>> Judge Judy: Mr. Ditzler,
you were doing some work for
a period of time for Mr. Hill
in pool maintenance.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: How many years
did you work?
>> Six years.
>> Judge Judy: Did you work
for him as an independent
contractor or were you
a paid employee?
>> Independent contractor.
>> Judge Judy: Were you paid
by check or cash?
>> Personal check.
>> Judge Judy: What does that
mean -- "personal check"?
>> It wasn't a payroll check
where he took taxes out.
>> Judge Judy: You file
tax returns every year?
>> I did, yes.
>> Judge Judy: Did you report
all this money?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: How much money
did you earn, let's say, in
2015?
>> Approximately $32,000.
>> Judge Judy: And did Mr. Hill
give you $32,000 in checks?
>> Approximately, yes.
>> Judge Judy: Did you do any
other work in, say, 2015, other
than work for Mr. Hill?
>> I buy and sell various items
at auctions and online, and I
sell them on eBay and
Craigslist, and I've done that
for about 10 years.
>> Judge Judy: And I assume,
based upon what I'm reading,
somebody is going through
a divorce.
Who is that?
>> Mr. Hill did.
>> Judge Judy: What about you?
>> 17 years ago.
>> Judge Judy: Do you have
children?
>> My son's 18.
>> Judge Judy: Was Mr. Hill ever
contacted by your former wife?
>> I believe so, yes.
>> Judge Judy: Recently?
>> According to Mr. Hill, yes.
>> Judge Judy: To find out,
I assume, what your wages were,
what you were getting paid.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Is that because
you were in arrears on payment
of either child support or
alimony?
>> No, Your Honor.
She wanted to increase the rate
of child support.
At the current time, I owe.
>> Judge Judy: At the current
time, you owe.
>> I owe $800.
>> Judge Judy: But she had gone
back to court for an increase?
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: When was that?
>> Mid May or early June.
I don't know exactly.
>> Judge Judy: It is your claim
in this proceeding that Mr. Hill
owes you for some back wages.
You and Mr. Hill did, in fact,
part company in what month?
>> May 2nd -- I'm sorry --
May 3, 2016.
>> Judge Judy: Around the same
time your former wife contacted
him?
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: And at that time,
you were owed some money.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: My reading of
this is that you went into his
office, he let you go, he owed
you some money, and you wanted
the keys back.
>> That's correct.
He had keys.
>> Judge Judy: He had keys
for all of the houses that he
serviced, or the outside of
the property that he serviced
for your company, and those
were approximately 40 keys
or 20 keys?
>> 40 or more.
>> Judge Judy: 40 or more.
>> Yeah.
>> Judge Judy: You wanted
the keys, he wanted his salary,
his income.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Can you tell me?
You have a pool maintenance
company?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: How many
employees do you have?
>> Two.
>> Judge Judy: And what's
the name of your company?
>> Neighborhood Pool Service.
>> Judge Judy: Do you pay them
a straight check or do you take
withholding --
>> No, they're contracted.
It's 1099.
>> Judge Judy: And you 1099
Mr. Ditzler, as well.
>> Correct.
>> Your Honor, I've never
received a 1099 from Mr. Hill
in six years.
I guess he made --
>> Judge Judy: I got it.
>> Go ahead.
>> Judge Judy: I got it.
You gave him the keys, and he
gave you the two checks, and
when you went to the bank to
cash the two checks, he had
stopped payment on the checks.
>> Well, we met.
It wasn't in his office.
We met every Tuesday and
Thursday to get supplies.
He supplied the material.
So, I met on a Tuesday morning
after I had worked
three-quarters of the day.
He met me, told me he had talked
to my ex-wife.
She told him that I had been
stealing his customers and his
chemicals.
He wanted his supplies and his
tools, and he unloaded his tools
personally out of my truck,
put them in his truck.
He wanted his keys.
I said, "I want my check."
And he didn't want to do it.
We went back and forth for
a second on a little street
in Beverly Hills, and he finally
agreed to give me a check in
exchange for the keys.
I immediately went to the bank,
and within 10 minutes, I was in
Studio City, and I went to cash
the check, and they had called
him on the phone, and he had
stopped payment on it.
>> Judge Judy: Why would they
call him on the phone?
>> To verify that I was supposed
to be having that check in my
hand.
I wanted to cash the check
in his branch, so they wanted
to verify that he gave me
the check.
>> Judge Judy: I see.
You didn't want to put it in
your bank.
You wanted to make sure
it got cashed.
>> Yeah.
>> Judge Judy: How much was
the check for?
>> That check was for $1,570 --
$1,570.
>> Judge Judy: And you accepted
that in payment of your wages.
>> Yes, and I had another check
that I had just deposited two
days prior for $900.
It was in my bank.
>> Judge Judy: That you had
deposited that he gave you?
>> The week prior.
>> Judge Judy: And that --
>> Then I realized two days
after, the other check was no
good, that he stopped payment
on that check in addition,
which made my account overdrawn,
and I was charged fees.
>> Judge Judy: Okay, Mr. Hill,
it's on you.
>> Essentially what happened
was I was contacted by his
ex-wife.
She was looking for proof --
>> Judge Judy: I don't care what
she said to you.
>> Okay.
>> Judge Judy: Actually,
I don't care --
>> She informed me that --
>> Judge Judy: No, listen to me.
That's hearsay, and you can't
tell me what she said to you.
>> Okay.
>> Judge Judy: Do you
understand?