Donna Pittinger

I consistantly watch the Peoples Court & typically agreed with Judge Milian's decisions, until today. The episode that aired on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, regarding the return of the September rent due to the tenant not being able to obtain utility service,, the tenant was trying to perpetrate fraud on the utility. The landlord was unable to explain what the tenant was asking of them, and if they complied, they too would be committing fraud. Here's the missing piece: The prospective tenant had a $4,800 old bill with the utility company. She could not get gas / electric service in her name unless she paid the bill. She then tried to evade paying the bill by putting service in the husbands bame...who was not luving there. Once the utility knows that she is living there & owes the bill, they will not give her ...or anyone else service unless she can prove she is not living at that property (utility requires a lease without her name on it). More than likely, the tenant asked the landlord to put the lease in her husbands name (who doesn't live there)...if they did this, they would have been committing fraud on the utility by helping the tenant avoid paying her old utility bill. My feeling is, the landlord should have been able to keep the September depisit since the tenant could not get the utilities in her name so she could not stay there.....and inturn, the landlord was unable to re-rent the apartment for September.