Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano, said,
"Charity is humiliating. It is vertical.
Exercised from above.
Solidarity is horizontal and implies mutual respect."
Hello and welcome to<i> Case Closed.</i>
It's a beautiful quote that we should always remember.
Let's see how this quote relates to today's first case.
Please bring out the litigants.
I tried helping a loser and he ended up ruining my life.
He just wanted to use me.
He's a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Good afternoon and welcome.
Good afternoon.
Jose, you're suing Marcos.
Tell me what the suit is
and what you demand in order to settle this case.
I'm suing this good-for-nothing
because he's completely ruined my company's image.
People want nothing to do with us.
I want him to clean up my image
and to pay me $10,000 for my losses.
I'll explain.
I founded a community center.
I named it after my mother.
We help people in need through their problems.
We help people with drug addiction issues,
prostitution, alcoholism, etc.
-We give them food and a home. -Where is it located?
-In Los Angeles. -Okay.
I wanted my business to grow.
He's very well known in the community.
He had a lot of... everyone knows him.
I wanted him to be the...
You're an exploiter.
He was the face of my community center.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew him.
Why did they know him?
He had a very popular taco truck,
but it was falling to pieces so I suggested we work together.
He sold his truck and he came to work with me.
Under what terms did he come work for you?
I offered him $50,000 a year.
Alright, and what was his job?
Being the face of my community center.
What does that entail?
He was the face, everyone knew him.
However, he wanted to be more involved.
For example, one time the plumbing broke down.
I tried...
Let me talk.
He wanted to fix the plumbing.
I paid for the materials, but he made things worse.
I had to spend even more money to fix it.
Two weeks later, he wanted to help in the kitchen.
He cooked, but the food was awful.
Everyone got sick.
Of course, you bought cheap ingredients.
That's beside the point,
I'd never had any issues until you cooked.
Understand?
I've been a cook for 12 years and I'd never had this problem.
I told him that I would handle everything
and that all he had to do was show up and take his paycheck.
He had a room and food.
Two weeks later, I had to go to Puerto Rico on a Friday night
because I had a family emergency.
On Saturday, he decided to throw a party.
He invited everyone to the community center.
There were drugs and he even sold alcohol.
Two men even beat up a former prostitute over a debt.
It was so chaotic that he had to call the cops
so they could get people out of there.
The community center was filled beyond capacity.
We can't sell alcohol without a liquor license.
He got me in trouble and now my community center is closed.
Here's the proof. May I?
Please do.
Let's see.
This is him. This was the ad.
-Yes. -He's the face of the ad.
This is the government notice
saying you violated the following codes.
"Sale of alcohol without liquor license.
Exceeding occupancy limits for structure.
Failure to provide adequate security
for a public event where alcohol is being sold,
violation of non-commercial zoning,
and violation of occupational license."
There were also fire hazard violations
and a hearing pending to reopen your community center.
That's the article that came out the next day
and ruined the community center's reputation.
As you can see, there he is with the mess around him.
There's vodka and a lot of other things.
So you want him to pay you $10,000 for your losses?
Correct.
Anything else?
I want him to clean up the community center's reputation.
Okay.
Marcos, how do you respond?
I want to make a counterclaim against this racist man.
-That's all he is. -I'm not.
You are! He's racist.
I want him to pay me $7,000.
It's what he owes me for my work.
I had my taco truck, but this man saw that I was known
and that the people in our community got along with me.
He took advantage of that and you know why?
For money.
He was greedy.
I made you an offer.
He stole from me various times.
He wanted me to work with him because I have followers.
I decided to sell my taco truck and went to work with him.
He offered me $50,000 a year to work with him.
Which was a lot more than you made, right?
It was, but he ended up only paying me $200 per week.
But you had food and housing, right?
Yes.
-Food and a home. -Right.
-So you didn't have a contract? -No.
He didn't want me to talk to anyone.
He said I was a good-for-nothing.
He calls me a useless Mexican Indian.
He humiliates me all the time.
I'm like furniture. He'd treat an animal better.
So you feel useless and insulted?
Yes, because I've worked all my life.
I've worked in construction, in gardening, in restaurants...
I've sold tacos.
I know how to get by. I need to work.
However, this racist bastard...
That day I had the idea of throwing a party
because I wanted people to have fun.
I threw the party.
There were dancers, mariachis...
That wasn't up to you.
-But it's necessary. -No, it wasn't.
-Everyone was bored. -It should've been my decision.
They're just there because you discriminate against them.
During the party, I had an idea.
I had beers in my room.
I decided to sell them because a lot of people were coming.
I thought we could make money.
Don't you know you need a liquor license to sell?
You wanted to use the money to benefit the community center,
but you forgot you needed a liquor license.
Exactly, but I did it in good faith.
I wanted to help people so they could buy clothing, soap, etc.
We already help them.
Lies. They have needs.
And we're helping them.
So we started selling the beers and everything was okay.
Suddenly, some men walked in
and they started beating up a woman.
Things got out of control.
-It was mess. -It shouldn't have happened.
I had to call the cops to calm things down.
Do you have any evidence?
-No, I don't. -No one has any evidence.
Who has witnesses?
-I do. -Bring them out.
I also want to say
that he forced me to walk around with a poster.
He humiliated me in public.
He's made me apologize for what happened.
I brought evidence.
-So you have footage? -I do.
Alright, let's take a look.
"The community center was closed because I'm dumb and useless."
Look at that. It's humiliating.
"I'm sorry."
I can't believe that, as a Latino like us,
he humiliated me that way.
The poster didn't have to be offensive.
You're right. It's offensive.
It didn't have to say you're dumb.
-It's not fair. -Just pay me the money.
Hello. Your name?
Hello. My name is Mariela.
You're here on behalf of the plaintiff, right?
Yes, I'm his wife.
I'm going to tell you why we don't want him
around the community center.
This man...
he would sneak young women from our community center
into his room and harass them.
Never.
I saw those women leaving his room all shaky and disheveled.
-You're lying! -Let her talk!
These women were domestic abuse victims.
If that happened and they didn't call the police
or do anything to stop you,
then they're an accessory after the fact.
That's if it were true, which I don't believe it is.
These women are victims. They don't want to talk.
You said you saw them looking disheveled
after they left his room.
That's your community center,
so it was your responsibility to protect them.
I don't know what to think about your statement.
Anything else?
We've worked for years to have this community center.
It's a noble cause.
All our savings went into this.
You're both horrible people.
Bring out the defendant's witness.
Maybe you should've opened the community center
in Puerto Rico, where you know your people's customs.
Who knows?
Hello, your name?
My name's Myriam.
You're here on behalf of the defendant, right?
Yes, Mr. Marcos wanted us to have fun...
-How ungrateful of you. -Let her talk.
He wanted us to have fun,
because we never had fun at the community center.
He decided to throw the party,
because none of the people who lived there had fun.
What happened wasn't his fault.
Other people came in and made the mess.
It wouldn't have happened if he hadn't thrown the party.
One more thing, what she said is not true.
She's lying. She's slandering him.
I know Mr. Marcos and he'd never disrespect any of us.
I know that because I knew everyone in the center.
These types of businesses might seem charitable and generous,
but the people who own them need to have the calling,
because otherwise, these things happen.
However, in the end, it's still a business.
I deny you your claim for lack of information
and I grant him his counterclaim.
It's obvious that, as his boss, you didn't do what you had to.
Do things properly, make a new ad,
clean up your reputation and there you go.
It's final. Case closed!