{"id":776,"date":"2026-09-22T06:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/?p=776"},"modified":"2026-09-22T06:17:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:17:31","slug":"judge-judy-rejects-a-5000-dog-bite-claim-as-two-courtroom-disputes-turn-on-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/?p=776","title":{"rendered":"Judge Judy Rejects a $5,000 Dog-Bite Claim as Two Courtroom Disputes Turn on Proof"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A bruise, a tax return, and a disputed promise brought two very different conflicts before Judge Judith Scheindlin. In one case, a mother sought part of a 2017 tax refund after her daughter had been living with the child\u2019s father. In the other, food deliverer Zandro Bautista asked for $5,000 after saying Katrina Rios\u2019s dog bit him at an apartment door. Both cases arrived with emotional claims. Both were ultimately narrowed to a more basic question: what could the evidence actually support?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"897\" height=\"671\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_18-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_18-2.png 897w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_18-2-767x574.png 767w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_18-2-300x224.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case One : The Tax-Refund Dispute Begins With a Changing Custody Arrangement<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The first matter, identified in the transcript as Peterson and Maciewski versus Sylvester, involved Sarah Peterson, her husband Joseph Maciewski, and Andrew Sylvester, the father of Sarah\u2019s daughter. The plaintiffs were seeking half of a tax refund and the cost of clothing. The hearing quickly revealed that the financial dispute was tied to years of changing living arrangements rather than a single, straightforward agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"887\" height=\"671\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_21-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_21-3.png 887w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_21-3-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_21-3-767x580.png 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 887px) 100vw, 887px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Maciewski testified that he had been married to Peterson for almost nine years. When he met her in 2009, her daughter was living with her. The child was five years old at the time, and there had not been a formal custody order in place, according to the testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">That arrangement later changed. In 2013, the daughter went to live with Sylvester. She remained with him for a little more than a year and a half\u2014described in court as roughly two years\u2014because she attended school there. The child returned to Peterson and Maciewski in 2015, but the reunion did not last permanently. Peterson testified that the daughter went back to live with her father in October 2016, and that she continued living with Sylvester afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"883\" height=\"671\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_22-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_22-2.png 883w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_22-2-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_22-2-767x583.png 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 883px) 100vw, 883px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">By the time the case reached court, the family history mattered because the plaintiffs were challenging how the child had been treated on a 2017 tax return. Sylvester had claimed the child as a deduction for that year. Peterson acknowledged that her daughter had lived with him during 2017 and that she had paid no child support that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"894\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_23-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_23-3.png 894w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_23-3-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_23-3-768x572.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 894px) 100vw, 894px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why the 2017 Deduction Became the Center of the Case<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Peterson\u2019s position depended on an alleged 2016 agreement. She said Sylvester had approached her with an arrangement under which she would claim the child because the child was covered under Peterson\u2019s insurance\u2014along with the insurance provided by Peterson and Maciewski for their daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Judge Judy did not allow the discussion to remain general. She pressed the parties for dates and documentation. Who had insured the child in 2014? Peterson answered that she had. Who had insured the child in 2015? Again, Peterson said she had. For most of 2016, she maintained that the child had been on her insurance, although Sylvester also confirmed that he had covered the child for part of that year because the child had lived with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"888\" height=\"673\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_24-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_24-2.png 888w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_24-2-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_24-2-768x582.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 888px) 100vw, 888px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The testimony became less favorable to Peterson when the court focused on 2017. She said her insurance had covered the child until March, when the coverage was dropped. Her explanation was that Sylvester had \u201cdouble filed,\u201d while she had tried to keep the child insured because, in her view, he was not good with paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">That argument did not answer the question Judge Judy considered decisive. If the child was in Sylvester\u2019s custody in 2017 and Peterson was not paying child support, the judge told her, Sylvester was entitled to claim the child for that year. Peterson was entitled to zero of the tax credit, Judge Judy stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Peterson continued to emphasize the alleged agreement. She said she was bringing the case because Sylvester had made the agreement with her in 2016. Judge Judy rejected the attempt to shift the focus away from the child\u2019s actual residence and the absence of support payments. The courtroom exchange showed the difference between a family understanding and a claim that could be enforced on the evidence presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"890\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_25-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_25-2.png 890w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_25-2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_25-2-767x575.png 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 890px) 100vw, 890px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Courtroom Turns to Child Support and Clothing<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing then moved to the support history. Sylvester confirmed that he had lived with the child\u2019s mother until 2013 and that he had been under a court order to pay child support. He recalled paying approximately $331 per month and said he had paid it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Peterson responded that Sylvester had not started paying until the child was six and had paid for only two years, until the child was eight. When asked how much she had paid after the child began living with her father, Peterson did not identify regular monetary payments. Instead, she said she bought the child\u2019s clothes and sent them to Sylvester\u2019s home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"897\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_26-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_26-3.png 897w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_26-3-768x569.png 768w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_26-3-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Judge Judy drew a sharp distinction between buying clothing and paying child support. Peterson argued that she supported her daughter by purchasing clothes, while also maintaining a supply of clothing at her own home because the child did not bring a bag when she visited. Judge Judy\u2019s response was direct: the child was entitled to support from both parents, and Peterson\u2019s clothing purchases did not establish the support payments relevant to the tax claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The case was dismissed. When Peterson and Maciewski attempted to continue the argument, Judge Judy repeated that they had no case. Sylvester then tried to raise a separate allegation\u2014that Peterson had claimed the daughter in 2016 when the child lived with him. Judge Judy questioned why he had not brought that issue forward earlier. He referred to his lawyer and said he was waiting to hear back, but the exchange did not change the outcome of the first matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The closing remarks in the transcript returned to the family conflict. Peterson said her daughter\u2019s health and safety had been jeopardized in the past and that she intended to serve Sylvester with custody papers. She also said her daughter came first. The transcript does not provide a later custody ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"670\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_27-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_27-2.png 900w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_27-2-767x571.png 767w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_27-2-300x223.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case Two : A Dog, a Delivery, and a Disputed Ankle Mark<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The second case, Bautista versus Rios, shifted from family finance to a claimed injury. Food deliverer Zandro Bautista sued Katrina Rios for medical bills and lost wages after saying Rios\u2019s dog bit him during a delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The delivery occurred on March 2. The order was identified as Burger King. Rios testified that she was at work, while her roommate was at the apartment with the dog. Because Rios had not been present, the roommate described what happened at the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"892\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_30-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_30-3.png 892w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_30-3-768x574.png 768w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_30-3-300x224.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 892px) 100vw, 892px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">According to that testimony, Bautista knocked or rang the bell. The roommate was sitting on the living-room couch, jumped up, and opened the door. The dog ran toward Bautista and barked. The roommate said she herded the dog back and held it behind her while she tried to receive the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Bautista then said the dog had bitten him. The roommate testified that she had not actually seen the bite. She said she later saw a small bruise or mark on his ankle after he asked to come inside. Before letting him into the apartment, she put the dog in a cage because it was still barking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The roommate said Bautista was worried about rabies and asked whether the dog had insurance. She offered contact information for Rios and said she believed the dog was vaccinated, but she did not present herself as the dog\u2019s owner. Bautista ultimately called 911. Fire department personnel came to the apartment, examined him, checked his blood pressure, and told him he was fine. They also told him that rabies could not be contracted in the described circumstances because there was no broken skin. Bautista said he would drive himself to a hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"891\" height=\"673\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_28-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_28-2.png 891w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_28-2-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_28-2-768x580.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Judge Judy Rejected Most of the Second Claim<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">When Judge Judy reviewed the photograph of Bautista\u2019s ankle, she described the mark as insignificant. The transcript records her conclusion that there had been no broken skin and that Bautista had not suffered the injury claimed in the lawsuit. She also criticized the decision to call an emergency service over what she characterized as a nip that did not break the skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Bautista had sought $5,000. Judge Judy told him to erase that figure from his mind. She acknowledged that the dog should not have nipped him and that he had experienced fear, but she did not accept that the event supported the requested amount. The hearing also included discussion of Bautista\u2019s clothing: Judge Judy noted that the mark had not broken through his pants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"892\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_31-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-791\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_31-3.png 892w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_31-3-768x574.png 768w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_31-3-300x224.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 892px) 100vw, 892px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The court\u2019s criticism extended to the medical bill. A bill of $1,074 for an emergency-room visit was, in Judge Judy\u2019s view, unreasonable for a mark that had not broken the skin. She said a walk-in clinic would have been more appropriate. Bautista explained that he was a full-time independent contractor for GrabHub delivery and had no insurance. He also said he was uncomfortable around dogs and was still shocked by the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The judge did not award the $5,000 claim, lost wages, or the full emergency-room bill. Instead, she ruled for Bautista in the amount of $250, describing it as what it would have cost him to see a doctor and be told not to worry. The award was tied to the March 2 visit. The case then ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"669\" src=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_32-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-792\" srcset=\"https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_32-2.png 898w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_32-2-768x572.png 768w, https:\/\/realcrime.rcdbs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot_32-2-300x223.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Final Award and the Lesson in Documentation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">These two cases were not decided by which party sounded more distressed. They turned on dates, residence, payments, insurance records, photographs, medical necessity, and the limits of the claims actually presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In the tax dispute, the daughter\u2019s residence with Sylvester during 2017 and Peterson\u2019s admission that she paid no child support left the requested tax-credit share unsupported. In the dog-bite case, the court accepted that a nip may have occurred but found that the evidence did not support a serious injury or a $5,000 loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Neither matter is presented in the transcript as a criminal case. What it shows is the pressure of a courtroom where emotionally charged narratives must be reduced to provable facts. The final results were stark: the first case was dismissed, while the second produced a limited $250 award rather than the compensation requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why was the Peterson-Macheskey tax-refund case dismissed?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The transcript indicates that Peterson\u2019s daughter lived with Andrew Sylvester during 2017, Peterson paid no child support that year, and Sylvester claimed the child on his tax return. Judge Judy concluded that Peterson was not entitled to the requested tax-credit share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much child support did Andrew Sylvester say he paid?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sylvester testified that he paid approximately $331 per month under a child-support order before the child began living with him in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did Judge Judy award Zandro Bautista $5,000?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Judge Judy rejected the $5,000 demand. She awarded Bautista $250 for the cost of seeing a doctor after the March 2 incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Was the dog bite proven to have broken the skin?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. The testimony and Judge Judy\u2019s remarks emphasized that there was no broken skin. Fire department personnel also reportedly told Bautista that rabies could not be contracted in the described circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who owned the dog in the second case?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The transcript identifies Katrina Rios as the defendant and the dog\u2019s owner, while her roommate was the person present at the apartment during the delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happened to the custody dispute after the first hearing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sarah Peterson said she intended to serve Andrew Sylvester with custody papers. The transcript does not include a later custody decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bruise, a tax return, and a disputed promise brought two very different conflicts before Judge Judith Scheindlin. In one case, a mother sought part of a 2017 tax refund after her daughter had been living with the child\u2019s father. In the other, food deliverer Zandro Bautista asked for $5,000 after saying Katrina Rios\u2019s dog&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,35],"tags":[146,148,52,112,144,145,28,147,143],"class_list":["post-776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-family-relationship-disputes","tag-andrew-sylvester","tag-courtroom-drama","tag-dog-bite-claim","tag-judge-judy","tag-katrina-rios","tag-sarah-peterson","tag-small-claims-court","tag-tax-refund-lawsuit","tag-zandro-bautista"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Judge Judy Rejects a $5,000 Dog-Bite Claim as Two Courtroom Disputes Turn on Proof - RCDBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge Judy Rejects a $5,000 Dog-Bite Claim as Two Courtroom Disputes Turn on Proof - RCDBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bruise, a tax return, and a disputed promise brought two very different conflicts before Judge Judith Scheindlin. In one case, a mother sought part of a 2017 tax refund after her daughter had been living with the child\u2019s father. 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