Trashing The Joint

this is the plff made Aina she says she purchased an apartment that defendants were her first tenants and when they left her once beautiful place was a disaster there were excessive damages a broken window stained carpets and now she's out $424 120 so she's sewing these are the defendants krie and Daniel Carrie says This Woman's nuts if she thinks they're going to pay over four grand to replace the old cheap carpeting she got when they rented the place this woman is new at landlording and doesn't understand the concept of normal wear and tear and she already kept their $1,900 security deposit so owe her no way they're accused of trashing the joint all parties please raise your right hand People's Court is now in session the honorable Judge Marilyn Milan are presiding litigants have been sworn your honor thank you dou you're welcome all right Miss Melina you are suing Miss Carrie and Mr Daniel your former tenants for $4,240 that you say they owe you above and beyond the $1900 security deposit which you've kept tell me what happened yes how you are honor um on October 15 2020 they moved into my property um they signed a one-year lease and then around around July I I I got a phone call from management because it's a co-op so there's a management so the manager called me and said um their teenage daughter was walking around half naked and disturbing other tenants so I called Carrie and asked what that was about and she said uh well she's a teenage girl she has some issues and that was that and then I got a fine for $200 a little later on for um disturbing the neighbors I don't know who but um I forwarded that to Carrie and she paid it and then September I asked them did they want to renew the lease they said yes um before I presented her the lease I got two letters in the mail from management saying there had been numerous complaints from other neighbors about um loud fights um and another complain was um a strong odor um it smelled of weed coming from my my unit So based on that I decided not to renew her lease and I called Carrie and I explained that to her um she understood that she understood where I was coming from so I said so now we're in October I think it was beginning of October so um your lease is up October 14th so you should start to look for a new place because I'm getting all these complaints so she said she couldn't afford to move just now she would need some time to save up some money so I agreed to that I didn't give her any notice at that point a couple of days later she sends me a text uh saying that her daughter now no longer lives there she's moved out how old was the daughter at the time she was 16 but now she's 17 okay so I didn't hear anything until March 15th 2020 so so she just remains a month to month yes and then in March what do you here March 15th uh the manager calls me and she tells me there's police activity at my unit the daughter is outside she's causing did the daughter move back in yes all right so you tell her she's got to go by when so the uh I called her that day after they had called me I said Carrie what's going on she said well my daughter's back and um so I I said well now you got to go cuz I can't I can't so how long did you give her I gave her till May 31st all right and then did she get out on May 31st she got out she called me about around April 7th or 8 and she said I found a place I'm moving I'm moving out on April 15th so I said okay that doesn't really give me a lot of time to try to find a new tenant to move in there because I I really don't want to lose any okay but so let's bring it bring it to you know the damages because that's what the case is about so when does she move out what day April 15th she does move out April 15th April 15th okay so you go in and the first time you look at the place is after she moved out no the first time I so I asked her um would you be fine with me showing the place um these cuz I only had a week to try to find new tenants and I hadn't seen the condition of the place so she said yes she would work with me no problems so I went over there shortly after I had listed the place so I showed it to to I can't remember but um that's when I first saw some of the damages so you show it to a potential tenant yes and what happens so I her son let me in she they weren't there but I had already spoken to her about coming there and she was fine with that her son let me in and they just first of all it it smelled of Wheat and then I just I saw the walls were dirty and I saw damage to the front door there was the first thing I said like someone had scratched it with with some kind of object and it was damaged to the screen also and then I couldn't really see a lot they had a lot of stuff in there so um immediately the clients that I had they said um they couldn't really tell it was it was too dirty and they didn't like the smell of the wheed so they left and um did you have a confrontation with the daughter no did a realtor of yours have a confrontation with the daughter I did at a later part the next tell me about what the confrontation with the daughter so a couple of days later I come in I open the door and the the son had let me in and I open the door and then the daughter's friend sees us and starts cussing ass at out and says who who the f are you and then her the daughter comes out too and says you have no right to be here I said well I'm the owner and I already spoke to your to your mother and she she told me I could show the apartment and she said well get out and she started cussing at us and I said my client here has a little son and she said I don't care get the F out so I left I went outside I called Daniel who who who said he was in the parking lot he was in his car and I said Daniel this is what just happened he went inside spoke to her he came back out and said you can go back inside and show the unit so I went back with my clients L these are not ideal showing conditions are they so you went back I went back with my clients the the daughter and her friend had locked themselves in the bathroom so I could only show the living room I couldn't even show her how big an apartment is this it's a two-bedroom how big an apartment is this square feet do you know around 1,00 maybe okay so that was that day so I text the carry I said I texted her I said I showed the the unit um and these clients they said they lik the place but it was again it was dirty and it smelled of weed and they were kind of shocked of what had just happened and they said they would like to see it after the place was rep repaired and clean did they end up renting it no okay so Carrie did you uh ever request your security deposit back no never how come because we lived there for a year and a half it was lived in and she was in and out of my place when it was empty beforehand she never it was just assumed that the 1900 would cover for what is listed on the invoice that she gave me of the damages not to replace an you ask because I I seldom does a tenant not ask for their security deposit back I think you looked at the condition of how you were turning it over and realized there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that you would get the security back because it was pretty Trash Guys the plaintive says the defendant's daughter trashed the apartment they rented from her and the security deposit doesn't cover all the damages so she's suing the defendants say the woman is trying to replace an old stained carpet with brand new wood floors for four grand and is taking advantage of a sad situation let's listen what happened to the place let's go over the pictures and then and that it's trashed is not in dispute how much it's trashed that's a fair game here but that it's trashed I I'm like in shock at at um the way this was turned over these are pictures prior to move in where you can see that the carpet is not in the best shape in the world I I agree okay how old is the carpet you I don't know cuz I had just bought it right before they moved in so I had when they before they moved in I had it when you say you just bought it you don't mean the carpet you mean the apartment the apartment yes right so I haded shampoo and cleaned before they right but you didn't have it shampooed and cleaned after they left no no what you did was you put in vinyl flooring and you want them to pay the $4,000 for the vinyl flooring yes on what planet and why if what they did was trash an old rug that's stained already and they did trash it because I see the spray painting that I think that's the daughter's room what's the issue with your daughter other other than the shoe 16 or something you know what is the what's the issue I don't want to talk about that it's but is there something more than just she's a teenager yes okay um are you are you the dad or no no okay second bedroom door whose door is that believe that's uh the daughter's the daughter's okay yes so what happened to that door oh she uh Punch or kicked it punched it yeah okay and this I guess is this the other side of the door yes that's the other side what happened to these walls oh that's my son's room and that's where he he sat with his desk so he would sit there and as kids would do kind of lean back on his chair and yeah some grownup I'm and it's honestly I if I had the time in my life not working around the clock I could have literally wipe that off with a a cloth and soap well maybe you should have though because it's that's a hard thing to say to somebody after they've painted and there's a lot of other reasons to paint too right like and what scratched everything down here I'm not sure what that is yes like I said we lived there for a year and a half lived in for we paid her on the day for a year and a half no I understand but you don't have a right to damage it you're supposed to turn it over in the same condition you get it okay um and she doesn't have a right to renovate on your dime I get that but wear and tear it's all right wear and tear is legitimate and you don't have to pay anything for that you don't have to pay your security deposit for wear and tear wear and tear means normal use it doesn't mean staining it doesn't mean they have to now paint because nobody could move in with these walls like this isn't normal wear and tear punching your fist through a door is not normal no but also the walls aren't the walls aren't and the staining a carpet isn't normal wear and tear what's wrong with what happened to that door I have no idea what happened to that door Daniel yeah Daniel why are you leaving Carrie holding the bag on all this go ahead Daniel it got destroyed no I know but how though like I'm not even understanding you know I have doors I have teenagers I have uh people who are mad and express it I just don't even understand how that would happen a lot of anger with so so is it trying to open a lock someone trying to open the door and then they ripped broke the door off the hinge basically what happened to the window the the daughter broke it what happened to this front door cuz this is like deliberate it's it's it's my daughter all the way everything um and the thing is we were pressured to get out of there it was like we had it was it was more of an emergency room like emergency move well when she gave you notice it was what day I know but when you find places you have to like when you rent it's different it's not like you have month and months to to move out of one rented place to another no I know but I'm just you think I was born with I I know I know but also I know that many people then just stay up really late cleaning everything or whatever but I don't think this is cleanable what was this done with do you know or no I no it's my daughter just being but like scratching it with something what go ahead stand up who what's your name no no no I want to hear from him why do you have to do everything go ahead what's your name my name is Thomas Woody okay talk to me do you know how this was done yeah my wife will explain it to you well then why were you raising your hand because they utilized the jack knife sit down I sit down no he can stand right where he is just stay by her side go ahead and talk to me yes he actually told me what cuz I asked him the day on April 15th I went over there for the walk through I asked D Daniel was there first Carrie was in there I asked Daniel what I had a nice conversation with him I said what happened to my front door he said the daughter took a jackhammer to the door and he even had to replace the lock that was are things better now or no better but is she living with you she has to she's a minor right no I just didn't know if there was anybody else in the mix what happened well when we moved in that that carpet was cut like when we moved in which I don't even know why to this day I don't even know why it was a cut carpet is that accurate was there a cut in that carpet yes it was so was a piece of garbage carpet anyway but where where did this all this spray paint come from she decided to spray paint her dresser I gather that was behind her back yeah your honor I know you're saying that the carpet uh in your opinion was the shevel but it was in more than decent condition when we ran at the place and you had mentioned that it was stained previously there were no stains and if you just a second hold on one second this is the carpet that you say is in great condition it doesn't look like it's in great condition that's from the lighting youon well no I'm not you know I mean the no it was it was in good condition I had it shampooed okay why didn't you shampoo it again no because this time instead of putting in $4,000 worth of flooring right cuz you guys put in $4,000 worth of flooring and you want these guys to pay for it and your answer is oh because it would be more expensive to put carpeting I I mean do you guys all think I just fell off a turnup truck I've done carpeting I know exactly how much less expensive but then the one thing you present me to show that it's more expensive is a contractor's estimate where he just writes on it and says things and that's supposed to be persuasive to me instead of an actual estimate from a carpet company who I know could do this for much less than 4,000 welcome back to the People's Court I'm Harvey 11 the question is the plain of trying to get over on the defend Dan by charging her for brand new wooden floors let's go back into the courtroom and find out I think that should be at least responsible for some of it but yes I do too I just don't but you're that's not what you're doing what you're doing is suing for 4,000 but there was also a strong odor of weed you're on I I want I was okay honestly the weed odor goes away we all know that that's you know I mean I know that the weed odor goes away it's not like it stays forever it's not cat urine something stays something things go so is this what kind of flooring is this that you put in that's vinyl flooring yeah but made to look like like that kind of vinyl flooring that looks like wood so the contractor said that's cheaper than carpet all right that's fine except for that I have to be persuaded of it and the contractor is a contractor they're just writing writing there what it costs I you know like I'm I'm I'm sorry but no you you're what you're entitled to is the depreciated value of an old old carpet that they've further ruined or ruined let's go with you ruined that's let's say that they ruined it and it was pristine before that all right what you're entitled to is the depreciated value of that that means if it's a 20-y old carpet it's worth this it's not worth $4,000 new vinyl flooring it's not a bonanza it this court is meant to put you in the position you were in before the bad thing happened that the bad thing happened no question this was returned to you in a very different condition than you handed it to them it's insulting I get it but that also I have to sit here and actually figure out what you're out not you know you do Renovations and they got to pay for all of it it cost you $320 and44 cents to replace the bedroom window yes $300 to replace the two bedroom doors $1250 to paint all that is very legitimate I'm going to add $500 for whatever depreciation for the carpet that we have no idea how old it is I am ruling that you are entitled to keep the security deposit of course and ordering them to pay an additional $470 and44 to you in Damages that is my verdict good luck folks Thank You So the plan it prevails in this case but she certainly doesn't get anything near what she was seeking she was suing for more than 4,000 she gets it a little over over 400 let's see what the defendants have to say about this folks let me ask you what you feel about the judge's decision it's a good decision she's a very fair judge cuz there was damage there was damage there was a lot of damage the judge said it was uh actually insulting it was in that bad a shape it should make you feel terrible you know I've had terrible things happen in my life all right well that's the judge's verdict uh thank you very much good luck to you all right so the plain if won but she got very little compared to what she was asking let's see what she's feeling right now mandolina what's your reaction to the case do you think you made a very poor decision in Renning the apartment to those folks I mean they look good on paper they were actually nice people it's it's unfortunate I didn't know anything about the teenage daughter and any issues I wish them well I just hope that she gets the help that she definitely needs to be a productive member of society yeah I wish she definitely needs a lot of help so have you rented the apartment now I have yes to a very lovely woman and to a very lovely woman well hopefully it'll work out much better with with her than the previous tenants all right congratulations okay that was an interesting case Harvey what are your thoughts so Doug one of the great unfairnesses of the law I think is that when somebody damages your property you are not entitled to replacement cost you're entitled to the depreciated value at the time of the loss so in this case uh the plaintiff's going to get 500 bucks the thing is it may cost a lot more than that to replace the carpeting needs to be replaced but the plaintiff's going to have to Annie up the difference that is simply the way the law works I live on a narrow Street and large trucks struck my mailbox I didn't see it I did hear it and I notified police the same day is it worth going to court over the $200 that's going to cost me to fix the mailbox well going to court against who how are you going to if you didn't see it how are you going to prove that a particular truck did it they heard it uh yeah but circumstantial evidence what what I heard it I turned around I saw that truck I saw that truck nearby pulling away whatever you might be a to close the circle so I heard it I went to the window two seconds later I see that truck that belongs to that neighbor yeah you might convince a judge or Poss so is it worth going you know small claims is never about the money as we know about the principle so it just depends on how angry you are and if this is behavior that you've seen a lot if this is uh neighbors that you like very much and an accident if it really annoys you that they left the scene right so you know is it worth it that depends some jurist itions have a filing fee that's even more than the 200 right um which kind of chills you from going to court right because at the end of the day you even if you get a judgment you don't know that you're going to collect that judgment because the person could be a deadbeat or maybe they just don't have the money maybe they're destitute one of those people comes to court with a wearing a barrel with a couple belts on their you know how that's always happening yeah you know that sort of thing and then uh you get a judgment 60s cartoons you are stuck in 60s cartoons exactly so you're stuck then with a Jud judement and you've already burned the 200 on the busted mailbox plus the $250 fing fee the time the aggravation so it it it depends on your individual circumstances and your level of anger if you're able to let it go and um you know and you just figure well I didn't see it uh you're probably in a happier place or or or send an email to the company if you can figure out who they are or the person whoever who he or she is and just say hey you know about for the effort take care take care of my mailbox you never know you might get lucky

Channel: The People's Court

Views: 200,240

Keywords: peoples court, Marilyn Milian, jury, judge, justice, television, appeal, ruling

Id: Hf4ydyrz3w8

Length: 22min 10sec (1330 seconds)

Published: Mon May 13 2024