Woman sued her ex over a $680 portrait of his late dog after he dumped her before Valentine’s Day. The judge’s reaction said it all

Courtrooms see plenty of strange fights, but only a few catch attention like a legal battle over bad timing and heartbreak. When one woman decided to sue her ex-boyfriend for $680 after spending it on his lavish Valentine's Day gift, the judge did not hold back on calling him a "jerk." This intense relationship courtroom clip was shared by VerdictFlix on October 24, 2026, pulling in 30,000 likes and 972,898 views in just 4 days.

The secret plan

The story starts with a woman who wanted to do something extra special for her boyfriend. She told the court, "Valentine's Day was coming up, and he outdid me all the time, and I wanted to do something special for him for once." To pull off the surprise, she was a little sneaky. She started a private group chat with his closest friends to ask for ideas. One friend suggested a great gift: a custom painting of his childhood dog that had passed away. She loved the idea and paid a hefty $680 for it. "I didn't think it was going to be that much, but again, I wanted to really do something special," she testified.

'This isn't going to work out'

But for her boyfriend, the relationship was already over. Three weeks before Valentine's Day, the group chat she created turned into a trap. His friends used it to warn him about the gift. One text read: "We're just letting you know she's literally about to commission someone to make a painting of your dog. The group chat has stalled her as much as we can." Instead of stopping her, the boyfriend decided to drag things out so he wouldn't have to buy her anything. He texted back, "Nah, dude. I don't want to go have to buy her a gift. Lol." Soon after, he asked her over, making it sound like a fun date night, only to hold her hand and say, "This isn't going to work out anymore."

'You're a jerk'

When the judge confronted the boyfriend with the text messages in court, he gave a weak excuse. "It was a situation out of my control, honestly," he said. The judge didn't buy it and replied, "If the answer's because you're a jerk, just go ahead and say it." The boyfriend defended himself, saying he made a wrong decision. When asked about the painting, the woman admitted it was sitting in her closet. Even though the judge agreed the ex was a terrible partner, the law was not on her side. The judge ruled in favor of her ex-boyfriend, stating, "I am not going to make him pay you $680 because you spent money on a gift that you can't get a refund on. These are choices that you made. There's always a chance somebody's going to dump you..."

A V'day breakup

Such sudden breakups carry high financial and emotional costs, particularly when timed right around romantic occasions. Relationship data from YouGov reveals that 1 in 14 American adults have broken up with their partner on Valentine's Day. A small 10% of millennials admit to dumping their partner a few days before the V Day. Furthermore, 18% of people think that it's best for the couple to break up after Valentine's Day.

'She dodged a bullet'

Netizens completely agreed with the judge on the "jerk" part. Calling out his behavior directly, user @russellhewkin6017 wrote, "He is a jerk for dumping her the way he did". Meanwhile, highlighting the lack of empathy from everyone involved, user @smartiemartie116 commented, "So they all knew and didn't say anything to her? What a**holes!"

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