My jurisdiction is: Texas/Arizona
In a nut shell, I am in Arizona, my wedding took place in Texas. I hired a Texas wedding photographer in Dallas to photograph our wedding June 15, 08. We purchased her largest package including "all proof prints on cd". Our contract states that we should have received our pictures within 4 weeks from the date we sent her our choices. Sept 1, 2008 I sent our list and began watching the mail for my pictures. At that point the photographer stopped answering phone calls, emails, etc. She ignored us all of September until we contacted Denton Police Dept. and had an officer call to see if she was alive? dead? something?! The photographer called him back almost immediately, and contacted my husband to see if any charges had been filed. He said "No", and expressed our concern at being "ignored for 35 days" The photographer claimed that she had been out of town (for a month?), that she had the pictures, and was anticipating receiving our album the next day. She also offered 20 additional photos as an apology for all our troubles. She then stated that she would send our first collection of photos with the 20 bonus photos when we selected them, and she received them back from the lab. She anticipated that this would take 7-10 days. We sent her the list for the additional 20 pictures on the 12 of October. No Pics. 17 days later...
We emailed her today and received an email and a phone call stating that she never received our email, and then finally decided that we had sent the information to "her other" email box that she does not use that often, which curiously enough had been our primary contact address with her, per her instructions. While on the call my husband sent her the list again to BOTH addresses and requested that she send the first collection immediately. She hesitated and then agreed. I honestly am not confident she even has the pictures as I realized tonight I have never selected a picture for the 20 thank you cards we purchased (included in the original package) and she has not contacted me to address the mistake. I'm in need of information about what kind of case this is and what state/county would have jurisdiction? She is in Dallas county, I am in Phoenix, the wedding took place in Denton county,TX . I don't know if I could represent myself in small claims or if I would have to pay a lawyer (which to me sounds like it would be more expensive then the pictures themself). Is this a breach of contract? Is a breach of contract addressed in small claims court? Do I even have a case? And what would I sue for? Our money? The digital files? The rights to the photos? Can I try to have her sued for court costs/ legal fees etc.?
In a nut shell, I am in Arizona, my wedding took place in Texas. I hired a Texas wedding photographer in Dallas to photograph our wedding June 15, 08. We purchased her largest package including "all proof prints on cd". Our contract states that we should have received our pictures within 4 weeks from the date we sent her our choices. Sept 1, 2008 I sent our list and began watching the mail for my pictures. At that point the photographer stopped answering phone calls, emails, etc. She ignored us all of September until we contacted Denton Police Dept. and had an officer call to see if she was alive? dead? something?! The photographer called him back almost immediately, and contacted my husband to see if any charges had been filed. He said "No", and expressed our concern at being "ignored for 35 days" The photographer claimed that she had been out of town (for a month?), that she had the pictures, and was anticipating receiving our album the next day. She also offered 20 additional photos as an apology for all our troubles. She then stated that she would send our first collection of photos with the 20 bonus photos when we selected them, and she received them back from the lab. She anticipated that this would take 7-10 days. We sent her the list for the additional 20 pictures on the 12 of October. No Pics. 17 days later...
We emailed her today and received an email and a phone call stating that she never received our email, and then finally decided that we had sent the information to "her other" email box that she does not use that often, which curiously enough had been our primary contact address with her, per her instructions. While on the call my husband sent her the list again to BOTH addresses and requested that she send the first collection immediately. She hesitated and then agreed. I honestly am not confident she even has the pictures as I realized tonight I have never selected a picture for the 20 thank you cards we purchased (included in the original package) and she has not contacted me to address the mistake. I'm in need of information about what kind of case this is and what state/county would have jurisdiction? She is in Dallas county, I am in Phoenix, the wedding took place in Denton county,TX . I don't know if I could represent myself in small claims or if I would have to pay a lawyer (which to me sounds like it would be more expensive then the pictures themself). Is this a breach of contract? Is a breach of contract addressed in small claims court? Do I even have a case? And what would I sue for? Our money? The digital files? The rights to the photos? Can I try to have her sued for court costs/ legal fees etc.?
