Consumer Law, Warranties Wedding contract with Client

[ramfan11]

I am a professional videographer who signed a contract with a couple.
We videotaped there wedding. We spent 7 hours at there wedding.
However when editing the wedding we had a computer system crash and we lost the entire project. Not the orginal videos. Therefore we were unable to deliver the video to them within the alotted time stated in contract.
We told the clients it would be delayed and we were sorry since we were unable to deliver within contract which says 90- 120 days.
They understood. We reloaded and reedited the video and gave them there product. They were happy with the exception that the date was wrong on the wedding video. We corrected it . A week later they returned with another minor error on a DVD menu. We corrected that on there video DVD menu. They however said we just want our money back.
They had already had the product at home watched the video and as far as we know they could of burned a copy of it numerous times. Now they are saying we want all our money back. Even though the product has been fixed and is 100% correct. No where does our contract say they can get there money back if they get the video late anyway. It just states the time it takes usually to produce.
Do they have a case against us ? They say they want to go to small claims if we do not refund them. The product ( Video ) is completely correct they just got it late. It seems ridiculous to me.

 

[fredrikklaw]

No material breach!

Can they sue? Yes.
Do they have a case against you? No.
Can they recover? No.

If the entire original video was lost or damaged beyond repair, then you would have been liable to these folks for not only the refund, but also for all the emotional wear and tear and the once-in-a-life-time brouhaha that would have ensued.

But here, you did your best to accommodate them by explaining the reason for the delay and by curing all defects in a timely manner and I highly doubt any court would give them a judgment for a full refund even if the contract did contain a time is of the essence clause. Simply because there was substantial performance on your part and nothing you did or did not do, constitutes a material breach which could give rise to total breach of the contract, which is the only scenario in which they could recover their entire layout.

And for arguments sake: A material breach is one that destroys the entire value and purpose of the contract!

fredrikklaw

 

[jharris352]

Fredrick is absolutely correct. I would further argue that they waived their right to complain about the length of time when they took delivery of the video. They are trying to scam you. A judge will see right through that.