FULL VIDEO AT THE END OF THE POST
A Father's Kindness
Mr. Giaba appeared before Judge Judy as the plaintiff.
He had adopted his son, Jose, when Jose was 12 years old.
Mr. Giaba had just gotten married three years prior.
He had no other children besides Jose.
Mr. Giaba met Miss Hernandez, the defendant, about a year to a year and a half after adopting Jose.
Miss Hernandez is Jose's sister.
Mr. Giaba had previously helped finance a car for his son.
Miss Hernandez asked Mr. Giaba if he would do the same for her.
He agreed to cosign for a car for Miss Hernandez.
The Car Purchase
The car in question was a 2005 Acura TL.
They signed the contract on May 1st, 2015.
Miss Hernandez was 20 years old at the time.
She stated she was working at Snookies Cookies in data entry.
She had been working there for a couple of months.
Miss Hernandez is currently 21 years old.
She told Judge Judy she was going back to work at Snookies Cookies.
She had been unemployed for four months.
Miss Hernandez explained she had to stay home to care for her four-year-old son.
Her son was no longer attending school, and she did not have a babysitter.
Miss Hernandez lives with her mother.
Her mother is also the mother of her son, Jose.
Mr. Giaba explained he took Jose from foster care when Jose was 12.
Jose was in a bad situation in foster care.
Mr. Giaba had just returned from war and needed "love and attention."
He fostered and cared for Jose.
Jose is now 22 years old and has a grandchild of Mr. Giaba.
Payments and Impoundment
Mr. Giaba claimed Miss Hernandez stopped making payments.
He stated the finance company notified him of the missed payments.
The finance company also told him they tried to contact Miss Hernandez multiple times without success.
Mr. Giaba said Miss Hernandez had changed her phone number.
He presented a letter from the finance company dated August 30, 2016.
This letter concerned the past due amount on the car.
Miss Hernandez claimed the car was impounded due to parking tickets.
She stated her brother, Jose, had accumulated these tickets while using the car.
Judge Judy asked Miss Hernandez about her employment status.
Miss Hernandez confirmed she had been unemployed for four months.
Judge Judy questioned how Miss Hernandez made the car payment in June if she was unemployed.
Miss Hernandez stated she was still making payments.
She offered to show proof of payment for June.
The June Payment
Miss Hernandez presented a payment record.
The car payment was $320 per month.
The record showed a payment of $340 made on June 1st.
Miss Hernandez confirmed this was the last payment she made on the car.
She explained she paid $340 instead of $320 because she was "just paying a little bit more."
She said this was her usual payment amount.
Judge Judy accepted this as proof of payment for June.
The Damaged Car
Mr. Giaba then presented a different reason for the car's impoundment.
He stated the car had been damaged.
He claimed the damage was so severe that the car was a total loss.
Mr. Giaba presented pictures to prove Miss Hernandez had crashed the car.
He stated she had not notified him of the crash.
There was no police report filed for the accident.
Mr. Giaba showed Judge Judy the pictures.
He confirmed the pictures were taken at the impound yard.
The finance company had provided these pictures to him.
Mr. Giaba also stated Miss Hernandez had no insurance on the car.