Speaker 1: You are now entering the court of Judge Gina Leano.
Speaker 2: It's been said that friendship and money are like oil
Speaker 2: and water.
Speaker 3: They never mix.
Speaker 2: When you have a dispute that needs settling once and
Speaker 2: for all, you come to my courtroom. I am Judge Gina,
Speaker 2: and my decision is final.
Speaker 1: Today Mitch Combs has brought Mitch Chury to Judge Gina
Speaker 1: over a money misunderstanding. He is seeking eight hundred dollars
Speaker 1: in financial compensation for podcast equipment he believes he should
Speaker 1: not have had to pay for.
Speaker 4: My name's Mitchell Coombs. I'm a stand up comedian, a
Speaker 4: social media creator and I co host.
Speaker 5: The podcast Is It Just Me.
Speaker 4: I've come on Judge Gina today because I feel that
Speaker 4: my former friends and current co host Mitch Churry had
Speaker 4: ripped me off. A near and dear friend, He's ripped
Speaker 4: me off.
Speaker 6: My name is Mitch Churi. I'm the host of the
Speaker 6: Night Show on Kiss FM, the national evening show on Kiss.
Speaker 6: I also host the three pm pick Up Around Australia
Speaker 6: on the Kiss network. Oh Shit. I'm also the host
Speaker 6: of the iHeartRadio exclusive podcast Is It Just Me? With
Speaker 6: Mitchell Kerbs, my co host. I've come to defend myself
Speaker 6: and my family's honor. I believe I've been defamed. I've
Speaker 6: been dragged here today over what I thought was a
Speaker 6: simple transaction with a good friend that has turned very sour.
Speaker 4: I've known the other Mitch since twenty seventeen. I met
Speaker 4: him when I started working at the same radio station
Speaker 4: he was already working at.
Speaker 6: Mitch and I have been friends for goodness me five six,
Speaker 6: last seven years now, a long time, and I consider
Speaker 6: him one of my best friends. But maybe not for
Speaker 6: much longer.
Speaker 4: There's been a lot of tension behind the scenes of
Speaker 4: our podcast, but we're finally ready to put this to bed.
Speaker 2: Okay, So we've got the two Mitches here, Mitch Kumbs
Speaker 2: and Mitch Churi. So I'm going to start with Mitch
Speaker 2: Kombs because it's your application today.
Speaker 3: You want interesting, you want an amount? Excuse me?
Speaker 6: No, no, I'm apologies. No, I just more meant that
Speaker 6: it was it's interesting that you apologies, Janet, No, I'm sorry. Okay,
Speaker 6: what's not interesting?
Speaker 3: No, it is interesting.
Speaker 6: You are interesting.
Speaker 3: Okay, I'll ignite you to speak. You can stop there,
Speaker 3: thank you.
Speaker 6: No, sorry, I didn't be you.
Speaker 2: I'm going to refer to you both by your surname.
Speaker 2: So I'm going to ask Coombs if you can just
Speaker 2: tell me a bit about your relationship. So are you friends?
Speaker 2: Do you work together? How long have you known each other?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 4: Both, we've known each other for quite a few years now,
Speaker 4: I think it was twenty seventeen. We started working together.
Speaker 4: We were colleagues and then became very close friends. And then,
Speaker 4: like all friends, we thought, God, our conversations deserve to
Speaker 4: be recorded and broadcast. So we started the podcast as
Speaker 4: a couple of mitches and it's been a good few
Speaker 4: years now, running strong and very minimal fights in that time.
Speaker 3: So your podcast is about wash.
Speaker 5: Well, it's called Is It Just Me? That's the name
Speaker 5: of the podcast.
Speaker 6: Okay, I wanted the name to be Mitch please, like
Speaker 6: bitch please, but Mitch please, but Mitch wanted is It
Speaker 6: Just Me?
Speaker 4: And so it's every week we get together and debrief
Speaker 4: something we've noticed, hate or appreciate.
Speaker 5: It's a bit of improv bit of fun.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: So I'm going to come to you, mister Tury fantastic,
Speaker 2: tell me about because I can see the burning desire
Speaker 2: to say something.
Speaker 6: No, no, I just know it's just because I've seen
Speaker 6: the GW.
Speaker 2: Stop mister Cury, okay, so I no stop. I'm just
Speaker 2: going to ask you some questions and if you can
Speaker 2: just answer, okay, don't one word, answer, just concisely as
Speaker 2: you can, that would be got.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 2: So you've known mister Coombe since about twenty seventeen.
Speaker 3: You've heard what he said. Do you agree with all that?
Speaker 6: Yes?
Speaker 3: Correct.
Speaker 6: We met on his birthday actually, and I had already
Speaker 6: worked at the radio station since twenty fifteen, so I
Speaker 6: extended the olive branch. I think I probably wanted to
Speaker 6: maybe get with him at the start, maybe take him
Speaker 6: on a dinner or something, but he quite quickly you've
Speaker 6: seen his personality. It didn't work. We didn't click in
Speaker 6: that respect, so it was strictly platonic straight away. But
Speaker 6: we met on his birthday. Then the podcast was born,
Speaker 6: you know, two years later.
Speaker 2: Fantastic all right, So you actually there was an attraction there,
Speaker 2: but it didn't.
Speaker 6: Get Yes, I found Mitchell Kuhmb circa twenty seventeen attractive,
Speaker 6: and I'm not afraid to say it.
Speaker 2: There you go, there's a compliment for you. So I've
Speaker 2: got an application here from mister Coombs he wants an
Speaker 2: amount that he paid you for a road cast paid
Speaker 2: back to him. So I'm just going to ask you
Speaker 2: some questions about this road cast. So, yes, you were
Speaker 2: given a road caster for free during lockdown?
Speaker 3: Is that right?
Speaker 6: Yeah? Correct?
Speaker 3: So tell me that story. Yeah, yes, So I host.
Speaker 6: I still host the same show, the night show, and
Speaker 6: that show during COVID had to go from home, so
Speaker 6: I had to record the show from my broom. Closs
Speaker 6: and the good people at road It's an Australian brand.
Speaker 6: They sent me a road caster, which is like a
Speaker 6: little mini radio. Yeah, here it is. It's right in
Speaker 6: with this.
Speaker 3: What is it? What is it an?
Speaker 6: It's a mini broadcast console, Gina. So if you've been
Speaker 6: in a radio studio you'll know, or a podcast studio.
Speaker 6: There's a desk. It's probably the size of like a
Speaker 6: large Domino's pizza just going off, you know what I know.
Speaker 6: And you can control the microphone levels, you can put
Speaker 6: calls through it, sound effect, you can make wacky sounds.
Speaker 6: You have a lot of fun with it. Gena action
Speaker 6: now that I'm thinking of you playing with it, but
Speaker 6: I enjoyed it. So I play with this roadcast. I
Speaker 6: do my successful radio show and then covid ends. So
Speaker 6: I put it on gum Tree and I had bids, Gina,
Speaker 6: I had bids.
Speaker 2: No, No, I'm going to stop you because I'm going
Speaker 2: to ask you some questions.
Speaker 6: Oh you did say that?
Speaker 3: Sorry, say that, okay.
Speaker 2: So in early twenty twenty two, you put it on
Speaker 2: gum tree for sale? How much was it for sale?
Speaker 2: How much we're selling it for one thousand dollars and
Speaker 2: you got it for free, but that's you. It was
Speaker 2: yours to keep it. It was given to me, yes,
Speaker 2: givens okay, and they didn't expect that. Rhades didn't expect
Speaker 2: you to return that to them at any stage.
Speaker 6: No, it was not on loan.
Speaker 2: It was gifted, okay, and then you purchased something else
Speaker 2: to do.
Speaker 6: I was gifted the new model by road they're good friends,
Speaker 6: and they sent me the road Caster too. It had
Speaker 6: been obviously two years. They had new technology, and they.
Speaker 5: Read cast Pro doesn't even know what it's called road.
Speaker 6: Caster Pro too, and they said, you love the first one.
Speaker 6: Your show has been so successful. We've seen the press,
Speaker 6: the billboards. We will give you the new model. And
Speaker 6: I said fantastic. So that's why I put it up.
Speaker 6: I didn't need it's been two years. And it had
Speaker 6: been two years and I thought, let's let's just get
Speaker 6: some some pocket money for it.
Speaker 2: Okay, so you'd already put it up for sale, but
Speaker 2: you said that that mister Combs could buy it for
Speaker 2: a cheaper price.
Speaker 3: Is that right?
Speaker 6: Well, what happened was we were my home studio which
Speaker 6: had the new road caster, and I was showing it off.
Speaker 6: I was saying, look at this beautiful new item of
Speaker 6: kit that I've been gifted graciously by road in Australian business.
Speaker 6: And then Mitchell goes, oh, you had an old one,
Speaker 6: and I said, yeah, I've got an old one. I'm
Speaker 6: actually selling it. He and I I'd love to get one.
Speaker 6: I'm in the market for a road caster myself. And
Speaker 6: then I said, well fantastic. You know, if you want one,
Speaker 6: I'm not using it, and he said great, I'll have it.
Speaker 6: I went awesome, we'll pack it up and we'll get
Speaker 6: it to you, and off he took with his new
Speaker 6: road caster, and.
Speaker 3: He didn't talk price.
Speaker 6: Well, I believe price was mentioned. It's very rude to
Speaker 6: sort of throw around price straight away. I think I
Speaker 6: said something along the lines of we'll chat details. I'll
Speaker 6: text you about detail. We'll talk the road caster detail.
Speaker 6: We're very close, you see, so we'll talk cash. I
Speaker 6: think I could have said later.
Speaker 3: I'm going to go to mister Coombs now, I think,
Speaker 3: do you say happened?
Speaker 4: I don't even know where to start when it comes
Speaker 4: to unpacking the FIBs.
Speaker 5: I've been nowhere.
Speaker 4: Okay, So firstly, it all came about via a phone call.
Speaker 4: We were on the phone for some reason and you
Speaker 4: just mentioned, oh my god, I just got sent the
Speaker 4: new road cast of the road Caster pro to the upgrade,
Speaker 4: and he was gloating about that it was a freebein.
Speaker 5: I was like, oh wait, so can I have your
Speaker 5: old one? And he's like yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: And did he did you know that it was for saving?
Speaker 5: There was no mention of that until after it was
Speaker 5: in my possession.
Speaker 2: Did you know that he had it advertised and that
Speaker 2: he'd had on the market for a week, and that.
Speaker 4: In fact that I would challenge him to present screenshots
Speaker 4: of the ad because I'm not sure that they it
Speaker 4: ever went on Marketplace or gum Tree, whatever it was.
Speaker 2: Did you know that he'd been asking for one thousand dollars?
Speaker 5: I had no idea.
Speaker 3: No, there was no When did you find that out?
Speaker 3: When did you find out.
Speaker 5: After the fact after I already had it?
Speaker 3: When is how long?
Speaker 4: When when he got it to me? That was a
Speaker 4: week or so after this phone call? So one week
Speaker 4: later he delivered it probably, and it was we were
Speaker 4: at my I have for delivery. We were recording an interview.
Speaker 2: Did he say anything when he delivered it.
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 4: He brought it in a box and said here, because
Speaker 4: we're doing a recording.
Speaker 2: I want to know the words he used when he
Speaker 2: gave you the box.
Speaker 5: Well, the words were essentially, here you go.
Speaker 4: I'll just leave this at your house when we're done
Speaker 4: with it, because I've got one back at home, right.
Speaker 3: And did that later conversation happen?
Speaker 6: I bump him maybe a week later because I hadn't
Speaker 6: received cash, So I just said, you.
Speaker 3: Have received cash. You haven't told him what the cash's later? Later?
Speaker 3: This is a week later.
Speaker 6: Now if more, it was expecting him, as a good
Speaker 6: close friend of mine and someone that I could have
Speaker 6: potentially once slept with, to have offered out and gone Hi, Mitchell,
Speaker 6: thanks for the road caster. What are you for that
Speaker 6: old friend? When in fact radio silence. So then I said, look,
Speaker 6: I'd like eight hundred dollars for it. I'm selling it
Speaker 6: for a thousand. You've got my account details because we've
Speaker 6: had dinner together. Just transfer me eight hundred bucks and
Speaker 6: I'd prefer cash, is what I said, because I wanted
Speaker 6: it to be off the books. Off the books, yeh
Speaker 6: l Chapo style.
Speaker 2: I'll caution you, as a judge would that anything you
Speaker 2: say may be used against you, and so I will
Speaker 2: caution you.
Speaker 3: That you need to say nothing further.
Speaker 2: Thank you terms of that, and I won't be asking
Speaker 2: you any and if you are asked any questions, you're
Speaker 2: not compelled to answer them.
Speaker 6: Oh I would have liked to have known that. Show
Speaker 6: you there, Thank you judge.
Speaker 2: All right, So you want a d eight hundred dollars
Speaker 2: for the for the road casting pastor that's heavily discounted.
Speaker 3: Is it two hundred dollars? Okay?
Speaker 2: But you didn't ask him for money, so you gave
Speaker 2: it to him. He took possession of it and there
Speaker 2: was no discussion of money.
Speaker 6: Well, how dare he assume that it was a free gift.
Speaker 6: I mean, I don't want to get routy here, but
Speaker 6: the men he assumed it was free.
Speaker 3: Well you didn't tell him otherwise.
Speaker 6: I can't recall what the wording was, but I'm a
Speaker 6: very it's not your time. I can't was it's not
Speaker 6: your time because I said it's for sale. I said, yes,
Speaker 6: it's for sale. If you would like to purchase it,
Speaker 6: is what I said, Then we can organize a deal.
Speaker 6: Judge in it. Can I make one other edition? If
Speaker 6: I could, you'd assume, being a good friend, Mitch would
Speaker 6: just transfer me the money. Of course I have for
Speaker 6: some quips, you know, with that lizard tongue of his. However,
Speaker 6: he asked me to formulate an invoice and then forward
Speaker 6: it to him so he could make it a tax
Speaker 6: deductible purchase and or you know what I want. I
Speaker 6: wanted to do with the money. I won't repeat that,
Speaker 6: but I had to then formulate it.
Speaker 2: Not everybody is wanting to evade tax, you see.
Speaker 3: That's the issue here, I think.
Speaker 2: I mean, I would suggest that if mister Coombs is
Speaker 2: in the business of podcast and radio, that something is
Speaker 2: that he purchases could be a tax deduction. Correct, So
Speaker 2: I would suggest that's a very fair and valid request
Speaker 2: to have a tax invoice. But My question is the
Speaker 2: tax invoice was for eight hundred dollars and did you
Speaker 2: pay it?
Speaker 5: And when I did pay.
Speaker 4: It, which I was, I did ask him to do
Speaker 4: the invoice. I was kind of relying on his lazy
Speaker 4: and it's thinking you'd never get around to it.
Speaker 3: But much to my suppose buying time, I was, you know, I.
Speaker 6: Had to watch a YouTube tutorial and what nobody made
Speaker 6: the invoice? Zero zero zero two? Like I just make
Speaker 6: it up as I go to be honest.
Speaker 2: Right, Okay, well, I'm sure you're not selling many of
Speaker 2: these things and they it's probably a one one invoice
Speaker 2: in your whole lifetime.
Speaker 6: Correct, Yes, yes, you're.
Speaker 2: Right right, So you've got your eight hundred dollars you
Speaker 2: paid that? When did you pay that, mister Koombs. I
Speaker 2: can't remember exactly when that one was later a month later,
Speaker 2: two days, it was late. I reckon it would have
Speaker 2: been about a month later, because you got me the
Speaker 2: invoice eventually, and I.
Speaker 6: Remember not putting food on the table for my family
Speaker 6: that so it would be late.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you couldn't put food on the table for your family,
Speaker 2: so you just you were.
Speaker 6: I'm believing, Yeah, I was. I needed that money.
Speaker 5: Thant even a due date on the invoice.
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 2: And then so when was the first mentioned to you
Speaker 2: of money that.
Speaker 4: Came after the fact I got a text that said, oh,
Speaker 4: can you just.
Speaker 3: I want to know when? When? When did you get
Speaker 3: a text?
Speaker 6: His sweating, judge, sweating on the brow?
Speaker 5: I really sweating, judge, he's lying as usual.
Speaker 6: Now that's an aspersion.
Speaker 5: Why are you allowed to speak when I'm talking? I
Speaker 5: had to shut my mouth.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm going to stop you both there, So go on.
Speaker 2: I want to know about when you first got the
Speaker 2: mention of a text and money.
Speaker 4: It was very soon after he left. It might have
Speaker 4: been that afternoon or the next day. I hadn't even
Speaker 4: unpacked the thing. I left it in the box out
Speaker 4: of spy, so that day possibly, okay?
Speaker 3: And how much was he? What does the message say?
Speaker 6: He usually could get that message up if you just search,
Speaker 6: If you just searched road Caster in your phone, it
Speaker 6: did quite simply appear.
Speaker 4: I'd have to scroll back the while, but yeah, I'd
Speaker 4: be prepared to do that if we had all day.
Speaker 2: I don't believe we do, but we'll come back to it,
Speaker 2: you know, I mean, you knew you were here. Running
Speaker 2: a case, so you have to be prepared, so Jina, Judge,
Speaker 2: I agree, Jo's I'm not asking for your feedback, of course,
Speaker 2: thank you. So text that day and do you recall
Speaker 2: before you refer to your notes? Can you exhaust your
Speaker 2: memory please and tell me what you think that message says?
Speaker 5: It was very casual.
Speaker 3: No, no, I want to know what it says. Yeah,
Speaker 3: me too, say it was very casual.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, He said, do you want to just transfer
Speaker 2: me eight hundred? Do you want to just transfer me
Speaker 2: eight hundred? Yeah, it was a question, and did you
Speaker 2: say no?
Speaker 5: I probably barked back with are you right? What do
Speaker 5: you mean to know?
Speaker 3: Probably? What do you think you said?
Speaker 4: I would have said something Judge to the effect of,
Speaker 4: you didn't pay for it, so why are you pocketing
Speaker 4: from this?
Speaker 3: Because it's his possession?
Speaker 6: Thank you?
Speaker 3: This is true. You're right.
Speaker 2: So if you inherit a house from a deceased grandparent,
Speaker 2: does that mean you give it away for free?
Speaker 6: No?
Speaker 3: Of course not so. Once you've got physical possession of something,
Speaker 3: it's your will do whatever.
Speaker 5: You donate it to a charity or something. If I
Speaker 5: didn't need the helld.
Speaker 6: You can't even spell charity?
Speaker 2: I would suggest that if you own something, it's your
Speaker 2: possession and you can do whatever you like with it.
Speaker 2: Gift it, sell it, use it, keep it, put it away,
Speaker 2: throw it out, whatever you like to do. It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: So I think the confusion here more so is the
Speaker 2: fact that you weren't to where it was for sale.
Speaker 2: You've accepted and received these goods on the premise that
Speaker 2: they were given to your friend as a gift, and
Speaker 2: as a result of that, you've assumed that you would
Speaker 2: also have the benefit of someone's generosity.
Speaker 5: Yes, I'll quote The Castle a court based movie.
Speaker 4: It's just the vibe, you know, just the vibe the
Speaker 4: law of bloody common sense.
Speaker 6: Right right, Well, that doesn't hold up in a court
Speaker 6: of war, you know. I just I just killed people
Speaker 6: because it was the vibe.
Speaker 5: He's speaking over dutchdowns speaking over.
Speaker 6: Yet the mars.
Speaker 2: Getting very messy here, So I'm going to pull you
Speaker 2: both back. So I just want to know what do
Speaker 2: you want me to do today? I'll start with mister Coombs,
Speaker 2: what do you want me to do today? Why have
Speaker 2: you brought this to me today?
Speaker 5: Well, the emotional just.
Speaker 4: Stress that I've endured as a result of this and also,
Speaker 4: I am a freelancer. I don't have a steady wage
Speaker 4: like you, so I'm very out of pocket.
Speaker 5: I'd like it to be reimbursed.
Speaker 4: Because it's not lost to be reimbursed the eight hundred dollars.
Speaker 4: It's the eight hundred because he's not actually out of
Speaker 4: pocket by then, because he didn't pay for the equipment
Speaker 4: in the first place.
Speaker 6: I've just gone back because there's quite a few sales,
Speaker 6: all very well priced, and I'm going through my five
Speaker 6: star reviews. Nice man love his radio show. I think
Speaker 6: it's one awards. That's just the feedback on my profile.
Speaker 6: Here we go road caster pro for sale, Redfern, New
Speaker 6: South Wales, nine nine nine right right, shipping offered so
Speaker 6: I was willing to shore. Sorry, Mitchell, I can show you.
Speaker 3: Well that was free shipping. You've shipped it to Mitchell.
Speaker 6: Correct, very good point.
Speaker 3: That was free shipping.
Speaker 6: It said, sorry, you're charging them way less than me. No,
Speaker 6: I wasn't charging them less than you. No, it's nine
Speaker 6: nine nine and I charged you eight. And it was
Speaker 6: being deleted. Judge, but you can see here if I
Speaker 6: hold it up to the court of.
Speaker 3: War, I'd like you to read it to me. Please,
Speaker 3: road cast.
Speaker 6: To pro description. Hi there, I'm selling my barely used
Speaker 6: road cast pro used for radio productions based in Sydney,
Speaker 6: looking for a new home. Need money for ice cream,
Speaker 6: and then that's it.
Speaker 2: Okay, So, mister Coombs, so you've never seen that? Have
Speaker 2: you seen that ad before today?
Speaker 4: I've just laid eyes on it for the first time,
Speaker 4: and none of that is written in it.
Speaker 2: Did you know you were getting a discount? Did you
Speaker 2: know that the eight hundred dollars was less than the
Speaker 2: asking price?
Speaker 3: Had that?
Speaker 5: Well, that was one thing that he did point out
Speaker 5: to me when I said.
Speaker 4: You're going to charge me, and he goes, yeah, i'll
Speaker 4: charge you. Lets you know how much I could be
Speaker 4: for this on gum trick.
Speaker 3: Okay, I've heard enough. I'm going to deliberate.
Speaker 1: Judge Gina is deliberating and will soon hand down her verdict.
Speaker 1: Please do not leave the courtroom.
Speaker 2: Mitch Coombs, you are seeking eight hundred dollars from Mitch Jury.
Speaker 2: You do not believe you should have to pay for
Speaker 2: the road procaster too, as it was gifted to Mitchjury
Speaker 2: and there was no discussion of payment when he gave
Speaker 2: it to you. I'm going to make an order in
Speaker 2: favor of mister Koomb's for eight hundred dollars nothing further.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 4: I'm absolutely stoked with today's outcome. There was a while
Speaker 4: there where I really didn't think it was going to
Speaker 4: go my way. I didn't think I had any legs
Speaker 4: to stand on. I thought that in the eyes of
Speaker 4: the law, I was screwed.
Speaker 5: But here we are.
Speaker 4: Common sense prevailed and I knew I could rely on
Speaker 4: Judge Gina for common sense.
Speaker 6: I feel devastated and completely gutted.
Speaker 4: I think this trial will affect my relationship with Mitch
Speaker 4: going forward in a good way, because after this, he
Speaker 4: will know that I can't BETWI.
Speaker 6: Look, I don't really feel this will effect my relationship
Speaker 6: with Mitchell Coombs. Believe it or not, we have had
Speaker 6: blow ups bigger than this. I feel the disagreement has
Speaker 6: been buried once and for all, like I wanted. That
Speaker 6: is the one outcome of this situation that I am
Speaker 6: happy with.
Speaker 1: Yes, this has been an iHeart production.