'One date ... and now I'm being sued': Woman sues man for $10K for standing her up on a date

A Michigan woman who sued a man for $10,000 for standing her up on a date got into a heated argument with a judge in a scene captured on video.

QaShontae H. Short filed a lawsuit Sept. 10, 2020, against her date who didn't show. According to the claim filed in Michigan's 67th District Court of Genesee County, the experience caused her emotional distress because the date fell on her late mother's birthday. 

During a just over nine-minute virtual court hearing via Zoom, Judge Herman Marable Jr. informed Short she filed the lawsuit in the wrong court. The case, he told her, should have been filed in circuit court.

After that, the judge asked the defendant if he would be representing himself in the case.

"To be honest with you, sir, I thought this was just going to be thrown out," he told the judge. "We had a date – one date – and nothing else after that and now I’m being sued for $10,000. I don’t think this is going to go any further, and I think it’s a waste of your time."

In the video, the judge said that if the man thought the case should be tossed, he needed to file a motion to dismiss it.

"If he responds and his response is a lie, then it’s perjury, and my documents would prove it’s a lie," Short then yelled.

"No, no, no. ... Do you understand what perjury is?" the judge responded raising his voice.

"Please do not insult my intelligence. Do not do that," Short replied loudly. "As if I don’t understand what ‘perjury’ means."

At one point the judge ripped his face shield off as the woman continued to shout.

"Be quiet while I am talking," the judge said at least twice.

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The video shows the defendant holding his hand over his face and later with his head down and his palm over his forehead.

"Bottom line is, you said it's a criminal offense, so I will send it to circuit court," Short said. "Are we done here? Are we done here? Are we done here?"

Eventually, Marable muted the Zoom call and transferred the suit to circuit court.

The judge dismissed the case and it was transferred to the 7th Circuit Court on Thursday, court records show.

Short could not immediately be reached for comment by USA TODAY.

Lawsuit after lawsuit

This isn't the first time Short filed lawsuits that have been dismissed by a judge, court records show.

According to information from Michigan District Court and Circuit Court, she filed at least a dozen suits in both court jurisdictions over the past two decades – one dating as far back as 2000.

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In January 2020, she filed a $300 million suit against the Flint Police Department in Michigan, alleging she was assaulted and harassed by several different police officers. A judge eventually dismissed the case.

She also filed a lawsuit against AT&T in October 2020 in Sheboygan County Circuit Court in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Online court records show she failed to appear in court for a hearing, and the case was tossed.

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.