‘Judging Matters’ deals with what may appear to be small cases to the everyday person, but they are constantly helping claimants solve their issues. On episode nine of the show, Justice Olushola Williams and celebrity host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu dealt with two similar cases involving landlords.
Case One
Janet was living in her apartment from 2016 to 2019 even though there were many issues with the space. The fans were not working, the roof was leaking, and the toilet seat was bad. She laid several complaints with her landlord who promised to fix them but never did. She approached her landlord when she was finally ready to leave the apartment to refund her caution fee, but he refused. His excuse was that she had damaged some things in the apartment.
She had paid the landlord a total sum of N260,000 for her rent and caution fee and was entitled to N60,000 after her time in the house. The Counsel probed further, and Janet revealed that the landlord had only given her a receipt for the rent and not the caution fee. She added that they had a verbal agreement that she was meant to be refunded her money after her tenure in the house.
Justice Olushola Williams thereafter asked Kehinde why he didn’t fix Janet’s complaints and why he never inspected the house. He claimed that he did and after the Justice asked if there were any issues during his inspections, he said there weren’t. After a few deliberations between the Judge and Counsel, Justice Olusola Williams ruled in favour of Janet, the claimant in the sum of N60,000.
Case Two
Mr David is Mr Bidemi’s tenant but he did not pay his rent from March 2019 until November 2019 when he suddenly got a new Sienna. The new car enraged Mr Bidemi and he started asking for his rent but Mr David claimed he couldn’t afford the N96,000 rent because he had lost his job.
Mr Bidemi believes that if his tenant can afford a new car and to cook good meals daily, while he couldn’t, then he must be able to afford the rent. Ebuka queried Mr David about the car and he said that the car was a gift from a friend and he still couldn’t afford the cost of the rent.
Justice Olushola then asked why Mr David hadn’t told his generous friend about his rent issues too so they could help him. But he had no valid excuse. The judge concluded that Mr David was being wicked and terrorizing his landlord instead of just paying his rent. She ruled in Mr Bidemi’s favour, asking the tenant to pay him the N96,000 immediately.
Both cases teach us the importance of mutual agreements, both written and verbal. You can learn more life lessons on new episodes of Judging Matters every Monday at 6:00 PM on Africa Magic Showcase CH 151. If you missed a previous episode, catch the repeat on the same channel on Wednesdays at 5:00 PM.
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