Is Shop Owner Responsible for Stolen Antique? | Part 2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Martin claims shop owner Bettie is responsible for the theft of his antique, but it was in his own locked cabinet!
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Bettie Woody who died in June 2023 at the age of 89 was the owner of Woody's Antiques in downtown Orange, California. She opened the store in 1989 after her retirement from Disneyland. It was operated with her son, Bret "Woody". The store specializes in the highly sought after furniture of Heywood Wakefield. Born and raised in West Virginia, Bettie was once a model for the Ford Edsel. Rest in peace.
After her retirement from Disneyland! How sweet! :) Thank you for sharing this.
Who cares
@@brocksamson9737 52 people at this point in time, darling.😉
@@wintercamemake it 120,me included,as February 2nd,2024..😊👍😊
Awwww the one at the Orange Circle
She came across as so genuine and warm … I’ve just looked up her Antique store and see she sadly passed away on June 11 of this year … RIP
Noooo 😢😢
Awe bless her soul ❤
noooo :(
when was this case aired?
R.i.p
That's so sad!!! Sweet lady!!!
Rotten thieves, ruin things for everyone! I feel for both these elderly people
I do too!
True.peopleare heartless.
Yes it’s sad when people without decent teeth pay the legal bills for supposed billionaires.
The Plaintiff just wanted to be compensated for the stolen gun. But since he couldn't find the thieves, he sued this poor lady.
I'm glad JJ saw right through to what was really happening.
But shouldn't the "poor lady" have insurance for the store? So why are they even in court?
@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep she is just the landlord. Y should she insure his stuff?
He should have his own insurance for his own property.
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeepher insurance wouldn't cover his property anyway. Each business has to have their own insurance. So HE is the one who would have to have been insured
@@eph2vv89only1way That is why it was said in the case she manages. It means it's under her business. Otherwise Judy would have ended the case right there. You must not have caught how important that part was.
I absolutely believe every word she said. She seems like an absolute gem.
Indeed
If he had insurance on the gun then he would of been compensated… it’s not her fault… and I could just tell JJ had respect for these two. probably because she loves those kinda antique stores as I do too! 😊
Why would he have insurance in HER store? It's her store so she should have insurance. So why are they even in court she should have had her insurance pay out, it happened in her store on her property and she was contracted to manage the merchandise there. It's all on her and her insurance.
You sound like the plaintiff lol
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep He could have insured the gun itself.. in his name.
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep
If you buy a new car and take out a $40,000 loan, and you park your new car in your neighbor’s garage, and your neighbor’s house and garage burn down, is your neighbor going to pay that loan off?
I think you don’t understand insurance.
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeepwhat!?? If you have a big ticket item for sale you can privately insure it! He had a booth in her store so he should have insurance on his items…
The thieves took advantage of this kind old lady. Not her fault.
This is the responsibility of owning a shop and holding someone else's personal property. She should have carried bailee insurance coverage, which would have covered the gun in the case of theft.
@@katesweeney9101he should’ve had insurance on it so it’s not her fault
@@musix2009 - Not how this works. I work at an insurance carrier. I'm telling you - she'd be liable.
Surprised they didn’t have security cameras in the store.
Thieves usually tell their buddies when they find a place that is easy to steal from. I'm surprised she isn't being robbed on a regular basis.
True, but that's his own fault. As I can almost hear Judge Judy saying: "Then go find a more secure place to rent!"
I've seen that hundreds of times on the show: "I didn't pay rent because the place smelled weird or there was leaky faucets, etc." And Judy is always like, "But you lived there for 4 months? MOVE OUT!"
Same thing here... if he wasn't satisfied with the security of the location because lack of cameras, a guard, or just a more secure cabinet.. then take your business and rent elsewhere. I'd say he got a pretty good deal if he was only paying $500 to store all his stuff there on a monthly basis and she'd sell for him...
He had the dumbest case I've seen in recent Judy weeks. If I let a friend use my outdoor parking space for a week and someone stole the car or a tree fell on it, would I be liable? Not at all. "Well his space is kind of dark and there has been some recent theft in the area in the last few months... and there's a tree nearby that has been dead for a while" Judy: "FIND SOME OTHER PLACE TO PARK YOUR CAR THEN!"
She probably had them put up after this! Someone (or people) always ruin it for others
One would think that would be part of managing your goods?
How silly of him to think that she has the time and energy to follow each and every customer around to make sure that they don't steal something. He should have hired an employee to stand there and guard his Loft all day. But to think that he would leave a $4,500 gun in a glass case (easy to break) unsupervised is not a smart thing to do.
She didn't have to follow them, but she was in possession of someone else's personal property. She should have carried bailee insurance coverage, which would have paid for the stolen gun.
Dry cleaners, for example, have these types of policies covering customers' clothes in the case of damage or theft.
She seems so sweet and nice. None of this is her fault. He’s trying to pin the blame on her and get money out of it. Take your shot, I guess, but it’s not her fault.
But shouldn't the "poor lady" have insurance for the store? So why are they even in court?
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep it was already established that he was a tenant to her and that any negligence on her part didn’t contribute to the issue. It never got to the point of even needing to know about insurance. However, he should have renter’s insurance himself.
@@WWRNC No that part was thrown out when it was shown she manages it. So in essence it's as if it's partly her product and she is taking a commission in the same sense. It's UNDER her. Even then if that was not the case and you are right insurance is still has to be under her name since it's on her property and she takes on that responsibility renting out the space and any fee or cost on her part that should go towards the insurance or anything like that should be thought about and worked out and put into the rent before hand. As far as I know if she wants to rent it out like a landlord at a strip mall or building leasing rooms to businesses there has to be more done than just saying here is a contract I wrote up give me money. They have to file papers with the city. Then the tenet can get their own insurance and so on. That's why it would be under her insurance.
@@WWRNCI guess I'm gonna take my shot, come on over 😂
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep Just asking. I rent an apartment from someone else. If the contents are stolen are they responsible? No they are not. I have renter's insurance. I just don't see the difference but not an insurance or legal expert.
I wouldn't leave a $4,500 gun in that kind of a cabinet in anybody's facility, let alone one that somebody could steal from that easily....
Yes, the thieves could not resist
And now he has to worry about someone committing a crime with HIS gun. Stupid move.
No kidding! Especially if she doesn’t have a license to sell guns 😳
And uninsured.
@justinloveday2410
Really? I did not know that!
If just one item of his, the gun, was valued at $4,500, why on earth didn't he have renter's insurance?
Unfortunately, the sweet lady passed away this year in June. So sad, may she rest in peace.
Ohhhh no, bless her soul 🥹
And she was still wrong.
2:26 I love how the officer always look at all the evidence before giving it to the judge 😂 you can see his joy face on all videos lol
Mange your property means look over it, make sure everything is locked, and help customers who want to purchase his things. Imagine if she had to follow every customer who came into the store and walked around to make sure they didn’t steal something. How ridiculous of him.
Exactly and miss out on her own sales. The nerve of him.
Even if it was just her stuff upstairs, she still wouldn't follow them up there.
@@TINABLESS88 Exactly. What if she was in another area with a customer, or ringing up a sale when someone headed for "The Loft"? She was just supposed to drop everything and run after them (abandon her own customers), then stand there and stare at them while they browsed?
She'd be in court all the time accused of profiling lol.
I've been in a lot of antique shops, and 99% of the time there is one single person working, & they're always behind the register. Antique stores run with the honor system. Something that's $4500.00 and small enough to carry should not be in an antique shop (unless it's behind the glass under or behind the register), much less behind removable glass panels in an area that's out of sight of the register.
There are online auctions for things like that.
HE was negligent. She was not. And thieves are scum.
@@JamieM470As a twist on the story, suppose she went upstairs, leaving her own floor unsupervised and had something stolen. Should we assume he would be liable?
you Are joking right? Thats sarcasm??? We want THAT GUN!! so that should raise a red flag to a normal person, maybe a clue to watch them. call the police and have them check the suspicious behavior, i have the same gun and want to compare it, Oh, what are you bringing in? May I see it please? We dont allow backpacks and ask to check things people bring in? She got paid to manage his property, if she wants to be nice and let people steal her property? its her choice. She had an obligation to exercise reasonable care to protect his property. Man should have got $4000 but Judge Judy was probably drunk, on pills and she hates men and guns anyway. She is a disgusting human, when she's wrong she's really wrong.
Thank you JJ! I rooted for the landlord all the way, such a sweet lady!
This is definitely a case that should be filed under the heading "No good deed goes unpunished"
It was a business arrangement, not a good deed. She doesn't normally do it. But it's a business arrangement.
I hope those thieves rot in prison. Poor Bettie.
I do feel bad for the plaintiff for getting his property stolen.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Good deed? He pays 500 bucks a month
@@elimanator And she had to track him down everything someone had a question about his items. I consigned for a very short time. It's also competition to her pieces. It's not worth $125 per week. At all.
@@elimanator And that's a cheap deal.
@@achefaceat the antique mall here it's no 500 a month. It's less
Lame platitude
I looked up her shop in Orange, CA and sadly, she passed away only a month ago. 😔 She seemed like a sweet lady, and it says in her obituary that she was the first woman to ever ride on the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland! I hope she’s resting easy in heaven. 🕊️
His gun was less secure than my grandfathers liquor cabinet and he’s just upset that he didn’t figure it out before a thief
His contract wasn't specific enough. He felt like he was ripped off for paying $500 for rent every month for his expensive item to get stolen. But he really was only paying for the use of the space and for her to turn over any money that was made from sales of his items, not to be responsible for more than that. Too bad. I wonder if they eventually caught up with the thieves.
Not true it's her property and she is managing his merchandise on it so it's her insurance that would be covering the theft. So why are they even in court? Why didn't Judy bring this obvious question up? Just weird.
But does her insurance cover his items too simply because they're under his roof? I have no idea about all that. Or did she modify her policy to include his stuff too? @@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep
@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep not true, it's his property for his business that he is running in a spot the he rented in her store, that does not make her liable for his property. That's like saying the owner of a mall is liable for every single item in ghe stores in said mall, it's not true, the owner is responsible for collecting rent and upkeep of the facility. She's responsible for her items, not his, her business insurance, not his, and her store. He even said himself that he was never there, you can't run a business if you aren't present and you can't and shouldn't make others responsible for your property.
I'm sure he could have gotten insurance for hus items. For example, if u rent an apartment, the building has its own insurance and all the tenants do too. My landlord having insurance doesn't help ME. I need my own. You think they gonna pay extra premium to cover ur stuff?
@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeephe should have his own insurance especially since his merchandise are big ticket items like antique guns.
I would love to have thos lady as my grandma. She is soo sweet. ❤❤❤
Its like demand money from a landlord if someone broke in my apartment while im gone 😂
This is very similar to housing. A landlord insures their building, and a tenant insures their property. If something happens to a tenant's property, then the landlord is not responsible unless they directly were involved.
That’s what i thought. He should have had insurance for such expensive items.
Except in the case where a landlord allows someone into my apartment when I'm not there, and items are stolen. That falls on the landlord.
The 2 guys had to be Rick and Chumlee...antique rifle...😂
😂😂
How ridiculous! So if I was working at a Walgreens and someone found a way into the glass display case that was supposedly locked to obtain an item and they managed to walk out of the store with a stolen item, that means I, as the employee, should be penalized for that?! If it happened repeatedly, I would understand, but this was a one-time incident. The defendant isn't at fault AND she kept her story straight. The fact that the plaintiff knowingly figured out the method as to how his gun was stolen from a cabinet that HE assumed was locked speaks volumes. Again, the defendant isn't a fault.
Both seem like good people sad that people have to steal and ruin it.
RIP defendant...
When you rent a booth in a antique store, you are responsible because you need to secure your things and insure them. Theft is part of what happens.
Why wouldn't insurance cover this? Am I out to lunch? Surely she had theft insurance on this stuff.
So he believes that she should stop all business and kick her clients out every time someone wants to look at his stuff, whether or not they plan to buy it, and all of that for 500/month rental and no commission? 😂😂😂😂
Since he wasn't there to monitor the items personally, he could've at least put a motion activated camera up so he could be alerted every time possible customers came into his space. Then he could've monitored his items much better.
Or at least examine the cases before leaving valuable items behind.
Whoever took the guns ran rings around this sweet lady, just like JJ is! Marty was just plain old mad!
JJ did NOT understand the dynamics of this situation. PERIOD. She failed to rule on this properly. This was a BAILMENT. The old woman was responsible to MANAGE his goods. She was not just renting him space. She was going to the loft, showing off the goods and MAKING SALES. That meant she was a quasi employee. She was responsible for everyone that went up to the loft BE WATCHED for theft. SHE FAILED. She admits 'it was a busy day'.
I disagree. The standard of care JJ acted on was that the owner (woman) treated his items with the same standard as her other items, namely that people are allowed to roam the various floors of the shop unaccompanied. There was no established standard of care that she needed to watch his items like a hawk. His mistake for leaving a 4500 dollar gun in a flimsy locking cabinet like that with the unreasonable expectation that she was to treat his items with any special care above and beyond what she treated every other item in the shop with.
That’s kind of ridiculous. It’s like if I had a product I was selling in a Walmart and someone stole it. Can I sue Walmart for negligence?
Betty Woody-What a beautiful woman, both inside and out ❤️ with a heart of gold.
Such a kind soul to allow the plaintiff to rent her space. I stand with her 100%, not her responsibility to manage his items.
May you rest in peace ❤️
I learned something today 😯
What the plaintiff does not get is that he was not there, and her part was to facilitate the sales, not her fault that the men tricked her. He needs to be sure his guns and rifles were locked up, not her job as landlord, to keep it all under lock and key.
She would be at fault if she left the door unlocked and it got stolen, I see very little difference in allowing people to bring in some unknown object wrapped in a blanket, it's very suspicious to say the least, she should have least told them no or visually identified the object before and after they left her sight.
He would have been better selling it on consignment with her. Same or similar situation but she would have been responsible then
@@acun4075but the main difference was that the thieves were able to “pick” the lock. Or aka lift the glass.
I especially don’t like that he expected her to facilitate sales handle transaction and be security for his items and she didn’t even get a percentage of his sales and then he sues her 🤦♀️
Good call case dismissed 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
She made an exception to be nice and it got her sued. What is wrong with people?
Be nice anyway.
An exception to what? I don't understand the comments here stating that "she was nice." She was a landlord and he paid her rent. How is that being nice? I'm genuinely asking, I don't know why there's multiple comments here saying that "she dud him a favor ". She's sweet as she can be, don't get me wrong, but what exception was she making?
Betty looks like an amazing little lady 💕
Interesting case! I love the old lady she seems to be good-hearted woman God bless her
Awww she was so cute and sweet
insurance?
I don’t know why people are so harsh on the plaintiff. It’s not unreasonable to think she’s at fault. This is the perfect case for a court to get involved in.
It’s not smart to allow someone with a blanket or whatever to go up into a place with valuables to “compare” them and then leave with said blanket. That’s an obvious warning sign of theft.
I’m not saying she should have to pay, but I can easily see an argument for negligence.
I wish that old lady was my grandma she seems so sweet and will bake you cookies every Christmas
The old guy is sweet as well so I don’t get why everybody is hating. While the old lady seems very sweet I do see some negligence on her part, it’s an unfortunate case and I feel bad for both parties.
So 😔 sad....RIP......LOVELY LADY.
They seemed to be friends for years. It's so sad he let this destroy their relationship after she made an exception for him to sell his stuff with a locked case he knew about in advance. I hope he apologized to her after the case and came to his senses. If he wanted a more secure place he should have paid for one.
Something that cost $4500 is coming home with me.
What an awful way to treat this poor lady ….. greed.
The defendant AND plaintiff are wayyyyy too old for all this!!!
It's one of those occasional cases where I feel calm but the passion for the reign of reason is still there.
What are the chances that the same thieves would watch this and go about their day
I really dont understand why JJ didnt follow her with the price check..?
I feel bad for both of them but the dude has to learn that shit happens and Instead of going after the innocent, he should put his effort in finding the men that stole the gun.
The problem is that lady is too sweet. She allowed those people to walk in with something she didn't verify wrapped in a towel, and walked out with something she didn't verify wrapped in a towel. Not her fault, but I can see some negligence
Thieves found their target. Nice elderly woman. Thank goodness they could just walk out with the gun and she didn't get harmed.
Plaintiff had a business deal which was very sweet for him in that he did not have to man his display space. However, as someone with long experience in business I know that I need to carry insurance. Loss can be from lots of sources - accident, fire, water damage, and of course theft. If this guy wants to save money by not paying for insurance he has the right to do that, but it also means he assumes the costs due to loss of any kind.
He can't blame someone else for loss that could have been covered by insurance. He also could have bought a display cabinet with better security but chose not to do that. His loss because he chose not to protect himself. The price of the gun would have bought a lot of insurance, and a super-dooper secure cabinet. Penny wise, but dollar foolish.
Those display cases are garbage… they’re just there to keep honest people honest.
Why wouldn’t the insurance company pay him for the stolen item?
Insurance of the business should cover it.
Seems to be a pretty open and shut case to me 😜😜
This is where business insurance kicks in
Shouldn’t the store have the items insured? I have an agreement with a jewelry shop to sell some of my items on consignment. Everything in that stores including consignment items are insured.
Different situation. The store is selling them for you, that's not what was happening here. He was renting space in her store so he could sell his items.
Quite right too, unfortunately.
Who all jumped off there seats in joy when JJ said : that in fact verifies her story.
He should have insurance
He should have had insurance on his property to prevent that sort of thing. I keep a friends' car and he has that kind of insurance that should anything happen, I'm kept out of it. He was just being a cheapskate by not doing that and is being a disgraceful human being by trying to get his money back this way instead. Awful man!
Also never stink what people thinking
Why didnt he have his multiple high-end antiques insured, at least Renter's Insurance in case of fire? No good deed goes unpunished.
Find them and sue them . If u manage a grocery store i don't think Coca-Cola is suing you because someone else stole something 😂
End credit:
Defendant: Because this was a friend as well as a customer since 2010.
Plaintiff: I’ve been friends with Bettie for a long time. I really didn’t want to do this to go to small claims but
Defendant: And to have this happen was very discouraging
Plaintiff: I don’t know if we still be friends. We’ll see.
Defendant: I don’t trust him.
So happy she was found not guilty
I think she was afraid to go upstairs with two men inquiring about a gun.
Poor guy. She should have been insured. She supplied the cabinet with a lock. How could he oversee his items by not being there. She should have stated in the agreement, "no responsibility will be taken of goods on this property" He had full trust in her, as sweet as she may seem. The judge made a wrong call here.
The thieves had that well planned out how to steal that.
If she had gone up with them they might have hurt her to get at the gun.
She didn't know that he even had a gun in the cabinet yet she noticed when it went missing and rang him to tell him. Seems odd.
He should have had it insured.
If the gun was so expensive he should have asked to have it behind the counter if there was one and under glass where it is monitored more closely but instead he opted for a glass case on a floor that wasn't monitored. Good call for Judge Judy. RIP to Ms. Woody she seemed like a lovely lady.
I wouldn't let her in charge of my valuable
And this is why a lot of stores are now leaving the boxes of the items that most likely would be stolen out so people can see what it is and keeping the item that would normally be in the box in the back or in their area.
Get your OWN renters insurance. Your landlord ain't gonna increase their premiums or care about your property by making a claim on THEIR insurance. Wanting a fully running staffed business with shelter and insurance coverage for $500/m. If he care so much for his property, he would have been more involved. Hell they got insurant for EVERYTHING!!!! Get some!
Had she tried to stop the thieves, she could have actually been in danger.
Wait didnt he say that somebody called him to ask about the gun?
THAT is Right Even in AUSTRALIA
They probably brought the one piece in to confuse her and knowing she saw what they brought to compare it they took the guys but she wouldn’t have known that since they looked the same. Just smart Thieves 🤷🏾♂️
No weapon, was a trick.
She was a relatively sweet lady and was definitely not at fault
How can someone drag this sweet old lady to court when she did nothing wrong??? I bet the stress of this contributed to her passing.
The old lady was soo sweet I felt bad from her
Why? She should have insurance for the store and paid him from an insurance claim. Why are they even in court...
He could have insured them surely 🤔
I don't know if I trust the defendant are not. Yes, she seems sweet, but people like that have fooled me before. Be that as it may, the burden of proof was on the plaintiff, and his evidence was lacking.
She did him a favour by only charging rent because she should've also earned a commission for each sale since he wasn't there to handle the sales, and that's how he repays her? Pffft
She needed to be there to observe what they were doing. You don't allow people up into a loft space and have them looking around without being accompanied. That's insane. People steal all the time. JJ was WRONG. Those glass cabinets are notoriously easy to break into. She should have stayed with them to observe them.
Why would this be the expectation for his items when she allows people to do the same for her items on the many floors of her shop for her own items? Not to mention she doesn't get any commission for selling his items. He's responsible for assuring the safety of his items in his rental space.
I feel bad for the plaintiff. Shouldn't the defendant have had some kind of insurance to cover the items in the store?
some people dont want to claim valuables for tax purposes.
He was a renter. He should have renters insurance or some other type of protection. Not the landlord's responsibility if a burglar steals from a renter.
Why didn’t he have his own insurance since he was renting from her? I have a storage unit and my renters insurance covers it.
The plaintiff should have his own insurance.
Google renters insurance please.
poor old lady and a mean old man
Here 😊
What a joke, $500 to let a customer walk out with a gun. Doesn't she have insurance?
I’d never allow
Someone else to look after my antique things, she’s not responsible but I’d never just have someone else handle my antique things without me being there
With a gun being stolen, where is the police report? Fingerprints taken? Description of the men from the lady, interview of any witnesses/other customers in the store? Check if any surrounding businesses have cameras outside that would have caught them leaving?
To me, this seemed so much more a true criminal case than anything else.
I respectfully disagree with Judge Judy as the testimony from both confirms that the owner was required to accompany customers upstairs to the loft when they were intrested in purchasing one of the mans items. This was the practice and agreed to which is a contract. Therefore since she failed to go upstairs she allowed the thieves the opportunity to steal his antique gun. Therefore she is responsible. Questions - did he have the gum insured and did she have insurance on all items? If yes then they can collect from the insurance company