Was this ruling by Judge Judy legal?

OK, two women worked together in a dental office. One was a receptionist, the other was a dental assistant. The plaintiff, the receptionist, accused the defendant, the assistant, of posting pictures of her (the plaintiff) in her bathing suit on the Dr.‘s dental website.

Long story short, the plaintiff seemed more a decent sort than the defendant. The assistant seemed like a smug bitch (which, in fact she proved herself to be.) In the end, Judge Judy told the plaintiff that she believed that the defendant had done it, but she, the plaintiff, had no proof. She said that several times and just about dismissed the case (I don’t recall if she actually said, “Your case is dismissed.”) In fact, she got up to walk out, having apparently dismissed the case for lack of proof, when she spun around and said to the defendant “Do you currently have a law suit pending against the doctor you worked for?”
Defendant said “Yes.”
Judge Judy said, “Judgement for the plaintiff in the amount of $5,000!” and walked out. ($5,000 is the max you can get in small claims court.)

Anybody understand what was up with that? And was it legal?