What Goes Around…

Nika at the beach

Back in June, our daughter, Megan, was walking her dog, Nika, and two of her clients’ dogs, when Nika apparently saw a squirrel. She tore away from Megan, her leash flapping against the ground as she raced after the squirrel and into the busy road in front of her building. A car hit Nika, who was catapulted into the air and slammed to the asphalt.  Megan thought the blow had killed her and ran over to her, picked her up, and got Nika into her car, with the other two dogs she’d been walking.

She called us as she sped to the vet’s office, and was so hysterical she could barely speak.  When she ran into Pet Smart, shouting that her dog had been struck by a car, they took her immediately.  While she was waiting for results of the X-rays, she received a call from a local policeman.

Apparently the kid driving the car had parked and marched into the lobby of her building, demanding to know who was going to pay for the dent in his car. He also called the cops and filed a police report. The cop told her that since her dog was off the leash (Nika’s leash was on her, she jerked away from Megan), she probably would be liable because of leash laws in the county.

Her apartment building is loaded with security cameras and there’s a video of the incident showing Nika on her leash.

After this, endless text messages ensued in which this kid demanded that Megan pay for the damages, that her dog had hit his car  – not the other way around – and she was liable.  When he had an estimate done on the damage, he texted Megan that she owed him $1,400. I find it difficult to believe that a 40-45 pound dog could cause that much damage to a car. Fortunately, Nika was just bruised and not injured, which struck me as rather miraculous.

The kid kept texting Megan and she ignored the texts. She finally replied that he had hit her dog, not the other way around, and that he should pay her vet bill of several hundred bucks and should go through his insurance company. He said he didn’t want to filer a claim with his insurance company because his rates would go up. Megan told him she didn’t owe him anything. He then threatened to take her to small claims court. She blocked his number.

In early August, she received a summons to small claims court. This kid was now claiming she owed him nearly $1700, an amount that included court costs. The date of her appearance is September 9 and it’s for mediation, where the parties attempt to reach an agreement.

Today, Megan received a letter from the producers of Judge Judy, an arbitration based reality show,  informing her that her case was being considered for the show.

It turns out that she received the letter by mistake and was  mistakenly referred to as the person who had brought the claim.  At any rate, Megan called the producer and had a long chat with the woman.  She agreed to be on the show, but that will happen only if the kid agrees as well.

If he agrees, then the show flies them both out to LA, (hopefully on separate planes!) puts them up in a hotel for two nights, all expenses are paid. In addition, Megan can take a friend whose airfare and expenses are also covered. Plus, she would  receive $200 for each day of filming AND the show pays the amount the kid is asking for in his small court claim.

The synchronistic irony? The filming is September 9 – the same day she’s supposed to be in court – and 10th. The producer said that wouldn’t be a problem. The show simply calls the court in Orlando and has the hearing pushed into October. I’ a bit puzzled about how a TV show has this sort of clout, but…

If the kid is basically after money, then this is his ticket to paradise. However, a national audience will hear that he hit a young woman’s dog and then demanded that she pay for the damage to his car. Does he want to expose himself in that way? Hello, world, I’m a cold-hearted SOB… How many people would do such a thing? Suppose he had hit a child instead of a dog? Would he demand that the parents pay for the damage?

Stay tuned. We’ll know more next week.