# Favorite cases on shows like "The People's Court" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240 "2012-06-25T13:15:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/21 "2012-06-27T20:32:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > This could actually have been a brilliant scam, with the defendant an innocent _x_th party. > > Think about it: All you’d need would be her account number and just _one_ of her checks. > > Steal other people’s tax returns out of their mailboxes, sign them “Pay to the order of Ms. X,” and deposit them into her account over a period of days and at different branches of the bank so that no one twigs to what you’re doing. > > Do this during the period between bank statements. When that month is almost up, take the check you stole from her (chances are she’ll never know it’s missing, especially if you rip it out of the back of her checkbook), make it out to yourself, and cash it at her bank for the full amount you deposited. The money should still be in her account, so they won’t question the sum. > > Ms. X won’t have the slightest idea of what’s going on until she gets her monthly statement in the mail. Then she’ll probably freak and seek legal help. (Or maybe not; she’ll probably just think the bank made an error and corrected it, since her original sum is still there.) > > Start all over again with a different mark at a different bank. Do this as many times as is necessary until you can retire to Tahiti. (Be prepared to blow town if your case makes the ten o’clock news. But it should take at least a couple of months before anyone really gets wise to you.) > > Just make sure you steal the refund checks from lawyers, politicians, former bosses, and so on. They’re the only ones with refunds large enough to make the scam worth the risk, and they probably weren’t planning on using the money for anything special anyway. > > Also, disguise yourself any time you go near one of the banks for illegal purposes so the surveillance cameras can’t nail you. > > My God! Sounds like something Frank Abagnale would have dreamed up! Sometimes I amaze even myself…! 🆒 Unless the patsy is someone like me who checks his/her bank account at least once a day. This would have been a great scheme in the paper world of 25 years ago. Today, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/22 "2012-06-27T20:57:49Z")
I have a bunch of favorites, but one goes back to the Wapner days. A couple of young men were suing a convenience store for $5000. They had purchased a candy bar, and split it. The problem was, it was covered in maggots. Did they have the candy bar with them? No, they ate it, maggots and all. Did they go to the hospital? No. Did they get violently ill? No, but it was really gross and stuff. Wapner actually found in their favor. He awarded them 50 cents, the cost of the candy bar. There was one Judge Judy that was mind blowing. The litigants were middle aged women. They were hanging out one night, and the defendant’s daughter and plaintiff’s son, both teenagers, took the plaintiff’s car for a joy ride around the plaintiff’s farm. The car flipped over. The defendant’s daughter was killed instantly. The plaintiff was suing for damages to the car. Judge Judy was not pleased. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/23 "2012-06-27T21:41:08Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > There was one Judge Judy that was mind blowing. The litigants were middle aged women. They were hanging out one night, and the defendant’s daughter and plaintiff’s son, both teenagers, took the plaintiff’s car for a joy ride around the plaintiff’s farm. The car flipped over. The defendant’s daughter was killed instantly. The plaintiff was suing for damages to the car. > > Judge Judy was not pleased. Not sure I understand this one. Was the plaintiff’s son the driver? ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/24 "2012-06-27T22:50:01Z")
After Wapner retired from _The People’s Court_, he (and Rusty) briefly had a show on Animal Planet called _Animal Court_. One case that has stayed with me is of a woman suing a roommate (or perhaps it was a petsitter) who had been given the task of watching the plaintiff’s new purebred Persian kitten while the plaintiff was out of town. However, while drinking copious amounts of wine and doing laundry, the petsitter/roommate left the dryer open, kitten crawled in, and then was killed during the dryer cycle (yowsa). Kitty cuteness video was provided as evidence, as was purchase receipts, vet costs, and the anti-anxiety medication the plaintiff was prescribed following this trauma. Normally this sort of thing doesn’t yield results, but Wapner was visibly furious (well, in his subdued Wapner way). When he asked the defendant–who admitted she was intoxicated during this time–why she left the dryer open mid-laundry load, she said simply, “To get more wine.” Wapner, incredulously, looked at her and repeated, “To get more _wine_?” with that smile of his that communicated everything Judge Judy would have said out loud. During his decision, he stated among other things it was a beautiful cat and the defendant was beyond negligent of her care. He awarded the plaintiff the entirety of what she was asking, including the anti-anxiety meds (which surprised me), which may have been the $5000 limit…I don’t remember. But man, the video of the kitten, the story that was told, the flat-voiced “to get more wine,” and his “You’re an IDIOT” smile have stayed with me. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/25 "2012-06-28T13:01:38Z")
There was an episode of Judge Joe Brown featuring a stepmom who bought her stepson a necklace that said “Mom” on it (I think. The situation was something like that). It went missing and she blamed his mother. Judge Joe Brown tore into her, telling her how tacky it was to buy the kid something like that and how she had to have done it to get on his biological mother’s nerves. You could tell that the bio mom had been really upset about it and felt totally vindicated by his words. Wish I could find a clip! ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/26 "2012-06-28T13:02:21Z")
I used to love to watch Judge Joe Brown to see him lay his righteous wrath on defendants. “You need to be\* takin’ care of business\*!” It didn’t usually make any difference to the defendant, though. I can see how judges get cynical after a while. I was always amazed how much people would lie if they thought it was even a little in their interest to do so. I remember one case on Judge Judy where a woman was suing another woman for medical bills and pain and suffering resulting from a fight they had. It went something like this: “Your Honor, all I did was say, excuse me, would you please mind moving?” “Did you touch her?” “No, Your Honor, I sez to her, please don’t hit me.” “How did she end up with the fist shaped bruise on her chest?” “Well, I \*might \*have placed my hand, real gentle like, on her while I was asking her real nice not to come in my yard.” Man, at least I know how to lie with a little more aplomb. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/27 "2012-06-28T16:23:04Z")
Wasn’t there a Wapner case where some one was suing over a Billy Ripken 1989 baseball card? For those who don’t know, the original card had him holding a bat with an obscenity written on it. It was withdrawn but quickly became valuable. Anyways, the good judge couldn’t understand why a Billy Ripken baseball card was worth so much more than a Cal Ripken since Cal was the better player. One case I remember watching was one where a car repair place was sued. Essentially Person A hired this place to pick up his car at work, giving them the keys and model and color. The repair guys went there, found a car that matched the description, inserting the key, opened the lock and drove it away. Unfortunately it was the wrong car, it just so happened the keys were identical. Wapner asked the car repair guys just how many cars have the same key pattern (sounds like a job for Cecil) and he said the manufacturer wouldn’t tell them but it was a very small. IIRC the plaintiff of the wrongly taken was a lawyer (or perhaps I am confusing this with another case). Anyways the plaintiff was also suing for emotional damage and Wapner had to tell the lawyer “no, this is a small claims court…you can’t make that kind of claim here”. You would think a lawyer would know what small claims court would allow. ---
**Author:** ![imbondz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8baadc/32.png) [@imbondz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imbondz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/28 "2013-01-05T00:12:13Z")
Ok does anyone remember the Judge Wapner episode where this black woman was suing for $35.00? And she had a thick accent from like Africa or somewhere? She says, ‘I WANT MY $35 DOLLARS…NOW!’. lol. me and a friend back in the day both saw the episode and we still to this day say that, cuz it was so weird. cuz her accent made it sound like this - ‘I VANT MY SERTY FIVE DOLL HAIRS…NOW’. so of course that’s been a running joke for years. weird I know, but if anyone remembers, please respond. or better yet, I sooooo want to see that episode again. thanks! Mark ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/29 "2013-01-05T02:56:41Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > There was one Judge Judy that was mind blowing. The litigants were middle aged women. They were hanging out one night, and the defendant’s daughter and plaintiff’s son, both teenagers, took the plaintiff’s car for a joy ride around the plaintiff’s farm. The car flipped over. The defendant’s daughter was killed instantly. The plaintiff was suing for damages to the car. > > Judge Judy was not pleased. > [@Asimovian](#): > > Not sure I understand this one. Was the plaintiff’s son the driver? Either I saw one that’s remarkably similar or the defendant also has a son and he was driving at the time of the crash. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/30 "2013-01-05T04:10:44Z")
_"But he’s not Judge Judy and executioner!_ - Constable Butterman, _Hot Fuzz_ ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/31 "2013-01-06T01:24:53Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > _"But he’s not Judge Judy and executioner!_ > > - Constable Butterman, _Hot Fuzz_ Simpsons did it! Simpsons did it! “Who made you Judge Judy and executioner?” - Homer Simpson, _Three Gays of the Condo_ (4 years before _Hot Fuzz_) Anyway, one thing from Judge Judy that really stuck in my head for a long time was some issue some former roommates or something had, piddly little things, but when they returned from commercial the voice over guy said something like “So and so is suing whatserface because she says whatserface ate her ice cream” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/32 "2013-01-06T01:45:39Z")
There was a case where someone was suing a grocery store clerk, because she gave him the wrong change - he had given her 2 twenties to pay for $15 of groceries (or something like that), and she had given him $5 back. The mistake had been fixed within minutes, but the plaintiff had sued more than once (as I recall, the judge (Wapner?) tossed the case and told him to grow up). ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/33 "2013-01-06T03:52:27Z")
I don’t remember the judge but there was a case where a mother and daughter were suing the daughter’s boyfriend. Apparently he lived with them and refused to pay the rent they had previously agreed upon. Anyway, during the course of the discussions it came to light that the 22 year old boyfriend had gotten the 16 year old girl pregnant and they had a baby. The judge clarified several times “You’re 22?! She’s 16?! You have a baby?!” and then ordered the kid held while they called the cops about a statutory rape charge. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/34 "2013-01-06T08:33:59Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Don’t these shows have some sort of disclaimer stating that both sides have agreed to drop the actual court case and instead abide by the decision of the TV judge? > > I wonder if this defendant figured she was going to lose the case anyway and thought she was insulating herself from further legal trouble by signing the agreement… If so, that’s a brilliant kind of stupid. They agree to binding arbitration on the particular case. This doesn’t (and can’t) extend to potential cases brought by other plaintiffs, nor to criminal charges. So no, it’s not a brilliant kind of stupid - it’s a really stupid kind of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/35 "2013-01-06T10:42:15Z")
A case between two dog breeders on “People’s Court” with Wapner. Unfortunately, one of them (the plantiff, I think) decided to use their terminology during the case and caught Wapner completely off-guard when she used the word “bitch” for the female dog. She apologized, but stated that was the term they used in breeding despite how society uses it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/36 "2013-01-06T18:54:56Z")
A cop was cited by a woman he pulled over and ticketed, claiming he was “insulting and sexist.” He took her to Judy Judy, suing for defamation. He played a tape of their encounter, showing him to be polite and professional. The look on the woman’s face was priceless. Woman: Isn’t he supposed to tell me he’s taping us? Judge Judy: NO! Woman was found guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/37 "2013-01-06T23:00:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A cop was cited by a woman he pulled over and ticketed, claiming he was “insulting and sexist.” He took her to Judy Judy, suing for defamation. He played a tape of their encounter, showing him to be polite and professional. The look on the woman’s face was priceless. > > Woman: Isn’t he supposed to tell me he’s taping us? > Judge Judy: NO! > > Woman was found guilty. You’d think in this age of Police Video shows that people would be aware of dash cams and other recording devices on cops. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/38 "2013-01-06T23:14:09Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > You would think a lawyer would know what small claims court would allow. Speaking of lawyers, the most memorable court scene I remember on TV was on the People’s Court when the plaintiff brought in his lawyer – to small claims court. Wapner really chewed the lawyer out telling him that he should have known that representation was not allowed in small claims court. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/39 "2013-01-06T23:33:04Z")
The two neighbors arguing about responsibility for a cracked window glass, caused by a felled tree. The two families looked so stereotyped. The plaintiff was somewhat Jewish-looking, very stern, and spoke in a curt, business-like manner. The defendant and his sons looked like laid-back suburban WASPs. The judge ruled for the plaintiff but suggested the two family heads shake hands, go home and have a beer together. When the reporter asked the defendant about this, he said “I think I’ll have a beer.” The plaintiff, in response to the same query, said “I don’t drink beer and he’s not nice.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240/40 "2013-01-06T23:47:19Z")
It wasn’t the most entertaining Judge Judy ever, but someone I went to high school with was dragged onto the show as a defendant. It seems Jay didn’t want to pay his rent and his landlord had a problem with that. His excuse for non-payment? “I was really tired that day.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-cases-on-shows-like-the-peoples-court/626240.md?page=3)