Judge Faith - Toilet Tantrums (Season 1: Episode #60) - YouTube

NARRATOR: Today on Judge Faith...

Are they bad tenants,

or is he a bad landlord?

You're telling me, that they're living in this home

and as retaliation

mess with their toilet.

Yes, they have... They have a problem with toilets.

MARK: He doesn't need to scream at me.

He's screaming at me at the top of the lungs,

"Mark, I want my deposit back."

"Mark, I want my deposit back." Not true, sir.

Not true. That's not true. MARK: He doesn't understand how this works.

NARRATOR: Some accidental burns left on the flooring

seems to get him all fired up.

One of previous tenants did. He was smoking marijuana

on my porch almost every day with his buddies.

And right now, he's trying to

embezzle some money out of this court

to buy some more marijuana.

Show me, proof.

Well, I think I've done the job of doing that.

Actually, sir, that's my decision to make.

And I'm telling you right now, you haven't.

NARRATOR: Faith Jenkins.

Her distinguished legal career began when she graduated first

in her law school class.

She quickly became a tough New York City Prosecutor.

And then, a pre-eminent legal analyst on Cable News.

And now, she's the judge in her own court room.

Her cases are real. And her rulings are final.

She is Judge Faith.

Plaintiffs Gordon Alatorre and Erin Scanlon

are suing their former landlord,

who they claim to be dishonest

for the return of their withheld security deposit.

Defendant Mark Biskeborn says,

the plaintiffs were bad tenants.

And when they decided to move out,

they left the place a mess.

He's countersuing for damages and emotional stress.

BARBARA: Remain seated and come to order.

Court is now in session.

The Honorable Judge Faith Jenkins presiding.

Judge, we have Alatorre-Scanlon v. Biskeborn.

Thank you, Barbara. Mmm-hmm.

Gordon Alatorre?

Yes. You and Erin Scanlon

are suing your former landlord, Mark Biskeborn?

GORDON: That is correct, Your Honor.

JUDGE FAITH: For $5,100.

The amount you paid in security deposits

that you say he is keeping unlawfully?

That is correct, Your Honor. And you are countersuing, sir

for $15,000.

For floor tile repair,

hardwood floor repair,

and emotional distress? Yes, Your Honor.

Let's start with you, Mr. Alatorre.

Now, you lived in a three bedroom,

two bathroom home for about two years?

Yeah, it was about two years and a little bit more.

Upon moving in the place

it wasn't nothing to write home about.

We were looking for a place.

We're trying to find something desperately.

All of us didn't have...

We're kind of, moving out of our leases at the time...

Well, actually his girlfriend...

Uh, don't interrupt, sir, while he's speaking. Go ahead.

Uh, at that time,

there was broken tiles throughout the house,

lot of the doors didn't close properly.

Couldn't lock some of the doors. JUDGE FAITH: When you say...

Who moved in, in July of 2012,

when you first moved into the home?

Uh, there was myself, um...

the other plaintiff that is not here today,

um, and then two other people.

Okay, so, there were four of you living in a three bedroom home.

There was four of us, yes.

Okay, and how much did you pay in security deposits?

We paid $4,000.

So, upon moving in, we did an initial checklist of the house,

kind of went through everything that was

faulty throughout the house.

Some areas didn't have blinds on the windows.

Some of the screens were a little bit decrepit.

But you chose to stay there. Yeah.

Because you also lived there for a year,

and then you re-signed a lease. Correct?

Well, this was when we first moved in. Right.

And then we decided to stay there even longer

just because... I don't like to move.

Mr. Biskeborn, how long have you been a landlord?

Twenty-one years.

Okay, and you've been leasing this house for 21 years to various tenants?

Uh, pretty much. So, yes.

So, how do we get up to $5,100 security deposit?

You initially paid $4,000.

When did you pay more and why?

So, in the first year, one of our other roommates

um, decided to... Was gonna watch a dog of his friend's.

Um, at that point they required us to pay a $500 pet deposit.

Which we did.

JUDGE FAITH: Okay, so that's $4,500. Yeah, so that's $4,500.

Upon re-signing the lease in August of 2013...

I just wanna understand, at that point, did you pay

an additional $600 security deposit?

Yes, we did. So, now the total is $5,100?

Yes. Okay.

When you move out,

how much of your security deposit did he return to you?

None. Okay, so you kept all of $5,100?

That's correct, Your Honor.

Okay, did you do a walk through with him?

No, they refused to do it with us.

That's false. Okay, so, tell me, sir.

So, you kept all $5,100 of their security deposit.

Why? Well, there is many reasons.

One is, Gordon especially, started

doing woodworking in the dining room,

and that caused a lot of saw dust all throughout the house.

Which later required

all of the ceilings

and walls be cleaned of all of the dust,

the sawdust that he was...

Were you doing woodwork in the house?

Yeah. That's correct, Your Honor.

But we completely cleaned the house upon moving out.

We spent three days, repainting

and cleaning. Deep cleaning.

Do you have a list of the damages

that you say the plaintiff Yes.

caused in the home?

The final checklist, May I see that, please?

after they moved out.

How were they as tenants before they moved out?

They paid the rent on time every month?

(STUTTERS) Well, when the tenants, uh...

First began...

Did they miss any rent payments, sir?

Yes, they did. No, we didn't.

Okay, well, you're not suing for back rent.

Nope. They paid the rent on time?

GORDON: Yep.

Uh, no. They failed several times in paying...

Okay, sir, do they owe you for back rent?

And I have documentation on this even though he's lying about this.

Mr. Biskeborn? Yes?

Do they owe you for back rent?

(STUTTERS) They... After they had...

Bounced checks and failed to pay the rent,

they did come up with the money.

So the answer is no, they don't owe you for back rent.

Correct. Okay, go ahead.

So, what were the other issues with their tenancy?

Well, like I said, he was doing woodworking shifts

in there without any permission from me,

and it was causing a lot of damage in terms of the...

You guys knew I was doing woodworking stuff.

You absolutely knew. You never raised that as an issue.

GORDON: You never raised an issue with us.

You saw us for six months, I was doing that work.

As you can see from the final checklist,

there's a lot of damage.

It's all itemized. Okay, so, you're telling me

this final checklist is 10 pages.

Have you seen this? Yes, I have.

So, you have... MARK: And that was delivered to him.

Sir, I'm speaking.

You have provided me with a 10 page

checklist of damages,

you say they caused

to your home. Yes, Your Honor.

And it's your testimony that everything in this 10 pages

is over and beyond MARK: Yes, Your Honor.

ordinary wear and tear

for tenants who lived in your home, Yes.

for over two years. That's your testimony.

Okay, everything on this checklist.Yes.

That's what you're telling me. Okay. That's correct.

Your Honor, that's not true. Hold on a second.

I don't wanna be interrupted right now.

NARRATOR: Coming up onJudge Faith...

Some bad plumbing isn't the worst of their problems.

You're telling me,

that they're living in this home and as retaliation,

mess with their toilet.

Yes, they have. They have a problem with toilets.

NARRATOR: And later...

Did you return any of their security deposit?

No, I did not. JUDGE FAITH: Okay.

So, you have to show me

$5,100 worth of damages.

So far, we're not there.

NARRATOR: Plaintiffs Erin Scanlon and Gordon Alatorre

are suing their former landlord who they claim

dishonestly withheld their security deposit.

Defendant Mark Biskeborn says,

that when the plaintiffs moved out,

they left the place a mess.

He's countersuing for repairs to the damages.

You have photos Yes, I do, Your Honor.

from when you vacated the home. Yes, we do.

May I see those, please. Absolutely.

Okay, you took this photo

when you vacated the home.

GORDON: That was the day before we were supposed to leave the house.

JUDGE FAITH: Okay. Uh, we spent three days

cleaning the entire house, repainting,

scrubbing, cleaning everything.

Every inch of that place. What room is this?

That is the living room, Your Honor.

And is that what the living room looked like, sir?

GORDON: Yes, it... Mr. Biskeborn, I'm asking you.

JUDGE FAITH: Is that what the living room looked like?

Well, there's a lot of things that are not in the photo.

For example, the venetian blinds are broken.

You cannot use the wands... GORDON: That's incorrect.

You say, you had to repaint this room. Correct?

Yes, absolutely.

Okay, what are the issues with the paint. Because...

Well, there's lots of dust and sawdust

in the pictures you can't see. There is no dust, Your Honor.

We painted, so it's clean. JUDGE FAITH: Okay, next photo.

What's this a photo of? GORDON: That is the master bathroom.

Okay. Which I spent about two hours cleaning personally myself.

JUDGE FAITH: It looks pretty clean to me.

Listen, you're keeping...

$5,100, every cent of their security deposit.

So, when you come in to court

you have to prove to me That's not true. That's not true.

that you're keeping... It is true, sir.

Did you return any of their security deposit?

Well, there's another factor in this.

Did you return any of their security deposit? MARK: No, that's correct.

No, I did not. JUDGE FAITH: Okay.

So, you have to show me

$5,100 worth of damages.

So far, we're not there.

Let's go to the next photo. MARK: It's in the photos.

It's in the photos that I sent to you.

Who took this photo? I did, Your Honor.

Wait and that's of the kitchen? GORDON: That's the kitchen.

That's the oven that we cleaned and in his description

of what charges there were, he said the oven was filthy,

and that he had to re-clean it himself.

Upon moving in on our initial checklist the oven was filthy.

Why did you charge them for cleaning the stove?

It's on your checklist.

Well, in my photos you can see that there's grease

on both sides of the oven,

dripping down on both sides. If you move the...

On the inside. If you move the oven out.

Yes. On both sides of it.

Do you think that's beyond

ordinary wear and tear to have grease in an oven.

I'm just looking at this 10 page checklist,

and I'm looking at when they moved in,

they wrote "The oven was dirty and greasy."

This is when they moved in.

And then, I'm looking at your checklist.

When they moved out, you're charging them because

and this is what you say,

"The stove is worn out and covered in grease."

That's correct.

If you could look at it from the top. It's not correct, sir.

I've looked at your photos. It's not correct.

You're charging them $36 to deep clean the stove.

You're charging them,

to repaint every room in the house.

You're charging them for the paint,

the spackle, the labor...

In the itemized checklist, Mark also provided receipts

um, to detail all of these expenses.

He provided two receipts for professional painting services

one in the amount of $520,

and one in the amount of $550.

I called both of those painting services.

One of them goes direct to voicemail and does not identify itself

as a painting business. (AUDIENCE GASPS)

The other I actually spoke with (BLEEP) who owns the business,

and he said he has done no work at 732 (BLEEP) avenue.

He does not know the Biskeborn name. This is false.

This is false.

Well, technically, ma'am, that's hearsay.

And so, I can't really consider it.

If you spoke to someone... If you look also

at the receipts. He purchased painting supplies,

trays, brushes, everything like that.

Yet he hired a professional service MARK: It's in the...

to come out. Which provides that for him. Your, Honor...

GORDON: You do not have to buy that material for yourself.

The professional painters provide that material for you. Yeah.

MARK: This is irrelevant. You do not have to pay for it.

ERIN: He hired two... He's charging us,

and he's putting that in the amount that we owe him,

and he's taking that out of our deposits.

JUDGE FAITH: Okay, hold on a second. This is completely irrelevant.

They repainted

every room in the house before they moved out. Yes or no?

No. Absolutely not. In fact... JUDGE FAITH: Okay.

(LAUGHS)

They did a horrible job at painting... Whatever they did.

And at one point, before they moved out

I had a conversation with them.

I could've gone to a corporate painting company

for professionals and the cost would have been Mark, there are two receipts.

over $10,000. Mark, there are two receipts.

JUDGE FAITH: Ma'am, Ms. Scanlon.

Don't speak to him, please. ERIN: Okay.

You speak to me if there's an issue

that you wanna address with the court. ERIN: If, if...

But I want you to wait a second.

NARRATOR: Coming up onJudge Faith...

He's upset that they burned his floor.

He was smoking marijuana on my porch,

and right now, he's trying to embezzle

some money out of this court

to buy some more marijuana.

NARRATOR: Plaintiffs Erin Scanlon and Gordon Alatorre

are suing their former landlord for their security deposit.

Defendant Mark Biskeborn says that because of damages he doesn't owe anything.

I'm looking at this 10 page checklist that you have provided to me

and even if I, sir, accept

that these tenants are responsible

for everything you have listed here which includes loose screws,

and a towel rack in the bathroom...

Yeah, they pulled... It also includes... Don't interrupt me.

It also includes...

You charged them $325 to mop the floors in the home.

It also includes a charge for that.

That's... That's... $325, that's what it costs to mop floors?

That's not just for mopping,

I had a professional cleaner come in, a lady come in,

a cleaning lady come in...

Sir, sir, I'm telling you this is your checklist that you provided to me.

Uh-huh. JUDGE FAITH: You charged them

$325 to mop and scrub the floors. MARK: That's...

Which we already did ourselves. JUDGE FAITH: I'm telling you

that's ridiculous. MARK: Well, in the photos that I have...

(CROWD APPLAUDS)

JUDGE FAITH: You also charged them for...

"The toilet seat was no longer..."

These are your words, not mine.

It was, "No longer tightly attached to the toilet."

You provide me with 10 pages here,

of damages you say they caused,

outside of normal wear and tear.

That's correct. Don't you think if someone used a toilet for two years,

there may be a couple of loose screws?

Why should they have to pay for that?

Why are you charging them for that?

MARK: I've been doing this for 20 years, and I've never seen

a toilet be jammed up with clothes hangers

in the hall... It's because your toilets suck.

...closet, for example. And they old and they broke.

So, we tried to fix them without you coming out. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay, let's get to the next issue, because here,

even though you provided me with this checklist,

the total amount on your 10-page statement of damages

you say they caused is $2,970. MARK: That's correct.

Why haven't you returned the remainder of their security deposit

which is $2,130? MARK: Because...

there was a $1,045 and three cents water bill,

mainly because they had been messing up

with the toilet in the hall,

ever since they've been there.

And they've called me several times to go in and fix it,

I go in and fix it, and they mess it up again.

It's retaliation because he kept messing up the house. I was not.

Let me see, let me see the water...

Are you gonna show me the water bill,

or am I just gonna skip that part of the case altogether?

The water bill? Yes. JUDGE FAITH: Yes.

$1,000 water bill? MARK: Yes.

Which is in their name.

From what month and year?

Well, according to the lease agreement,

the tenants are supposed to pay

pro rata, the water bill, as they had been,

which was coming to about $50 a month.

What was the average cost of the water bill that you were paying every month?

$54. And who was this bill going to?

JUDGE FAITH: It was going to you, Mr. Biskeborn?

It was pro rata, because there's only one water meter on the house.

So, who did they share a water meter with? With me,

in a different house. JUDGE FAITH: Okay.

So, you would get the water bill

and you would tell them how much they were supposed to pay every month?

We pro rata, it's per person. JUDGE FAITH: Okay.

One month, you get a bill, and it's over $1,000? It's over $1,000.

Why did the water bill go from $55 to $1,000?

What was the cause of the problem? (STAMMERING) Because...

They are always messing with the toilet,

especially in the hallway. JUDGE FAITH: Sir, what proof do you have of that?

You're telling me that they're living in this home

and as retaliation...

Right. Their retaliation is to mess with their toilet?

Yes, they have a problem with toilets.

So, we can't use the toilet?

I mean, everyone's gotta use the bathroom. Why would we do that?

Let's get to the floors. What's the issue with the floors?

Initial move-in, there were four tiles... Five.

Five tiles cracked.

By the time they moved out, there were more than 20.

Not correct, Your Honor. Not correct.

I heard him go into tantrums, like he often does...

What is this a photo of?

It's way beyond wear and tear.

That's probably some marijuana that burned a hole in my...

GORDON: That was from a hookah. It's tobacco and coal.

Coal burned on the ground... JUDGE FAITH: So, you burned these holes on the floor?

One of the... MARK: He was smoking marijuana on my porch

almost every day with his buddies,

and right now, he's trying to embezzle some money out of this court,

to buy some more marijuana.

(CROWD LAUGHS)

His logic is all messed up because he smokes too much marijuana.

NARRATOR: Now, Judge Faith rules...

What is that on the floor? It's from a hookah.

So, it's a tobacco thing. They put hot coals on the top.

So, yeah, that did happen in the bedroom

where it did fall into the linoleum floor,

and it did burn some holes into it.

Okay, next photo.

Okay, and what is this a photo of?

GORDON: That's the living room just from a different angle

looking in from the dining room.

Before you moved out?

Yes, this was July 31st. JUDGE FAITH: Okay.

Okay show me... You have a counter-claim for $15,000,

$5,000 for floor-tile repair. Flooring.

Show me proof that the floor cost $5,000

to repair the tiles on the floor.

Um, well, the first time

that they were installed

was about four years ago.

I don't have the receipts for that anymore, because it's been a while.

But I did contact professional, um...

Flooring people to do both, to fix the...

I know you're not about to hand me a little piece of paper

with some writing on it as your proof,

that it's $5,000 to repair a tile floor.

That's the best evidence you have?

Oh, well, there are... It depends on the contractors, it'll go from...

Oh, so you want me to call them?

No, I've already done that. It's right here.

I've been looking up... See, the house has already been occupied now.

JUDGE FAITH: So, someone else is living there?

You haven't repaired the tile floor?

Correct. And you have no proof that it's going to cost $5,000?

Oh, I know it'll cost more than that.

I've contacted several contractors right now...

Okay, so you have no proof.

You're suing for $5,000 for emotional stress. Tell me about that.

Well, he comes to the house every now and then when he has a tantrum fits...

Oh, you mean looking for his $5,000 security deposit?

GORDON: And that's right. He's screaming at me at the top of his lungs,

"Mark, I want my deposit back.

"Mark, I want my deposit back."

Not true, that is not true, Your Honor.

Exactly, he doesn't need to scream at me.

$5,000 is a lot of money.

Well, it's a lot of money for me, too. But, it's not your money!

MARK: What do I do? It's not your money.

It's their money.

And when you come to court... Don't interrupt me.

When you come to court, you have to justify why you're keeping $5,100

of their security deposit.

It's your burden of proof to show that and prove that when you come to court.

And as per the California State of Consumer Affairs...

And then expect people to pay you money back.

I repaired your whole house. I painted, we painted... I did everything.

No, you didn't. GORDON: We spent three days cleaning.

Okay. (POUNDS GAVEL) I've heard enough.

I'm ruling.

Based on the list of damages that you provided to me,

and the fact that those damages

include items that you should not be charging them for,

my verdict in this case is for the plaintiff,

I'm dismissing your counter-claim altogether.

You've already kept $5,100 of their security deposit.

Based on your testimony, there were some damages

there were some burns to the floor.

Based on my analysis of the case,

I am ordering you to pay them back $4,500,

verdict for the plaintiff. (POUNDS GAVEL)

NARRATOR: If you, or someone you know, has a dispute,

don't take the law into your own hands.

Let Judge Faith rule on it for you.

To submit your case, go to judgefaith.com and tell us your story.

See you in court.