All Episodes Talk: All Rise

[27bored]

I would bet a large chunk of that $5000 that she thinks alopecia is a contagious disease she caught in the guy's salon. (Though that's not really a fair bet since she even said near the end that she doesn't even know what it is.)

 

Yeah. I don't think JJ really saw the situation for what it was. Just because she colors her hair, as many women do, doesn't mean she was doing it the night she got her hair done. And she kept harping on her not calling him the next day, but like she said, what was he going to do? I could have the game fucked up, but I don't think there are takesies-backsies when someone has fucked up your hair to where it's falling out. She sought medical attention as soon as she could, but it seemed obvious to me that woman wasn't contriving her story. And her medical report said she had alopecia, but...JJ needs to understand normal people don't think in terms of lawsuits when they're just going about their lives. I bet her dermatologist didn't know a thing about hair for women of color and just wrote that up based on what it looked like. She could've maybe worded it more as a pitch to some judge who just wants to dismiss the woman's claim, but she didn't. The fact that she went the next day to his salon kind of implies she was acting in good faith. Why tell him he messed up her hair, and why offer her other services, if she fucked up her kitchen by coloring the same night she had it done?

 

As for the case of Thermuthis and the Angry 3 inches...I'm not entirely sure what the issue was. Dude in the purple shirt was giving me a lot. He seemed like a hothead. Thermuthis, aside from her name sounding like a polite request from someone with a debilitating lisp ("sir, move this") was a few cans short of a food drive, wasn't she? She was getting on my nerves, yo.

[Toaster Strudel]

The dermatologist might have been unable to attribute a cause to the alopecia. 

 

If I go to the emergency with a black eye, the doctor can say it was "blunt trauma to the eye socket" but he could never write in my medical file that Angela Hunter punched me in the face because she saw me at the bar flirting with her baby daddy!

[AngelaHunter]

but he could never write in my medical file that Angela Hunter punched me in the face because she saw me at the bar flirting with her baby daddy!

 

I know he's YOUR baby daddy too, but I got him first so stop disrespecting me.

[EtheltoTillie]

What

 

The dermatologist might have been unable to attribute a cause to the alopecia. 

 

If I go to the emergency with a black eye, the doctor can say it was "blunt trauma to the eye socket" but he could never write in my medical file that Angela Hunter punched me in the face because she saw me at the bar flirting with her baby daddy!

What's interesting is that if someone went to the dermatologist with hair loss and wanted to know what to do, the doctor would take a history.  He'd ask if she had applied anything to her scalp.  I also noticed she had a lupus history in the corner of the record.  This could cause systemic alopecia.  How do I know?  I just asked my hubby, who is a dermatologist.  I've become a bit of an amateur dermatologist after 30 years of listening to him and his colleagues talk anyway.

[NowVoyager]

Hmm. I'm with JJ about the lady not promptly returning to the hair salon. If I'd spent $100 & hours of my time only to come home to sores on my scalp & my hair falling out in clumps---you best believe they'd get an earful from me! At the very least, I'd want to notify them that there was a problem to possibly prevent it from happening to someone else.

[Mindymoo]

She did this in a case last season. Two gals were arguing over bills. JJ made a point of saying that same sex marriage was legal where they live, therefore she had no time for this case because "we don't have courts for this!!"

See, that I kind of have a problem with. A lot of gay people didn't get married, even when they had equality in their state, because they didn't have full marriage equality. They didn't have full federal protections and benefits, and thought that it wasn't worth a damn, so they were waiting for the supreme court ruling. Now that it's the law of the land, she should give it a couple years before she hounds gay couples for not getting married if they start suing each other for stuff.

[khyber]

I was at the stables this morning watching a friend ride. After the lesson she untacked the horse and because he was relaxed he dropped (meaning he let his penis hang out). All I could think was "Lucky he's a gelding or he might try to Cosby some mare."  

[speac]

The dermatologist might have been unable to attribute a cause to the alopecia. 

 

If I go to the emergency with a black eye, the doctor can say it was "blunt trauma to the eye socket" but he could never write in my medical file that Angela Hunter punched me in the face because she saw me at the bar flirting with her baby daddy!

 

What the doctor's report didn't say was alopecia caused by chemical burning or contact which is what you would expect if the hair loss was caused by the chemicals a hair stylist used.   Also even though it may take forever to get into a dermatologist, she could have gone to a GP to look at her head while there were sores, if they existed or even gone to another stylist to look at her head because I"m pretty sure another stylist would recognized hair damaged by a process.  There are ways to prove that a stylist caused hair damage and this plaintiff did none of them. 

[27bored]

The dermatologist might have been unable to attribute a cause to the alopecia.

 

Exactly. The dermatologist wasn't going to be like, "well bitch maybe you shouldn't have been fucking with that TCB No Lye Relaxer", so I don't know what JJ was on about. And part of me thinks JJ doesn't like being wrong and will stick to an assumption she made before coming out even if the person is making a compelling case. She was just being stubborn when she said "I think you probably did go home and color your hair". The woman explained she colors her hair every two months and she already had earlier in February before the hair appointment. And if you believed the hairdresser that she had asked him about coloring and he advised against it, why would she then be like fuck that I'm gonna color my hair anyway? I think women are sensitive when it comes to the possibility of their hair falling the fuck out.

 

I do think it's strange that she didn't go see a GP or someone in the time she had the irritated scalp, but the woman is 67 years old. And country. I know there are a lot of shady people that come strolling through JJ's courtroom, but that doesn't mean they all have a rap to them. And didn't she say she'd had a hard time reaching him to even book the appointment? I don't know. She didn't handle the situation in the way that makes for a neat, succinct story that JJ wouldn't call BS on -- because like I said regular people don't think in terms of litigation and lawyer logic when they're just going about their lives -- but I thought the woman should've gotten something.

[augmentedfourth]

I forgot to mention along with my original snark that I did actually have a case a ways back where a woman filed a lawsuit alleging services she received at a salon caused her hair to fall out. (I think I've mentioned a couple times here before that I'm a stenographer.) I just did the depositions of the defendants, so I don't have the full story, but if memory serves, the owner of the salon and the employee never even knew there was a problem until the plaintiff texted them, weeks later, a picture of her at another salon, all "LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO MY HAIR" and claiming she was trying to get the damage fixed by someone else. So she didn't go storming back to the salon the next day, either. And god only knows what she did in the interim (which I'm sure the defense pounced on). 

 

Not only did she sue the owner and employee, but she even named the hair product company in the suit. To his credit, the CEO of the company actually hopped on a plane from LA to New York to be deposed and didn't try to fight the subpoena or send an underling in his place. He was a pretty cool guy and decided to just frame it as "Hey, trip to New York, guess I'll go do this for a few hours and then party in Manhattan before flying back." I believe part of the claim alleged that the products that had been used one the plaintiff were expired, and he testified that even if that were true, it wouldn't have made her hair fall out. And that's really all I remember about the case. No, I don't remember off the top of my head which hairstyling company it was. Also, I rarely, if ever, learn the outcome of my cases. Hmm, now I almost feel like digging through my files to reread them.

 

/coolstorybro

[speac]

Relaxers will fade out hair color so it doesn't matter if she had done it before, it would mostly been gone.  I did a bit of reading and coloring hair right after a relaxer will cause scalp burning.  It's just too much chemicals for one day--not to day that it could have been the relaxer who damaged the hair-it's a strong chemical that works by breaking down the bonds in hair and allowing you to rearrange them--you are left with weakened hair that can no longer be handled the same.  The plaintiff didn't connect the dots to show the relaxer and only the relaxer damaged her hair. 

[Rick Kitchen]

That hair story got really confusing when I thought the stylist was trying to claim that the lady didn't come into his studio until April and contacted him in June, she said it happened in February.  So I got really confused.

[OhioSongbird]

Went thru a period of coloring my hair (don't care now....embrace the grey, baby!) and had my scalp burned pretty bad once.  No relaxer...don't need one....just a new stylist who didn't know what the hell she was doing.  Told her it was burning during the process but she said "oh, that will go away".  Well, by the next morning I had huge blisters on my scalp.  Didn't lose any hair but it was sore for a while.  Luckily, the owner of the salon is a good friend of mine and he took care of me.  That gal didn't last long as there were other complaints.

 

Alopecia can be caused by stress, too.  Had it as a teenager but it's all long gone.  Although the spots I had never grew in right....really thin. 

 

Oh, I missed Mr. Minor & crew.  Sounds like a good one.  Caught the 'horse rape'.  That P was piece of work (and hubby, too).  I'd hate to live next door to her.  Shit stirrer that one.

 

I've been home all week with the cold from hell and you guys have had me laughing out loud.  Keep up the great snark......

[AngelaHunter]

In Friday's rerun with the plaintiff suing defendants because their three year old kid scratched her car, did anyone notice JJ's subtle "Oh, FFS!" expression when plaintiff said she went to visit the def. so "Me and her could conversate."?

[momtoall]

When family and friends ask why I follow and post on this board I have a hard time making them understand the enjoyment I get from the feedback you guys give on the cases, the litigants, JJ and life in general.  The hair stylist case is a great example, it bored me to tears, but the comments and the snark has been priceless.  Thanks gang!!

[AngelaHunter]

I have a hard time making them understand the enjoyment I get from the feedback you guys give on the cases, the litigants, JJ and life in general.

 

You're so right. No matter how crappy my day, I know I can come here and within minutes I'll be laughing - sometimes literally howling.  These forums have the best snark ever!

[zillabreeze]

 

The hair stylist case is a great example, it bored me to tears, but the comments and the snark has been priceless.  Thanks gang!!

I have figured out to read these golden snarks before the show; watching out for everyone's astute observations makes the most boring cases more fun!

[Eliza422]

When family and friends ask why I follow and post on this board I have a hard time making them understand the enjoyment I get from the feedback you guys give on the cases, the litigants, JJ and life in general.  The hair stylist case is a great example, it bored me to tears, but the comments and the snark has been priceless.  Thanks gang!!

 

That's interesting...Going back to TWOP I have found that I enjoy watching any TV show a lot more if I can come discuss it online afterwards.

[AngelaHunter]

...Going back to TWOP I have found that I enjoy watching any TV show a lot more if I can come discuss it online afterwards.

 

Me too!

 

Well, today we had accusations of murder, a woman who thought it was a good thing to have FOUR children with a mentally distraught habitual criminal, alcoholic and druggie. The plaintiff, seemingly channeling John Carradine in "Grapes of Wrath" really was kind of scary, taking a picture of his son's body (after he was hit by a train). I'd hate to see his family album. I always find it both disturbing and hilarious seeing people like him using Facebook. It just seems so... wrong. Oh, oh Alabama!

[Brattinella]

Me too!

 

Well, today we had accusations of murder, a woman who thought it was a good thing to have FOUR children with a mentally distraught habitual criminal, alcoholic and druggie. The plaintiff, seemingly channeling John Carradine in "Grapes of Wrath" really was kind of scary, taking a picture of his son's body (after he was hit by a train). I'd hate to see his family album. I always find it both disturbing and hilarious seeing people like him using Facebook. It just seems so... wrong. Oh, oh Alabama!

What a sack of shit the father was!  To show her that picture?!  She had already declined to look at his body, that was pure malice on his part!  Shame!

Edited October 19, 2015 by Brattinella

[AuntiePam]

I thought JJ was remarkably sympathetic in her response to the father.  What she said made a lot of sense.  Grief is complicated.

[augmentedfourth]

The ruling on the claim was completely fair, but man, I wish JJ would have found some way to give the defendant *something*, because sending that picture was a nasty, nasty thing to do. I guess it legally didn't constitute harassment, but still. Ugh. If nothing else, I wish she could have awarded $250 on the counterclaim so the plaintiff ultimately walks away with nothing and maybe, just maybe, learns a little bit of a lesson about not being a total shitbag. I'm torn on the issue: On the one hand, I know these people are grieving, and JJ's right that being angry is easier than being said. But on the other, I can think of at least two other plaintiffs over the years whose children died unexpectedly (though I don't think they were suicides), and just came across as horrible, unsympathetic when they tried suing the people who actually cared about the deceased.

[Guest]

Y'all forgot to mention the best part of this otherwise (I was going to use the word "trainwreck" here, but, ummm...no) hot mess of a case was found, yet again, in the hallterview nugget: the Defendant brought her BOYFRIEND to the funeral of her husband.

 

I don't know about you guys, but that seems rather unromantic.

[AngelaHunter]

Defendant brought her BOYFRIEND to the funeral of her husband.

 

Tacky, right? I'm not surprised, after watching how she tried unsuccessfully to squeeze out a few tears during the trial. After hearing about the dearly departed, it's hard to imagine anyone deeply mourning his loss, but SHE picked him, stayed with him and bred with him time after time.

[Rick Kitchen]

The disgusting plaintiff *claimed* defendant brought her boyfriend.  I wouldn't put lying past him.

[AuntiePam]

Especially after he all but accused her of having something to do with his son's death.  The son took 20 blue pills -- or was it 40? -- and walked five miles to a train.  Does he think she drugged him and put his body on the tracks? 

[teebax]

The disgusting plaintiff *claimed* defendant brought her boyfriend. I wouldn't put lying past him.

I didn't believe him, either. He's a piece of crap person, for sending the picture, for calling CPS with a false allegation, and for blaming the wife for the suicide. So I'm not inclined to believe anything that dude says. JJ should have awarded the defendant something.

Edited October 20, 2015 by teebax

[Quof]

Well, the unfortunate train suicide family can be found all over the internet, including the funeral.

 

I'm just sayin'......

[Guest]

The disgusting plaintiff *claimed* defendant brought her boyfriend.  I wouldn't put lying past him.

Oh, me either! But she had time to refute it in the hallterview and didn't (or maybe they didn't show it).

 

Well, the unfortunate train suicide family can be found all over the internet, including the funeral.

 

I'm just sayin'......

Grrr!! I deleted the episode from my DVR. What was their name?

[barbedwire]

The ruling on the claim was completely fair, but man, I wish JJ would have found some way to give the defendant *something*, because sending that picture was a nasty, nasty thing to do. I guess it legally didn't constitute harassment, but still. Ugh. If nothing else, I wish she could have awarded $250 on the counterclaim so the plaintiff ultimately walks away with nothing and maybe, just maybe, learns a little bit of a lesson about not being a total shitbag. I'm torn on the issue: On the one hand, I know these people are grieving, and JJ's right that being angry is easier than being said. But on the other, I can think of at least two other plaintiffs over the years whose children died unexpectedly (though I don't think they were suicides), and just came across as horrible, unsympathetic when they tried suing the people who actually cared about the deceased.

This.  I too was hoping JJ would at least give her $250 for harassment.  Taking a picture and sending it to her?  ! 

 

That man will be lucky if he ever talks to his grandkids again.  He was so thick, just didn't get it, when JJ was trying to tell him that technically his son owed him the money for his son's bail and the DIL was just the agent.  Nope.  She must have gotten some money (insurance policy?) after his son passed away and now Grandpa Drunk wanted some of it.

 

Did you notice the one audience member (girl with glasses) had to put her hand over her shocked mouth when it was revealed that he sent the picture to her?

[AngelaHunter]

Taking a picture and sending it to her?

 

I bet when other people have a loved one die in such a gruesome manner (or any manner, really) the last thing they would think of is whipping out a camera and snapping a picture. Holy shit. That's just so ghoulish.

[califred]

I, too, was hoping she'd award her a similar amount to make it a wash.

[AuntiePam]

I'm also curious about the train suicide.  I googled "Alabama train suicide" and the only ones that came up involved a transient and a 22-year-old.  The son was surely older than 22 -- they had four kids.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

Alopecia can be caused by stress, too.  Had it as a teenager but it's all long gone.  Although the spots I had never grew in right....really thin.

Wow you people move fast. . . anyways alopecia in a middle age lady can be caused by hormones, low thyroid, stress, etc. It's a perfect storm of hair loss reasons. Plus this lady had lupus (how did I miss that, I was thinking it but didn't hear it - that's what I get for not paying attention - another middle age issue lol)

 

 

Well, today we had accusations of murder, a woman who thought it was a good thing to have FOUR children with a mentally distraught habitual criminal, alcoholic and druggie. The plaintiff, seemingly channeling John Carradine in "Grapes of Wrath" really was kind of scary, taking a picture of his son's body (after he was hit by a train). I'd hate to see his family album. I always find it both disturbing and hilarious seeing people like him using Facebook. It just seems so... wrong. Oh, oh Alabama!

I'm loving the Alabama cases but these folks are so stereotypical (I bet they live in a trailer park, and have a couple of hound dogs and a big headed banjo-playin' kid on the porch, am I right?)  And taking a picture of the deceased is just. . . ******shudders***** I tore my daughter's little snot face tween nieces (by marriage) a new one after I went to the granny's funeral and they were taking selfies by the coffin. Really? Really? You want a picture of a 94 year old lady in a coffin on your FB page? Talk about some hair loss - I would have pinned them in a dark quiet corner and torn their hair out (hey! alopecia!!) if I could have. 

[Brattinella]

Oh, me either! But she had time to refute it in the hallterview and didn't (or maybe they didn't show it).

 

 

 

Grrr!! I deleted the episode from my DVR. What was their name?

Justin Lamon was the son's name.

[barbedwire]

Googled the name and low and behold there is a GoFundMe account.   No wonder Grandpa Drunk was taking her to court:  he wants some money!

[iwasish]

The young widow of the suicide.. she had some beautiful skin. But taking a boyfriend to your hubby's funeral? Very tacky.

 

When the father said the son took 20 blue pills, my first thought was ..20 Viagra?

Edited October 20, 2015 by iwasish

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

The young widow of the suicide.. she had some beautiful skin. But taking a boyfriend to your hubby's funeral? Very tacky.

These were the words from the very angry, accusatory meth-faced father of the deceased so I would take them with a very large shaker of salt. If I had to go to a funeral where Dust Bowl Daddy was poisoning the minds of the rest of the family I might bring a male friend for protection and hope he was packing heat. I work at a church and am present at a lot of funerals (three this week already) and will see some strange shit at times - people throwing themselves around and sobbing loudly, inappropriate speeches by family members (never forget, one man bawling and shouting, saying "Daddy I know you were disappointed in me but I always loved you"  - stuff like that. 

[AngelaHunter]

The son was surely older than 22 -- they had four kids.

 

Haven't you learned anything from watching this show? We've seen that 22 is NOT too young to have four kids.

 

When the father said the son took 20 blue pills, my first thought was ..20 Viagra?

 

OMG, I thought the same thing and wondered if his death was due to all the blood in his brain rushing south.

[AuntiePam]

Googled the name and low and behold there is a GoFundMe account.   No wonder Grandpa Drunk was taking her to court:  he wants some money!

 

I saw a GoFundMe page for one of Ashley's daughters, who has some serious burns.  There's nothing about how she got the burns -- maybe spilled something really hot on herself.  Poor kid.

 

I feel like such a voyeur, looking at the FB pages for Ashley, Justin, and Justin's mom.  Justin doesn't look anything like what I expected, and his mom appears to know her way around a kitchen. 

 

Ashley, on the other hand -- my god, the selfies!  She's very proud of those boobs.  Very few photos of Justin until after he died, but I'm not seeing photos with a new boyfriend either. 

[AngelaHunter]

Ashley's fond memories brought a tear to my eye:

He was trying to shut my car door and smashed my foot and it almost broke it lol we had a lil much to drank that night bhahah wish I could go back just one more time

 

Good times.

[iwasish]

These were the words from the very angry, accusatory meth-faced father of the deceased so I would take them with a very large shaker of salt. If I had to go to a funeral where Dust Bowl Daddy was poisoning the minds of the rest of the family I might bring a male friend for protection and hope he was packing heat. I work at a church and am present at a lot of funerals (three this week already) and will see some strange shit at times - people throwing themselves around and sobbing loudly, inappropriate speeches by family members (never forget, one man bawling and shouting, saying "Daddy I know you were disappointed in me but I always loved you"  - stuff like that. 

I did take it with a grain of salt, but not all that big cause I've seen dead husbands/wives barely buried before they've been replaced. I was nice of JJ to try and be so understanding of the 'grieving' dad, but given his bitter halterview, I don't think it sunk in.    

[27bored]

The case yesterday was sad. The father and the daughter seemed a little...yeah. Dad's got issues and daughter is co-dependent. It's tacky as all hell to bring a date to any funeral, no less your husband's funeral, but whoever the guy is is probably emotional support. She has four kids. She's gonna need some help. And Papa Cooter obviously isn't going to be providing much of it.

 

The case with the bootleggers and the fake-ass lawyer who got his law degree on hemp paper from American Samoa was funny. First of all, who the fuck says, "that's not the business card I had a year ago...it depends on where I was working". Like, he seemed like an obviously shady guy. And that contract was bullshit. They should not have signed it, and I think JJ wanted to thump it in their faces a bit more than usual because she likes smarter-than-thou cases more than anything else. Plus, she wasn't trusting of what the Plaintiffs were saying. He had that big ass binder of paper but he didn't have the canceled check showing he paid the lawyer? Man, please. They sounded like they were from Louisiana, and I think I've said it before but I have an irrational hatred of the Louisiana Southern accent. I'm sorry, but that Swamp People shit? That catching gators-ass accent? I...can't. They're nice enough people, and they're not the worst accent ever, but Jesus H.

 

I thought it was obvious he was a fake lawyer; he's on rip-off.com or whatever. And it seemed like the story he was telling was bullshit, too. He kept saying stuff they needed, and then said they gave it to him. So then you're just an ain't-shit "lawyer", right? I can understand him not making any promises given there may be something out of his control that would impede obtaining a wholesale liquor license, but his contract basically grants him money with no obligation to do shit. And I know JJ likes to say "no hearsay", but bitch you may want to make an exception when people are trying to tell you about a process you know nothing about. It seemed plausible to me that he gave them a bunch of forms to fill out just so he could sit on his hands and not do anything. Either that, or he didn't know what he was doing or took on too many "clients" and couldn't accommodate them. But applying for any kind of license is a process that involves forms; I'm not sure what took so long anyway. Even if there are other requirements that the client needs to fill out, I'd just submit whatever paperwork I had and would let them know the ball's in their court.

[basiltherat]

Did the bootleggers ever get their backgrounds checked by the po-lice.  Because I think that might have been a no-go with or without Mr. Fancy Suit Not-Lawyer.

[SandyToes]

 I agree with a lot of that, 27bored. But I think the two key points were that the plaintiffs had all the "evidence" of the def's fakery AFTER the fact, and that they had a signed contract. The plaintiffs could have dug all that evidence up before they signed the contract. It's about doing due diligence before you hire someone. And then once the contact is signed, they are bound by that document. JJ even said if there had been clauses about dates or deadlines, then they'd have something.  But if they got snookered by a scam artist, that sort of falls into the "buyer beware" category.

 

It must be frustrating sometimes as a judge (here, or anywhere) when you have to decide a case in favor of the bad guys.

[Spunkygal]

One of my favorite Byrd moments happened today when he went over to get a copy of the contract from the fake lawyer defendant and the defendant said "submitting this as exhibit 4, your honor." Byrd turned and looked at JJ with the biggest WTF! look on his face. Guess fakey mcfakerson was trying to establish that he is a real lawyer by using the lingo.

Sure wish Byrd would write a book. Now that would be good readin'.

[AngelaHunter]

Dumb and Dumber( Liquor Barons of Las Vegas), Mr. William "Baby Huey" Speed and his ripped-off 1500$ trailer and the first case with the nitwit from Minnesota suing his ex-girlfriend for, well, stupidities, all gave me brain-freeze.

 

One of my favorite Byrd moments happened today when he went over to get a copy of the contract from the fake lawyer defendant and the defendant said "submitting this as exhibit 4, your honor."

 

LOVED his, "Oh, FFS!" expression as he snatched the paper.  Those two yahoos really thought they were getting  a JUDGE to chase down a liquor license for them, merely because they saw some pic of him in judge's robes? They signed that contract of their own free will, so don't bitch about it later. The best part is them living together in a warehouse. I wonder if their "investors" have paid them a visit for a little kneecapping.

[momtoall]

I wonder if their "investors" have paid them a visit for a little kneecapping.

 

 

I think that should be a real concern for Mr. Fake Lawyer.

[AuntiePam]

I thought JJ would have been more miffed at the fake judge/lawyer.  His business card identified him as "General Counsel" for whatever company he was fronting.  "General counsel" = doesn't that always mean "lawyer"?  

 

The plaintiffs were screwed anyway, because of the contract they signed.  We know JJ wants everything in writing, but getting it in writing isn't enough.  If they'd taken that contract to their own lawyer, they would probably have been told not to sign it.  They got nothing.  Isn't a contract a two-way agreement?  I give you X, in exchange for Y? 

 

In the hall, it looked like the fake judge was making an attempt to salvage what's left of his reputation, indicating that he could still help those guys if they paid him.  I think he got off easy and he knew it.

[teebax]

I thought JJ would have been more miffed at the fake judge/lawyer.  His business card identified him as "General Counsel" for whatever company he was fronting.  "General counsel" = doesn't that always mean "lawyer"?  

 

The plaintiffs were screwed anyway, because of the contract they signed.  We know JJ wants everything in writing, but getting it in writing isn't enough.  If they'd taken that contract to their own lawyer, they would probably have been told not to sign it.  They got nothing.  Isn't a contract a two-way agreement?  I give you X, in exchange for Y? 

 

In the hall, it looked like the fake judge was making an attempt to salvage what's left of his reputation, indicating that he could still help those guys if they paid him.  I think he got off easy and he knew it.

I'm late to this discussion. Unlike our typical litigants, I'm working crazy hours this week. I'm so, so tired!

I too am surprised she went so easy on Fakey McFakerson, esq. He was clearly presenting himself as a lawyer and a judge, and that was not his Halloween costume! That guy had every kind of business card but had no bar card, although he probably had a fake one of those, too.

However, there was consideration, which is why JJ enforced the contract. What the slimey defendant contracted to do didn't require him to be a licensed attorney. He did do some work, although I doubt it was as much as he implied he'd done by bringing that big folder. I suspect he was like Kramer was with his briefcase on that Seinfeld episode, and that the folder might have been filled with crackers.

The contract was awful, and I'm sure the defendant was thrilled to find two yahoos who would sign it. The plaintiffs are living in the warehouse they're leasing, but not for long once the landlord finds out. That sort of thing is usually frowned upon by commercial property managers and owners. I'd be surprised if there weren't a clause in their lease forbdding them from living there.

If I had more time and energy, I'd look up the defendant on ripoffreport.com, which was the website I think the plaintiffs found him on after they delinquently decided to do some due diligence. I don't know why they didn't check him out before forking over $5,500 to him. I don't even go on a first date without Googling the other woman, and I'd expect her to do the same. If you can't pass my Google test, you don't even get McDonalds out of me, much less five grand!

Edited October 21, 2015 by teebax