you're the owner
of a rental property...
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: ...that the
defendant
was renting from you since 2015.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: What kind
of rental property is it?
>> A single-family home.
>> Judge Judy: Do you own the
home?
>> I do.
>> Judge Judy: When did you
purchase it?
>> In 2012.
>> Judge Judy: Did you purchase
it as a rental property?
>> I did not.
I lived in the residence before
renting it to the defendant.
>> Judge Judy: Who did you live
there with?
>> My daughter.
>> Judge Judy: And why
did you move out?
>> I was relocated for work,
so I moved to Florida.
>> Judge Judy: How much
did you pay for the house?
>> I bought the house from
an auction for about $13,000.
>> Judge Judy: And did you
put any money into it?
>> I did.
I put about $20,000
into the home.
>> Judge Judy: And you lived
in it, after you purchased it
and after you renovated it,
with your daughter from 2012 to
2015, when you leased it
to the defendant?
>> That is correct.
>> Judge Judy: So it was
renovated in 2012.
>> That is correct.
>> Judge Judy: It's your claim
that, when the defendant moved
out, she left
extensive damage in the house.
The defendant says there wasn't
extensive damage.
Whatever was there,
it was normal wear and tear.
So do you have photographs of
the house
from when you moved out?
>> I do not.
>> Judge Judy: Tell me when
the defendant moved out.
>> June of 2017.
>> Judge Judy: And she notified
you she
didn't want to renew her lease?
>> She notified the property
manager at the time.
>> Judge Judy: How much was
rent?
>> Her rent was $800.
It initially started
in the first lease at $750.
>> Judge Judy: But,
at the last year, it was $800?
>> That's correct.here were you
moving to?
>> I was moving back home
with my mother to help her out
because she had just,
a few months previous to that,
had lost her husband,
and I was going back...
>> Judge Judy: So you were
moving back with your mother.
>> Yeah.
>> Judge Judy: How many people
lived in the house?
>> Me, my three kids,
and the other tenant.
>> Judge Judy: You had
two tenants in the house?
>> I had two adult tenants, yes.
>> Judge Judy: Did the other
tenant remain?
>> No.
They moved into the property
together, and they moved
out of the property together.
>> Judge Judy: Is this someone
that you are a friend to?
>> This is my cousin.
>> Judge Judy: When you moved
out, in June, you received,
according to your complaint,
a notification that you should
come out to see the house?
>> That is correct.
When the defendant moved
out of the property, I was
notified by the property --
>> Judge Judy: Did you do
a walk-through
with the property manager
when you moved out?
>> We did a walk-through
in May when he came out.
>> Judge Judy: What day in June
did you move out?
>> I moved out June 1st.
>> Judge Judy: I would like to
see a copy of the walk-through.
>> They didn't give me no copy.
>> Judge Judy: Do you have
a copy of the walk-through?
>> I do not.
I just have photos of the
walk-through
from the day she moved out.
>> Judge Judy: May I see them?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Who's writing
on the walls?
>> My 8-year-old daughter.
>> Judge Judy: Well, that's
ridiculous.
>> Yes, it is.
>> Judge Judy: Who told her
that that was
an appropriate thing to do,
to write on
somebody else's walls?
>> Each time she done it, she
was put on punishment for it.
>> Judge Judy: This isn't
a one-shot deal
with her writing on the walls.
She wrote on the walls often,
at different times.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: Well,
who was supervising her?
>> Who was supervising her?
>> Judge Judy: That's my
question.
You have the answer.
>> She might have been upstairs
after she left
the bathroom or whatever.
>> Judge Judy: Show this
to the defendant, please,
and tell me,
who did that to the blinds?
>> Okay.
These blinds,
I see the pictures, and --
>> Judge Judy: Who did that to
the blinds?
>> My same 8-year-old.
>> Judge Judy: Who did his to
the walls?
Holes in the walls.
>> By me living there,
I will take responsibility
for the holes in the walls.
Same person I just showed you
about the other two
is the same one
who was doing all the damage.
>> Judge Judy: What happened
to the kitchen cabinets?
>> Okay, well, you see the paint
coming off that?
It was painted gray, and, by me
cleaning
the cabinets with bleach,
the bleach, what it did was
damage the cabinets,
and the paint started coming
off, and that's why the cabinets
was like that.
>> Judge Judy: Do you have
communication
from the property manager?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: I'd like to see
it.
>> That was the afternoon
of the walk-through where...
>> Judge Judy: Could you please
should this to the defendant?
>> ...he and the contractor
took photos and also gave me
the estimate amount of damages.
>> Yes, all true
with that picture.
>> Judge Judy: Is she living
with you now?
>> Mm-hmm, this year.
>> Judge Judy: How does she
and her children
treat your property?
>> They treat it all right.
>> Judge Judy: Well, who taught
her to treat other
people's property like this?
>> Nobody.
the place fixed?
>> I have.
>> Judge Judy: Do you have
the receipts for me?
>> I do.
Would you like the receipts,
or would you like...
I have a breakdown
of everything.
>> Judge Judy: Well, I would
like the actual receipts.
>> Okay.
>> Judge Judy: Did you re-rent
the property,
or are you selling it?
>> The property has not been
rented again
because of the pests,
so, when she left the property,
she left it infested
with bedbugs, roaches and mice,
so, on the initial visit to Ohio
to take care of the property
and restore it,
we were not able to do any of
the work on that initial visit
because, when we walked through,
we had five contractors with us,
and at least a dozen mice
scurried across the floor.
We also noticed that
there was a roach infestation.
We called out the exterminator,
and then he advised us
that there was also
a bedbug infestation.
>> Judge Judy: Judgment for the
plaintiff
in the amount of $5,000.
We're finished.
>> Thank you, Your Honor.