All Episodes Talk: All Rise

[funky-rat]

I'm catching up on some missed episodes and just saw this one.

 

What do you mean by your comment?

I took it to mean that the "Back To The Future" obsessed guy is similar to the Star Trek/Star Wars stereotype who is still living at home in their parents basement, getting no female action.

[teebax]

I took it to mean that the "Back To The Future" obsessed guy is similar to the Star Trek/Star Wars stereotype who is still living at home in their parents basement, getting no female action.

Thanks. I was lost. 

[Quof]

Funkyrat got it in 1.

[Ocean Chick]

I, too, was taken aback at the thought of a 9 year old boy wanting to play with a 4 year old girl.  My first thought, alas, was that he was a sexually abuse boy looking for his own prey.  But yeah - when I saw him, I thought "future serial killer".  Specializing in girls/women.  Mom needs to get him help, stat.  But she won't.  She probably can't let herself believe that she has a problem on her hands.  And she was probably thrilled that she could get a couple of hours away from him.  But girl's mom was just as bad - probably happy, as Judge Judy said, to have a couple of hours not having to keep a 4 year old entertained.  I hope she vets her daughter's future play dates a bit more carefully.

 

Sad all around.

[Ouisch]

I, too, was taken aback at the thought of a 9 year old boy wanting to play with a 4 year old girl.  My first thought, alas, was that he was a sexually abuse boy looking for his own prey.  

 

Sad all around.

 

My first thought, based on the boy/girl difference, age difference (and later the whole tossing-a-cat-out-the-window thing) was Lionel Tate.

[AuntiePam]

I didn't assume perversion with the nine-year-old boy wanting to play with the four-year-old girl.  I assumed the boy didn't have any friends his own age -- maybe because he's a bit slow himself.  He might relate better to younger kids. 

 

Judy pissed me off today, in the trashy college girls/landlord case.  The girls left the place in a mess and did some damage.  The landlord returned part of their deposit but kept back some to pay for cleaning and repairs.  JJ returned their entire security deposit -- apparently because the landlord was going to make a profit when she sold the house, so she wasn't going to be out-of-pocket.  WTF?  The landlord bought the house and then paid taxes, upkeep, insurance, managing tenants, etc. for several years. 

 

JJ seemed to think the only reason the landlord cleaned up and repaired the place was because it was going on the market.  But she said she had it cleaned between tenants and she had records to prove it.  If she assumed some kind of risk from renting to college kids, she wouldn't have bothered to do that.  "Why should I?  They're college kids, they're gonna trash it anyway."  But she didn't think like that.

 

Just because she wasn't left penniless doesn't mean the girls shouldn't have been responsible tenants.  Yeah, college kids are notorious for trashing places, but they shouldn't get a free pass. 

 

And JJ didn't like some of the bills because they were handwritten?  Gimme a break.

[teebax]

I didn't assume perversion with the nine-year-old boy wanting to play with the four-year-old girl.  I assumed the boy didn't have any friends his own age -- maybe because he's a bit slow himself.  He might relate better to younger kids. 

 

Judy pissed me off today, in the trashy college girls/landlord case.  The girls left the place in a mess and did some damage.  The landlord returned part of their deposit but kept back some to pay for cleaning and repairs.  JJ returned their entire security deposit -- apparently because the landlord was going to make a profit when she sold the house, so she wasn't going to be out-of-pocket.  WTF?  The landlord bought the house and then paid taxes, upkeep, insurance, managing tenants, etc. for several years. 

 

JJ seemed to think the only reason the landlord cleaned up and repaired the place was because it was going on the market.  But she said she had it cleaned between tenants and she had records to prove it.  If she assumed some kind of risk from renting to college kids, she wouldn't have bothered to do that.  "Why should I?  They're college kids, they're gonna trash it anyway."  But she didn't think like that.

 

Just because she wasn't left penniless doesn't mean the girls shouldn't have been responsible tenants.  Yeah, college kids are notorious for trashing places, but they shouldn't get a free pass. 

 

And JJ didn't like some of the bills because they were handwritten?  Gimme a break.

I have not watched this case yet, but based on what you wrote I completely agree with you.

 

JJ does that quite a bit, and it always irritates me. The owner has a right to have the property repaired before the sale of it if it was damaged by someone else. She'd see it differently if it were one of her palatial houses.

[ElleMo]

Tuesday:

Case 1. Goonie V. Goonie: road trip to celebrate The Goonies movie turns bad.

 

Is it sad if I admit I am really looking forward to watching this?

[Milz]

I agree with AuntiePam's assessment of the landlord case.  A handwritten bill is still a bill.

 

ElleMo, I hadn't thought about that Goonies movie in years until I read that on the JJ website. Then I got that stupid Cindy Lauper song stuck in my head the rest of the day.....

[zillabreeze]

 

I agree with AuntiePam's assessment of the landlord case.  A handwritten bill is still a bill.

Right?  Is the money you give to the Mom & Pop people that clean house or do yard work not the same money that comes with a computer generated receipt?

 

It sure seems to irritate JJ when any normal person tries to make a profit on a house or vehicle.

[AngelaHunter]

A handwritten bill is still a bill.

 

I wasn't paying attention,but was it an actual bill or just a piece of paper with writing on it?

 

A handyman I sometimes employ gives me an itemized, handwritten bill, but it's just a piece of memo paper he's written on - no name of company, no taxes added, no receipt number. It could never be used as evidence in a court.

 

Two-timing Truck Driver. She borrowed him money to send him to trucking school.

 

Well, I mean - who wouldn't shower him with money to keep him around? And her? Claims she's 32 and looks 45, and her "earned" income is child support and student loan money. Was she knocked up or what? She looked like a chicken dumpling and really REALLY needed to cover up those arms. "I FEEL like I earned it!" she says of her "income". Yeah, after I get finished cleaning/painting/raking, etc around here, I feel I should be paid too, but that's not going to happen.

[Milz]

Angela Hunter, it's a bill if it has the date of service, the service rendered, and the amount the service is worth.  And a receipt can be something like "01/12/2016, $10.00 paid to Angela Hunter for walking Max the Super Dog around the neighborhood." scribbled on a hot pink Post-It.

[chenoa333]

I always get annoyed with JJ's response

when she asks litigants for receipts like cancelled checks, proof of payment via bank statement and they tell JJ they don't have bank statements because they only have a debit card but no bank account. JJ doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.

Many people now days don't have bank accounts. They get debit cards through Walmart or whoever and I'm pretty certain you don't get the same options as a bank gives you (such as printing your last months transactions, copies of cancelled checks etc)

Somebody needs to catch JJ up on what the new normal is for poor people.

She just seems so clueless...IMO

[AuntiePam]

Angela Hunter, it's a bill if it has the date of service, the service rendered, and the amount the service is worth.  And a receipt can be something like "01/12/2016, $10.00 paid to Angela Hunter for walking Max the Super Dog around the neighborhood." scribbled on a hot pink Post-It.

 

Yep.  I pay bills for a city and auditors are fine with handwritten bills and receipts.  The mom-and-pop company that picks up the city's trash doesn't even own a computer.  Neither does the guy who cuts grass in the parks, or the guy who shovels snow. 

 

If JJ accepts text messages as evidence, she shouldn't have any trouble with handwritten bills.

[basiltherat]

Perhaps if the mom-and-poppers sent their bills via text, JJ would accept them.

[TresGatos]

"Wow, he will probably outlive you, Mom"

 

He will probably, literally, be the death of her.

[Quof]

The issue with the handwritten invoices is that there is no way to authenticate them, and they are more likely to be falsified. If the plaintiff called the person who wrote the "invoices" as a witness, there would be no problem.  She accepts the texts because the authors are there and can confirm (or deny) that they wrote them. 

[AngelaHunter]

And a receipt can be something like "01/12/2016, $10.00 paid to Angela Hunter for walking Max the Super Dog around the neighborhood."

 

I'm certainly no authority on legalities, but I've seen Marilyn Milan often toss out or rip up this kind of evidence, usually saying, "How do I know you didn't write this up in the hall?"

 

The issue with the handwritten invoices is that there is no way to authenticate them, and they are more likely to be falsified.

 

That's kind of what I was thinking. I mean, if it's just writing on paper, I could ask my handyman to write that I paid him $300 instead of the $50 I actually gave him.

[Quof]

Presactly.  Business records, maintained in the ordinary course of a business, are exceptions to the hearsay rule and are admissible without the author.   That's why she accepts official receipts, bank records, etc.   Bob Next Door who scribbles "Received $100 for clearing away garbage" on a scrap of paper isn't in business, and therefore must come testify that he did the work and received the money.

 

Evidence Law I is adjourned for the day.  This will be on the exam.

[Milz]

The issue with the handwritten invoices is that there is no way to authenticate them, and they are more likely to be falsified. If the plaintiff called the person who wrote the "invoices" as a witness, there would be no problem.  She accepts the texts because the authors are there and can confirm (or deny) that they wrote them. 

 

You can fake typed invoices by using free business software at CNET.

 

I can see JJ rejecting a handwritten invoice if it does not contain the date of service, the service,  and the amount to be paid .Or rejecting a receipt that doesn't have that information.  But to reject it solely because  it's handwritten is a really weak excuse.

[Milz]

Presactly.  Business records, maintained in the ordinary course of a business, are exceptions to the hearsay rule and are admissible without the author.   That's why she accepts official receipts, bank records, etc.   Bob Next Door who scribbles "Received $100 for clearing away garbage" on a scrap of paper isn't in business, and therefore must come testify that he did the work and received the money.

 

Evidence Law I is adjourned for the day.  This will be on the exam.

 

A business transaction is the exchange of goods and services for the payment of the value of that good or service. It does not require a bill of sale or other documentation to be a business transaction. So buying a vase at a garage sale is a business transaction. Or paying the neighbor kid $20 to shovel the snow off the driveway is a business transaction. Neither the garage seller nor the kid next door needs to be licensed, bonded,  insured and work out of an office building to engage in these activities.

 

That does not mean some sort of accounting documentation is a good thing to have because receipts, bills of sale, etc. are useful for auditing purposes.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Milz

[Quof]

Sorry, Milz, lot more technical requirements that go into making a business record a "business record" for the purpose of admissibility, didn't want to bore the crowd.  I'm on Judy's side on this. 

[BusyOctober]

re. yesterday's case with the woman "earning" income a la student loans...I didn't know you could actually use student loan money for non-education related expenses.  I assumed the loan money was specifically for tuition, fees, books, meal plan/food and school dorms/apartments.  So if I get accepted to a college & the tuition and school expenses = $30k.  I could apply for a loan for $40k and go blow some of that on a trip to Cabo? And I don't need to hold down even a part time job to help pay for my own shampoo and toothpaste? Since student loans or hardship loans are usually at a lower interest rate, I'd be using other people's money to subsidize not only my education, but my weekend spending money too? No wonder our economy is in dire straits. 

Edited January 12, 2016 by BusyOctober

[augmentedfourth]

I admit I wasn't hanging on every word of the college house case because it wasn't all that interesting, but I think the point JJ was trying to make was that after renting it for 5-6 years to college students, there was obviously going to be some wear and tear, and it was unreasonable to use the most recent renters' security deposit to spruce up the place. For example, she usually tells landlords that painting and replacing carpet is just part of doing business of being a landlord and having a rental property, so I didn't think she was being terribly inconsistent. I think she would have allowed the landlord to keep the amount of the legitimate cleaning bill until she admitted that she told the girls they could split it 50/50.

[Rick Kitchen]

And yet Judge Milian also always says, "Just write it up on a piece of toilet paper with a crayon."  So she's inconsistent that way.

[oakLeaf]

Judge Milian means for both parties in the case (i.e., the person buying the car and the person selling it) should write one up and both sign it. I don't think she would accept a receipt from a THIRD party (not present in court) written in crayon on toilet paper.

[Brattinella]

OMG I've only seen 2 minutes of Ms Rosenquist and I want to punch her lights out!

[AngelaHunter]

Judge Milian means for both parties in the case (i.e., the person buying the car and the person selling it) should write one up and both sign it. I don't think she would accept a receipt from a THIRD party (not present in court) written in crayon on toilet paper.

 

Eggsactly.

[27bored]

I have a semi dumb question. The rerun yesterday where the lady was suing the contractor was interesting. JJ kept saying they needed a contract, which I understood, but my semi dumb question is what kind of contract could either of them had that would've girded against the issue that brought them into court? If he didn't finish obviously that wasn't part of their deal, and if she paid him a deposit and then another four grand and it was shoddy, what could she have put in a contract that he would've signed? "Contractor agrees to keep making adjustments to the homeowner's liking?" I just don't understand how a contract can fairly deal with contingencies in the case of a fairly large scale renovation like that. It should go without saying that the contractor should give the owner an estimate before working, and that he shouldn't leave the job improperly done.

[teebax]

re. yesterday's case with the woman "earning" income a la student loans...I didn't know you could actually use student loan money for non-education related expenses.  I assumed the loan money was specifically for tuition, fees, books, meal plan/food and school dorms/apartments.  So if I get accepted to a college & the tuition and school expenses = $30k.  I could apply for a loan for $40k and go blow some of that on a trip to Cabo? And I don't need to hold down even a part time job to help pay for my own shampoo and toothpaste? Since student loans or hardship loans are usually at a lower interest rate, I'd be using other people's money to subsidize not only my education, but my weekend spending money too? No wonder our economy is in dire straits. 

I used student loans to help with my living expenses. The GI Bill covered most of my tuition but not enough that I didn't need some loans.

 

They can't be discharged in bankruptcy, so people need to be really smart about how much they borrow and realistic about their ability to pay them back. My parents had no money to help me, so if it weren't for student loans it would have been very difficult for me to attend college. I certainly wasn't making enough money through work to pay for everything I needed to pay in order to go to school.

 

I guess someone could be dumb enough to blow it on a trip to Cabo, but I think most of us who use student loans actually use them for educational expenses, which includes a roof over your head, transportation, books, etc. Knowing they have to be paid back was a good enough motivator for me not to borrow more than one actually needs.

 

ETA: I should say that I'd like to think people are responsible, but I watch enough court shows that I should know better than that.

[Rick Kitchen]

The plaintiff whose dog was killed by the neighbor's dog just couldn't get it through her head that her dog was in the neighbor's yard.

[califred]

Omg the woman with the dog was irritating. And her own video made her lose. Your dog got out, it's your fault.

[Spunkygal]

The plaintiff whose dog was killed by the neighbor's dog just couldn't get it through her head that her dog was in the neighbor's yard.

Fellow dog lovers, do NOT watch this episode! The video is beyond disturbing.

Yes, Rick, the plaintiff's dog was on the defendant's property, but the defendant's dog, who was "always" chained, must have broken the chain to attack the dog and left its property to finish the terrible deed. So, didn't the defendant also lose control of his dog, technically?

I shudder. At the very least I think the defendant should have paid half the vet bills. I am so glad that killer dog was put down. Off to hug and kiss my furry baby now.

Edited to add...I wish JJ had asked further about Cujo breaking the chain, if in fact it was chained. There was no evidence of a chain in the horrendous video.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Spunkygal

[Toaster Strudel]

These degenerates had some hideous piercings on to match their personalities.  Let's hope that Goonies never has a sequel.

[Tosia]

College house landlord sh have taken before and after pix. Too many landlords want tenants to pay for remodeling. ..which JJ hates.

Sister from Hell, piercings and multi-color hair and high octave attitude! Oooh Lordy! Hated the big bitch sister who was a Nazi-landlord to her sister from another mister. I thought Goonies fans, of which i am one, were nice like the movie. I sm a fan that watches it, or at least keeps it on in the background when it is on, not one who would go to a goonie gathering....especially now that i see what type of people go to those. Scary. And not the good scary, like in the Goonies movie with Mama and her Boyz, and one-eyed Willy.

[Tosia]

Ah student loans, the name of my existence, now that my son has graduated from college. I paid footer my own college degrees (1 B.S., 2 M.A.s), but times are different now.

In college, i worked part-time at different jobs. One was at the college's financial aid office. Lots of grants and loans flying through there, with repeat customers, i mean, students, taking 5 or more years to finish. Plus the director's new girl friend who got beaucoup bucks in GRANTS to furnish her new apt, umm, i mean, love nest. It was an open secret. She came in for lots of closed door "meetings."

Even with only my dad working, and 3 other kids in the family, I was considered only for a small $400, which i refused. I need a sugar daddy.

[Quof]

Sorry, Tosia, I can top that story.  Student Aid wrote to tell me I was ineligible for student loans because (news to us) my parents made too much money. So they returned my application, and all supporting documentation.  Postage due.  It was decades ago, but I still remember I had to pay 57 cents to get the "news".

[DoctorK]

 

Postage due.

Wow, that is adding insult to injury.

[WhineandCheez]

These degenerates had some hideous piercings on to match their personalities.

 

Okay I'm old, but I think that if you have all this assorted shit guaranteed to draw attention to your face, you should have an attractive face.  The defendant and her witness were NOT of that ilk.  Besides she had those facial piercings, glasses and ombre hair.  She never listened to Diana Vreeland who said, "Always take off one facial modification, err, I mean accessory, before leaving the house." 40-50 year old Witness Guy had ear gauges bigger than an Umbulu warrior (a made-up African tribe, but you get the idea).  In my eyes, you gotta be like under 25 and a barista or in a band to have gauges.  Thats just me.

 

Dog mauling case--guy has 8 security cameras on his TRAILER???? I repeat, TRAILER? Can't you put that money into a better home?  Plaintiff was UBER-annoying with an alarming underbite, and was unduly snotty at the end.  Bitch please, if you lived in a classier neighborhood with better neighbors your frickin dog wouldn't have gotten out to go in the neighbor's yard to get killed?  It was YOUR fault.  I felt bad for the Defendants, they looked down on their luck and I wouldn't like to have to admit on TV that  I euthanized my dog because I didn't have $140.  That's sad.

Edited January 13, 2016 by WhineandCheez

[DebbieW]

I'm certainly no authority on legalities, but I've seen Marilyn Milan often toss out or rip up this kind of evidence, usually saying, "How do I know you didn't write this up in the hall?"

 

 

Yes, but then she also says to grab a crayon and toilet paper to get a receipt if you're giving someone cash, so it basically (heh) depends on what kind of mood JJ or MM seem to be in.

 

Sorry, just saw that Rick Kitchen made the same observation.

 

I found the plaintiff really annoying in the dog death case.  Not that I don't totally sympathize with the loss of a pet under such circumstances.  She was just so smug and superior.  Claimed she needed a better class of neighbors who don't let their dogs jump fences.  Maybe they need a better class of neighbor who doesn't let their dog get out of the yard and come onto their property.  

Edited January 13, 2016 by DebbieW

[zillabreeze]

I caught a re-run that irritated me all over again.  Remember the school lady suing the dad for the cost of a college visit trip?  The little girl had won or qualified for the the trip and it was paid for by PTA or other fundraising.  Dad didn't manage to get his daughter to the bus on time and the seat went wasted.

 

The school lady's point was someone else could have gone and/or the money could have gone back to the fund.  I thoroughly agreed dad owed paybacksies.  Not only that, he just pissed me off.  Here he has a daughter apparently pointed on the right track and he didn't make that trip a priority.  Couldn't be bothered either to give the school a heads up so it didn't go to waste.

Edited January 13, 2016 by zillabreeze

[AngelaHunter]

Yes, but then she also says to grab a crayon and toilet paper to get a receipt if you're giving someone cash, so it basically (heh) depends on what kind of mood JJ or MM seem to be in.

 

That's when the crayon-ed TP goes from one person in front of her to the other person in front of her. No way would she accept a TP receipt from an absent  third party, IMO.

[basiltherat]

Re: trailer park dogs. If you are living in a trailer because you are poor, why do you have multiple dogs who eat more food than you do?!
 

[funky-rat]

Just because it bugs, I have to say it:  Not all people who live in mobile homes are trash, or poor, and not all mobile home communities are dumpy.

 

If you'd have asked me one year ago if I'd be living in a mobile, and loving it, I'd have told you that you were insane.  I'd have also said you were insane for suggesting my landlady of 17 years would up and sell the house we rented with extremely limited notice.

 

We have extremely good management where we live, who are strict on rules.  And no one where we live can have more than 2 pets, and they can't weight more than 25-30 pounds.  And you have to pay a monthly pet fee - otherwise, you end up with people who have massive amounts of large dogs.

 

Are there dumpy "trailer courts/parks" out there?  Absolutely.  They give us all a bad name.  :(

[bad things are bad]

I think that if cat-killing kid is a bedwetter, he needs to be in a full time residency program away from the rest of society. AuntiePam has a point, though...he may not be a perv (which was my first thought) so much as a boy profoundly uncomfortable with kids his own age

[Milz]

I have a semi dumb question. The rerun yesterday where the lady was suing the contractor was interesting. JJ kept saying they needed a contract, which I understood, but my semi dumb question is what kind of contract could either of them had that would've girded against the issue that brought them into court? If he didn't finish obviously that wasn't part of their deal, and if she paid him a deposit and then another four grand and it was shoddy, what could she have put in a contract that he would've signed? "Contractor agrees to keep making adjustments to the homeowner's liking?" I just don't understand how a contract can fairly deal with contingencies in the case of a fairly large scale renovation like that. It should go without saying that the contractor should give the owner an estimate before working, and that he shouldn't leave the job improperly done.

 

They have to amend the original contract to reflect the changes and the price differences. Doing that should clear up any misunderstandings and expectations. For example, I hire you to build me a bird house. We write up a contract that specifies the style of the house, the color of the paint, the dimensions, etc. and the payment. Then I change my mind about the colors because I want it to be lime green with purple polka dots instead of burnt orange and sky blue polka dots. We should amend the contract to reflect that color change.

 

I think JJ and handwritten receipts is like JJ and her "people don't use the same pen to write with all the time" spiel. 

Edited January 13, 2016 by Milz

[AngelaHunter]

If you'd have asked me one year ago if I'd be living in a mobile, and loving it, I'd have told you that you were insane.

 

It certainly beats living in an apartment. There's a mobile home park near me. It's very nice and I'd have no problem living there.

 

Not all people who live in mobile homes are trash, or poor, and not all mobile home communities are dumpy.

 

 

Of course they're not but unfortunately, 99% of the trailer dwellers we see on this show are profoundly trashy.

 

 

[rcc]

I used student loans to help with my living expenses. The GI Bill covered most of my tuition but not enough that I didn't need some loans.

 

They can't be discharged in bankruptcy, so people need to be really smart about how much they borrow and realistic about their ability to pay them back. My parents had no money to help me, so if it weren't for student loans it would have been very difficult for me to attend college. I certainly wasn't making enough money through work to pay for everything I needed to pay in order to go to school.

 

I guess someone could be dumb enough to blow it on a trip to Cabo, but I think most of us who use student loans actually use them for educational expenses, which includes a roof over your head, transportation, books, etc. Knowing they have to be paid back was a good enough motivator for me not to borrow more than one actually needs.

 

ETA: I should say that I'd like to think people are responsible, but I watch enough court shows that I should know better than that.

Teebax - Can I ask you a question? Your GI Bill paid for your student loans (or the majority). Is it the same for a partially disabled veteran's child (partially meaning 30 percent)? Would the GI Bill pay for all of the child's education? Or the majority? Thanks for the response in advance.

Edited January 13, 2016 by rcc

[Spunkygal]

In the hallterview of today's episode where the plaintiff was suing his ex-BF for taking watches out of his house, the plaintiff says he heard that the defendant has "past prior theft charges and current prior theft charges." Current prior? Huh??? They both seemed shady to me. Overall, a yawner of a case.

Then the repeat of Batgirl, the batshit crazy, strung out chick who barged into the plaintiff's room and called him insulting, fat shaming names and hit him on the head with a bat. I weep for her children (and frankly I also fear them, whoever they are). They'll be on the next new season with their own dysfunctional issues. I am so thankful for my boring, mundane life and for the fact that I can lay my head on my pillow in peace at night.

[DoctorK]

I really liked the third case in today's new show. Started out boring, then JJ asked to see a picture of the plaintiff's "car", and he handed up pictures of a classic Deuce and a Half" truck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M35_2%C2%BD-ton_cargo_truck! I priced one of these a few years back for fun, thinking how much I would enjoy one-upping annoying people who brag about their big and bad 4X4s. Then I could pull out a picture of my 6X6 and add that I could also load 2 1/2 tons of cargo in the back. When JJ called it a Jeep, I choked, and the plaintiff probably figured that there was no point in trying to correct her. If he got it for $2K, he probably had to put a lot of money into to get it running well and street legal. Also, since both rear axles are driven and independently suspended, damage from a rear end collision could have caused significant non-cosmetic damage. However, unless the defendant's car was totaled (too bad we didn't get to see pics of both vehicles' damage), I find it hard to believe that a vehicle designed to travel cross country with 2 1/2 tons of cargo would be badly damaged by a "normal" car rear ending it.