QUESTION
can the judge force me to allow my former architect to photograph my store as part of their ruling?
Asked on Jul 11th, 2014 on Business Litigation - Virginia
More details to this question:
I am currently involved in a dispute with my former architect over his final payment for his help in designing my new retail store. The architect has offered to settle the case for money plus the right to photograph the store. We have been going back and forth about how much if anything I owe the architect, but the real sticking point is that the architect keeps asking for the right to take photos of the store as part of the settlement. I do not want the architect to photograph the store under any circumstances. In the event we eventually go to trial can the court force me to allow the architect to photograph the store? There was nothing in our contract that gave the architect the right to photograph the store.
1 ANSWER
The Judge CAN force you to do almost anything, but that doesn't mean that he/she will. If the photographs would be relevant to any issue in the litigation, however, it is likely that the architect will have the right to photograph them during the discovery process (although, if it is important to you, the Court may restrict the architect's right to use the photos to anything other than the litigation.)
I'm assuming, by the way, that you're talking about photos of the inside of the store. Anyone can photograph the outside of the store which is open to public view.
Answered on Jul 11th, 2014 at 10:10 AM