Martial Arts Contract

[trtjj]

Jurisdiction

New York

My kids has been practicing martial arts for over 5 years. They have competed in local, regional and National events and love the sport. In the past year the quality of the teaching has deteriorated when one of the Masters left as well as many of the qualified instructors. The Head Master is an excellent martial artist but is only concerned with increasing the number of students. He also opened 2 other schools and hired instructors from other disciplines but not WTF style TKD. I have identified a new school for them to go to. After reviewing the contract, it states that they can't terminate unless they are deceased and there is a lifetime ban in teaching with 3 miles from his schools. He has collected a deposit of 2 months but it doesn't mention anything about forfeiting the deposit when canceling. I am willing to forfeit the deposit. My issue is that he has lost many of his Blackbelts and best when their contract is up. My kids are the last of his competition team and we are not waiting for the end of the contract. He will be upset when I tell them that we are leaving his school. Does he have a legal standing if I cancel my contract? Can he impose a lifetime ban?

Thanks,

 

[army judge]

Without reading your contract, no one can say with certainty the school owner may assert.

However, people often assert rights that are NOT in a contract.

I suggest you discuss this matter with a NY licensed attorney to be sure your rights are protected and you don't get screwed financially.

 

[zddoodah]

Does he have a legal standing if I cancel my contract?

I can assure you that the other party to the contract has "legal standing," but that I doubt that's the question you actually intended to ask. I suspect you intended to ask whether you can terminate the contract before the scheduled end of the term without any financial consequence. If that's what you intended to ask, there's no way for anyone to answer that question without reading the contract.

Can he impose a lifetime ban?

I assume this is a reference to the provision in the contract that says "there is a lifetime ban in teaching with 3 miles from his schools," but I'm not really sure what that means. Your kids are students at the school, not teachers, right? Do they intend ever (or any time in the foreseeable future) to become martial arts teachers? In any event, contractual restraints of this sort are generally enforceable if they are reasonable in scope, both as to time and geographic area. I expect a three mile limit would be considered reasonable but that a lifetime restraint would not be considered reasonable.

 

[trtjj]

Hi, So we left the school and initially I spoke to the master in October. sent an email stating that we agreed to pay 11/15/2017 and forfeit the deposit. I did not receive a response. I also complained that we did not receive my son's Kukkiwon certificate which is the official certificate for his Blackbelt. He took the test last May and it usually takes 5 weeks to receive. The Master said that the certificate finally came in and I went to pick it up. The conversation started out pleasant but it later turned to the contract and threatened to send me to collections. I just want to be able to move on without any financial hardship. Attached is a copy of the contract. Please let me know what I can do. We are in New York.

 

[army judge]

Hi, So we left the school and initially I spoke to the master in October. sent an email stating that we agreed to pay 11/15/2017 and forfeit the deposit. I did not receive a response. I also complained that we did not receive my son's Kukkiwon certificate which is the official certificate for his Blackbelt. He took the test last May and it usually takes 5 weeks to receive. The Master said that the certificate finally came in and I went to pick it up. The conversation started out pleasant but it later turned to the contract and threatened to send me to collections. I just want to be able to move on without any financial hardship. Attached is a copy of the contract. Please let me know what I can do. We are in New York.

Strangers on a website can't help you.

I suggest you have a licensed NY lawyer review the documents and advise you accordingly.

 

[mightymoose]

You might have a reasonable argument.
Until you are sued or have someone attempt to collect a debt there is nothing to worry about.

While you are contracted for a certain period of time the company does have a duty to provide the training. If the instructors have left and the quality of training has significantly declined you may have a reasonable argument that they are no long providing that was agreed.

Whether that is an argument that hold up depends on the accuracy of the information and would certainly need to be assessed by an attorney who can get into details with you.

You will find out soon enough what action they might take, if any.