Music for a wedding..

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daria

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Hello,

I'm sending this message on behalf of a friend of mine...She was hired to play solo piano at a wedding reception. Just so you know, she has been in the business for 25 years and never missed a gig or reneged on a contract. She has a fantastic reputation both as a musician and performer. She wrote down the wrong day on her calender for the wedding It was supposed to be on Saturday 18th .... She wrote it down wrong in her book...thought the 18th was Sunday and was playing at another venue Sat. and got several calls on her cell phone asking where she was. Of course the bride and groom were very upset. She sent them an apology via email and said she'd return the deposit of $140 and offered to play at any event for free for them in the future. They're claiming they paid her $275 deposit but she only received the $140.

They sent back a very harsh letter saying they wanted $1525 compensation for the emotional damages they suffered based on her breach of contract plus the rental of the piano which was $250. They claim people left the wedding early as there was no music there for dancing. (I'm a musician as well and I've never heard of people dancing to solo piano). They believe that they suffered no less than $5,000 of damages based on her breach. They say, the 3 hours she contracted makes up 50% of their wedding. They referred to Dietsch v. Music Co., 543 NE2d 1302 (Ohio 1983) a band that failed to show up for a wedding was held liable for emotional distress damages. Then they went on to say they would like to reach an amicable solution to this and would prefer not to escalate this matter. They believe that a settlement of $525 (to reimburse them of out of pocket expenses) and $1000 (to reimburse them for emotional damages) is a fair compromise. They said to her that although she had not intended to hurt them, the fact is, her gross negligence in this case caused great damages for which they feel they should be compensated for in a fair manner.

They want to hear from her by Friday 24th or it will be deemed a rejection. Sounds like a threat to me. She feels terrible and knows she screwed up but is this fair or over the top? What can she do? Please advise. Thank you for listening. Hope to hear from you soon.
 
I'd feel sorry for the couple and understand their concern. However, they have no such case for excessive damages. I can understand them asking for a settlement of $390 at a minimum - it's out of pocket cost. I would think your friend owes this at a minimum. Regarding the deposit difference, it would be up to the couple to prove that is what was paid, perhaps with a copy of the cashed check.

Regarding the music issue... I think it's clear that the couple is upset at what happened and I'm sure it did affect their wedding to some degree. Was it impossible for someone to get a radio if they wanted some background filler music? Was there supposed to be dancing? I doubt it. Generally in breach of contract damages there aren't any additional "emotional distress" damages, only the usual one would expect - direct and consequential damages. The breach here was not intentional either.

I played weddings all the time as a keyboardist. This would be a difficult mistake to make if music played a large part of the wedding. I'd meet with the client at least once to discuss the music and would likely have a call on the phone as well prior to the date to discuss the special requests to be played.

My feeling - express sincere apology, offer to pay the out of pocket and perhaps a little sweetener and make it all go away. If the couple refuses, then the offer goes away in its entirety and they can then bring a court proceeding. I can't say that I know all the details and also am guessing that there was no written agreement.
 
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