QUESTION
I am getting married in July of 2012 and we hired a decorator for the reception. In the contract it doesn''t say anywhere that we have to pay for labor
Asked on Sep 11th, 2011 on Contracts - North Dakota
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costs for additional items that we purchase ourselves for her to put up. On the day that we spoke with her in person she never once mentioned that we had to pay for labor costs either. My fiance, mother, and mother-in-law to be never heard her say anything about that either. In her contract it clearly states that if we provide anything extra that she will put it up and handle it, but it does not state that we have to pay her extra fees. I have several e-mails from her and to my mother-in-law to be asking her questions and she never mentioned the fact that there are labor costs. She sent me rude emails now and I want to take her to small claims court and get my deposit back. In the contract it states that it is nonrefundable, but she is breaking the contract by trying to add on additional costs for the wedding. Please help! I need advice.
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First you should have a local attorney look at the contract for you. This way they can tell you if the contract terms are, in fact, what you expected. The attorney would be able to tell you if the decorator is entitled to those charges or not.
Next, if she is not entitled to the charges, there is actually no breach of contract unless she quits or refuses to complete the contract. Simply asking for extra payments isn't a breach, by itself. Something you can do right away is to demand "reasonable assurances." You demand reasonable assurances by sending a letter stating that you do not believe that you are required to pay the extra charges, and ask if she still plans to fulfill the promise of working the wedding without those actual payments. With no response or a response of no to this letter, it would put you on a much better legal ground to receive your deposit back. At this point you could sue for a breach of contract and seek the return of your deposit. You should know, however, that the question of "who breached first" is critical here, and it is usually very dependent on the circumstances of your case. Therefore an attorney should help you prepare the letter, as well as evaluate the contract.
Answered on Sep 15th, 2011 at 7:05 PM