You said WHAT???

There are so many people who just think the court TV shows are wonderful. My friend was one who thought that they may well be able to serve a valuable public service. She's been in the legal field for years & is always amazed how little the majority of people know about the law. The court shows could be a good way for people to learn. That's why, when she was approached by the Judge Judy show, telling her that they'd been contacted by her former roommate, she was willing to go on their show. The guy had done over $2,000 of damage to her house & attacked her. She never thought that he could prevail in court. The show said that he'd filed a Small Claims Court action against her, for his Security Deposit & for False Arrest. They told her she'd be paid to go on the show & if he did win, they'd pay the judgement. She talked it over w/ some people who watched the show (she doesn't) & knew the whole storey. They all said that Judge Judy would eat this guy's lunch.

Here's the story:
Joe Bartone rented a room in her house 3 yrs ago. He was a nice enough guy... at first. Then, as he became more comfortable, he started to show his true colors. The bullying started small at first, short bursts of loud music at 1am. Monopolizing the best parking space in the driveway (there are 3 spaces). Complaining if others were in the shower when he wanted to use it. The problems grew, until other roommates started moving out because of him. Some moved because they just didn't need to be stressed in their home, others because they were just downright afraid of him. My friend wasn't afraid of Joe (even tho he's 6' & 300 lbs & she's no where near that big.) She stood her ground & Joe always slinked away, as bullies do. But, then my friend got the bad news that she had terminal cancer. It was bizar how fast she went downhill, once she got the news. By the time she could get in for surgery, she was nearly wasted totally away.
After her surgery, she spent 5 days in the hospital (which is a LOT these days!) Then, she went home to finish her recovery. At first, she tried sleeping in her bed, but she couldn't lie down, because of swollen lymph-nodes in her back. So, she started sleeping, propped up on the couch in the living room.
On December 20, 2010, Joe came in from a night out & left his shoes in the doorway between the dining room & living room. (He often left his shoes in walk ways, where various roommates tripped over them.) My friend got up from the couch, to get a drink of water. On her way to the kitchen (by way of the dining room), she tripped over his shoes. The hard soled leather shoes of a guy that big might not seem like much to you or me; but they were more than she could pick up to move. So, she nudged (I'd say kicked, but that seems like it should be forward, she couldn't move them forward, she was too weak. So, she had to turn around & kick it backward.) into the dining room, where no one else would trip over it. The one that moved when she tripped ended up in the dining room, the other one she moved under the entry table in the living room (where he should have put them.)
The next morning, Bartone came down & saw that his shoes had been moved & went balistic! He started screaming at her to give him his shoe back. If he'd bothered to look in the slightest, he'd have seen his shoe 5 ft from where he left it, but he'd rather throw one of his temper tantrums. My friend did what one does when faced w/ a child throwing a temper tantrum, she ignored him. He kept screaming at her. He was getting pretty worked up & looked like he might get violent, so she used her cell phone to call her son.
Joe kept screaming, while she spoke w/ her son on the phone. Bartone grabbed the phone from her (scratching her face when he did) & told her he'd give the phone back when she gave him his shoe. She continued to ignore him & started to play a game on her computer. He then grabbed her glasses (breaking them & the little cord thing that held them on, like a Librarian wears.) But, having raised 4 children, she knew how to ignore tempertantrums, so she continued to play her game. Then, he tried to take her computer. Now.... you can take a woman's phone, you can take her glasses... but don't touch her computer!!!!! She grabbed the base of the laptop (he had the screen) & kicked at him as she shouted at him. At that point, he realized what he was doing & left the house.
At some point during this, one of the roommates walked thru the living room & tried to intercede on my friend's behalf. Julia told me that Joe was leaning over my friend, screaming in her face. When she told him to leave her alone, he stood up & started toward her. Now, Julia is very nice, but she's a tiny little thing herself. She's been afraid of this jerk for a while now, I can certainly understand her making a quick exit when he started toward her! But, to her credit, as soon as she got to her car... she called 911 & reported that she believed my friend might be in danger. My friend's son had also called the police.

So, there were 2 reports to the police of people who had good cause to fear for my friend's safety. The police did show up & they ended up arresting Joe Bartone. Then, he goes & sues his victim for False Arrest when she didn't call the police & it wasn't even her idea to arrest him!

He also sued her to return his Security Deposit. He claimed he had a $900 Deposit. I've seen the rental agreement & it was $780. He painted 2 rooms horrible, dark colors. Think Starbucks & Pittsburg Steelers. Now, you might love their coffee & root for the team... but how'd you like your bedroom or bathroom painted in those colors? Especially since her home is a beautifuly restored early '20s Mediterrainan Mansion!!!!! He asked if he could paint the bathroom & she told him he could paint any pastel color he wished. Black & traffic signal yellow are NOT pastels!!! He also got paint on the floor, ceiling, tub, tile & fixtures. She's going to have to repaint & replace a lot of stuff in there.
Another deduction from the deposit was for his last utility bill. He thinks he shouldn't have to pay utilities??? And, how about the $15,000 rug he ruined??? Should he not have to pay or anything on that? She charged him less than $200 for the damage to that rug, but IF it can be repaired it'll cost way more than that!!!
He also said that the house had rats. Now, I've been in that house a lot & I know there are no rats in the house. There are rats all over SoCal.... you folks just don't understand how bad the rat problem is around here, there weather is perfect for them & they love the palm trees! But, she's worked really hard at keeping the rats out of the house. Bartone on the other hand would leave food out in his room, inviting them in. He actually called one his pet!!! His room is the only room that had seen a rat & it was because he lured it in!!! Even so, she put out rat bait & traps to make sure his rat didn't go other places in the house.

So, my friend gets talked into going on the show. At the last minute, they make her wear a wig. They don't want anyone to know that she has cancer. she wears a scarf now because she doesn't have any hair left. She spent a long time in makeup, giving her a normal complexion, rather than the chemo palour that she's aquirred. "Judge" Judy (you do know that she is NOT a judge... she's an arbitrator. She's not part of the judicial system at all; she's an actress & a very highly paid one!) comes out & starts grilling my friend's son (the one who called the police.) She can't get the son to admit to things he didn't witness, so she gets pretty pissed of. She tried to get him to admit that he'd heard Joe take the glasses. But, in both statements, it's stated that he took the phone before he took the glasses. There's no way that the son could have witnessed the glasses being ripped off her face. JJ got pretty pissed off that she couldn't get him to bear witness to things he didn't see/hear.
Then JJ talks to the plaintiff & he lies thru his teeth. My friend barely says 10 words thru the whole show. "Judge Judy" looks at the statements that JJ's staff wrote up for my friend & compares that to the police report. Now, I don't know how much you know about police reports, but they are not usually very accurate. They get the big picture right (usually) but, you'd be best off not to count on them for details. JJ tells my friend that it's obvious that she's lying because the two statements don't match! On one, it says that the shoe was in the dining room. In the other it says that they were in the next room. Of course, no one could make the leap of intellegence that if the shoes were in the doorway from the living room to the dining room.... that the dining room may be the "next room". JJ tried to get my friends son to lie & she couldn't. But, she's got a show to run & she needs the ratings from frying people who want to fry the landlord. So, she has to find another way to do it. She twists the two statements, (that my friend didn't write) & says that they show my friend is lying... just like her son. I'm waiting to see the show. My friend just can't see how her duplicity can't be obvious. But, we live in the entertainment capital of the world. We both know that editign will do a lot! They'll cut & move footage, to show just what they want to show. In her exit interview, she siad that Joe wasn't a problem until she got cancer. They'll cut everything after Joe wasn't a problem, so it'll seem like he was OK. I've met this guy & he's a real pig!

I guess JJ just isn't very smart, not to be able to hear a witness & understand them. But, Joe Bartone must be plenty smart. He got $5,000 for beating up on an old woman dying of cancer!!!

So, I just couldn't sit by & let this happen without saying something. What about you? Do you know someone who's been shafted by Judge Judy??? The people who go on the show sign a contract saying that they will not post anything on the internet. That's why my friend can't say anything. But, their friends can!!! Tell your story, or your friends! Warn others!!! My friend looked around & didn't find any stories letting her know that this could happen.


WARN OTHERS!!!!!
Tell the stories of people who have been on "Judge" Judy's show!!!! If you are afraid to post the story yourself... send it to me @ JudgeJudySucks@gmail.com I'll post it for you, without giving your name.