for harassment.
And the harassment
is that he's been bothering you
forever,
ever since the roof incident,
and he was happy with the roof,
and you wouldn't
give him his money.
And then, according to you,
he beat up your wife,
and he beat up your children.
And that was 5 years ago,
and then you have a permanent
order of protection against him.
He had an order of protection
against you that expired.
Yes.
>> No, he didn't.
>> Judge Judy: It expired.
It did. It did.
I'm going to tell you it did
because the police officer
saw it.
I don't know how long he had
the order of protection,
but according
to the police officer,
"Moiten's restraining order
against Sutton
expired March of 2016."
How long was that order
of protection
in place, Mr. Moiten?
>> I think it was about a month.
>> Judge Judy: Oh, so it was
a temporary order of protection?
>> Yes. Correct, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Oh, well, that
means nothing.
>> I know.
I went back to the court
about four times.
>> Judge Judy: That means
nothing.
>> May I say this?
>> Judge Judy: Yes.
>> Your Honor, Orville Moiten
has taken me to court once a
month, trying to get a
protection order against me for
what he's done.
>> Judge Judy: I'd like to see
that.
Once a month for how long?
>> At least once a month.
Here they are here.
>> Judge Judy: For how long?
>> Almost 5 years.
>> Judge Judy: I'd like to see
it.
>> I have some.
I didn't get all of them because
going back and forth each time
to the police station...
>> Judge Judy: I don't like
people who abuse the system,
who abuse the court system.
>> Could I say something,
Your Honor?
>> Judge Judy: Hold on.
Not yet. Judy: How many times
have you been arrested
for violating
the restraining order, sir?
>> Twice, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Were you ever
found guilty of violating the
restraining order, Mr. Moiten?
>> No, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: What happened
with those two arrests?
>> They were dismissed.
>> Judge Judy: Is that correct,
Mr. Sutton?
>> I honestly don't know,
Your Honor, because I wasn't
there.
>> Judge Judy: Well, if you
honestly don't know, that means
you didn't follow through.
If he was arrested for violating
the protective orders
on two occasions,
then what happens is you have
a trial on the violation
of the protective order
if you follow through.
>> I didn't know
what day they were going
to have the trial, so I didn't
know what day he was going
to be going to trial.
>> Judge Judy: You his wife?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Mrs. Sutton,
would you describe to me
how you would describe
the conduct of both your husband
and the plaintiff?
Don't think about it too much.
Whatever comes out
right away would be best.
>> It can be somewhat tense.
>> Judge Judy: Do you think
that both of them
have acted badly?
>> Not as much as Mr. Moiten.
>> Judge Judy: So your husband
has acted badly,
but not as badly
as Mr. Moiten has acted?
>> Yeah. Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
I got it.
Have you ever had a discussion
with your husband
about let it go?
>> Yes.
I have. I have.
>> Judge Judy: And without
divulging what he said to you,
were you successful
in trying to discourage him?
You say, "Listen, if Moiten is
a nut, that's his problem.
But I live with you,
and you don't have
to make it worse."
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Have you been
successful with that?
>> All I can say is somewhat.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Now, you have a
counterclaim for harassment.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And I see
all the police reports,
and this is an absolutely
ridiculous way to live.
>> I have so much evidence
of this man harassing me.
>> Judge Judy: Listen to me.
Listen to me.
I know what made you mad,
Mr. Moiten.
What made you mad was
that he did some work for you
that you were not
satisfied with.
You wanted your money back, and
he wouldn't give you your money
back.
>> Thank you.
>> Judge Judy: That happened
7 years ago.
Put your hand down.
That's what bothered you.
Before that,
everything was okay.
>> That's correct, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: And you both
haven't been able to let it go
because what you did
after that was you complained.
You maybe complained
to the Better Business Bureau.
You complained
to the Contract Association.
Well, that's your neighbor,
so now he's mad.
And then it started
to feed itself.
Well, I just want you to think
if this happened 7 years ago,
and you're 60, and you're 74,
how much time you wasted,
both of you, being angry.
You probably...
One or both of you
would have been better off
if you took a loss on your house
and moved.
>> I would never do that,
Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Oh, well, that's
up to you, sir.
You want to live in misery,
that's up to you.