You own a nonprofit grocery store
where you were gonna use it to film your show?
The initial script has chickens and a horse in it.
You were gonna put a horse and a chicken in there?
I found out about a chicken and a horse about a week ago.
That's the part of the script. It's written in there.
You sent me a script too, but it's not my job to read your script,
and it's not his job.
[announcer] Now on Tribunal Justice.
["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]
[announcer] Today's case was filed in Atlanta, Georgia.
[Cassandra] Your Honor, this is case number 2016, Medley versus Jones.
All parties have been sworn in.
- Thank you, Cassandra. - You're welcome.
You may be seated.
[Judge DiMango] Ms. Medley,
you are a local filmmaker in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Yes. - [Judge DiMango] And Mr. Jones,
you own a nonprofit grocery store called The Grocery Spot.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge DiMango] Now, Ms. Medley,
you say you were looking for a venue to film your third
episode of your series called-- what's it called?
It's called Da Stow, D-A-S-T-O-W, Da Stow.
- And meaning the store as well as the... - [Rashawn] Meaning the store.
So the south says Da Stow, out west or up north they say, the store.
So, um, it's, you know, as a character that I have.
[Judge DiMango] Okay. Very good.
And you say that you saw the defendant's store,
you actually loved it, and so you agreed
to a contract with them where you were gonna use it to film your show.
You say, however, that he breached his contract to you
and owes you $2,800.
Mr. Jones, you say that you don't owe her anything,
but in fact, she stayed two hours, according to you,
beyond the time that she was supposed to be there.
- Not true. - [Judge DiMango] And so you interposed
a counterclaim for $500
for the two hours of overtime.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judge DiMango] So Ms. Medley,
what's the theme of your show?
Well, it's about a character that can't keep a job anywhere.
Every job she goes to, she gets fired.
- So that's just it. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
I think we have a brief clip that...
- [Judge Acker] I'd love to see it. - ... might be interesting,
Da Stow, correct?
- [Rashawn] [laughs] Yeah. - I like it when you say it.
Yeah, I like it. Thanks to the Southern accent that I have, right?
- Da Stow. - [Rashawn] Da Stow.
- [woman] Ms. Wan. - [telephone ringing]
[indistinct] for finishing.
[woman] Please bag me one of those big box of the cranberries, please,
the big box of cranberries, the cereal.
Okay.
[Judge DiMango] So that was basically the woman who can't keep a job...
- [Rashawn] Yes. - [Judge DiMango] ... trying to figure out
- where to put that one can of food. - [Rashawn] Yes, yes.
Talk to me a little bit, ma'am, about how you found the store,
your negotiations, et cetera,
so that we can get a little background here.
Okay, yes. Um, I found out about the store from a friend of mine.
I do work for Habitat Humanity and help build homes.
So it was one of my Hab friends who told me about it.
You know, it's a nice location, go check it out.
And, uh, the shelves were fully stocked
when I went to visit and everything.
And I was expecting for it to be the same way the day of filming.
[Judge DiMango] Mr. Jones, just for clarification purposes,
this is like a mutual aid nonprofit.
And that's why you rent it out to put back into the store
so that you could pay your employees.
Yes, ma'am. So, uh, our institution is a charity.
And so we serve the community for free as a free grocery store.
And so, we don't, uh, rely off of making a profit off the food.
[Judge DiMango] I understand that. You, sir, as the owner,
were not the person who actually negotiated the contract
with the plaintiff, would that be correct?
No, ma'am, there was no contract.
Uh, we never had a legal binding contract ever.
- It was just... - Well, you did give her the store to use,
so you must have thought there was something in effect.
[Matthew] Yes, ma'am. So we had worked out a price, um...
[Judge DiMango] So what do you call that?
When you work out a price and you do something--it's a contract.
- [Matthew] Yes, ma'am. - [Judge DiMango] You entered in
an oral agreement where you were gonna pay how much, ma'am?
I was gonna pay $2,000.
- [Judge DiMango] For how long? - For four hours.
[Judge DiMango] And originally,
was it a higher price that was offered to you?
[Rashawn] Yes, it was a $4,000 for the entire day.
I couldn't afford that.
So, um, you know, I took some time and my friends and family helped me
to be able to afford the $2,000.
[Judge DiMango] And what were you expecting
when you agreed to rent the store?
I was expecting a full store to be stocked
so that we could start doing filming and everything.
[Judge DiMango] But did you tell them that?
- [Rashawn] Yes, I did. - [Judge DiMango] When did you
- tell them that? - I told them that before the 20th,
because the initial shoot date was supposed to be on the 20th
and they canceled for that date.
[Judge DiMango] Because we have a series of messages back and forth
and I didn't see in there anything indicating that you said,
"And I expect the shelves to be fully stocked."
Yeah, I was--it was on the phone when I talked to Christy on the phone.
[Judge DiMango] But why would they wanna set up your set?
I don't see where that would be their responsibility.
So when we do one of these typically,
because it looks like a grocery store,
so they shoot their thing and then they leave.
If they need groceries on the shelves or signs up,
they would fill the shelves themselves.
Um, the way our store operates, we feed 400 to 500 people per day,
and we do a hundred thousand pounds of food per week.
And so we don't hold on to food because it's gone every 24 hours.
Okay. So let me pause you.
So there were two different expectations here, which tells me
that there was not a meeting of the minds to complete that portion
of the contract with regard to what the store was about.
You were expecting, it's a grocery store, there's gonna be groceries,
and you're saying, "Hey, this grocery store feeds 500 people a day.
- There's barely gonna be anything." - Yes, ma'am.
[Judge DiMango] And I'm not coming in tomorrow morning
- and restocking for your show. - For your production.
[Judge DiMango] Let's move on to the second point.
The second thing you were complaining about is that he didn't read your script.
And so had he read your script,
you felt that he would have been able to understand
some of the issues you were gonna encounter,
- like you had dogs on the set. - [Rashawn] Yeah, yeah, I had--
all right, the initial script has chickens and a horse in it.
- You know, so... - [Judge DiMango] Well, you weren't gonna
- expect that... - ... they was--they was gonna...
[Judge DiMango] ... he was gonna put them in there.
Yeah, I was gonna be bringing them with me on the 20th when I came.
But wait, you're just telling me you can't stock it
and you're gonna put a horse and a chicken in there...
- [Rashawn] Just on the outside. - ... on top of everything else?
He has a nice outside area and that's the part of the script.
It's written in there. And he never said--
I sent them the script and never said...
[Judge DiMango] I got to be honest with you...
you sent me a script too, but it's not my job
to read your script and it's not his job.
I found out about a chicken and a horse about a week ago.
I did not read the script at all. I never read the script.
- Yeah, I know. - [Matthew] I expect them to bring
their production team to come do the work.
[Judge DiMango] And another issue was that you claimed that
there were problems with the bathroom and that you had an individual
who was handicapped, one of your actors,
and that that created some problems.
- Is that correct? - [Rashawn] Yes, ma'am.
He told them, did not allow us to use the restroom at all.
- His employee that opened the door. - [Judge DiMango] Did you ever say
- they couldn't use the restroom? - [Matthew] No, ma'am.
- That never happened. So that... - It's true.
... what she's not sharing with you is there's two restrooms on this location.
That location, um, again, we're open to the public.
[Judge DiMango] Which one is this one, sir?
[Matthew] That's the out of order bathroom number two
and I didn't stop the shoot because I had a second alternative restroom
available that you could have come in.
[Judge DiMango] And were they-- because I don't have a photograph of that.
- You did not include... - [Matthew] They didn't take...
- ... that in your evidence, ma'am. - Correct.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
I've never seen this guy and I don't know what bus stop the guy work from at,
but he's a...
- See, that's a... - I don't know what he's talking about.
- Ma'am, listen. - Okay. I'm gonna stop you.
- This is ridiculous. - [Matthew] Ma'am.
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] Filmmaker Rashawn Medley
is suing grocery store owner Matthew Jones.
Rashawn claims Matthew agreed to let his store be used for filming,
but his store wasn't prepared and in disarray.
Matthew is countersuing because he claims her film crew
refused to leave when their time was up.
[Judge DiMango] So Ms. Medley, I believe we have here your witness,
Ms. Jones. We'll have her testify via Chime.
Can we please put her up on the screen?
Ms. Jones, how was your experience at this shoot?
[Dana] Well, when I arrived-- when I arrived there,
the lady was telling us we had the wrong location and...
[Judge DiMango] Okay. There was a woman there--
I just wanna clear it up-- who indicated to you that you
should not be there, correct?
- Right. Correct. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
And, um, I was like, "No,
this is the right address she gave me."
But ultimately, you were able to stay.
- Is that correct? - [Dana] Yes.
And, um, when you're a wheelchair user,
you have to notice things,
you know, of what you're gonna encounter.
The bathroom was like, kind of, blocked and closed.
So I knew right then and there,
I couldn't drink anything
because if I have to drink something, I'm gonna have to go.
- [laughs] Okay. - [Dana] [laughs]
Thank you. Thanks for your testimony.
So these were your issues with what you're claiming
caused your breach of contract between the defendant and with you.
Would that be correct?
Yes, and I arrived early that day because I knew Ms. Dana was coming.
Thank God I did get there because one of his employees was,
"They're not doing anything today. Go, go."
[Judge DiMango] That was the woman that she was
- referring to. - Yes.
Was that one of your employees who told her to leave or was that a neighbor?
Yes, ma'am. So that--it's a neighbor who lives
in the neighborhood who we have do our cleaning service for us.
And she isn't someone who I would keep up to date about necessarily
about what's going on in daily operations.
- Right. - [Matthew] Uh, she did approach them
and say, "You're not supposed to be here."
- And then they stayed, obviously. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
Now, you were not able to set up at all
because you couldn't get access until 9:00.
- Would that be correct? - Yes.
[Judge DiMango] But when did you rent it from?
From 9:00 to 1:00?
From 9:00 to 1:00, yes.
[Judge DiMango] And so, that would include you being able to go in and set up.
You didn't rent shoot time.
You rented use time.
Now, Mr. Jones, your counterclaim involves $500,
because you're saying that she stayed two hours beyond the 1:00.
Yes, ma'am. So I wanted to break that down for you.
So there--she showed up at 8:00 AM and then she left at 2:00 PM,
- so that's the two hours. - [Judge DiMango] But she didn't--
she just indicated she didn't come onto your property until 9:00.
- That's not true. - [Rashawn] That's true. That is true.
That's not--that's not true.
Jeff is the one who showed up.
Jeff, would you step up, please?
- [Jefferey] Yes, ma'am. - Thank you.
[Rashawn] I've never seen this guy, and I don't know what bus stop
they got him from at, but he's--I don't know...
- [Matthew] See, that's... - ... what he's talking about.
- Ma'am, listen. - Okay. I'm gonna stop you.
- This is ridiculous. - [Jefferey] Ma'am, I tried
to introduce myself, she ignored me.
And I was trying to tell her I was the director
of operations out there.
I was ready to set everything up for her.
We do--we do not have things on the shelf,
but we do have stuff in storage that I--
that we could've set up for her, but by her not communicating with me--
Did you actually end up putting stuff on the shelves for her?
I have--I have a couple of employees move all the products out the store
and set a couple of things on the shelf.
- [Judge DiMango] Okay. - But again, she did not...
- [Judge DiMango] Okay. - ... communicate with me, so...
- That's not true. - [Judge DiMango] Okay.
Well, what time did you get there?
Uh, I got there at 8:30, ma'am.
[Judge DiMango] And who was there at 8:30?
Uh, she was, her and her crew.
[Judge DiMango] But was she inside the premises
or was she at your door on the property?
She was actually inside the premises because one of my employees
actually get there early, and he opened up the doors.
[Judge DiMango] What time did she leave?
[Jefferey] Uh, they left around 3:00.
So then you're saying she got there a half hour early, left two hours late.
- Yes. - [Judge DiMango] And that's the basis
- for your counterclaim. - [Matthew] Yes, ma'am.
Initially, you did not interpose a counterclaim
or you did this right from the start?
We did not until--we didn't know there was an issue with the shoot.
We thought the movie went off without a hitch,
and then I got served papers.
And so this is all--everything is kind of just news to us
as we're finding out what the claims are and what the problems were,
because there was no communication.
Do you have anything to indicate that she was there beyond the time?
- [Matthew] No, ma'am, I don't. - [Judge DiMango] Do you have any clocks
- in and clock out? - No, just our word.
And your position is that you were there beyond the 1:00,
at least for a half hour, because he agreed to let you go
a half hour for free, correct?
Uh-hmm. Yes.
And he was on the phone with Christy, and that's when I found out
about the $200 deal or $200 every half hour.
And I said, you know, I said, "Well, we--I've lost out time.
I had to reschedule my day."
All I hear here is that there was no communication,
no meeting of the minds.
And that's an issue when a contract is involved.
- Judge Levy. - [Judge Levy] First of all,
Ms. Medley, I wanna say,
working in Habitat for Humanity and helping build homes
for people who don't have them,
- that's a real special thing to do... - Thank you.
- ... and I wanna say thank you for that. - [Rashawn] Thank you.
And likewise, Mr. Jones, thank you and your team
for doing what you do in your community by providing food
for people who need some help purchasing that food.
Having said that, Ms. Medley, you're the plaintiff.
And it's your burden to prove that there was a breach of this contract.
So in February, you guys agreed orally to the $2,000 amount.
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] Correct?
- Yes, sir. - [Judge Levy] And the only text message
that I saw with respect to money
was that one, in April.
Four hours, $2,000.
Yes, sir. There was another text message as well about the money,
uh, and that was, "We will give you your money back
because we had an act of God happen."
- Force majeure... - [Matthew] Yes, sir.
- ... is what it's called, right? - [Matthew] Yes, sir.
[Judge Levy] You're supposed to tape the show around May 18th or so, correct?
- Yes. - [Judge Levy] And then you're notified,
just a day or two before, that there is an event.
- [Rashawn] Yes. - Tell me about that.
Yeah. Um, they told me that the refrigerators had to be replaced.
[Judge Levy] That's what force majeure means.
In contracts, people in your position will put a clause in a contract
saying that if there was an act of God or if the electricity went out...
- Yes, sir. - [Judge Levy] ... and the lights
couldn't come on, being no fault of the defendants,
then they could not be charged with a breach of that contract
because they weren't responsible for it.
So he told you that there was a problem.
They even offered you an opportunity to take back a full refund.
Or to change the date.
[Judge Levy] Right. You chose to reschedule.
Yes, I did, because I was trying to do my production.
[Judge Levy] I get that.
Now, show me a piece of paper, show me an email,
show me a text message
in which you told them that you were gonna bring the horses,
the chickens, the actress who was in a wheelchair
that needed access to bathrooms.
I sent them the, um, copy of--outline of the script where they were in it.
[Judge Levy] All that was in the script.
And you hoped they would read it, right?
That's what you were hoping for.
- [Rashawn] Yes. - And as my wife says, hope is dope.
[laughter]
But unfortunately, a contract, it does not make.
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
How many productions have you been involved with?
What's your background?
How did you get involved in the media business?
[dramatic musical sting]
[theme music plays]
[announcer] After booking Matthew Jones' grocery store for her film shoot,
Rashawn Medley says the store was in disarray
and is now suing the grocer for her location fee.
Matthew is countersuing for the extra hours
her film crew needed to finish the project.
[Judge Levy] Now, we have a Chime witness, do we not?
I believe, Mr. Jones, this is one of your witnesses?
[Matthew] This--yeah. This is my, uh, business associate, Christy.
- [Judge Levy] All right. - Christy Betz.
And she's the one who did all the communications.
[Judge Levy] Uh, your name, ma'am?
Christy Betz.
[Judge Levy] And how are you associated with the defendant's business?
[Christy] Um, I'm the co-executive director with Matt.
[Judge Levy] And what, if any, communications did you have
with the plaintiff regarding the shooting of this movie?
We spoke on the phone originally and then
I guess it was the day or day-- two days before the shoot
I called to let her know that we had had the emergency with the refrigerators
and offered her money back or to reschedule the date.
She picked another date.
And I don't recall hearing anything else from her
until Matt received the summons in the mail from the court.
Ms. Betz, do you remember, during your calls with the plaintiff,
her telling you that she intended to have certain animals in the store?
We never received that information.
If we had heard that, we would have told her
that we could not do that because of legal issues
with running a grocery store.
We can't have animals in the store.
[Judge Levy] Ms. Betz, did the plaintiff tell you that one of her actresses
was in a wheelchair and needed to have access to restrooms?
I had not heard that until the day of.
Ms. Betz, thank you very much for your testimony.
So, Mr. Jones, you know that there was no written agreement
that you had with her regarding
what it was gonna cost for any time over the four hours.
Correct. Yes, sir.
[Judge Levy] And so you only sued her for $500 once you got sued by her, right?
- Yes, sir. - [Judge Levy] Thank you.
Judge Acker.
How many productions have you been involved with?
Um, Da Stow was my own personal, but...
- [Judge Acker] This is the first time? - First time...
- [Judge Acker] This is your baby? - ... for Da Stow--yeah.
[Judge Acker] And what's your background?
How did you get involved in the media business?
I studied at the Art Institute of Atlanta
for video production, and, um,
always loved creating content.
- It's a hard business to crack. - Yes.
It's certainly hard to crack when you don't have
lots and lots of funds behind you.
- Yeah. - [Judge Acker] Now,
you submitted evidence that some store employees
- were getting into the shot? - [Rashawn] Yes.
[Judge Acker] Let's take a look.
[Rashawn] That's his people.
- Those are his people. - [man] Shh, shh.
[Rashawn] There's the cameraman.
Those are his people.
[Judge Acker] What were your employees doing?
[Matthew] They were stocking the shelves with--if you're watching,
- they're stocking the shelves. - The shelves.
[Judge Acker] They're stocking the shelves...
- They're stocking the shelves... - [Judge Acker] ... with the grocery...
And moving the products out of her way.
Next time, you know what, you should hire Byrd.
- [Jefferey laughs] - Hire Byrd. He'll be there.
He'll make sure nobody gets in the shot.
- [Jefferey laughs] - [Judge Acker] He'll keep a really good
handle on things.
Well, they should have been there that morning, like at 8:00,
and so that at 9:00, the door's open for me.
But if you'd spent the time in preproduction that you probably,
subsequently had to spend preparing your lawsuit, we wouldn't be here.
So my hope is that for your next show, you'll be better prepared.
- Good luck to all of you. - [Matthew] Thank you.
All right. We're gonna retire to deliberate at this time.
And Jeff, you may take a seat.
[Cassandra] Court is now in recess.
Parties are excused.
[dramatic musical sting]
Communication.
I mean, you've gotta be so open in your communication
and somehow memorialize it.
But the bottom line is, I don't see my way clear to finding
that she proved her case at all.
I also think she was confusing shoot time with preparation time.
She thought she could go there and set everything up and not really be charged
for using that space at those hours.
By the way, to expect him to read that script which was so lengthy
and so that he could figure out what it was that he thought
she would find important and necessary in the shoot
was just an unrealistic expectation.
And though she really had her heart in it and I could see she was heartbroken
throughout our exam of her, I can't see how she prevails.
Needless to say, when I asked him if it was afterthought for the $500,
he admitted to all of us that it kind of was.
And I don't blame him. He's--
you're gonna bring me in here, you stayed extra time,
then I want my money, too.
But I don't think he prevailed and he admitted that as well,
so I'd like to dismiss both.
Right. He sued for $500, two hours at $250 an hour,
but there was nowhere where that was memorialized.
And he seemed to understand that as well.
If the extent of her loss, the plaintiff's loss,
is the 2,000 and change, she should chalk it up to a good life's lesson.
Moving forward, she can go online, she can get herself a simple contract
and include in that contract what's important to her,
and that way, everyone's on the same page.
Well said. I think that the two of you have expertly analyzed the legal issues,
but I do have one remaining point,
and I say this as a daughter of someone from the South,
- before... - [Judge Levy laughs]
... we leave this deliberation.
I wanna hear "Da Stow"
- from a New Yorker. - I'm gonna dismiss "Da Stow" case...
- [Judge Acker laughs] - ... as well as The Grocery Spot.
And I need to hear it from Judge Levy.
No one wants to hear me say that.
- [laughs] - Ute, we want the ute.
[Judge Acker laughs]
Ute [indistinct] it's like going to "Da Stow".
I'm all good.
[dramatic musical sting]
[Cassandra] Court is back in session.
All parties are reminded that you're still under oath.
[Judge DiMango] Thank you.
You know, I tried to look at things to say something good
comes from everything if you look at it the right way.
And I can see, Ms. Medley, that you are heartbroken
in that your dream, your show maybe didn't come to fruition
the way you would have hoped,
but it's all about the contract,
a meeting of the minds.
And if you don't have that,
he can't make something wheelchair-accessible
if he doesn't know there's gonna be a wheelchair.
You don't know whether or not you could bring a horse or chicken or a dog
on set unless you know whether or not there are legal ramifications.
And he is not going to sit down and read your script,
as terrific as it might be, to say, "Oh, there's a chicken in here?
Well, let me see if I should get some chicken feed for her, she"--
it's just not gonna happen that way.
And so, because of that, we found unanimously, ma'am,
that you did not meet your burden of proof by showing that you had an agreed upon,
meeting of the minds, with the defendant through him directly or his employees.
And sir, your counterclaim for the $500, which we all recognize
and you admitted was an afterthought,
was also not met in the same manner.
You did not make it clear that were there going to be overtime charges, et cetera.
So because each of you lacked that in a contract, ma'am,
your case is dismissed.
Sir, your case is dismissed as well. Thank you.
- [gavel bangs] - Thank you.
This case has concluded.
Both parties are excused.
[theme music plays]
We did the best we can to try to help someone
who made our time there hard and difficult.
Nothing was set up, nothing was prepared for me
to be able to do what I needed to do that day.
It's a shame that she doesn't know what she's doing.
I just have to revamp some things to get my paperwork straight.
Oh, she was very-- she was very ugly and mean.
Da Stow is still on and poppin'.
Yeah. We're glad it's over and maybe you'll see her on
- the big screen one day. - Yeah.
To be continued.
[announcer] Have you been scammed?
Let the majority rule in your favor on Tribunal Justice.
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["Ride of the Valkyries" plays]