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00:01You want your money back for a bus that you bought?
00:04Yes, ma'am.
00:06What would be in your mind, say,
00:08I'm going to pay more than double what they paid for this bus?
00:13I'm assuming he was trying to make a profit.
00:18I'm not a business person. Common sense is my business.
00:21This is Judy Justice.
00:30Rodney Lazar is suing entertainers Michael Brown and Lucy Morgenstern
00:45for a refund of a bus he purchased from them.
00:48Court come to order. All rise.
00:52Have a seat, please.
00:56Hello, Judge. Case number 1151.
00:58Lazar versus Brown.
01:00Morgenstern.
01:03Okay.
01:04Could we do show and tell someplace else?
01:06Kevin?
01:07Yes, ma'am.
01:08You want to remove that?
01:09Yes.
01:13Perfect.
01:14You want your money back for a bus that you bought from the defendants.
01:17That's what the case is about.
01:18This thing that was on the table was your business.
01:22And I'm not interested in your business.
01:24We're not here to advertise your business.
01:27You understand that.
01:29Perfect.
01:30Ms. Morgenstern, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.
01:32Is he still your boyfriend?
01:33He is not.
01:34Not.
01:35When did he stop being your boyfriend?
01:36March of 2020.
01:37When did you purchase, you purchased this bus?
01:40Give me the month and year.
01:42It was July of 2021.
01:45So it was at a time when you were no longer a couple.
01:47Yes.
01:48And you purchased the bus from whom?
01:50From a public auction.
01:52Is this the first time you went to a public auction?
01:54No.
01:55Have you been there before?
01:56Yes.
01:57Yes.
01:58And so you buy things there at a public auction and you flip them?
02:01I wouldn't say that.
02:02What would you say?
02:03I buy for personal use because I'm a musician and bigger vehicles happen to be of my need for my band.
02:09Okay.
02:10Well, you bought this one in July of 2021.
02:12And it's a bus.
02:13Yes.
02:14And you bought it for the express purpose of using it in a band.
02:17Correct.
02:18Is the co-defendant also a member of the band?
02:21He's involved in the management and yes.
02:24Great.
02:25When did you sell the bus to the plaintiff?
02:28August of 2021.
02:30How much did you pay for it at public auction when you bought it in July of 2021?
02:35We had paid a few thousand dollars.
02:38No, I don't want to hear a few thousand dollars.
02:40We're not talking about a decade ago.
02:41We're talking about a few months ago.
02:43How much did you pay for it at auction in July?
02:46And then I'm going to ask for the exact date that you purchased it.
02:49It was about 3,000 or so with tax.
02:51What year bus was it?
02:53It was 2007.
02:55Had it been registered when you bought it?
02:57Yes.
02:58It had recent registration within a few months.
03:01You have paperwork on that?
03:02The paperwork was all together with what the purchase.
03:05I'd like to see it.
03:06It was given to them.
03:07May I see it, please?
03:08Yes.
03:09Let's make it so.
03:22Sell to Lucy Morgenstern, June 24th, 2021.
03:27That sounds right.
03:29And she gave you these papers.
03:30Yes.
03:31Oh, actually he did.
03:32He did.
03:33I'm beginning to feel less sorry for you, sir.
03:35You may win anyway, but I'm beginning to feel less sorry for you.
03:38Because this says that Lucy bought this bus for $2,600 on June 24th, 2021.
03:47And she sold it to you in August?
03:50Yes.
03:51So that you were aware that she bought it from a towing company a couple of months before?
03:56Yes.
03:57Yes.
03:58So your lawsuit is for a refund on a bus sold under false pretenses.
04:03That's what it says here.
04:05And it says that you found this bus on a Facebook market page.
04:11You met with Mark.
04:12That would be you.
04:13Michael.
04:14Michael.
04:15Sorry.
04:16Michael.
04:17And Tess drove the bus.
04:18He said it was an excellent condition, negotiated a price of $6,700.
04:23Yes.
04:24Well, wouldn't it give you a clue if you knew that it was purchased by them within six,
04:33seven weeks before you purchased it and they paid $2,600 for it?
04:38What would be in your mind, just asking, what would be in your mind, say, I'm going to pay
04:46more than double what they paid for this bus.
04:49Why would you do that?
04:50The documents that I've seen had it at over $50-something hundred, like $5,200.
04:55And the reason that I paid him what I did is the documents that I saw showed that.
04:59And, you know, I'm assuming he was trying to make a profit.
05:02It's...
05:05No, no, no.
05:06You're in business, right?
05:07You brought your plant to show me that you're in business.
05:10You make pretty plants with succulents.
05:13I'm not a business person.
05:14Anybody that knows me knows that business is not my business.
05:19Common sense is my business.
05:21Somebody buys something from a...
05:23How old are you?
05:24I'm 50.
05:25You're 50.
05:26How long have you been in business?
05:2827 years.
05:29Do you have a place of business?
05:31No.
05:32Do you operate out of where?
05:34My home.
05:35Yes.
05:36When did you purchase it?
05:372008.
05:38How much did you pay for it?
05:39On national TV.
05:41That's where we are.
05:42That's where you came.
05:43$460,000.
05:44I assume you had a lawyer.
05:45No.
05:46You did it yourself with a real estate agent.
05:48Yes.
05:49You live in California.
05:50Yes, I do.
05:51I know.
05:52They have this bizarre thing here where real estate agents act as lawyers.
05:54I don't quite understand it.
05:55Seems to be working everything here in California is a little bizarre.
05:58Anyway, you had no lawyer, but you spent half a million dollars for a home in 2008, which must
06:03be at least worth twice that now.
06:05Yes, ma'am.
06:06Right?
06:07So you're a pretty smart guy.
06:08And you make money from whatever you do.
06:10Right?
06:11Making these plants.
06:12$2,600.
06:13That's what they pay for it from a towing company.
06:17So I would say to myself, towing.
06:20Towing means it was left somewhere.
06:23Abandoned somewhere.
06:25Why would I pay somebody $6,700 for something that they just paid $2,600 for?
06:34I would say that a guy who is smart, works out of his home, has no expenses, doesn't have
06:40a business other than making succulent plants and delivering them, which is good, smart for you.
06:46Wouldn't do that.
06:47That's my gut.
06:48So I'm feeling less sorry for you, if that's the case, in any event.
06:55Okay.
06:56Did you register the car, Ms. Morgenstern?
06:59I did.
07:00In your name?
07:01No.
07:02I hadn't yet.
07:03Just a sec.
07:04You haven't.
07:05So when you gave it to him, you gave him the same title that you had.
07:09You just signed it.
07:10Or you did.
07:11Because you did the transaction.
07:13I was in possession of the paperwork, yes.
07:15So you did the transaction.
07:16Yes.
07:17So that's a yes.
07:18Did you ever tell him that the band used the bus for business going to and from city to city?
07:25Did you tell him that?
07:26That's either a yes or a no.
07:28No.
07:29What did you tell him?
07:31That we had used buses and that's why we own this bus because.
07:36That's a no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
07:38What you're just giving me.
07:40What did you tell him that this face is going to believe?
07:44A gay label is going to be 200 miles.
07:45And today you keep on top of these buses dying.
07:47Now that I made a gag будущie.
07:48So the bill is still flowing in the air.
07:49He requires a whole lot.
07:50And now I at the end.
07:51Now, if they came to the end.
07:52So we could erm, but seriously be going to be smart owners to treball.
07:53Who was right?
07:54You know what you got to do?
07:55I don't know if it was like you sure.
07:56And I'm be careful.
07:57You sure there's always a waste.
07:58I bet, I'm not sure what that's while I was asking him.
07:59I know why I'm not upset if Iكم gotечь mom.
08:01And you know.
08:02Yeah a lot of us.
08:04They're always better that goes out of those about Googleёbit.
08:06No.
08:07What did you tell him?
08:09That we had used buses, and that's why we own this bus,
08:13because...
08:15What you're just giving me.
08:17What did you tell him that this face is gonna believe?
08:22That we had this bus in purpose to take it on tour,
08:26as we've done.
08:27Well, now you don't know.
08:28All of a sudden, you're having trouble with English
08:30when you're trying to put the sentence together
08:32to tell me what you told him about the bus.
08:35The bus is that we use.
08:37This bus.
08:38What did you tell him when he came to look at this bus?
08:41You thought that this was gonna be easy, folks?
08:43This is not easy.
08:45I told him that we bought this bus as a tour bus.
08:48Okay.
08:49And did you tell him about the condition of it?
08:52The condition was listed on the ad.
08:54And what did it say?
08:55I have the ad here.
08:56Well, just tell me what it said.
08:57It says it runs and drives great.
08:59Runs and drives great.
09:01You live in the state of California, right?
09:02Yes, I do.
09:03When you bought the bus, Miss Morgan Stern,
09:06he does the business, right?
09:08But you paid the $2,600.
09:11It was shared.
09:12The purchase was...
09:14Who went to the auction?
09:16Listen.
09:17Who went to the auction?
09:18It was online.
09:20Online.
09:21Whose computer were you using?
09:24We're together, I think.
09:25I'm not really sure if it was mine.
09:26Try to think.
09:27I think Mike's.
09:28Would have been my phone.
09:29I think his phone.
09:30Your what?
09:31My phone.
09:32Yours.
09:33Yes.
09:34You bought it and then you went to pick it up.
09:35Yes.
09:36Who took it to register it?
09:37Now you buy it in July.
09:39That's what it says here, doesn't it?
09:41Did I say July?
09:42Did I say July?
09:45No.
09:46June, right?
09:47June.
09:48June.
09:49You buy it in June.
09:50Now you've got this $2,600 investment,
09:52and you have this title.
09:56How many other cars does the band have?
09:58Ms. Morgan's turn.
09:59Currently I don't have a vehicle.
10:01You don't?
10:02Does the band have a vehicle?
10:04There's Mike's van that has been used for some of our events,
10:08but I have to borrow that or use it with Mike when...
10:11Okay.
10:12Is it registered in the state of California?
10:14Yes.
10:15Registration current?
10:16Yes.
10:17Now you bought this online.
10:18Who took the money out of the bank to buy it?
10:20We both did.
10:21How much did you put in?
10:22I put in $1,300, so we split it.
10:26Who got the bus from the towing company?
10:28Michael did.
10:29On what date, Michael, did you get the bus from the towing company?
10:32It would be the date that you have listed on the paperwork.
10:3426th.
10:35June then, June 26th.
10:37Did you drive it?
10:38Yes.
10:39Where did you drive it from and to?
10:41From the towing lot, and I drove it to where I was staying in Culver City.
10:46How long was that?
10:47How long of a drive?
10:48Yeah.
10:49No more than 18 miles.
10:50So now it's home on the 26th, you have the paperwork.
10:53Do you want to tell me why you didn't register it the whole month of July?
10:57Don't look over there!
10:58Mm-hmm.
10:59Look over here.
11:00The bus was missing a glass piece for the door, and I wanted to get the bus all fixed up
11:07and nice before I did that.
11:08So did you do that?
11:09You had a whole month to do it.
11:11I did.
11:12And then?
11:13And then I...
11:14But while you're doing that, you register it because now you've paid $2,600 for it.
11:19Mm-hmm.
11:20And you're working on it and investing money in it.
11:23Mm-hmm.
11:24So you'd want to insure it.
11:25Yes.
11:26Did you insure it?
11:27No, I did not.
11:28Because it wasn't registered.
11:30Correct.
11:31In order to register it, you had to have it smogged in the state of California.
11:35Mm-hmm.
11:36Uh-huh is not an answer.
11:38Yes, Your Honor.
11:39Did you take it to be smogged?
11:41No, I did not.
11:42When the plaintiff took the bus in to be smogged, he says that it couldn't be smogged.
11:50He says he spoke to you about that.
11:53Is that what you're testifying, sir?
11:55Yes, ma'am.
11:56Tell me when that conversation took place.
11:59Yes, it took place on the Friday after we had purchased it.
12:02That was the day that I went to the DMV.
12:04What's the date?
12:05I think August 13th, around.
12:07August 13th.
12:08Is that a Friday?
12:09Friday?
12:1013th.
12:11It was a Friday.
12:12So you went to the DMV.
12:13According to you, there were some outstanding fines.
12:16Yes, ma'am.
12:17Can you show me proof of when those fines were?
12:20Were they either before they purchased the van or after?
12:25I think it was all a part of before because there was a lot of...
12:28That's why it was towed.
12:30What he had told me was one of their bandmates had left it on the street and they had been towed,
12:34so they bought it back.
12:35That's what the story he had told me.
12:36Bandmates left it on the street.
12:38Is that what he told you?
12:39That's what he told me.
12:40You do have to understand, sir, that you're gonna really have to show me so that I believe you that you paid $6,700 for this bus.
12:48I would like to see proof that it could not be smogged.
12:52And when you called Mike, what he told you about the bus not being able to be smogged.
12:59Tell me what he told you.
13:01Mike, first, he just didn't return my calls for a while.
13:04And then I had to reach out to Lucy.
13:06Lucy and I had a fantastic talk for about 30 minutes.
13:09She was very kind, let me get my points across.
13:12And then she said she would follow back up with me.
13:14When I spoke to Michael, it was a very angry conversation.
13:18He was angry.
13:19It was an angry conversation.
13:20I asked him, I said, you told me it was smogged.
13:22He said, that's what I thought it was.
13:24It's supposed to be in the system.
13:25So I said, okay, well, that's our reality is right now.
13:28Just one second.
13:29He said to you, it should have been in the system.
13:32I thought it was smogged.
13:34Yes, ma'am.
13:35That I believe.
13:36I have text messages.
13:37Just a second.
13:38I'd like to see the text messages.
13:51No, no.
13:52Don't give me a whole bunch of junk.
13:53You want this?
13:54I'm talking to you.
13:55I'm talking.
13:56Don't give me a whole bunch of junk.
13:57I asked you about the conversation that you had with him about smogging.
14:02Show me relevance.
14:04Sorry, Your Honor.
14:08Michael, you said it passed smog.
14:18So when you purchased it, he told you it had passed smog.
14:21Yes, ma'am.
14:22But you didn't give me the paperwork.
14:24He says, you say, it should be in the system from the previous smog.
14:28Yes.
14:29What previous?
14:31What previous smog?
14:32That's your answer.
14:33It should be in the system from the previous smog.
14:36I have the car fact showing that it was smogged in April.
14:39Who owned it in April?
14:41The previous owner.
14:43Do you know who that was?
14:44No, I do not.
14:45If somebody hurts themself on, in, under, around the bus, it's in your name.
14:54Somebody will get a judgment against you.
14:56They're going to take your license away to drive.
14:58Do you understand?
14:59Do you understand?
15:12Rodney Lazar has accused the defendants Michael Brown and Lucy Morgenstern of selling him a bus that is unable to be smog tested.
15:21Okay, so it wasn't that a band member left it on the street.
15:24No, that's a lie.
15:26So, it was previously smog not by you.
15:29Correct.
15:30When it was done, I believe it was in April.
15:32You say, I hope that is still valid.
15:35And you say, please call me.
15:36Triple A said, this was a lien sale that was never properly paid for.
15:42Need to go to DMV and want you to go with me.
15:45I hope you're not ignoring my calls.
15:47I can't even get an appointment.
15:49I will go there first thing Monday and do my best, but please be cool if there are issues.
15:54And then you write, no problem.
15:56I'll be available if you need me Monday.
15:59And he says, the bus was not smogged and your mailbox is full.
16:03That's what you say to him.
16:05I've heard that.
16:06I don't believe some people have full mailboxes.
16:09The bus is under your name right now and you are responsible for it if anything happens.
16:14That's still true because you haven't registered it.
16:16Correct.
16:17And you say to me, very smart, in case there is an accident and I get hurt, you are responsible.
16:23So let's do this ASAP.
16:25And it says there's no catalytic converter.
16:28I have no idea what that is.
16:29That is the very main component of the exhaust system that cleans the smoke.
16:34There's a big rash of people stealing them right now.
16:37And, in fact, I have a picture I can show you where the catalytic converter has been taken out and put back in with a pipe and it was welded in.
16:45And it's not a new weld. It's an old weld.
16:47It could shed some light, potentially.
16:49A catalytic converter must be properly installed for them to even do a smog check.
16:53There's no, you can't do a smog check without that converter.
16:57It's the filtration system.
16:59Your Honor, if I may, the April reference that he's making to is April of 2020.
17:05So he was referring to a smog check that was over a year and a quarter old.
17:09Got it. Is that right?
17:11Correct.
17:12April of 2020.
17:13Previous smog of 2020.
17:142020.
17:15Yes.
17:16You still have the bus?
17:17Yes, ma'am.
17:18Okay. Catalytic converter is $3,000.
17:21It's $2,400 for the part.
17:23It's about $300 for installation and tax.
17:26And the part is on back order all over the country.
17:28This is happening everywhere.
17:30Mm-hmm.
17:31Where were you going to take this bus, sir, to be smogged?
17:33I was going to take it to a shop because I didn't believe what he was saying.
17:37Did you ever tell him that you would take it to your mechanic who could smog it?
17:42What do you mean?
17:43Did you ever tell him that you could take the bus to your mechanic who could smog test it so that he could register it the way it was?
17:54No.
17:55Well, he's texting you a lot, Michael, because he has a frustration that he can't do anything with this bus for some bizarre reason.
18:02You paid $6,700 for this bus.
18:05I still don't understand why.
18:07By the way, you gave it to him in cash?
18:09I gave him $3,700 in cash and $3,000 on Venmo and I have receipts for all of them.
18:13I'd like to see it.
18:14Yes.
18:15Here's the Venmo and here's my receipt for the...
18:17I had $700 cash at home and I went to the bank and withdrew $3,000 to give it to him.
18:22And the time stamp is on the receipt for the $3,000.
18:25Sarah, am I correct that you're not allowed to knowingly sell a car in California that can't be smoged?
18:31So, yeah, the California Vehicle Code prohibits modifications to the admissions control and also you need to give the new owner a valid smog certification in order to sell.
18:41Even if you're selling it as is, it's still a requirement.
18:44The bus is still at your home?
18:46Yes.
18:47And so is the oil.
18:48The oil.
18:49It's leaking.
18:50It's leaking.
18:51Did you pay the fines on the bus?
18:53I did, but I was able to contact DMV and get it refunded.
18:56And you did get a refund?
18:57Yes, ma'am.
18:58Okay, good.
18:59Judging for the plaintiff in the amount of $6,700.
19:01We're finished.
19:02Go get your bus.
19:03It belongs to you.
19:04And I'm going to tell you, this is what's going to happen, Ms. Morgenstern.
19:07This bus is in your name.
19:09He has not transferred it to his name yet.
19:11Right now, the bus is parked at his home.
19:13So, I would suggest you go pick it up very fast.
19:16I'm going to tell you why.
19:18Because if a child gets into that bus and something happens to that child because it's sitting
19:25there, it's in your name.
19:27They're going to come after you.
19:29Put it on the street.
19:30Do you understand?
19:31It no longer belongs to you.
19:33It's theirs.
19:35Anything that happens to that is yours.
19:38If it gets ticket, they're going to take your license away to drive.
19:42Do you understand?
19:43If somebody hurts themself on, in, under, around the bus, it's in your name.
19:49Somebody will get a judgment against you and make sure, because this is forever.
19:55This tape is forever.
19:56They will come after you.
19:57So, I would suggest he's going to park this bus someplace.
20:01Is there a local police department where you live?
20:04Yes, there is.
20:05I can drop it off at the Topanga station.
20:07Great.
20:08On what date can you drop it off?
20:10I can drop it off today.
20:11Oh.
20:12Well, let's wait until tomorrow.
20:13You got it.
20:14Perfect.
20:15Tomorrow, between 9 and noon, I suggest you get your behind to the police station and pick
20:23up your bus.
20:24Do you understand?
20:25Yes, ma'am.
20:26Very good.
20:27We're done here.
20:29I had thought that the smog may have been valid from the previous smog.
20:35Once I realized that he wasn't returning my text messages and my phone calls, it became
20:38evident that this was uncomfortable.
20:40I'm a busy man and I work and the text message shows that I received over 30 within an hour
20:46period.
20:47The text messages he shows don't have time stamps.
20:49Those were throughout multiple days and times.
20:51I had wanted to keep it and I really loved that bus.
20:56You see, sometimes you change your mind.
20:59I still don't understand why he spent so much money for the bus.
21:03I mean, his explanation was that it was, he looked online.
21:06He saw what it was worth and it was, but there was something very shifty about this guy,
21:11Michael.
21:12Yeah.
21:13I learned only in the last several years that it was against the law in California to sell
21:20a car, even as a private person, that was incapable of being smogged.
21:26And this bus was incapable of being smogged.
21:28I looked into the statute and learned there's many exceptions to that rule for newer vehicles
21:34purchased brand new from a dealer within the past four years.
21:38Those types of cars don't have to be smogged right away.
21:41So there are exceptions, but this bus was exactly who the statute was made for to ensure
21:46that people were not sold older vehicles without them being smogged first.
21:50Smogged first or capable of being smogged.
21:52Exactly.
21:53And I'm sympathetic because he says this catalytic converter.
21:57Yeah.
21:58There's no product being moved now anywhere in the world.
22:01So he can't even get the part.
22:04And I have a feeling that that's why Michael didn't register the car.
22:09Mm-hmm.
22:10Re-sold it very quickly.
22:11Very quickly.
22:12You know, within six weeks.
22:13There's no other explanation of that.
22:15Yeah.
22:16So I think the right thing happened.
22:18Me too.
22:19I agree.
22:20There are a few things that you can do.
22:21Want justice?
22:22Go to judyjustice.tv.
22:23Right move.
22:24Let's figure it out actually.
22:25Thanks so much in the book and verse lunch.
22:26Thanks.
22:27And then we'll see you later.
22:282021 Jim Objects No.
Recommended
22:27
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