Consumer Law, Warranties Verbal Agreement

[squbadav]

Non Payment of Commissions

I am a rep for artists. I had contacted an artist and offered to rep him into an art gallery in Las Vegas. I asked if he is currently showing in Las Vegas, which he stated NO. I told him that I have a relation with a gallery there that may show his work. He asked what I wanted and I stated that I want 10% (standard) of the wholesale purchase paid monthly. He agreed and I had the gallery call him directly. Two months have passed and I have emailed him many times regarding my check. I have talked to the gallery and they have sold many of his artworks including selling 7 in one day. This Gallery has taken many of the artists that I recomend, as the gallery owner had worked for me in the past. I live in california and the artist lives in Arizona.

Now it is time to pay and he will not respond. I emailed him stating that if he would like to sever our relationship I would like to recieve my 10% for December and January and a $2000 finders fee for such a high volume gallery.

I have never had any problem with any other artist that I rep because it is a standard fee charged to artists/publishers and most are more than happy to pay, because it is very difficult to get shown in a gallery.

Do I have any legal solution to this?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm sorry to hear about the problem. Unfortunately, this is another reason why you want a written contract -- even if it is simple. Think about investing in an attorney doing one for you (they do them cheaply here as well) as this is the bread and butter of your business and there are many protections that can be built into the deal to prevent situations like this from arising with little remedy. Anyone who won't sign it should be suspect -- why aren't they willing to put on the dotted line what they agree to on the phone? Probably for the precise reason it is happening now.

You may be able to take the artist to small claims court but that is likely going to be difficult since usually this must be done in the jurisdiction of the defendant, e.g. if the artist is from Phoenix, you must sue in small claims court of Phoenix. You may want to send the artist a demand letter first, certified return receipt. Afterwards, this could be present a difficult situation.

Additionally, as you are in the business and probably speak to other reps and gallery owners, it is not a wise move for him to break deals, especially for the relatively small amount of money in issue.

 

[squbadav]

rendered but not paid

Last question, because it is an industry standard, and if I go to Arizona to file a small claims court case, because I do not want the reputation as a business that can be stepped on, is the verbal agreement enough if I get a statement from the gallery that they only took his art on my recomendation as they had never seen the works before?

Also if I speak to other galleries and reps about this artist will I be liable for anything?

I just read this "A plaintiff (the person or organization bringing the suit) begins a small claims case by filing a complaint with the clerk of the small claims division in justice courts. The plaintiff must file the complaint in the justice court in which the defendant (the person or organization being sued) resides or operates a business, or where the act giving rise to the claim took place. The information required on the complaint is the name and address of the defendant, the reason for filing the complaint, and the amount of money being disputed.

I found this in the Las Vegas Court site:

The party(s) being sued MUST CURRENTLY reside, work, or do business in the Las Vegas Township, and you MUST be able to provide a current address, not a P O Box, for the Defendant. If the party resides, works, or does business in the Cities of Henderson or North Las Vegas, please contact either the Henderson Justice Court, or the North Las Vegas Justice Court. (The phone number for the NLV Justice Court is 702-455-7801.)


So does the "where the act giving rise to the claim took place" in the first one and the "do business" in the second one, mean I can file in Las Vegas?


Thank you for your help

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You might be able to file in Las Vegas and for the few dollars, it's worth pushing it. Take a look at the forms and speak to the small claims court clerk. I am sure that this has been tried before.

There is a huge body of law (constitutional) which deals with whether a person has done enough business in a state to warrant being pulled into the state for a court case. Without going into detail, it would seem likely that the defendant has "purposefully availed" himself of the protections and benefits of the state of Nevada by using the Las Vegas gallery to sell his artwork.

The trick here will be how to enforce a judgment. The defendant may not pay and you may need to then search for his assets and freeze them. However, you might as well accomplish one thing at a time. A good way to penalize a scofflaw who doesn't pay is to file a lien against that individual.

With regard to speaking to other gallery owners, you would definitely not want to commit slander and say anything false. Truth is truth. (Remember that none of the above is "legal advice," especially since we do not know of anything else that might apply, e.g. a confidentiality agreement you may have signed, etc.)