Holding Property Hostage

追加: 2026-04-29

[00:00:01]These are the plaintiffs, Amelia and Rinaldo. They say they've known the defendant since she was 16 years old.

[00:00:07]And having to take her to court is quite upsetting to say the least. They lived in one of her apartments for a while, accidentally left behind a very expensive set of tire rims and can't seem to get the woman to return them.

[00:00:19]So, here they are. They're suing for $2,250, the amount they're owed.

[00:00:31]This is the defendant, Evelyn Cask. She says the plaintiffs left her apartment in a horrible state. It was disgusting.

[00:00:38]There was urine soap cat litter, old moldy food in the refrigerator. You name it, they made a mess of it. She's happy to return the old cruddy rims, but they need to pay her for the damages first.

[00:00:50]She's accused of holding property hostage.

[00:00:58]The defendant has filed a counter suit for $2,4.76 for apartment damages.

[00:01:04]>> Okay. Amelia and Rinonaldo. Where are you? What are you sitting down? Amelia and Rinaldo, you've asked us not to mention your last names and we'll respect that. You are suing Evelyn Casix, your former landlord, for $2,250 in lost wages and the value of tire rims that you left behind uh at your landlord's place. And you have a counter claim against them for $2,4.76 in damages based on how they left the place. Go ahead. You go first. Tell me what happened.

[00:01:34]>> Um I had moved in 10 years ago. Um >> how did you two know each other?

[00:01:38]>> She used to date my father and I used to babysit her son and we actually had a friendship. So, it's unfortunate that we are here today, but >> I'll say >> this is the way I feel that it had to be because I wasn't getting an answer from her otherwise. Okay.

[00:01:49]>> When we decided to move out, we had given her >> Wait, wait, you moved in 10 years ago?

[00:01:52]Yes. And it's not the two of you then?

[00:01:54]>> No, I was there on my own. I had a roommate with me and the apartment we took it as is and I did all the work. I put $2,000 worth of work into that apartment. New carpeting down, new sheetrock up and >> Well, when you did it, you do know that you can't take the work with you when I wasn't planning on it. I told her, you know, once the time comes that we move out.

[00:02:10]>> Did you have a lease? Yes, we had a lease except for the last year that we were there. We did not renew a lease with her, but we still gave her the benefit of the doubt and stayed until the lease would have been up on October 14th.

[00:02:19]>> Okay. And so what happened?

[00:02:20]>> Well, we had given her a couple months notice. I told her when we were starting to move and she said, "Okay, no problem." You know, just let me know what's going on. And when we moved out, we came to the date of October 14th and she was away um in a different state with her husband. And we were I had told her, I have a couple emails here too showing it that I was leaving a couple of items, you know, behind in the basement. Why?

[00:02:40]>> Because we didn't have enough room to bring them over and that I was going to put them in my mother's storage. It's fine. It was just a couple boxes behind an alcohol.

[00:02:46]>> Yeah, I know. But you can't just notify your landlord that you plan to do that.

[00:02:48]They're not storage. So, but did she okay that or >> She said that the boxes were behind there and that I would go back a week later and pick them up.

[00:02:55]>> She said that it was okay.

[00:02:56]>> Yes. Cuz I had told her that I was going to go back a week later to pick everything up and bring it to my mother's house. But she was out of town, so she wanted us to wait until she got back. her husband came back earlier and we had set it up with him to meet up with him and to give him the keys back and to go back over to the apartment and take the last of the stuff that was there and throw it out, do one last walk through, but we were waiting for them to get back from their vacation or wherever they were, you know, going. And when we got back, when her husband got back, he came to the new place that my husband and I are in and we gave him the keys and I said, "I'll go over with you cuz there's, you know, a bed frame that's in there. We'll take it out and a couple of items of trash. We'll take it out." He said, "No, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." And next thing I know, I got an email from her a couple weeks later that I was a vindictive person.

[00:03:38]>> Okay. There was an email that you sent to her saying if I didn't know better, I would think this was an act of a vindictive person because of the condition that the place was left. Yes.

[00:03:47]Tell me about that.

[00:03:49]>> Um, I took photographs of the apartment after I'd gone in. I mean, I had to take the curtains down from the walls because I couldn't see. It was very dark in there. And that's when I realized that there was garbage left. There was a completely assembled bed, a p a bag full of garbage on top of the stove. The refrigerator had been left unplugged with food in it. And then in the back bedroom, >> is this your husband?

[00:04:15]>> Well, my significant other.

[00:04:17]>> Okay. I know their standards are different than ours, >> right? But did he come on up? Can you come on up? Did you meet with her and say everything was okay? And >> the answer is no. Okay. Uh, I just told her I said, "Look, let me take care of it." Because I I took her for a word in terms of uh a a bad a bag of garbage. I said, "Oh, hell, I could easily take care of something like that."

[00:04:42]>> Okay. The bad >> So, did you ever actually go in there?

[00:04:44]>> I did not.

[00:04:45]>> Oh, you did not? What was the point of you go What What was the point of you going there at all?

[00:04:49]>> No, no, no. I physically went to pick up the keys at her new location.

[00:04:53]>> Okay.

[00:04:53]>> The keys to the old >> Oh, so you meet her at a different location, not where this apartment is?

[00:04:57]>> No, no, I did not. So then you don't go see the place. The first person who goes to see the place is you. And you can't believe the state of disarray. And what is the state of disarray? There's food in the refrigerator.

[00:05:05]>> Then there was the a dresser in the back bedroom, the full cat pan, and some sort of cabinet also. I don't >> Did you leave a bunch of furniture in the kitchen?

[00:05:13]>> Everything.

[00:05:15]>> Okay.

[00:05:15]>> When I went there, absolutely.

[00:05:17]>> So wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

[00:05:18]So you sent him to clean up the place you lived in.

[00:05:21]>> We moved out. We all moved out cuz he he lived there with me.

[00:05:23]>> I I was him. Are his standards not different than yours? Like seriously?

[00:05:28]>> No. No. But he had gone over to finish it up because I was at my job and he wasn't working. So go ahead. So as a fiance, he went >> I left three items. A bed frame, two dressers, and three broomsticks, and a small cat litter thing.

[00:05:41]>> You end up communicating with her that you can't believe the way the apartment was left. Do you have pictures?

[00:05:45]>> Yes, I do.

[00:05:46]>> Okay. Can I see the pictures, please?

[00:05:47]>> Here are the pictures.

[00:05:55]What What is that a picture of? That's the uh living room.

[00:05:59]>> Now, this is the refrigerator and it's got food in it. Why would you leave food in the refrigerator?

[00:06:03]>> We did not leave food in the refrigerator.

[00:06:04]>> Not leave food.

[00:06:05]>> I'm sorry to say, but she had people over there to renovate the apartment.

[00:06:07]There was sheetrock left in the hallway that was not ours. And I have a feeling that they may have left.

[00:06:11]>> At the same time we was moving, she had someone in there doing work to the building on the basement and in the apartment.

[00:06:16]>> Are you suggesting somebody else put the food in there? What's all the stuff on the stove? I can't tell from >> the bag of garbage.

[00:06:22]>> Why would you leave a bag of garbage on the stove?

[00:06:25]We didn't leave it on the stove. We left it on the side where the other brooms >> Why did you just take your bag of garbage in your brooms?

[00:06:31]>> I was We was going to take it out. We was going to throw it out, but we left that night because it was getting late cuz I was I was in the moving process of moving everything back and forth that whole weekend >> and he did come Sunday. I did that taking the footage. I I was responsible for things that I did.

[00:06:46]>> So, you see this and what do you say to her? You owe me money or what do you say?

[00:06:51]Well, what I said to her in October was, you know, that I wanted to be paid for this damage because, for instance, the urine on the floor in the carpet was so bad that even when we took that up, the wood the the wood on the floor, the subfloor, it was all soaked.

[00:07:11]>> Did you have pets? I had a cat and I had a dog. And >> did your cat and dog pee? No, my dog peed on. EVEN IN YOUR COMPLAINT, YOU ADMIT THAT >> my dog has a wee pad. My cat may appeared a couple of times on my clothing.

[00:07:23]>> All right, let's see. Let's see what you say. But it wasn't urine.

[00:07:26]>> Yeah. Let's see what you say.

[00:07:28]>> And I have the reason why those carpets were put there, Judge, is because I have pictures of what soaked in cat urine, but that is ridiculous. The cat peed every now and then over the years. Yes.

[00:07:38]But not to the point that it was soaked.

[00:07:40]And we also had a dog, but he mostly peed on the wee wee pads.

[00:07:44]>> Pet urine stinks.

[00:07:46]Yeah.

[00:07:47]>> Um, when I rented her the apartment, I told her, "This apartment is asis. I'm going to renovate the other two apartments."

[00:07:56]>> Can I ask a question? Were things Did things get Did she have other boyfriends with I mean, man, 10 years is a long time. Were there other people in her life before Ry got into the scene?

[00:08:04]>> Yes.

[00:08:04]>> Did things change when Ray walked in? It certainly it got worse and the denials got worse and then the dog appears and I said, you know, the cleans are complaining that the hall smells like urine. Oh no, he never tinkles out in the hall. And while we're standing there talking, the little critter goes over and just stops for a minute and then >> Oh, that's a lot. And I have a picture.

[00:08:25]Hold on. Hold on.

[00:08:27]>> Yes.

[00:08:27]>> So, when you rent an apartment, do you have to leave it in the same condition that you got it?

[00:08:32]>> Yeah, you should. If if you're going >> I mean, does it have to be like broom clean the whole thing?

[00:08:36]>> If you want your deposit back, it should be as clean as it was when you moved in.

[00:08:40]>> So, you have to literally scrape it clean.

[00:08:42]>> Yes, you do.

[00:08:42]>> I hear you.

[00:08:43]>> Don't be filthy.

[00:08:45]>> Gotcha.

[00:08:45]>> Yes.

[00:08:46]>> I I I heard you f I heard you two minutes ago. Okay. Go inside the courtroom.

[00:08:50]>> Do you have the receipts to show the repairs that had to be done? Now, your version of this is that she was wanting to do renovations and that she's just trying to pass that bill along to you.

[00:08:59]>> Yes. Now, what are the tire How the tire rims come into play?

[00:09:02]>> The tire rims coming cuz when I was moving out, I had to get the stuff out from the car.

[00:09:07]>> When was your plan to pick up the tire rims? Why were they still in there?

[00:09:10]>> That Sunday.

[00:09:11]>> That Sunday. But we could couldn't get a hold of her because she wasn't answering back.

[00:09:15]>> Did you ever say to her, "I want to pick up my rims."

[00:09:17]>> Yes.

[00:09:17]>> And what did she say?

[00:09:18]>> You can't have them. I want to be paid for the >> Did you ever tell her that she that no, you weren't going to release those because she owed you money for the damages? I told her I said pay me for the damages and I'll be glad to exchange the stuff.

[00:09:31]>> So you did hold you did hold it hostage.

[00:09:33]That's what the part I was trying to understand because in your answer to the complaint you didn't show them in the dumpster as abandoned property either.

[00:09:40]>> Who is the contractor? Clay.

[00:09:41]>> Yes.

[00:09:42]>> Okay. Why would they have to pay for a new refrigerator?

[00:09:45]>> When Ameilia moved in, I had bought a refrigerator for the apartment as I did the other two.

[00:09:51]>> I was 10 years old. Why would they have to buy a brand new refrigerator for you?

[00:09:54]because it was so full of mold and so disgusting. I can't imagine cleaning it enough to put my food in it.

[00:10:01]>> Okay, we're done.

[00:10:04]I sort of wish that you two had been there together at the apartment before the transfer of the keys and before the anything and while everything was fresh to handle it because I think that you two, you know, had a connection and you know, for whatever disappointment you now feel, you you two I think you would have looked at her and said, "Clean this up and get this stuff out of here and it just would have gotten done. You know, when they get involved, all of a sudden, all the under then there's all these hurt feelings between you two, but neither one of you are there to conduct business when you need to be there to conduct business. You should have left the place yourself the way you would have liked somebody to have left it for you. All right? Holding their stuff hostage is not okay. So, here's what's going to happen. This stuff is going back to you. It's yours. You can't hold it hostage. But, there are damages that I believe that the two of you are responsible for, and I'm going to make you pay them. All right? the cleaning, you're going to pay the installation of the new floors, you're going to pay. I'm not going to order you to pay for the refrigerator because I really don't know if that's stuff that I see there is stuff that was left by, you know, the contractor or not stuff that was left by the contractor. And in any event, we're talking about a couple of bucks anyway because it's a depreciated value of a 10-year-old refrigerator. So, we'll move on on your claim against them for lost wages. No. Okay. But you you're going to be taking your stuff. I don't want to keep this stuff here. So, you figure out how to take this. You'll be taking all I don't care that you're suing her for the value. You get this garbage. You don't get the value that you place on it. I know you'd rather have two grand, BUT THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S going to work here.

[00:11:36]YOU'RE GOING TO GET THAT. OKAY? And on your lawsuit against them for the damages I find in your favor in the amount of $1,50. That's my verdict, folks.

[00:11:50]>> All right. So, here comes the plane. If you got your rims back, what's your what's your feeling on the outcome? What you got here?

[00:11:54]>> We're not happy at all.

[00:11:55]>> It's not fair at all. Those rims are not good for a car because if they get damaged or something like that and I get in an accident because she trampered those rims.

[00:12:02]>> So be it. I mean, you think those rims might be damaged up? Yes.

[00:12:06]>> You would rather have the money?

[00:12:07]>> No, I don't want the money.

[00:12:08]>> We wouldn't even want the money.

[00:12:09]>> I wanted my stuff.

[00:12:10]>> Well, I mean, that relationship you had with her, it's too bad, isn't it?

[00:12:13]>> It's over.

[00:12:14]>> Yeah.

[00:12:15]>> All right. You head right down there.

[00:12:17]Come on in here. How come the two of you couldn't deal with this before it spun out of control?

[00:12:23]I'm sure that Rey doesn't want her to pay me. I'm sure that Rey is not going to be receptive to sharing any of the damage in this.

[00:12:31]>> Did everything change when Ray showed up on the scene here?

[00:12:34]>> Absolutely.

[00:12:34]>> So, you tell me about that. How >> it was an in yourrface. I'm the big man.

[00:12:40]Um, you know, and I basically told him, I said, >> "You put all this on Ray." Then >> you've No, it's Amelia, too.

[00:12:46]>> Harvey.

[00:12:47]>> Okay. If someone owes you money, you're not allowed to hold their property hostage until they pay you back. The only way you're allowed to do this if you is if you have a lean on the property. For example, if somebody gives you property as collateral, you can hold it until they pay you back. If you don't have a lean, you don't have a right to hold it. And the fact is, even though they may owe you, they can sue you for the damage if you hold property wrongfully.