous decision of the bench
that your complaint against the defendant is dismissed in its entirety.
And we wish you both the best.
Thank you.
[Cassandra] This case has concluded. All parties are excused.
[theme music plays]
Well, I lost the case.
I knew I told the truth.
Maybe I think she just wanted her way,
and this was a really exhausting way to try to get it.
I was upset, but it's okay.
No, she's just known as the person who's really loud
and that they always want their way.
She wasn't honest at all
and I just didn't have enough evidence.
- She knows how to work the system. - Oh, that's a lie.
She did what she did. It's all good.
Because if I see her again, it'll be too soon.
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["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]