As you know, I have a couple of jobs.
Not only do I serve as a talk show host,
I also serve the people as a TV judge.
With my trusty bailiff, Guillermo,
we operate our own functioning small claims court.
These are real cases with real litigants, who
were judicious enough to put their legal fates
in the capable hands of Judge James.
NARRATOR: This is the plaintiff, Kathy Hall.
She claims she hired the defendants to renovate
her bathroom, only to be left with a sup-par
and damaged potty.
She's suing for $7,541.88.
These are the defendants, Jason and Avi Knafo.
They maintain their work was adequate, and offered
to fix the minimal damage.
And that's when the plaintiff threw a fit
and became totally unreasonable.
It's the case of the bathroom blunder.
Raise your right hand.
NARRATOR: What you are about to witness is real.
The participants are not actors.
They're actual litigants, with a case pending in civil court.
Both parties have agreed to drop their claims to have their case
decided here by Judge James.
Judge James is caught on the door.
Oh my god.
OK.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
Judge James now has a fray in his robe.
Um-- hi, Guillermo.
- Hi, Judge James. - How are you?
- How are you doing? - Good, thank you.
Good.
- You may be seated. - Oh, yeah.
You can sit down now.
Judge James is having a bad day already.
Yeah.
You also don't try to do my job.
What?
You're also trying to do my job here.
Get away from me.
The litigants have been swore in, your honor.
All right.
Very good.
Our plaintiff is Kathy Hall.
Kathy?
Yes?
What is your complaint today?
- Him. - Him?
OK.
The defendants are Jason and Avi.
Jason? - Yes, sir.
- Avi? - Yes, sir.
When you say him, you mean Jason or Avi?
Well, the company in total, but Jason.
OK.
What is the name of your company?
In and Out Builders.
In and Out Burgers?
Almost.
Builders.
- Oh, In and Out Builders? - Yes, sir.
Oh.
You've never had any trouble with the In
and Out Burger people?
No.
Oh, maybe that will be our next case?
So there's a remodel on the bathroom?
Yes.
What happened?
Well, I originally hired him to redo the floor,
replace the vanity, and replace the toilet for $2,500.
Mhm?
The next morning, I went into the bathroom
and found that they had drilled holes into my vanity
that I purchased to attach a toilet
paper roll holder that was not supposed to be attached.
You told us to do that.
That's a lie.
There was a vanity on the right side,
shower door on the left side, and then you
have the back drywall.
Where are you gonna put the paper--
I was thinking right there, in the living room.
Nobody even asked.
So you were going to have a bathroom
without a toilet paper holder? - No.
I bought a stand. - No.
You never provided it to us.
After the fact, when we finished--
I didn't need to provide you a stand.
OK.
Two holes in the vanity-- these are screw holes?
Yeah, and the screws were sticking through about an inch.
That's why she sue me for $7,000.
For two holes in the vanity. - That's not it.
What else are you shooting for?
Yeah, exactly.
When they took the marble backsplash out of the box,
they used a box cutter and scratched--
scratched the entire marble backsplash with the box cutter.
Do you have photographs of this?
I do have photographs.
NARRATOR: Evidence locker.
JUDGE JAMES: Is that true, that your workers scratched the--
My worker said it was like that before.
Wait-- they didn't even show me.
Why did your workers install marble that had a gouge in it?
We didn't see the scratch. We didn't pay attention--
How do you not see that? It's all the way across it.
It's all the way across it.
OK, if I would see it, there was no reason for me to--
There was multiple other things wrong.
There was silicone-- - That's a lie.
Everywhere. All over the bathroom.
- That's a lie. - You liar.
That's a lie.
He cornered me in the bathroom--
That's a lie. Screaming--
I cornered you in the bathroom?
You can corner me?
I cornered you in the bathroom?
Besides that, through this whole process,
you see his attitude.
The whole time--
My attitude?
He offered me a camel for my daughter.
A what?
Wait a minute.
What did he offer? - A camel!
I came to collect a check--
Hold on one second.
I have a recording of her screaming like crazy.
I did scream at him the last day.
Now, she screamed at me before I was screaming--
The last day, because I couldn't
hold my tongue anymore.
Now she scream-- before, she wasn't screaming.
She was a good girl. - Because he decided--
How old was the camel?
Hey, who's the judge here?
No, but I want to find out more about the camel.
Don't worry about the camel. I'm going to get to the camel.
Oh, OK.
Now, what happened?
You offered a camel for-- and this is your daughter?
This is my daughter.
Well first of all, congratulations.
I don't have a camel.
You know, I am a judge.
I could marry the two of you right now.
- God, no. - Thank God.
No, I don't need it.
I'd have to deal with him the rest of my life.
Avi, you have anything to say here?
I've never met him before.
Yeah, I never met her, so I was never--
Oh, well go say hello. It's--
Then he came back later with Edible Arrangements.
Oh.
That's nice. - I'm a nice guy.
I'm trying.
I was trying to work it out, you know?
Was there a lot of melon in it,
or was it like, pineapple and strawberry?
There might have been poison in it, so I threw it away.
You threw it away?
I think you should hug right now.
- Are you crazy? - No.
All right.
I was just trying.
Even if you paid me, I wouldn't hug her right now.
That's for sure. GUILLERMO: All right.
OK.
I'm going to go to my corners and take an Advil,
and I will come back with my ruling on this case.
NARRATOR: Will Judge James rule in favor
of the unhappy homeowner, or the bumbling bathroom brothers?
And who will get custody of the camel?
[CAMEL GROANING]
We'll find out when Judge James returns.
NARRATOR: This hot-heated home owner claims the defendant
constructed a crappy commode.
This defendant maintains his washroom work was wonderful.
And this boisterous bailiff is ready for his bathroom break.
Judge James is about to rule.
Let's listen.
Hi, everyone.
I'm back.
You can sit down now.
Well, emotions were really running high here in this case,
and I can see that you don't like each other.
That's an understatement.
OK.
Mr. Knafo, enough you offered Miss Hall
a camel for her daughter.
We got that.
You gave her an Edible Arrangement.
You did not accept the camel or the edible arrangement.
No.
Mr. Knafo, at a certain point, did
you offer any kind of a cash reimbursement to Miss Hall?
I offered her $2,000 back.
$2,000?
Do you agree that if there was a scratch in the marble,
that your worker should have seen that?
Yes, sir.
I will say this-- on a personal level,
a bathroom is a sacred place.
A sanctuary, if you will, where--
for me, personally, some of my most private thoughts
are had, and--
I treasure my time in the bathroom,
and I know how important it is.
And with that said, I am going to rule in favor
of the plaintiff for $2,000.
Wow.
I paid the other contractor more than that.
You-- when the gavel hits the thing, it's-- it's over, so--
All right. That's it.
All right, guys.
All right, Judge James has rendered his verdict.
Let's speak with the defendant first.
You know, you offered $2,000 in the text messages,
and Judge James gave her $2,000.
The whole thing was a waste of time, wasn't it?
It was a waste of time, and I'm glad it's over.
And we're done.
We're done. Now, what about the proposal?
What if she had said yes to the daughter?
You have a wife and kids?
I do have a wife--
Would they have been OK with that?
- No. - No?
OK. - It was a joke.
You dodged a bullet.
All right.
Well, let's now speak with the plaintiff.
Let me ask you real quick, are you happy with Judge James'
verdict? - I'm OK with the verdict.
You're OK?
Let me just tell you, he did a nice thing.
He offered you an Edible Arrangement.
And let's see what we have here.
We have it right here.
Do me a favor-- grab a pineapple star, will you?
Grab a pineapple star. - Where is it?
It's the one that looks like a pineapple and a star.
Now grab it.
And you grab one, too.
Do me a favor-- toast to each other.
- No. - Come on.
It's all over. - No.
As good friends. Come on.
Everybody, come on.
Hug.
Come on.
We'll come back.
NARRATOR: On the next Judge James--
What's this about sex toys I'm reading?
That's some craziness.
- Are you missing sex toys? - No.
Um-- no, I'm not.
How big is the toys?
The sex toys?
About this big.
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