You lent money to your mom to buy your brother a car.
I intended to pay her back.
You driving around in the car your sister paid for?
- Yes. - Give the car back
so she could get her money back.
Then that defeat the whole purpose of getting the car.
You can't do this anymore.
You've gotta take care of yourself.
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in Flint, Michigan.
[Cassandra] Your Honor, this is case 2034, Eineder versus Land.
All parties have been sworn in.
You may be seated.
- [Judge Levy] Thank you, Cassandra. - [Cassandra] Welcome.
[Judge Levy] All right. Ms. Eineder,
you are suing the defendant who happens to be your mom.
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] You're suing her
because you made a series of three loans to her,
she paid some of the money back, but she completely stopped paying,
and therefore you're here suing her
for the unpaid loans totaling $5,870.
- Correct. - [Judge Levy] Ms. Land,
you admit borrowing the money and not paying all of it back.
And from what I could gather from your answer is that
your daughter should've simply forgiven the loan
and you don't know why she's making such a big deal of this.
Right.
Ms. Eineder, how old are you?
I'm 24.
[Judge Levy] And, uh, do you go to school?
I did go to school. I went for an MA.
I'm looking for a job now.
[Judge Levy] And what type of job?
[Lexus] A medical assistant.
[Judge Levy] And how do you support yourself?
I have, uh, SSI.
Besides SSI, uh, were you working any part-time jobs
over the last, say, two years?
I was a valet parking at Covenant.
And what were you making an hour?
- I think 13 an hour, and then I had tips. - [Judge Levy] Okay.
Where do you currently live?
Are you living by yourself, you're living with anyone else?
I live by myself in Flint.
- [Judge Levy] Flint, Michigan? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] Do you pay rent?
Um, I do. I pay $200.
- [Judge Levy] Okay. - For rent.
- [Judge Levy] Do you have a car? - [Lexus] Yes.
On my car, I pay 251.23, and then insurance is 135.08.
Would it be fair to say that if I went through all your expenses,
that you're the type of person
that would pretty much know exactly what they are each month,
- and that you keep up-to-date on those? - Yes.
Okay. Now let's talk about, uh,
- Ms. Eineder, those three loans. - [Lexus] Yes.
[Judge Levy] Tell me about the first one.
- Tell me the date. - The first one was October 25th, 2021.
That was for a vehicle.
[Judge Levy] Did she tell you who that vehicle was for?
Yes, it was my brother.
[Judge Levy] Your older brother or younger brother?
[Lexus] My younger brother.
[Judge Levy] How many other siblings do you have
besides your one younger brother?
I have two others.
And where do you fit in?
[Lexus] I'm the second child.
[Judge Levy] Okay. So she said that she needed to borrow money.
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] How much?
Three thousand.
Where did you get that $3,000 from?
The 3,000 was from jobs prior before valet.
How much of that $3,000 did your mom pay back?
Seven hundred.
- [Judge Levy] Is that correct? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] The second loan, when was it?
That was November 7th of '22.
[Judge Levy] And how much was that for?
2,141.
[Judge Levy] Without a note. I love your memory.
Did she indicate what that was for?
[Lexus] That was for my brother's needs in jail.
She said that he needed, like, food, clothes, stuff like that.
- [Judge Levy] Like commissary? - Yes.
Did she pay any money back from that loan?
Uh, 596 was the total.
And were there any terms, conditions, regarding those two loans
that you just described?
In other words, was she paying you back
a certain amount every month, every week,
every two weeks, or was it just when she got money, she gave you money?
I think it was when she had money, she'd give it to me.
It was like 100 or 150 or 200.
It depended on what she had to give.
[Judge Levy] When was approximately the last time
that she paid you any money back?
Any money was given was December 1st of this year,
- $20. - [Judge Levy] Okay.
- Does that sound about right, too? - Yes.
And then let's just go over that last debt.
Do you remember the date?
June 8, '23, yes.
[Judge Levy] Okay. Can you tell us
what your mom said she needed that money for?
That money was for, uh, car insurance and fixing the vehicle.
All right. So to get into a little more detail then,
the vehicle that your mom bought for your brother
in October of 2021 for $3,000
had been sitting for a period of time
- while he was in prison. - Yes.
He got out of prison and the car needed some tune-up and stuff, right?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] It needed insurance.
- Correct. - We're not talking your car.
We're talking the car that your brother who just got out of prison
- needed, right? - [Lexus] Correct.
[Judge Levy] And so the 2,025 that your mom asked you
to borrow to repair and buy insurance,
the source of those funds?
That's when I took out a loan.
It was a Greenlight loan, it was 2,000
and then I needed to put a $25 fee for the application.
Because you had no more money. You had no more savings.
- [Lexus] Yes, correct. - [Judge Levy] It had all been depleted.
Yes.
[Judge Levy] And how much of that did your mom pay back?
The 2,025, I have not seen nothing.
[Judge Levy] Zero. And is that correct, Ms. Land?
- I suppose. - [Judge Levy] And now, listen,
in your defense, to the extent you got one,
is that you were hoping that your son
was gonna be making payments on this debt,
and that you were going to be taking the money from your son,
and giving it to your daughter, the plaintiff here, right?
Yes.
Did it surprise you when your son didn't pay a nickel?
- [Lyn] No. - [Judge Levy] Why not?
It's hard to get a job after you're locked up.
That's true. That's true.
That's what an enabling mother would say,
as opposed to a mother who's holding her son responsible
because he's a grown man.
- How old is he? - [Lyn] Twenty-three.
- He's a grown man, right? - Yes.
[Judge Levy] So we're not talking about him becoming a police officer
with a criminal history, becoming a lawyer where you gotta go
through a character and fitness committee, or a licensing.
But landscaping work.
Working in a restaurant.
Could've done that, right?
- [Lyn] True. - [Judge Levy] Lots of jobs around.
- Is he working right now? - [Lyn] No.
[Judge Levy] He got out of prison June of this year?
Yes. But he had a violation.
[Judge Levy] He got--he got a violation of parole...
- And went back in August. - [Judge Levy] ... or probation?
- Probation. - So he failed to follow the terms
and conditions that the judge imposed
after he was convicted for what?
Breaking into cars.
[Judge Levy] Breaking into cars. Hey.
To the extent that there's something good about him,
he didn't kill anyone, right?
He was breaking into cars.
Yeah, I'm not--I'm not condoning it.
[Judge Levy] Of--I know you're not.
But what my point is, is that he got out in June, June, July,
August, September, October, November.
That's six months.
He hasn't gotten a job, hasn't paid a nickel for the loans
that his sister depleted her own savings.
What's wrong with your son?
What's wrong with him?
He has me for an enabling mother.
Listen, you would not have earned that title of mother
if you didn't have a big heart.
- She got a big heart? - [Lexus] Yes.
- She does. - [Judge Levy] Is it too big?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] You got a big heart.
Judge Acker.
[Judge Acker] Is it that big? Because I feel like
what I'm in the middle of right now
is some horror story from the Middle Ages
where the girls do all the work and the boys do what they want.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
I could pay her back. It still wouldn't make her happy.
If your brother paid you back, would you be happy?
[dramatic musical sting]
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Lexus Eineder is suing her mother, Lyn Land,
for almost $6,000 in unpaid loans.
But Lyn claims the loans were for Lexus' own brother,
and that she should be more than willing to help out the family.
I was concerned, Ms. Land, when I read your answer,
and I'm sure you love your son, I'm sure you have a big heart,
but I'm not sure you understand
the position in which you have put your daughter.
And part of your answer is,
"As a mother, I spent my fair share of money on my daughter throughout the years,
and I believe this whole lawsuit is crazy." You don't believe that.
I mean, I feel like I give my all to all of them.
They should help back.
[Judge Acker] Wait, think about those words.
You give your all to all of them.
I'm gonna take issue with that just based
on the little that we've seen of this record so far.
She gives her all to your son, who can't seem to stay out of trouble.
You get in the middle of it, and you expect her to carry the burden.
I also try to pay her back and give her money when I have it.
You may have intended to pay her back but she had to borrow money.
Uh, Ms. Eineder, did you pay it back?
I'm in the process of paying it back.
[Judge Acker] You are making payments on a loan
so she could help your brother out.
- [Lexus] Yes. - [Judge Acker] Ms. Eineder,
you mention that you receive SSI payment.
- Is that for some disability? - Yes.
[Judge Acker] May I ask the nature of your disability?
Cognitive impairment.
I note though that you have presented
your case thus far with a remarkable degree of precision.
You should be proud of the fact that you keep track of your money
because, you know what, you are way ahead of the game
in terms of most people.
Ms. Land, I understand that your son is here via Chime?
I think so.
[Judge Acker] May we hear from the defendant's witness?
Could you please state your name for the record?
- Nathen. - [Judge Acker] Thank you, Nathen.
Uh, your mother has called you here as a witness.
And as I'm sure you know, your sister's case
against your mother, is all about you.
So let me point to your statement
because before you appeared in court today,
you swore out a statement, and I'm gonna read part of it.
This is by way of your explaining
why you didn't go to your sister directly for the money.
You said, "I was concerned it would make her angry
and I simply wanted to avoid conflict with her.
And then now you can see what my mother is dealing with.
Someone with a short fuse
who wants everything given to her right now."
Now, sir, as somebody who's been the recipient of thousands of dollars,
and as someone who has not been able to find a way, it seems,
to pay any of that money back, how does she become the one
with a short fuse who wants everything given to her?
Because I don't see anybody giving her anything.
I feel like with me,
no matter what I do, it doesn't make her really happy.
So, I mean, I could pay her back. It still wouldn't make her happy.
If your brother paid you back, would you be happy?
- Yes, I'd be satisfied. - [Judge Acker] I think
she'd be pretty darn happy.
Why can't you get it together?
What is your plan?
Is it to continue to have your sister support you?
Uh, no, ma'am.
I'm trying to start a business.
I just had to save my money.
I'm in the process of trying to start my business,
also trying to find a job.
Now, in Saginaw, Michigan,
it's hard to get a job with felonies.
In many jurisdictions, it's hard to get a job
when you've got a felony conviction.
- Yeah. - But it does not mean it's impossible,
and it doesn't mean that you live off of your sister
who has her own burdens.
She's got her own obligations.
I think it's pretty atrocious to point the finger at her
who is dealing with disabilities, who's dealing with bank loans,
who is dealing with trying to get a job,
while she also has to try to get the money back
that she loaned you to try to help you.
So, what's your plan to pay her back?
Uh, well, as I've said, um, when I find a job.
I'm saving my own money to start my business
as auto detailing, cleaning.
[Judge Acker] Ms. Eineder, I'm gonna turn the case over now to Judge DiMango.
But I have to say this, you can't let other people compromise you
and your ability to take care of yourself.
So, good on you for being here and doing what you needed to do.
- Thank you. - [Judge Acker] Judge DiMango.
You're like a flower growing out of a yard with a bunch of weeds in it, really.
Why do you do this with him?
Why do you take care of him?
- Why? - I think it's family generation
after generation.
That's what I've seen.
[Judge DiMango] Let me say something to you.
You were arrested. I mean, they said it.
But you tell me, what were you arrested for?
I was stealing cars and hanging out with the wrong people.
Ah. It's a crime now hanging out with the wrong people?
I mean, if you hang out with the wrong people
and do the wrong things, yeah.
[Judge DiMango] Yes, that's what you do.
So, you were stealing cars
and your goal in life is to let people voluntarily give you their cars
so you could detail them?
That's exactly where I wanna give my car over to, some guy that steals them.
Um, actually, I wasn't the one that stole the cars.
I'm just guilty by association of being there while the crime was being committed.
I have no fingerprints inside the cars.
I was just there.
[Judge DiMango] I love people who think they're lawyers.
Because your fingerprints weren't in the car
that you therefore did not aid and abet
and act in concert with people that were stealing cars.
I mean, you didn't plead guilty to a crime
because you didn't think you did something wrong
just 'cause you were standing on the corner
watching all the girls go by, right?
Well, if you understand how Saginaw works, um,
I basically did take a plea just to get it done and over with.
You didn't have a lawyer?
Not on that case. I had--I had a court-appointed.
[Judge DiMango] But that's a lawyer.
You see, this is the malfunction in this family.
I was just standing there
while somebody else put their fingerprints in the car.
I didn't have a really good lawyer.
I can't get a job
because my sister doesn't wanna take care of the family.
I mean, it's just one tragic person after another.
How did you come out of this family the way you are?
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
I'm her stepfather, her ex-husband.
There's probably the reason why I'm the step now.
Me and him can't even get along.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Lexus Eineder is suing her mother, Lyn Land,
for almost $6,000 in unpaid loans.
But Lyn claims the loans were for Lexus' own brother
and that she should be more than willing to help out the family.
[Judge DiMango] You know what he said?
"I know my mother still technically owes money to her,
but I don't think she should pay it back."
You don't think your mother should pay it back
because families should help each other, right?
Families should help each other.
Am I right about that?
Yes, that is what I said.
- All of my friends'... - [Judge DiMango] What do you do
- to help this family? - ... families...
- [Judge DiMango] Now... - ... do that.
[Judge DiMango] ... what do you do-- I don't care about your friends.
What do you do to help this family besides be a loser?
What do you do?
Giving them money here and there when they asked.
Did your brother give money over here and there?
- I didn't ask anything. - [Judge DiMango] You didn't see it?
- No. - Sir, can I ask you something, please?
Do you mind standing up next to the plaintiff and tell us who you are?
Uh, my name is Dano Furgason.
I'm her stepfather, her ex-husband, his stepfather.
[Judge DiMango] You're the stepfather and ex-husband of...
[Dano] There's probably the reason why I'm the step now.
- [Judge DiMango] Oh. - He came before me.
[laughs]
In other words, this situation is what you're saying has
- caused you to leave this whole family? - It's--yeah, there's a lotta...
- [Judge DiMango] And-- - She is tough.
[Judge DiMango] She's what? I didn't hear you.
Tough. She's tough.
You know, she might be tough, but she's 24 years old
and she shouldn't have to be tough.
[Dano] No, no, she don't need to be like that.
She shouldn't have to be supporting a loser brother
and a mother who can't take control of her family.
Nope. Me and him can't even get along.
Well, I could see why you wouldn't get along with him.
- [Dano] Thank you. - There'd be no reason to wanna
- get along with him. - Thank you.
So, is there anything that you wanna offer on behalf of...
- [Dano] No. I mean, I was just... - ... your stepdaughter?
... gonna let you know I was here.
[Judge DiMango] You were there to see the money exchange?
Just the one but not with the other.
- Which one was it that you saw? - It was the, um, October...
- [Judge DiMango] The October loan? - ... of 2021.
So, that was the first loan for the automobile?
- That was the $3,000? - [Dano] $3,000.
Yes, it was.
[Judge DiMango] I need to ask you, what would possess you as a mother
to take from the good child and give to him?
- What? - I intended to pay her back.
- [Lexus] Can I just say something? - [Judge DiMango] Sure.
I just wanna say that she does what she does
because she doesn't wanna see him struggle.
Yeah, but as a parent, you need to know
that doing this kind of thing does not help somebody develop and grow.
What it does is it enables them
to stay in the mess that they're in and make excuses
that they didn't have fingerprints in the car
and nobody "where he's from" ever has to do anything but plead guilty.
That's absurd.
To say it to us is absurd.
And I wanna know from you, who's got this vehicle?
He does.
[Judge DiMango] He's driving around in it?
You're driving around in the car your sister paid for?
Yes.
[Judge DiMango] Well, why don't you do somethin' for your family
and give the car back so that they could sell it
and she could get her money back?
Why don't you put your money or your car where your mouth is?
And that would defeat the whole purpose
- of getting the car. - [Judge DiMango laughs]
Then how would I go around to go get a job?
[Judge DiMango] I didn't hear what he just said.
He said that would defeat the whole purpose of getting the car.
[laughter]
You're a loser who has taken from the only thing in your life
that has meant and done anything good for you.
And you're never gonna be any different
if your mother doesn't let you step up to the plate
and put you in the place you're supposed to be in.
And you're never gonna have the love of any of your kids in the end.
And I don't have any more questions.
[Judge Acker] Can I just say one little thing?
[Judge DiMango] Yeah, yeah.
The other enabling that has to stop is yours.
You can't do this anymore.
People aren't looking out for you the way you would expect them to.
You've gotta take care of yourself.
This is a great step, but see the pattern.
Don't repeat it.
Look after yourself. You're doing a great job.
[Lexus] Thank you.
And on that note, we're gonna retire to deliberate.
And, sir, you may resume your seat. Thank you.
[Cassandra] Court is now in recess.
Parties may step out.
[dramatic musical sting]
All right. So, uh, clearly the plaintiff loaned the money to the mom,
loaned her in total $7,166.
The mom paid back $1,296
which leaves the $5,870,
which is what the plaintiff is suing her for.
I should mention now that the evidence that the plaintiff did provide to us
very clearly outlined the loans,
the bank withdrawals, the repayments.
So, all of that was established by what I believe to be, uh,
preponderance of the evidence with respect to those payments that were made by her
and then the monies that were repaid by the mom.
But, uh, there were no legal defenses.
Not even close.
The defendant owes her daughter $5,870.
The only defense I heard was
she's our family member and we need it,
so she should therefore take care of us,
which of course, is not a legal defense.
I mean, my goodness.
The amount she's suing for is the least she deserves.
I wish we could give her more simply for being such a jewel, but we can't.
I would love to give her more as well, but don't forget to mention that
the defense is "not to bring each other to court for the sake of lawsuits"
as though she doesn't, what, have a legal obligation to repay her?
Nobody seems to get it in that family, but it was clear that there was a loan.
It was clear that there was an agreement to repay,
that she had reasonable basis to believe she could repay
because she was making some payments.
So, I think that she meets all the criteria for a valid
enforceable contract three separate times for these loans and she gets it all.
- Unanimous. All right. - Indeed.
[dramatic musical sting]
[Cassandra] Court is back in session.
All parties are reminded that you're still under oath.
- [Judge Levy] Thank you, Cassandra. - [Cassandra] You're welcome.
[Judge Levy] Ms. Eineder, you did a great job presenting your case.
And there's nothing else that we could really suggest
that you could've done to make your case any stronger.
You proved that you lent money to your mom,
how much she paid back and what she owes you.
And that's where you come up with your amount of $5,870
that you're suing her for.
And it's the unanimous verdict of the court
that that's exactly what she's gonna give you.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
This case has concluded.
All parties are excused.
[theme music plays]
I tried to do whatever I could for all of my kids
and I tried to pay back what I could when I can.
Give me what they could've gave me, even if it was $10, $5.
Something is better than nothing, and I received nothing.
I'm sorry.
I still love her. I still adore her.
She's my mother at the end of the day.
I hope that now that everything is paid back
or gonna be paid back that ...
... We can be a family again.
No more loans.
[announcer] Got family drama?
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["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]