A Woman’s G(arden) Spot

          I was rummaging through my old books and reviewers when I came across this transcription of a UP Law reviewer on Criminal Law.   This I remembered for a funny joke printed on its last page.  Any bar examinee who reviewed in Manila would surely be  familiar with this hilarious story.  So here it goes:)

          One evening after attending the theater, the two gentlemen were walking down the avenue when they discovered a rather well-dressed and attractive young lady walking just ahead of them.  One of the men turned toward the other and remarked, “I’d give fifty dollars to spend the night with that woman.” To their surprise, the lady overheard that remark and turning around said, “I’ll take you up on that”. She had a neat appearance and a pleasant voice, so after bidding his company goodnight, the gentleman accompanied the lady to her apartment where they almost immediately went to bed…

            The following morning the man presented the woman with only twenty-five dollars and prepared to leave.  She demanded the rest of the money, stating “If you don’t pay me the other twenty-five dollars, I’ll sue you for it.”  He laughed, “I’d like to see you get it on those grounds”

            The following morning our man was surprised to receive a summons ordering his appearance in court as a defendant in a lawsuit.  He hurried to his lawyer and explained the details of his case. The attorney remarked, “she cannot possibly obtain a judgment against you on such grounds, but it will be interesting to see how the case will be presented”         

After the usual preliminaries, the lady’s lawyer addressed the court, “Your honor, this lady my client, is the owner of a valuable piece of property, a garden spot surrounded by profuse growth of shrubbery, which property she agreed to rent to the defendant for a specific length of time for the sum of fifty dollars. The defendant took possession of said property and used it extensively for the purpose for which it was rented and agreed upon. The rent is not excessive as it is a restricted property and we ask that judgment be granted in our favor.”

The defendant’s lawyer was impressed and amused at the manner in which his opponent had presented the case. His defense, therefore, was a deviation from his original plan. “Your Honor”, he said, “my client agrees that the young lady has a fine piece of property; that he did rent such property for a time and that a degree of pleasure was derived from the transaction. However, my client found a well on the property, around which he placed his own stones, sunk a shaft and erected a pump, all labor being performed personally by him. We claim that improvements to the property were sufficient to offset the unpaid amount and that the plaintiff was adequately compensated for rental of said property. We therefore ask that the judgment not be granted.”

The young lady’s lawyer came back: “Your honor, my client agrees that the defendant did find a well on her property, and that he did make improvements as such. However, had the defendant not known the well existed; he would have never rented the property. Also upon evacuating the premises, the defendant removed the stones, pulled the shaft and took the pump with him. In doing so, he not only dragged his equipment through the shrubbery but he also left a hole much bigger than prior to his occupancy, making it easily accessible to little children. We therefore ask that the judgment be granted.” SHE WON THE CASE.