>> Judge Judy: Ms. Sydnor, you
know the defendant for a while,
and you agree to rent a room to
him in your home.
It is your claim that he damaged
your property, he owes you
additional rent because he had a
girlfriend living with him for a
while, and for cleaning fees --
I assume for his room.
Mr. Stuart says he wants his
television back that you have,
and, in retaliation for
something, you in effect
constructively evicted him by
turning off his electricity.
So, I want to understand this
house that you have.
What kind of property is it?
>> It's a townhouse.
>> Judge Judy: How many
bedrooms?
>> Three.
>> Judge Judy: Do you own it?
>> I do.
>> Judge Judy: When did you
purchase it?
>> In 2013.
>> Judge Judy: Who lives there?
>> Me and my boyfriend, Michael.
>> Judge Judy: Did you ever rent
any rooms there before?
>> No.
>> Judge Judy: Why did you rent
Mr. Stuart a room?
>> I lost my job, and my
children were grown and had just
left the house, and I was trying
to sell the house and move, but
it didn't sell fast enough, so
Mr. Stuart came over and was
helping me -- he's a Realtor --
with some questions, and we
talked about it.
He needed a place to go, and I
thought I needed the extra
money, so I would rent him the
upstairs of the townhouse.
>> Judge Judy: When was that?
>> It was in May of 2017.
>> Judge Judy: How long did he
stay?
>> Four months.
He left August 31st.
>> Judge Judy: And how much rent
did he pay?
>> $600 a month.
>> Judge Judy: Did he pay all of
his rent for the four months
that he was there?
>> No, he did not.
>> Judge Judy: Which month did
he not pay?
>> Actually, in the last month,
when he knew I was evicting him,
he said that he was gonna leave
as soon as possible and that he
would pay weekly.
So he did not pay me for the
last week that he lived there.
>> Judge Judy: Did you agree to
accept weekly rent?
>> I did.
I just -- At that point, I just
wanted him to leave.
>> Judge Judy: Tell me why.
>> He broke several things in
the house, so many -- I've
mentioned it in the suit, but...
He then moved his girlfriend in.
He never even had a girlfriend
that I was aware of as long as
I've known him -- a steady
girlfriend.
And he met her on PlentyOfFish
and moved her in with like three
days.
She'd come for a couple days the
first week, and the next week,
she'd come come for three, and
then it was four, and then it
was five, and then I couldn't
get her to leave.
>> Judge Judy: Had you ever had
tenants in your townhouse
before?
>> No, I did not.
>> Judge Judy: Not easy.
>> No, it is not.
>> Judge Judy: [ Chuckles ]
>> Never gonna do it again.
>> Judge Judy: No, I figured.
[ Laughter ]
Mr. Stuart...
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: ...did you pay
for the last week's rent that
you were supposed to pay?
>> Yes, ma'am, I did.
>> Judge Judy: When was the last
day you were there?
>> I departed on the 31st, as
Ms. Sydnor had said.
And I paid her $150 on the --
>> Judge Judy: On the 31st of
what?
>> 31st of August.
>> Judge Judy: On what date did
you move in?
>> I moved in on May 1.
>> Judge Judy: Well, then you
owed her the entire month of
August.
>> That's correct, so --
>> Judge Judy: So did you pay
her $600 in August?
>> I paid her $150 on August
9th, I paid her $150 on August
16th, I paid her $150 on August
23rd, because I pay --
>> Judge Judy: Just a second.
Go ahead.
>> It may seem a little bit
confusing that I told --
>> Judge Judy: It's not
confusing to me at all.
>> Okay.
>> Judge Judy: If you left on
August 23rd, and she agreed to
accept weekly rent from you...
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: ...then you had
given her three weeks' worth of
rent.
But you didn't.
According to you, you left
August 31st, and you moved in on
the 1st of May, which means that
you owed her $600 for the month
of August.
And you only paid her $450, so
you owe her $150 for August's
rent.
>> Wa--
>> Judge Judy: Duh.
You moved in on May 1st.
May to June, June to July, July
to August.
You were there three full
months.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: You should have
paid her $1,800.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: You didn't pay
her $1,800.
You paid her $150 less.
Okay, so we left the last of
August -- August 31st.
Now, other than that, what does
he owe you for?
>> For damages that were done to
the house.
>> Judge Judy: What did he do?
>> He broke the bed.
It was a sleigh bed that I had
boughten, and he broke it.
And when he broke it, the
mattress and the box springs
laid on the floor for two
months, which absorbed -- He
drinks iced tea all the time,
and he's clumsy, so he'd spill
the tea, and it absorbed up into
the mattress.
And then there was plenty of
stains on top of the -- I mean
on the box springs, I'm sorry.
>> Judge Judy: Should have
gotten a security deposit.
>> I did not, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: I said you should
have gotten a security deposit.
>> You're absolutely right.
>> Judge Judy: What's next?
>> He also damaged the
microwave, the wash machine.
The wash machine was broken.
It's a double -- one on top of
the other, and the washing
machine's on the bottom.
And from putting his clothes in
it and leaning on it, he bent
the latch on it, so it leaked
all over the floor.
I had to fix the wash machine,
and I have pictures of that.
>> Judge Judy: I don't want to
see pictures of it.
Should have had security
deposit.
What's next?
>> And then I had the carpet.
He spilled numerous things on
the carpet.
And the worst thing was the red
wax on the carpet, which I was
unable to get up.
>> Judge Judy: Next!