Family and business are often a volatile mix, but for two sisters in Georgia, the explosion happened over something as basic as water.
A “Helpful” Arrangement
The story began in September 2013. Miss Mitchell was facing a crisis: she was unemployed, and her son had fallen ill. Looking to her sister, Miss Thomas, for support, a deal was struck. Miss Thomas ran a transitional shelter—a “Veterans’ Home”—and offered her sister a place to stay.
The terms seemed generous on the surface: no monthly rent. In exchange, Miss Mitchell would help market the shelter and oversee security. Financially, her only responsibility was to cover the utilities—electric and cable—while living there rent-free for what would eventually be a seven-month stay.
The $3,300 Question
The peace didn’t last long. When Miss Mitchell moved out in April 2014, she was met with a staggering demand. Her sister claimed she owed over $3,300 specifically for the water bill.
When the case reached Judge Judy’s courtroom, the math simply didn’t add up. “Do you have to be a millionaire to live in Georgia?” the Judge quipped, pointing out that for a seven-month stay, the bill would average nearly $500 a month just for water.
The Deep Dive into the Past
Under the pressure of the bench, the truth began to leak out. Miss Thomas admitted that the water bill was registered under the name of her Veterans’ Home, not her sister’s. More importantly, she confessed that when Miss Mitchell moved in, there was already a $2,500 outstanding balance on the account.
Miss Thomas’s logic was bold: since she wasn’t charging her sister the “market rate” rent of $750, she expected her sister to pay off the entire water debt—including the thousands of dollars accrued before she even stepped foot on the property.
The Confrontation
The courtroom grew tense as Miss Thomas tried to justify the debt by painting her sister as ungrateful. She claimed Miss Mitchell stopped working because her son was “supposedly” sick and spent her time taking him to football practice instead of earning money to pay the bills.
Judge Judy wasn’t buying the character assassination. She focused on the cold, hard facts:
The Electric & Cable: Paid.
The Rent: Waived by agreement.
The Water: A utility, yes, but only for the period of residency.
The Final Splash
Miss Thomas made one final mistake: she failed to bring any documentation showing the balance from the day her sister moved in. She presented only a “final, all-inclusive bill,” hoping the court would force her sister to clear the shelter’s old debts.
Judge Judy had seen enough. “She doesn’t pay for the water before she moved in,” the Judge declared, silencing Miss Thomas’s protests.
The Verdict: Judge Judy stripped away the $2,500 “legacy debt” and ordered Miss Mitchell to pay only $800—the estimated cost of the actual water she used during her seven months in the house.
The sisters walked out of the courtroom, their relationship likely as dry as the debt was high.
