You may be seated.
Hello, Your Honor.
Hello.
This is the case of Tinch v. Grubb and Boatwright.
Thank you, Jerome. Good day, everyone.
AUDIENCE: Good day.
Mr. Tinch, you are suing the defendant for $59.98,
the cost of a baby stroller.
Yes, Your Honor.
You claim you purchased it for a child you believe may not be your biological daughter.
Yes, Your Honor.
You're also seeking the results of a paternity test.
You claim the defendant was cheating with her ex
at the time her daughter was conceived.
Yes, Your Honor.
Ms. Grubb, you say the only reason Mr. Tinch is denying your daughter
is because he's afraid to grow up.
Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: You deny cheating with your ex
and are counter-suing for $2,435,
an amount you say is half the cost of your daughter's child care expenses thus far.
Yes, Your Honor.
The other potential father has been tested for paternity,
and is waiting outside of the courtroom.
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
We'll get to his testimony in just a few moments.
So, Ms. Grubb,
what's your reaction to this lawsuit Mr. Tinch is bringing?
I think he has enough nerve to sue me for $60 for a stroller,
when in the past year and a half, I've spent way more than that,
over $5,000, let alone on clothes,
shoes, food, everything.
So, I think it's ridiculous.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
So...
Mr. Tinch, tell me, you're suing for $59.98 for the stroller.
Yes, ma'am.
Tell the court why.
I'm suing because I believe that the baby isn't mine, uh...
I mean, I'm doing something that most men twice my age wouldn't do at 18 years old,
and that's take care of her and her first child.
I mean, I believe the baby isn't mine because she has none of my features.
None. Blonde hair, blue eyes.
JUDGE LAKE: So...
You did give Ms. Grubb a stroller.
I bought the stroller while she was pregnant with the baby.
You did.
Yeah.
And you bought that willingly?
Yeah.
It was a gift?
Yes, Your Honor.
Okay, you have to understand, Mr. Tinch, gifts are not revocable.
Once you give a gift, you can't take it back.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Even when you're angry, all right?
Yes, Your Honor.
So, for that reason, your claim is dismissed.
Do you understand?
Yes, Your Honor.
Moving on, judgment for the defendant.
All right.
So, back to this relationship.
You find out you're pregnant, you're having the baby, he buys the stroller,
at what point do you start having doubt?
TINCH: Um, we had went to the doctor's and found out
that she was about a week and a half pregnant.
And about a week and a half prior to that,
we were arguing, and she had took her son, Christian,
to see his father, Mr. Boatwright.
When she had got back, we was talking and stuff,
and I asked her about some stuff, and she admitted to me
that she had kissed Mr. Boatwright.
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
So, Mr. Tinch, moving forward a little bit,
you say you were at a doctor's appointment.
And something about the doctor's appointment made you doubtful?
Yes, because, they said that she was about a week and a half pregnant,
and like I said...
Your Honor, you cannot find out that you're pregnant
at just a week and a half.
Yes you can. Yes you can.
You've got to be four weeks.
I don't know what was going through his mind,
I don't know if it was the hoes that he was cheating on me with,
but I heard that I was four weeks pregnant,
not no week and a half.
And if he's doubting the baby so much,
then why did he sign the birth certificate?
Why was he there the whole pregnancy?
Like, I took care of my kids by myself for basically five years.
My son, five years. And my daughter, a year and a half.
So, Ms. Grubb, you have two children.
Yes, Your Honor.
And how old are you?
Eighteen.
(AUDIENCE GASPING)
Eighteen years old.
Yes, Your Honor.
With two children.
Yes, Your Honor.
So, you were a teenage mother, you still are a teenage mother.
Mmm-hmm. Yes, Your Honor.
I need to understand, Mr. Tinch, your doubt.
You say when you went to that doctor's appointment,
you were told or informed that she was about a week and a half pregnant?
Yes, ma'am.
JUDGE LAKE: All right.
So, the doctor's visit would have been on the 7th of May.
The time you indicated you were having some relationship problems,
and she went to visit her ex was around when?
TINCH: Uh, it was about a week prior to the doctor's appointment.
JUDGE LAKE: So, the relationship problems happened around
the week of April 22nd to the 28th or so.
TINCH: Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: That's indicated in red, as you can see.
And at this point, that's when you say,
you were told she was about a week and a half pregnant.
TINCH: Yes, and it made me...
And, so, in your mind, you calculated back,
and you said that was the exact week she went to see her ex,
and then came back and admitted...
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
...that she had kissed him.
Yes.
And you think much more happened.
Yes.
So, Mr. Tinch, why did you sign the birth certificate?
Here is your name.
TINCH: Your Honor, I signed the birth certificate
because I've been there through everything.
I've been there for her son since he was a year and a half.
I was there through the whole pregnancy...
GRUBB: If you had doubts...
I moved from Columbus to Circleville
...why did you stay?
just to be with her while she was pregnant.
I left my family, I wasn't even supposed to leave.
I moved out of my dad's house and went to Circleville with her so I could be with her.
That's why I signed the birth certificate
because I wasn't gonna just leave her hanging like that.
I'm not.
And this really hurts you?
TINCH: Yeah, it really does.
Because you feel like you've sacrificed so much.
I have sacrificed a lot.
JUDGE LAKE: Despite your doubt.
Jerome, I think it's time we meet possible father number two.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Watch your step.
How you doing, Your Honor?
Hello, Mr. Boatwright,
thank you for joining us today.
No problem, no problem.
You know, we are here, um, dealing with a paternity issue,
as it relates to beautiful baby Nadaly.
Yes, ma'am.
And the court needs to understand,
do you remember the week Mr. Tinch is speaking of?
The week Ms. Grubb brought your child together to see you.
Yes, ma'am.
She then admitted to Mr. Tinch she had kissed you.
Yes, ma'am.
Do you remember that week?
That is correct.
So,
was it a passionate type of kiss?
Or a kiss just like you'd kiss your mom?
She was dealing with hard times.
Yes, ma'am, I did passionate kiss her.
Did it go any further than that?
No, Your Honor, it didn't.
Mr. Tinch, I can tell you're not buying this.
I'm not. (CHUCKLES) I'm really not because...
For the simple fact that...
Can I come just right out of my shell?
JUDGE LAKE: Come on out of your shell, don't be scared.
As my daddy would say, "Ain't nobody scared."
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
I believe Mr. Tinch is just using me as an excuse
to not take care of his responsibility.
Ms. Grubb and I is just friends.
I was out of my son's life for the first year and a half because I was scared.
I was young, I admit it.
I grew up into the man I am today just to take care of my son.
You need to stop using me for an excuse,
step up and take care of your responsibilities.
It's nobody else's but yours.
So, you feel, Mr. Boatwright, like Mr. Tinch doesn't have any reason to be doubtful?
No, ma'am.
But let's be frank, if the tables were turned,
and you were in a relationship with Ms. Grubb,
and she went to visit Mr. Tinch, and then came back home, and said,
"Well, babe, I gotta admit to you I kissed him."
I would be upset!
You probably would feel a little bit of doubt, too.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
No, ma'am, I would not.
You wouldn't feel any doubt?
I would be a little upset,
but that don't mean I would have doubt.
But you wouldn't have doubt?
No, ma'am, I wouldn't.
You one heck of a man.
Right?
BOATWRIGHT: Yes, ma'am.
That's difficult to hear.
I don't know what to tell her.
So, Ms. Grubb, what has Mr. Tinch done for Nadaly?
Nothing.
When she was first born, his dad bought formula for Nadaly.
Yeah, he bought me that stroller when I was pregnant,
but after I had Nadaly, yeah, he sat up there for two weeks in Circleville,
he did not move in.
He stayed there because I was sick.
After that, he was too busy partying,
hanging out with his friends, he'd leave me at his house
with Nadaly and Christian while he goes and parties.
(CLEARS THROAT) And cheats, and all this and that.
Like, it's ridiculous.
Like, if you look at that little girl right there
you cannot see Mike in her.
BOATWRIGHT: Just like him.
You see Chris and me.
BOATWRIGHT: Spitting image...
Now, Christian looks like Mike.
...of Mr. Tinch.
He looks identical to Mike.
But Nadaly looks nothing like Mike. Nothing at all.
And it hurts me because every single day for a year and a half,
Nadaly has said, "Mommy, where's Daddy? Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" And it hurts me because I don't know what to tell her.
Like, it hurts me, a lot.
You can bring her over to see me, instead of keeping her...
You don't have a place.
That don't mean you can't bring her over to see me.
I don't know where you're at. You're bouncing from back and forth.
Yes you do, I've lived in the same spot for two and a half, three years.
That's not what you been saying, Chris.
You lived there with me.
Okay, and you said your dad kicked you out.
You lived there with me, you don't know where I live?
Your dad said he kicked you out.
You know, this is the exact reason that teenagers do not need to be having kids.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
They need to be getting their education,
and doing something productive because you two haven't even
figured your own lives out yet.
Now, you're 18. How old is your oldest child?
Four.
Four!
You're 18 with a four-year-old, and a one-year-old.
And all this responsibility, and yet paternity is still in doubt.
I'm just gonna say when this paternity comes back that you are the father,
you need to step up, be a man, and take care of your daughter.
Buddy, I've been stepped up. Like I said, I've been taking care of your son
since he was a year and a half.
He calls me Dad.
Your Honor, no. My grandma has been taking care of my son.
Yes, he comes over every once in a while, me and Chris was together,
but because I was so young, my grandma took it in her hands, and raised my son.
And I'm not going to lie, she did.
So, Mr. Boatwright, you're telling him to take care of his child,
but her grandmother is taking care of your child?
Yes, ma'am. I was scared.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
I was scared. I was young. I admit it.
And he's young, too.
At this point, you all can't use young as an excuse anymore.
TINCH: I never did use young as an excuse...
You done jumped in the river,
you got to learn to swim.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Did you finish school?
Did you finish high school?
No, ma'am.
Did you finish high school?
I'm still in school.
Did you finish high school?
I graduate in January, Your Honor.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
You all better finish high school,
find a college to enroll in, I don't care if it's at night, part-time.
Get started and get to learning, educate yourselves and do better.
This is a lot of responsibility for young people like you.
I'm 40-something years old, it gets overwhelming for me some days, Jerome!
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
It's a lot!
All right. You, Ms. Grubb, are suing for $2,435.
And that's what you say is half the cost
of all of the child care expenses you have spent on Nadaly thus far.
Do you have receipts, proof, anything, regarding what you spent?
Yes, Your Honor.
Jerome, would you please hand me that evidence?
And you say to date, Mr. Tinch has not given you a dime.
No, Your Honor.
Nothing?
No, Your Honor.
But the stroller.
Yes, Your Honor.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
JUDGE LAKE: So, clothing, per month, $1,258, that's for 21 months?
Diapers and wipes, $1,092.
Formula. $15 per can. Yes, that's about right.
Eight cans per month times 21 months, $2,520.
Which totals $4,870.
I can't rule on this particular claim,
until we find out the results though.
Now, Mr. Tinch.
I need to understand from you.
These expenses that she's outlined,
have you paid for any of this?
I've paid for some formula.
It came out of your dad's pocket, not yours.
I've been working since I was 14 years old.
Yes, it was under the table, I was working at a car lot, but...
It's just the point that I've been working that long,
and she's trying to say that I didn't do nothing for the baby.
And I was.
How much have you given for the baby?
Um, I don't know, I couldn't say an exact amount.
I mean, I bought her clothes, I bought her food...
Do you have any proof of anything you've given?
Receipts? Money order receipts? Check receipts?
That stroller, that's it.
Just the stroller receipt?
Yeah, that's all I have.
All right.
You young people, you need to learn
when you come to court to testify and prove your case,
you gotta have something to prove it with.
Jerome, let's go to the results.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows.
"In the case of Tinch v. Grubb/Boatwright,
"pertaining to whether Mr. Tinch or Mr. Boatwright
"is the father of one-year-old Nadaly Tinch,
"it has been determined that the biological father is..."
Yes, Your Honor.
These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows.
"In the case of Tinch v. Grubb/Boatwright,
"pertaining to whether Mr. Tinch or Mr. Boatwright
"is the father of one-year-old Nadaly Tinch,
"it has been determined that the biological father is
"Mr. Tinch."
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
How does it feel, Mr. Tinch? Your doubts are put to rest?
Yeah. Feels good. Feels really good.
I don't feel heartbroken no more.
Feel like a piece of my heart's been filled back in.
Now that I know for sure.
I mean, I'd like to work things out, I hope, if she's trying to.
That's all I've wanted was for you to grow up and be in her life.
That's all I've wanted.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
I've always known it was his baby,
but I'm glad that it comes to rest to him
that it is his daughter and hopefully I ain't gotta listen to her say,
"Where's my daddy at?" anymore.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
You're suing for $2,435 if I'm correct.
Half of the expenses you've spent to date for Nadaly.
Because it has been determined, Mr. Tinch, that you are her biological father.
You are legally responsible...
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
...to contribute half of the amount.
And so for that reason, half of $4,870 is $2,435,
and I'm awarding that to the defendant.
And you need to pay her, and continue to take care of your child.
Understood?
Yes, Your Honor.
Judgment for the defendant, and court is adjourned.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
From this day forward, I need you to come and see Nadaly.
I need you to help me out with her.
And I want you to actually get to know her.
And I want to get to know her too.
I'm sorry for doubting that the baby was mine.
It's okay.
I'm sorry for putting you through all that stress.
It's okay.
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