The Costa Rica Revelation | We The People with Judge Lauren Lake

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Good day everyone.

[00:00:01]I was born and raised in Detroit.

[00:00:03][music] Growing up there, I saw people like me running things. This is a courtroom, not a circus. So, we going to calm him down. I'm sorry.

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[00:00:30]>> We are the people.

[00:00:35]Alyssa Eason claims her ex-fiancé bailed on their trip to Costa Rica and stuck her with the bill. All rise. Vincent Tanner says he needed time alone to think after an argument over having kids [music] and told the plaintiff to enjoy Costa Rica without him.

[00:00:54]>> Court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Lauren Lake presiding.

[00:00:58]You may be seated.

[00:00:59]>> Hello, Your Honor. Good day everyone.

[00:01:02]This is the case of Eason versus Tanner.

[00:01:04]Miss Eason, you are suing Mr. Tanner for $560.

[00:01:09]You say you are owed for travel costs.

[00:01:11]Is that correct?

[00:01:12]>> That is correct, Your Honor.

[00:01:12]>> Mr. Tanner, you say you weren't even on the trip. That's right, Your Honor. I was not on the trip and I don't believe I owe her money for it.

[00:01:20]>> All right. All right. I'll start with you, plaintiff, Miss Eason. So, what kind of trip was this and what's your relationship to Mr. Tanner? Yes, Your Honor. So, Vincent Tanner is my ex-fiancé. We were supposed to go on this trip to Costa Rica together.

[00:01:32]>> When you guys were fiancés?

[00:01:35]>> Yes, Your Honor.

[00:01:35]>> Okay. How long did you date? We dated for over 2 years.

[00:01:41]Where did you meet? We met through friends at a barbecue.

[00:01:44]>> Oh, an actual old-school introduction.

[00:01:47]>> Yes.

[00:01:48]>> Usually it always is online, on the apps. That was refreshing. So, you met at the barbecue. You dated for 2 years and then you asked her to marry you.

[00:01:59]Yes, your honor. So, after 2 years of us dating, I had proposed to Alyssa. Just felt like the right decision at the time. And we were planning to get married at the time, yeah. Okay, so how did you propose?

[00:02:11]Um we have a diner we usually go to, so it was a spot kind of like that, and then I asked her to marry me in the parking lot. Oh, so fun. Yeah. Yeah. Our anniversary, your honor. Okay, well then that made it a little more romantic.

[00:02:26]>> to be fair >> was the anniversary of you guys dating.

[00:02:29]Yes. And it was a diner that you loved.

[00:02:31]>> Yes, your honor. And then so, parking lot. I mean, we could have done something, but okay. I'll take it. I'll take it. Young couple, and you said yes.

[00:02:42]I did. And what happened? How do we get to the point that we're on the opposite sides of the aisle, and we ain't even get married?

[00:02:49]>> [gasps] >> So, your honor, we were talking about our engagement, plans for the future.

[00:02:55]I've always wanted a big family and a big house. I I've always wanted kids, and I told Vincent that one day, and shot it down immediately. He said it was unreasonable. But we have always been going out, doing things he wants. He wants to go on a hike, we go on a hike.

[00:03:11]He wants to go on a week-long trip, we go on a week-long trip. And this was something that I've always really wanted, so I really I stood my ground. I want kids.

[00:03:19]This seemed to really kind of put a damper in our relationship, so that's when I decided, "Hey, let's go to Costa Rica just get our minds off of the the argument." Oh, I thought you were going to say, "And that's when I realized it wasn't going to work out." You decided, "Guess what? He may not want kids, but we go to Costa Rica, I can change his mind." Mhm. Or make a kid.

[00:03:42]>> what it seemed like, your honor, yeah.

[00:03:44]All right. So, when she comes up with this idea and says, "You know what?

[00:03:47]Let's go to Costa Rica. We need to get away." Did you agree?

[00:03:50]At first, I did agree. Yes. If you if you allow me your honor I'd like to provide some details to the story as well.

[00:03:57]She had brought up wanting children in our relationship. I had told her a number of times that I did not want kids and to clarify that comment that she made about it being reasonable. I just said it wasn't economically like I don't think we could support children right now. I didn't want to bring children into the world right now. We're younger. I had a number of reasons for not wanting to have kids. And then she proposes that we go to Costa Rica. This plan sort of snowballs. She buys everything. I agreed to it but things were moving very quickly and there were a number of other events that were leading up to this like she had kept talking about children and then this this was almost like a honeymoon for us.

[00:04:37]We weren't even married yet.

[00:04:38]>> I know. I'm like what and we already at the kids part but I guess you kind of should have had this conversation before you even asked her to marry. I mean that's the kind of thing you that should be on the list of questions you need to ask before you even get engaged. Don't you agree Chance?

[00:04:53]>> Absolutely. There might be some truth to that your honor sure. Okay, so but you haven't gotten that far and look I can relate to that in the sense.

[00:05:01]When you do date someone and this is one of the problems too.

[00:05:05]I have noticed and even in my own experience as a young person. When you date somebody for a certain amount of time, right? They're not an ex-murderer.

[00:05:13]You can stand the way they chew. You know you can get along with their mother or their parents good enough like if if there's no huge red flags, everybody starts pressuring you. What's the question everybody asks you? When you're getting married?

[00:05:27]>> When are you going to get married? And it does begin to snowball and for young people I do think it's something that we as a society haven't really given our young people like the parameters and the boundaries to be able to say hold on.

[00:05:42]We're just dating, right? It doesn't have to turn into all of this right now.

[00:05:47]We need to get to know some things about each other because it sounds like to me when you asked her, you didn't get a lot of push back from your families. It was like great news, right? But he literally asked you to marry him, but y'all don't know whether or not you guys want to have some kids. You don't even know if you agree on that.

[00:06:04]All right, I digress. That That That was my soapbox.

[00:06:08]>> [snorts] >> Coming up. I suggested to her that she go on the trip by herself since I knew it was something that she really wanted to do. But this is your fiance. Now you're sending her to Costa Rica by herself?

[00:06:19]>> By herself. Thank you. If you'll be in the Los Angeles area and want to bring your case to court, call 1-888-552-6878.

[00:06:34]You're watching Emmy-nominated We the People with Judge Lauren Lake.

[00:06:38]We're back with a dispute between Alyssa Easton and Vincent Tanner over a Costa Rica vacation catastrophe.

[00:06:46]So, take me to these expenses. You decide He says yes, let's go to Costa Rica. What do you do, Ms. Easton?

[00:06:52]>> Yes, Your Honor. So, I immediately start planning for Costa Rica. I do book the hotel and the flight. I receive >> it on what? A credit card? Yes.

[00:07:03]>> Whose credit card?

[00:07:04]>> My credit card.

[00:07:05]>> All right, and you both have submitted your evidence to the court. Yes. And so, plaintiff, I see your evidence here.

[00:07:13]And you tell him, "Just paid for the hotel and for the flights." Yes, Your >> And he says, "Cool. Thanks for taking care of that. I'll make sure to pay you back as soon as possible." That's what you write, Mr. Tanner? Yes, Your Honor.

[00:07:25]>> And you say, "Don't worry about it right now. We'll figure it out later." Yes, Your Honor.

[00:07:29]>> All right. So, Mr. Tanner, where does this go wrong for you where you feel like you don't owe her since you said clearly, "I'll pay you back"? So, Your Honor, a little bit before the trip had happened, I had informed her that I did not want to go on the trip anymore. I suggested to her that she go on the trip to Costa Rica by herself since I knew it was something that she really wanted to do.

[00:07:53]So, I said >> is your fiance.

[00:07:55]Now you're sending her to Costa Rica by herself?

[00:07:59]>> thank you.

[00:08:00]And he mentioned he didn't want to go a week before we were supposed to leave. A week before. Were the tickets non-refundable? No, they were, Your Honor. And actually, I have exhibit A. I have evidence here of a flight her flight that she booked for me that she did refund. So, you got your money back for his part once he said he didn't want to go.

[00:08:21]I canceled his flight, Your Honor, but he had already suggested that I go by myself. I thought it was a little out of character for him.

[00:08:31]>> canceled his flight, what did you get a credit?

[00:08:33]You didn't get a refund, did you? I got credit for it.

[00:08:36]>> a credit.

[00:08:37]>> Yes, Your Honor. All right. And you still hold that credit or you spent the credit? I still hold that credit, Your Honor. All right. And so, what did you do with your ticket? You went on and went? I went.

[00:08:46]>> To Costa Rica by yourself?

[00:08:48]>> Rica by myself.

[00:08:49]>> at home. Yes. Well, he had suggested that I go by myself. He wanted clarity.

[00:08:55]We were on a breather. Whatever, but if that's what it took, I was so in this relationship that if that's what it took for me being gone for a week for us to just clear our heads, then so be it. It was already paid for the hotel. So, I >> you weren't going to get your money back for. Correct. Uh but the flight you could get the credit if you canceled it.

[00:09:17]Yes.

[00:09:17]>> So, you kept your flight and you and you had the hotel.

[00:09:21]>> I still had the hotel. So, you were just like, "Screw it. He don't want to go.

[00:09:24]I'm going anyway." So, you did go. I did go.

[00:09:27]>> By yourself.

[00:09:28]>> By myself. All right. And so, now get me to the point where you think he owes you for I guess $560 is I know y'all didn't go all the way to Costa Rica for $560.

[00:09:40]Right. Well, double that. Yes. Which would have been what? 1120, 1,120.

[00:09:46]That's what it would have been. You went there for two people. That was the total cost of the trip? That was not the total cost. The 560 is just half of the hotel fee. So, I'm just asking him to pay his half of the hotel room. Yes. Cuz I was about to say, "What Where Where'd you get these tickets from?" Cuz I'm trying to go to [laughter] Costa Rica tonight.

[00:10:04]If it was this trip If it was this cheap, let me look through your evidence. You said Okay, so this is the email of the text from Mr. Tanner where you were like, "I think you should go. We need time to think and get some clarity about our relationship." You're like, "Seriously, you're going to tell me this now? We've been planning a vacation for a month. I know, I'm sorry, it's short notice. If you can cancel my flight, we'll figure it out later." So, she did what you asked. She canceled your flight. Yes, she did, Your Honor.

[00:10:31]>> has the credit. But, I want you to know that I do want this to work between us.

[00:10:36]Okay, so you were reassuring. Okay, if that's what you want, maybe the distance will help us.

[00:10:42]And this is the hotel.

[00:10:44]Yes, Your Honor. That's the invoice for it. And how much were the plane tickets?

[00:10:49]The plane tickets were about 300. Each?

[00:10:53]Each.

[00:10:56]Did you bring evidence of you paying for the plane tickets?

[00:10:59]No, I did not, Your Honor.

[00:11:01]If you don't mind, Your Honor, I'd also like to add um at no point in the week before she went to Costa Rica by herself did she ask for this?

[00:11:09]>> birthday. I would like to also add that into evidence.

[00:11:12]>> [laughter] >> Which is the day of the flight. This would have been a good birthday trip for me. I mean, I SHOULD HAVE INVITED YOU, YOUR HONOR. I SHOULD HAVE INVITED YOU.

[00:11:20]HE WAS FUNNY ACTING.

[00:11:22]OKAY, WHILE he was funny acting, I'M STILL MAD ABOUT THIS >> [laughter] >> price to Costa Rica and you decided you don't want to go. Okay, so you got the credit.

[00:11:34]And then, do you guys stay together?

[00:11:36]Does this work? Does this whole plan work? Your Honor, let me tell you.

[00:11:40]>> said ex-fiancé, I guess it didn't.

[00:11:42]>> So, when I got back from Costa Rica, I thought I would surprise him, right? So, I went to his apartment.

[00:11:49]>> Oh Lord. These never end well. I caught him in bed WITH MY FRIEND. WITH MY FRIEND, PAIGE.

[00:11:56]>> OUT OF ORDER.

[00:11:58]THAT'S OUT OF ORDER. Coming [snorts] up, I had mentioned that I wanted to go on a break.

[00:12:02]>> He said he wanted clarity, Your Honor.

[00:12:05]That is not the same thing.

[00:12:06]>> He did say, "I do want this to work with you."

[00:12:10]>> Thank [music] you.

[00:12:10]>> That don't sound like a break that would get you slipping on a banana peel and ending up in the bed with her friend.

[00:12:21]You're watching Emmy-nominated We the People with Judge Lauren Lake.

[00:12:26]We're back with a dispute [music] between Alyssa Eason and Vincent Tanner over a Costa Rica vacation catastrophe.

[00:12:34]Before the trip, before everything, I had mentioned that I wanted to go on a break. As in a break from our relationship.

[00:12:41]>> He said he wanted clarity, Your Honor.

[00:12:44]That is not the same thing.

[00:12:45]>> I WOULD LIKE TO HE DID SAY in the text that he wanted to think about the relationship, but you also said, "And I do want this to work with you."

[00:12:55]>> So, that don't sound like a break that would get you slipping on a banana peel and ending up in the bed with her friend.

[00:13:03]That don't sound like that kind of break. DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THAT TO YOU, SHAWN? THAT DON'T SOUND LIKE that kind of break. SO, SO MR. TANNER, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? How did you get in the bed with her friend? Had you been sleeping with this friend all the while, or did you just >> Honor, I went out to a bar over the weekend when she was in Costa [laughter] Rica.

[00:13:20]>> HOW DO I KNOW THIS? NOW, WAS THE FRIEND THERE?

[00:13:26]THE friend was at the bar, yes.

[00:13:27]>> LET ME >> TELL YOU SOMETHING.

[00:13:28]HONEY, LET ME TELL you something. I do this. You hear me? I do this. Okay? I already knew that. It is always that.

[00:13:36]And then you all end up in the bed.

[00:13:39]There There was relations, yes.

[00:13:40]>> But was that the first time or were you sleeping with this friend even before?

[00:13:44]>> no. This was the first time that her and I had any kind of sexual relations.

[00:13:48]Okay. So, you catch him in the bed with the friend. Yes, your honor.

[00:13:51]>> What do you do when you see them in the bed?

[00:13:53]>> Are you kidding me? I break up with him on the spot. I mean, who does that? He was never interested in you to be in a relationship.

[00:13:59]>> I WAS WAITING. I WAS WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT SOME STUFF.

[00:14:02]SOME STUFF GOING DOWN. OKAY, SO YOU BREAK UP WITH HIM ON THE SPOT.

[00:14:05]>> I handled it very maturely. I broke up with him on the spot. You are mature. I love that.

[00:14:10]>> Thank you. Thank you, your honor. Coming up. At the end of the day, you made an agreement to pay her back for the cost of this trip. Yeah, I said we would.

[00:14:19]>> No.

[00:14:25]You're watching Emmy-nominated We the People with Judge Lauren Lake.

[00:14:30]We're back with a dispute between Alyssa Easton and Vincent Tanner [music] over a Costa Rica vacation catastrophe.

[00:14:38]Ms. Easton, you said this is going not going to be for me. You're a liar.

[00:14:41]>> Yeah. And the friend Look, and you obviously broke up with your friend, too. Absolutely. 1,000% your honor. All right. That was the agreement.

[00:14:48]>> said to him, you could at least pay me for this hotel that I still owe. And the crazy thing about it is in this court's opinion, I'm still thinking about this credit.

[00:14:57]BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH IT'S a credit that you have that you can still take a trip on, you still charged the amount on the credit card for the tickets that he told you to cancel, which is interesting to me. You know what, your honor? That is a good argument. However, what I would add to that is that when her and I were discussing the payments, I had actually offered to straight-up pay for my half of the vacation at the time that she booked everything. However, she was telling me that it was fine and that we were going to handle it later, whatever that means.

[00:15:30]>> Well, no, you said that. You You basically said in your text exchange, which I see here, "I'll make sure to pay you back as soon as possible." The bottom line is here there was a bargain for exchange, right? It's there. You made an agreement to reimburse her, and it's actually in writing. I don't need to hear anything else, Mr. Tanner. At the end of the day, you made an agreement to pay her back for the cost of this trip, the cost of the hotel, $1,120, which is here in the receipt, but also the cost of the plane ticket, which was $300 that she still has that charge on her charge. Now, May I answer your question?

[00:16:09]>> No.

[00:16:11]Even though she's not suing you for that $300, which girl, I don't know what you was thinking. But thank goodness for you, I'm here.

[00:16:20]Judge Lake's verdict when We the People returns.

[00:16:29]You're watching Emmy-nominated We the People with Judge Lauren Lake.

[00:16:34]In this court's opinion, you still owe her as well for the $300 for the plane ticket that she can't get refunded back onto her card, especially since you didn't go on the trip, cuz in my opinion, you already had a plan.

[00:16:48]Okay?

[00:16:50]That's not true at all.

[00:16:51]>> is this court's opinion that you not only owe her the $560 that you need to also pay her for the $300, because the truth is I don't know if y'all fly a lot or you don't.

[00:17:04]That ticket that you're holding, that's why I asked you, did they let you change it? Because I don't know if you've all ever had this problem. When you buy a ticket in somebody's name, that credit lives in their name.

[00:17:15]You just can't go and decide I'm going to fly on this ticket. Now, this is a person that flies a lot. I do know this cuz it happens a lot with my son. So, that ticket, that credit that's in his name.

[00:17:28]Am I correct?

[00:17:29]Yes, you >> So, there's nothing you can do with that. Can I add one thing?

[00:17:32]>> No, I'm done. So, it's this court's opinion that you not only owe her the $560 for the hotel, you owe her the $300 for the ticket, which you can take on a vacation. Then, hopefully your new girlfriend got a credit card and she can charge all the stuff on her credit card and you can maybe or maybe not pay her back. Judgment for the plaintiff for $860. Court is adjourned.

[00:17:56]ALL RIGHT.

[00:17:58]>> [applause] >> JUDGE LAKE HAS RULED IN favor [music] of the plaintiff.

[00:18:03]The defendant is ordered to pay $860.

[00:18:07]I have no thoughts for you. I'm done.

[00:18:09]I'm done. You can do whatever you want with Paige. I got my $860 now. And you can just do whatever you want. Live your life. I don't care cuz I'm done.

[00:18:20]I have nothing to add.

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