Canada Suit

[robin92028]

Hi, Im being sued for something Im not too sure about. We had a verbal agreement and also in email that I was giving her 8000 dollars to do all my travel arrangements for one summer of racing. And agreed on 8,000. She did it under her small athlete management business in BC Canada. Well half way through the summer she had spent all the 8,000 and actually went over to 9,148 which I gave her. I then told her that we had a deal and she had to make the rest of my bookings. She did, then at the end of summer ended up spending 17,000! She did not inform me of this until after it was spent, and now wants to collect the difference. But our agreement was on 8,000. But this deal was all verbal, I have the proof that I gave her 9148 in bank transfers. She is suing me small claims in bc, canada. I want to know what am I gonna have to do, and does she have a way of winning this. It is true that I got on all the flights and stayed in the hotels that she payed for. But I made a deal with her and not the hotel or airlines.. She went over bugdet due to bad planning. And even when she went over she never told me till after I was home at the end of the season..

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Hi, Im being sued for something Im not too sure about. We had a verbal agreement and also in email that I was giving her 8000 dollars to do all my travel arrangements for one summer of racing. And agreed on 8,000. She did it under her small athlete management business in BC Canada. Well half way through the summer she had spent all the 8,000 and actually went over to 9,148 which I gave her. I then told her that we had a deal and she had to make the rest of my bookings. She did, then at the end of summer ended up spending 17,000! She did not inform me of this until after it was spent, and now wants to collect the difference. But our agreement was on 8,000. But this deal was all verbal, I have the proof that I gave her 9148 in bank transfers. She is suing me small claims in bc, canada. I want to know what am I gonna have to do, and does she have a way of winning this. It is true that I got on all the flights and stayed in the hotels that she payed for. But I made a deal with her and not the hotel or airlines.. She went over bugdet due to bad planning. And even when she went over she never told me till after I was home at the end of the season..

I'm sorry to hear abour your dispute.
There are a number of issues here.

(1) Jurisdiction - does your agreement state where any disputes will be settled? I don't know where you are located and whether this court has the power over you. You may not even have to show up in court for this case to be dismissed or, at the very least, a judgment that is unenforceable.

(2) You have one problem -- once you found out that the cost of travel was $9,148, why did you continue giving her money and sustaining the relationship? Did you notify her that there was a problem with the first half and that she had to stay on budget? Did you have a deal where she must notify you in the event that costs rose? Perhaps the anticipation was that flights would cost $5,000 but due to a nationwide increase it cost more? How can you expect to recover the difference from your travel agent?

(3) With regard to her duty to tell you about the budget, would doing so have changed your plans? If so, be prepared to show how and put up a dollar figure as to how much the lack of notice cost you.

I hope this helps identify some likely issues you are going to encounter in court. It is ALWAYS best to put agreements like this one into writing. I am surprised that this person does not have a standard agreement that she sends to clients. If she doesn't, that should tell you something.