All Episodes Talk: All Rise

[Spunkygal]

1 minute ago, Albino said:

I had forgotten about the tragic case of the derailed prison wedding.  So sad.  Girl was so excited about marrying her "fiance" on Valentine's Day.  You know...the fiance who was in jail for attempted murder?  Who wouldn't jump at the chance?

Well, plaintiff, who looked to be in her early 20s, had multiple kids with him. Why not go ahead and make it legal! Wouldn't want anyone else moving in on that desired territory. Maybe preacher lady would have wanted a piece of that fine stuff!

[AZChristian]

8 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Plaintiffs have five cabins in a lovely California area, mainly known for skiing, but which also offers summer activities such as zip lining. Their ad lists these activities. Defendant and four kids arrive in August to zip line but zip line closed a few weeks earlier. So the kids were bored and they left and bratty defendant wants money back. Plaintiffs had the responsibility to tell her the zip line was closed!!! No! It was Byrd's responsibility! Eat it, defendant!!!

Thanks, Spunkygal.

When I was in Orlando last month, my FAVORITE ride at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was closed for the entire three days we were there.  Think there's a chance I can get a refund?  (No, I didn't check online in advance to see if it was open . . . I wish Byrd had checked and told me.)

Sheesh, people.  Stuff happens.  Punt.

Edited January 19, 2017 by AZChristian

[shksabelle]

Methinks Mr. $8,000/week admitted to being a drug dealer without realizing it, although one would think he could have dressed better.  And the beyond stupid woman said she would still be "friends" :::cough cough::: with him after he bought her new car.

[Quof]

AZChristian, it's important to point out these were the defendant's ADULT children, who flew in from different parts of the country to vacation with their mother.  Not kids, or teens.   JJ asked "Couldn't you go for a hike?  Or just sit and talk to each other?"  Nope, they were bored. 

[AuntiePam]

4 minutes ago, Quof said:

AZChristian, it's important to point out these were the defendant's ADULT children, who flew in from different parts of the country to vacation with their mother.  Not kids, or teens.   JJ asked "Couldn't you go for a hike?  Or just sit and talk to each other?"  Nope, they were bored. 

I had mixed feelings about the zipline case.  Yeah, they could sit and talk to each other, but if they'd known about the zipline place closing, they could have talked at home and saved the money, or rented somewhere else. 

Defendant tried to interject something about a text she'd sent to the plaintiff prior to arriving at the cabin, but JJ didn't let her finish. 

At least it wasn't a "You ate the steak" situation, because they only stayed two nights, not the four that they had paid for.  So they ate half the steak.  And if she was scamming, she would have sued for travel expenses for her kids, as well as the cabin rental. 

On the other hand, if the ziplining was that important, maybe defendant should have called ahead to make sure it was available.

[Spunkygal]

@AuntiePam, but the plaintiffs' fees were only for cabin and associated costs like cleaning, pets, etc. Plaintiffs may have said yes, zip lines are open, but they didn't operate the zip line. They have no control over the zip line. When I rented a house in San Diego, I couldn't hold the property owner liable if Seaworld or Legoland was closed. It's just the risk you take when you rent a room or a home. A hotel wouldn't have given her the money back. 

[AngelaHunter]

30 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Well, plaintiff, who looked to be in her early 20s, had multiple kids with him.

Of course she has multiple kids. Why wouldn't she? Isn't that the natural outcome of hot sex with no precautions? As we all know, precautions just ruin the mood. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a model citizen before being arrested for attempted murder, but who cares? Have babies!

Today we had the repeat of the crazy, hostile Mr. McKisson (whose mommy sat there making excuses for this 25 year old man) who was simmering with rage, so much so that JJ had to direct Byrd to watchdog ("Byrddog"?) him. This is the kind of case where we see  JJ still has it in spades, unlike with stupid "I put him on my cellphone plan/I got drunk and acted like a fool/he busted my windshield with a brick" with which we are all bored into comas. As to the McKisson case, I hope the plaintiff, Ms. Blakeney, watched her back afterwards and that no further harm came to her from that nut who should be locked up.

[Brattinella]

And, may I just say... "Valen-TIMES"!  GAH!!!

[AZChristian]

52 minutes ago, Quof said:

AZChristian, it's important to point out these were the defendant's ADULT children, who flew in from different parts of the country to vacation with their mother.  Not kids, or teens.   JJ asked "Couldn't you go for a hike?  Or just sit and talk to each other?"  Nope, they were bored. 

Oh, for Pete's sake.  It's obvious these people have never had REAL problems to deal with.

[augmentedfourth]

I'm never quite sure what to think about the smogging cases. I think this is where some lines get fuzzy, like what the jurisdiction actually is. If the car wasn't smogged before the sale, it very well might have been an illegal sale in California, but do you forfeit that when agreeing to go on JJ? Can you even forfeit that? It doesn't help that the show seems inconsistent regarding jurisdiction, anyway. For example, if you live somewhere where the laws say if your landlord doesn't return your deposit within 30 days, you're entitled to deposit x 2 or whatever, you sure as hell can kiss that goodbye when you go on JJ because she doesn't care.* On the flip side, if you're from a jurisdiction where the maximum award in small claims court is $3000 instead of $5000, they're not going to give you the extra money if you win, even if the people ahead of you just got $5000.

 

That said, I wasn't all too sympathetic with the plaintiff. She did wait a long time, and like JJ, I'm not convinced no one was driving the car in that two weeks. Also, I'm probably cutting people waaaaaay too much slack here, and since I didn't know much, if anything, about smogging cars before watching JJ, maybe the defendant didn't either? Coming back from Guam at all? Who knows. (And if it was an illegal sale, ignorance doesn't change that.)

 

Oh well. I did enjoy JJ's smackdown of the spoiled blonde yoga teacher who made me look up and wait for the captions because her last name sounded like Areola when announced.

 

(*As we all know, the benefit of going on JJ is that you'll get SOMETHING, since even if you win in your local small claims court, some people are reeeeeeeally good at dodging the law.)

[speac]

3 hours ago, Brattinella said:

WOW.  Jasmine Perez.  Sold the over-anxious plaintiff her beater for 3K.  It had Guam plates, was still registered in the def's name, and she told the plaintiff the ONLY thing wrong was "the check engine light is on".  Jeez Louise!  That could be anything, and JJ thinks it is a minor problem!  The real problem is that the car needed a part that is no longer AVAILABLE.  Car is totally non-fixable.  Def KNEW it.  So, she dumped the car on the plaintiff, and is smirking the entire time.  California law says the SELLER is responsible for smogging the car.  Total scammer, Jasmine Perez.  Stupid plaintiff was all excited about new car, and waited 2 weeks (til she got paid again) to have the car checked by a mechanic.    Of course, JJ ruled in def's favor because plaintiff stupidly did not get it checked before she paid for it.  GAH!

I"m pretty sure that the bit about the part being not available was a bit of BS. This is the same shop that allegedly said that the check engine light was on because of it was miswired.  I suspect the biggest problem is the auto shop they are using. You can get aftermarket parts for just about any car out there, plus there is always the junkyard and if all else fails you can have it fabricated.  I don't remember what the car was but it wasn't a Model T after all-heck you can even get parts for a Model T.

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

@AuntiePam, but the plaintiffs' fees were only for cabin and associated costs like cleaning, pets, etc. Plaintiffs may have said yes, zip lines are open, but they didn't operate the zip line. They have no control over the zip line. When I rented a house in San Diego, I couldn't hold the property owner liable if Seaworld or Legoland was closed. It's just the risk you take when you rent a room or a home. A hotel wouldn't have given her the money back. 

Very true.  But if a zip line is the main activity in that area -- it was definitely prominent in the advertising -- then I think plaintiff had some responsibility.  If they're not operating the zip line, maybe they shouldn't use it as a come-on. 

[Eliza422]

Even if the zip line was working, were they really going to zip line nonstop for four days? 

[califred]

If you buy a car you find out isn't smogged in California you should go to regular court bc the original owner will have to fix it and I'm fairly certain they get fined as well.

 

Every vacation rental I've ever rented has a no refunds policy w/in like 30 days of the arrival date.

[Ilovecomputers]

I enjoyed Spunkygal's summary more than the episode. No, they couldn't zip line nonstop; what was the pet going to do for four days?

Edited January 19, 2017 by Ilovecomputers

[NYCFree]

In the zip lining case, the defendant had two teenagers as well as her grown daughters with her.  The zip line place was available at the time of the rental in June, it had closed two weeks before in July, the rental was in August.  If they came in the winter and there was no snow they wouldn't be entitled to a refund either. I travel a lot, things go wrong. I find it hard to believe there was nothing at all for the family to do without a zip line.

I feel for the plaintiff in the car case, but I think JJ ruled correctly.  I also think she got caught out in a lie when she said they didn't drive it for the two weeks they had it.  Once JJ got her to say that she didn't wait for the defendant to get the car checked because she and her husband had jobs in opposite directions and needed a car ASAP.  JJ then pointed out she would have been driving the car in those two weeks and the plaintiff turned pink while stammering out a denial.

[Mondrianyone]

3 hours ago, Brattinella said:

Yes, except it was the Defendant's responsibility to fix it!  She HAS to smog the car before selling it, which in this case, entailed replacing a part first (that she knew about) and left the mechanic's receipt in the car.  I do agree with the online/eBay route, though, but the def should have done that first.  IMO.

I dunno, I found the whole thing really confusing.  If defendant knew she had to provide a smog certificate to sell, then presumably plaintiff knew she had to get one when she bought the car.  Was anything said about why she bought it without the smog paperwork?  She was so whiny I think I tuned out a lot of what was being said.  I thought the info about the part came from plaintiff's own mechanic, not from that receipt the defendant's mechanic left in the car.  (And if plaintiff had access to that info from the beginning, why didn't she act on it?)

I don't even know enough about cars to be having this conversation!

(But I have bought parts on eBay, and the prices have been great.)

[Guest]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

3 hours ago, Quof said:

AZChristian, it's important to point out these were the defendant's ADULT children, who flew in from different parts of the country to vacation with their mother.  Not kids, or teens.   JJ asked "Couldn't you go for a hike?  Or just sit and talk to each other?"  Nope, they were bored. 

Oh, for Pete's sake.  It's obvious these people have never had REAL problems to deal with.

As soon as they said she owned a yoga studio, I knew she was gonna act like an entitled princess. (Who also seems to have raised other entitled princesses.) Her disputing the charge was a total dick move. 

Also: her last name made me laugh -- Airyole. I kept calling her Cynthia (or whatever her first name was) Nipples in my head. 

[ElleMo]

I think the kids were tired of being in confined space with their mother and wanted to leave and she used the zip line as an excuse. Zip line would have taken only a few hours. They wouldn't have been riding it for 4 days. So if the zip line was really an excuse , at most, they would have left a day early not two days early

[SRTouch]

5 hours ago, Brattinella said:

Yes, except it was the Defendant's responsibility to fix it!  She HAS to smog the car before selling it, which in this case, entailed replacing a part first (that she knew about) and left the mechanic's receipt in the car.  I do agree with the online/eBay route, though, but the def should have done that first.  IMO.

Yep, I remember that from an earlier case on... why JJ I do believe. I didn't believe it the first time when the litigant said in California the seller had to pay the repair bill, even if the buyer had already taken possession. I even looked it up online, and sure enough, IIRC the buyer can take the car and make the repairs necessary to pass smog testing, and then sue the seller for the cost of the repair. In this case it sounded like JJ was saying since it took the buyer two weeks to take the car to a mechanic she had to pay. Huh, didn't she claim she went to the same mechanic who had told the seller about the no longer available part before seller sold the thing. Oh well, maybe that was hearsay or something the audience wasn't privy to.

[SRTouch]

17 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Plaintiffs have five cabins in a lovely California area, mainly known for skiing, but which also offers summer activities such as zip lining. Their ad lists these activities. Defendant and four kids arrive in August to zip line but zip line closed a few weeks earlier. So the kids were bored and they left and bratty defendant wants money back. Plaintiffs had the responsibility to tell her the zip line was closed!!! No! It was Byrd's responsibility! Eat it, defendant!!!

Well, don't forget these "kids" were grown and traveled thousands of miles to go zip lining with mommy. I totally get being disappointed if one of the big attractions wasn't available, but can't believe they couldn't find anything else to see and do after coming all that way to visit the parents and siblings... nah, more likely the spoiled brats (mom included) got in a big fight, got in a huff and went home mad, and now mommy wants to recoup some of her money.

Edited January 19, 2017 by SRTouch
Spelling

[SRTouch]

5 hours ago, Quof said:

AZChristian, it's important to point out these were the defendant's ADULT children, who flew in from different parts of the country to vacation with their mother.  Not kids, or teens.   JJ asked "Couldn't you go for a hike?  Or just sit and talk to each other?"  Nope, they were bored. 

Yeh, not sure where the cabin was, but sounded like Sierra Nevadas. So, could have taken day trips and visited the gold mine areas, visited Tahoe, zipped down to Yosemite (yeh, little zip line humor) etc. Or just fired up the grill and sat around drinking beer and visiting while watching the blue Jay's steal cheerios off the picnic table.

[Quof]

Quote

sat around drinking beer and visiting while watching the blue Jay's steal cheerios off the picnic table

That sounds awfully specific. Is that how the Touches spend their family vacations? 

[Ilovecomputers]

Quote

Also: her last name made me laugh -- Airyole. I kept calling her Cynthia (or whatever her first name was) Nipples in my head.

I thought I had misheard her last name. You'd think she and her children would be tough as nails knowing people call them "Nipples" mentally. 

[Spunkygal]

I bet you dollars to donuts that they got there and THERE.WAS.NO.INTERNET!!!!!! That was probably the real dealbreaker. There are still a few places in the country where internet access is difficult.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Spunkygal

[AngelaHunter]

2 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I bet you dollars to donuts that they got there and THERE.WAS.NO.INTERNET!!!!!!

I haven't seen this ep, but if that's the case I agree! I could never go to some hinterland that has NO INTERNET. The very thought makes me break out in a sweat of anxiety!

[DoctorK]

Quote

Could someone give a brief synopsis of the zipline case?

Basically (sorry JJ), the defendant advertised a cabin for rent, and the ad mentioned that there was zip lining available near by. The plaintiff and her children apparently live just for zip lining. Two weeks before the plaintiff gets to the cabin, the zip line company (which was not connected to the defendant in any way except being near by) closed, we never find out why. Plaintiff and brats show up, no zip lining available, beautiful woodlands, hiking, biking, etc, just don't cut it for them. Not even being able to get together with relatives they only see once a year is enough. The brats whine so much that plaintiff mommy has to take them home to save them from permanent mental damage due to being bored. You might guess that I have no sympathy for mommy and her spoiled brats.

[SRTouch]

7 hours ago, Quof said:

That sounds awfully specific. Is that how the Touches spend their family vacations? 

It has happened ? One very memorable trip as a kid was a trip to Pismo beach. Terrible weather, cold and wet, we stayed in a place with a kitchen, Mom, Dad, me and two brothers and two sisters. All us kids learned how to knit and some of us even made a pair of house shoes - as I recall I made 1 and 1/2 shoes. Mom and Dad went out for a drive and brought back a mess of fresh strawberries and ice cream. Strawberries so good they went and got more the next day and we cut them up and had enough strawberry preserves to put in the freezer.... don't recall if we ever made it to the beach. Hmmm, in today's world Mom and Dad might be in hot water for leaving us alone with 12yo sis in charge while they took a couple drives to get away from 5 kids. 

[Silver Raven]

I had to laugh at the lady in this morning's dog case named Lightning Rasmussen.

Apparently Byrd lives up here in Sacramento.  There was an article in this morning's Sacramento Bee about a young man (23) who is a well-known blues magician in the area (he's an award winning performer), and has been since he was about 14 years old.  Recently, he became a sheriff's deputy.  And over the weekend, he was arrested for getting drunk at a party and shooting up the place, and he's charged with five counts of attempted murder.  The Bee interviewed Byrd, who is a friend and fellow musician of this kid's.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Silver Raven

[AuntiePam]

JJ was on quite a tear today with that family.  Mom, daughter, and dad all on disability, and it's likely that daughter's boyfriend's mom in the motorized wheelchair is also supported by Byrd.  Not a lot of money between them but surely there was enough to buy mom a bra.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 1/18/2017 at 4:20 PM, AngelaHunter said:

While watching just a small part  of today's reruns, a thought occured to me. Is it possible there is a correlation between fertility and IQ? I've noticed that no one on this show seems to suffer from infertility and actually the dumber the litigants, the more fertile they seem to be, thoughtlessly dropping babies all over the place and not just one, but twins and triplets

"I've been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding..."[/Harvey Danger]

Also see the movie Idiocracy.

[Quof]

Quote

Mom, daughter, and dad all on disability, and it's likely that daughter's boyfriend's mom in the motorized wheelchair is also supported by Byrd.

Wonder if boyfriend's mom uses that scooter to steal from the Shop N Save like defendant mom does?   Distinctive names make it so easy to cyber stalk litigants.......

[Jamoche]

"There was many verbal conversations."

Yes, that's what most of them are.

[SRTouch]

2 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

JJ was on quite a tear today with that family.  Mom, daughter, and dad all on disability, and it's likely that daughter's boyfriend's mom in the motorized wheelchair is also supported by Byrd.  Not a lot of money between them but surely there was enough to buy mom a bra.

I actually felt sorry for dad, not the smartest one in the room, but the only one there who didn't come across as scammers. Biggest scammer vibe was coming from bf's scooter mom... not only a scammer in her own right, but appeared to be coaching daughter in suit against the 'rents.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

The guy who doesn't know how to spell 'abandoned' is making me want to stab the TV.

[AZChristian]

4 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I had to laugh at the lady in this morning's dog case named Lightning Rasmussen.

Apparently Byrd lives up here in Sacramento.  There was an article in this morning's Sacramento Bee about a young man (23) who is a well-known blues magician in the area (he's an award winning performer), and has been since he was about 14 years old.  Recently, he became a sheriff's deputy.  And over the weekend, he was arrested for getting drunk at a party and shooting up the place, and he's charged with five counts of attempted murder.  The Bee interviewed Byrd, who is a friend and fellow musician of this kid's.

You mentioned Byrd and blues singer in the same post.  Enjoy . . .

Edited January 20, 2017 by AZChristian

[Spunkygal]

3 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

JJ was on quite a tear today with that family.  Mom, daughter, and dad all on disability, and it's likely that daughter's boyfriend's mom in the motorized wheelchair is also supported by Byrd.  Not a lot of money between them but surely there was enough to buy mom a bra.

Maybe more of a harness for those puppies! Also, wonder how many kids plaintiff has with motorized mama's son? Peoples' lack of birth control give me tired head. I don't want to think about it, but that's their meal ticket. I worked for a gas utility company and you would not believe how many customers use their kids' SSN to get service. 

[BusyOctober]

These intellectually low functioning people on disability can't get jobs but have enough smarts to figure out how to open accounts in other people's names/SSN? A guy in jail, who apparently has the drive to earn his keep sweeping the place giving him free rent, meals and healthcare, still collects SDI while doing his sentence?!? Talk about a F'd up system.

I wish the (US)government and employers could see that everyone would benefit if money were spent on programs for education, skills training, better mental healthcare, group homes for mentally challenged, long term and short term housing for our vets, our elderly, our homeless. Instead we spend billions on programs that perpetuate and exacerbate these issues. People need to feel valued and have dignity in their lives. Paying them a pittance to live below the poverty line and making them reliant on the government for their very existence offers no value or dignity.

[Spunkygal]

I loved JJ's passionate tirade that a new SSA chief would be on board soon and how disability, foster care and other payments should be suspended while people are in jail. She does piss me off sometimes, but she has it right a lot of the times.

[augmentedfourth]

God, that case was depressing them. Between the three of them, I don't think you'd get to triple digits in IQ points if you added them all up.

 

I got a slightly different, probably stupidly optimistic read off the boyfriend's mother - hopefully he's a good guy, hopefully her disability's legit, and maybe she can be a better mother figure to the plaintiff than her own mother ever was. Or at least not steal her credit so the lights don't get turned off.

[Toaster Strudel]

The bad parents looked permanently brain damaged from decades of abusing alcohol.  Source: I've watched every episode of Intervention ever made.

[khyber]

On 1/18/2017 at 3:43 PM, Mondrianyone said:

Re the supposedly unfixable car.  You can find almost any discontinued part online (eBay's a great source) or at a salvage yard.  The plaintiff seemed to want everybody else to solve her problems without taking any initiative herself.

Mr. Khyber said the same thing, just go to a junk yard. 

[khyber]

13 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

I wish the (US)government and employers could see that everyone would benefit if money were spent on programs for education, skills training, better mental healthcare, group homes for mentally challenged, long term and short term housing for our vets, our elderly, our homeless. Instead we spend billions on programs that perpetuate and exacerbate these issues. People need to feel valued and have dignity in their lives. Paying them a pittance to live below the poverty line and making them reliant on the government for their very existence offers no value or dignity.

You're yelling into the void. At least for the foreseeable future.

I did feel sorry for all the mentally challenged people in the last episode. In the old days simple farm work or simple factory work would have been a way for them to contribute and sort of stand on their own.

[Toaster Strudel]

20 minutes ago, khyber said:

I did feel sorry for all the mentally challenged people in the last episode. In the old days simple farm work or simple factory work would have been a way for them to contribute and sort of stand on their own.

I think their mental challenge is self-inflicted and comes in bottles.

[vibeology]

On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 6:51 PM, Brattinella said:

Yes, except it was the Defendant's responsibility to fix it!  She HAS to smog the car before selling it, which in this case, entailed replacing a part first (that she knew about) and left the mechanic's receipt in the car.  I do agree with the online/eBay route, though, but the def should have done that first.  IMO.

I would never go on JJ for a California car case. The laws in California are just so different and JJ doesn't care. Same with a rental case. If you are the party that benefits from a law specific to your jurisdiction, don't go on this show. JJ will not care and that sucks because I do think the defendant here was very wrong. There was proof she knew the car needed repairs before selling it, she did not mention that (and lied outright in that facebook message) to the buyer and did not meet the requirements of California law before selling the car. I'm sure the plaintiff actually can find a part for this car with a bit of effort, but in California, it's not supposed to be her responsibility and she can't even sell the car now and recoup any of her loss because she can't smog and register the thing. That sucks.

[SRTouch]

14 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

These intellectually low functioning people on disability can't get jobs but have enough smarts to figure out how to open accounts in other people's names/SSN? A guy in jail, who apparently has the drive to earn his keep sweeping the place giving him free rent, meals and healthcare, still collects SDI while doing his sentence?!? Talk about a F'd up system.

rant rant ... Ah, now I'm about to start ranting and questioning the gigantic, cumbersome, bureaucracy that runs the welfare, food stamps, disability, child protective services etc. The system sounds like a good idea in theory, there may be a lot of good people trying to do good, but many times it just fails those it should be helping. I have limited experience, and that second hand, but why in the world does it take so long to get approved for disability. My friend and ex-tenant has been in a wheelchair for over a year, with doctor's orders to not put any weight on his ankles. My friend has had multiple surgeries, needs more surgery, can't stand, can't stay in a wheelchair for longer than a couple hours at a time, multiple doctors and specialists saying he can't work... and yet 8 months after first applying still hasn't received a penny in disability. Oh no, despite his doctors saying his case should be streamlined, despite hiring an attorney who will paid when the back pay finally arrives, he's been denied multiple times and had to appeal. While all this has been going on, his limited savings are gone, and friends and family are supporting him. Well, Byrd and the rest of us are giving him some support, but even that is convoluted. Every couple months he has to reapply and jump through hoops for food stamps or housing or something. This week's example: despite having put in a change of address months ago, the latest temporary case worker handling his case sent out a letter to his old address (my address) demanding a letter from his doctor or food stamps will be terminated. Partially my fault, since I see him a couple times a month I held onto the mis-sent mail until my next visit. Holy cow, by the time I gave him the letter, he had just two days to get a letter from the doctor to the case worker. Once the food stamps end, it turns into a major pain to be reinstated, so luckily my visit was Tuesday instead of Friday, as he was able to get the doctor to fax a copy of a letter he had already sent a different bureaucrat a couple months ago when there was a question of low cost handicap housing. Getting approval for disability is a nightmare, and I just don't understand how so many of the court TV litigants manage it. I guess, as in this case, government assistance has become a family tradition, so people grow up gaming the system. With the system we have, I'm not so sure the litigant in jail on disability was trying to scam anyone. He may have just been trying to avoid having to go through the whole application nightmare again. Off the top of my head I can think of a couple ways the system could work, I just don't know how it is set up, and am not ready to call him a scammer after this week. In this area, he may be the expert while I'm the clueless one.

14 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

I wish the (US)government and employers could see that everyone would benefit if money were spent on programs for education, skills training, better mental healthcare, group homes for mentally challenged, long term and short term housing for our vets, our elderly, our homeless. Instead we spend billions on programs that perpetuate and exacerbate these issues. People need to feel valued and have dignity in their lives. Paying them a pittance to live below the poverty line and making them reliant on the government for their very existence offers no value or dignity.

ITA, our current system is broken... it's just that it may take a miracle worker to fix it - make that multiple miracle workers.

[AuntiePam]

Taking my personal experience with SSA disability to Small Talk.

[Christina]

Realized it should be in the other thread

Edited January 20, 2017 by Christina

[califred]

no JJ in Hawaii today.  Im guessing no one else got any either. I refuse to give ratings to the inauguration so I've been listening to Podcasts all day.

 

the daughter in yesterday's case definitely seemed mentally impaired and I think JJ knew it too bc she only harped on dads disability not hers.  I doubt between the three of them they had 100 iq points 

[lovesnark]

The inauguration coverage was over here and we did get a new JJ. It started out as a typical landlord suing tenants for back rent case but got interesting. Landlord was a 79 year old man who had been very nice to the tenants and let them slide on rent for months. He brought an asshole as his witness who JJ called out for being smug before he opened his mouth. Smug asshole wants to buy the building from elderly man without a lawyer or contract and considered $800 a down payment. JJ kindly let the old guy know that he needed a lawyer ASAP to handle the sale of the building. I sure hope he called a real estate attorney the minute he got home. JJ awarded him all the back rent and ragged the tenant pretty well for saying she was fearful of the old guy when he came to talk to her about all the rent she owed him. She claimed he was harassing her because he knocked on the door and then knocked on the slider. She was so terrified of this kindly old man that she locked herself in the bedroom when he knocked on the doors.

Next case was another landlord suing for back rent and damages. Tenant trashed the house and was pissed when landlord sued her for damages because she had a 'friend' that could fix the holes in the walls, hang new doors, etc and landlord had the nerve to want to hire someone who knew what they were doing. Tenant claimed the trashed house was normal wear and tear. Tenant also told JJ that she only owed rent for one week in October because she moved out on the 7th. JJ let her know that she owed for the entire month and awarded landlord the whole $5k. Tenant was a real entitled bitch and another one that needed to spend some dough on a bra to  hold those watermelons up.

My guess on the disability family is that the daughter has a learning disability and mom jumped all over that when the kid was in school and started collecting disability for the daughter. When the daughter turned 18, disability was already established and in motion and she continues to get it.