Mr. Pruitt stood and returned to his argument about financial hardship. His voice was a little less smooth now. He talked about Brian’s rent and his legal bills and his reduced circumstances.
When he finished, Claire stood up.
“Your Honor,” she said, “deliberately damaging property before surrendering possession is not evidence of hardship.”
She paused.
“It’s a choice.”
She pointed to the photographs, one after another. The holes. The faucets. The repair estimates, which added up to more than what Brian claimed he couldn’t afford. Then she returned to the circumstances surrounding my father’s voicemail. She can have it exactly the way I decided to leave it.
“Mr. Lawson isn’t asking this court for help because he’s struggling,” Claire said. “He’s asking this court to help him finish what he started in that house.”
Ezoic
Ezoic
Pruitt was on his feet again before Claire had even sat down.
